this game teaches you that a bicycle is the perfect weapon when you're about to get jumped by 20 thugs.
And if that doesn't work, break dancing will do the trick also. 10/10.

Yakuza 0 is one of the best game I've ever played narrative-wise. Each story chapter leaves you wanting to find out what happens next, each boss battle is a bombastic action sequence with amazing soundtrack, and the game also has its fair share of poignant emotional moments to top it all off. Moreover, you can also spend your time completing interesting substories or playing the minigames.

Let's dive into details. The visual presentation is OK. It's not the most detailed or advanced, but it gets the job done and is more than enough for what the game tries to accomplish. The animations deserve a special mention: some of the Heat Actions (kinda finishers) are wonderfully animated and are enjoyable to watch even after dozens of hours into the game.

Soundtrack is simply incredible. Different styles of fighting have their own theme and there are also additional tracks for main story events. Nevertheless, those are not the main selling points of the soundtrack. No, those would be the karaoke and disco minigames which feature unique original tracks. Those tracks are so good, so passionate, so energetic, and have so much charm I just could not help but feel joy listening to them multiple times both in game and after finishing it. The only possible critique of the songs is "I wish they were longer".

Another huge win in audio department is the voice acting, which makes characters feel truly alive, adding even more weight to an already solid story. Just like with songs, I still recall some of the quips or certain dialogue pieces days after finishing the game.

Moving on to the gameplay, it's a pretty enjoyable beat-em-up. I've finished the game on Hard, and I don't think it's particularly difficult, though some of the bosses required a smarter approach than just button mashing, which is always appreciated.

In addition to the main gameplay loop, there are dozens of minigames, from aforementioned karaoke/disco to fishing, mahjong, pool, etc. This is where I'll admit: I do not like all of them equally. While I appreciate developers putting them in the game and making them quite complex, I did not find them as interesting. I know some people love to talk about getting lost in minigames and not even doing the main story, but for me it was the opposite: the main story is just too good to ignore.

Substories, on the other hand, are quite interesting. They are not as time-consuming as minigames, and they usually offer some interesting narratives to keep you engaged.

A weird middle ground is the business minigame. It's not very exciting, but it does have some narrative titbits here and there, so I finished it just to see the character interactions.

Overall, I would say try not to feel compelled to 100% the game. If you're having fun with the minigames, go for it. If you do not, feel free to skip them instead of grinding just to get an achievement or something.

Talking about the main narrative, as I mentioned, it's done incredibly well. From the get go, I was captivated by the story and wanted to know more. The feeling of "I really want to know what happens next" did not leave until the very end. Furthermore, the writers were able to successfully weave in a couple of twists and turns without them feeling too contrived. It's a subversion of expectations done right. Looking back at my feelings regarding the story, I'd say it's one of the most well-written games I've ever played. It can be a bit theatrical and silly from time to time, but this doesn't detract from the plot in any way.

To sum it up, Yakuza 0 is a great game. I really liked the main story, substories, and the OST. The game also has much more content, but I did not find it as enjoyable, personally. Luckily, it's completely optional and everyone can decide for themselves whether to engage with it or not.

The game that truly started it all, for a lot of people. Not only is this game the best starting point for the series (considering it's a prequel set in the 80's) it also has withstood the test of time by continuing to be one of the best yakuza games to date, due to it's amazing story following two different protagonists by the names of Kiryu Kazuma & Goro Majima. The character arcs these two go to are perfectly crafted, and lead into their future journeys excellently. The setting is also a highlight of this game, as Japan was in the Bubble Economy at the time, money was flying everywhere (literally), the yakuza in Japan was arguably at it's peak, and the world itself is so vibrant, colorful and alive.

To play Yakuza 0 is to deeply fall in love with its characters and world; a challenge that many games try to conquer, but only a handful ever manage to actually achieve.