8/10/2023 0 Comments Yakuza kiwami majima micro racerUnlike other open world games that feature combat seamlessly woven into the map, Yakuza games have always drawn the JRPG comparison since encounters shift from the main map to an enclosed space… complete with cheering fans getting an eyeful of free entertainment.Įach of the two main protagonists have three separate fighting styles, switching between the two and finding the right form for the particular threat you face is part of the battle. Enemy encounters also occur as part of of substories and story missions. Combat occurs when an enemy either spots you, if you bump into one while walking around, or when you intervene when a civilian is being attacked by a group. The inclusion of a custome paypoint or at least a mission select screen could have greatly alleviated this issue. My biggest complaint of the map is the inability to set custom waypoints, when I needed to find a certain shop or substory location I had to constantly jump into the map screen to find my bearings. Story missions that advance the game’s narrative are highlighted on the map, but you do have the option at most points to just wander the town. You navigate Kiryu or Majima through their respective locales, fighting random enemy encounters and discovering substories. Gameplay is very similar to another SEGA franchise, Shenmue. Rather, Yakuza has more in common with traditional JRPGs than it does third-person action games from the West. The Yakuza series is an interesting action game, I wouldn’t compare it to other open world type games because the comparison honestly couldn’t hold water. Substories are like side-quests, while not required to fully enjoy the story… they do manage to add quite a bit of value to the overall package. Littered throughout both Kamurocho and Sotenbori are the substories that make up a serious bulk of the game’s presentation. At its most serious, it rivals some of the most famous mafioso films here in the US. This is very much a yakuza story, a fitting representation of a crime drama. Despite lacking in surprise, it more that makes up for it in its boldness. Though predictable at times and maybe I’m just more observant but I saw “the big reveal” coming a mile away. Story wise, the game is split into chapters with the narrative shifting from one protagonist to the other at certain points. Majima is tasked to assassinate Makoto Makimura, but when his mark turns out to be the furthest thing from his expectations, the future “Mad Dog” switches gears from assassin to protector… all the while trying to stay under the radar from the Shimano family. Seems like the family is ready to take him back… but at a cost. Still adamant about being let back into the family, he bides his time as the manager of a cabaret club, The Grand, while steadily raising capital for the family. After disobeying the family, Majima is tortured for a year… losing his left eye in the process. Before he was ever the “Mad Dog” he was a prisoner of sorts to the Shimano family. Meanwhile to the west, our second protagonist is Goro Majima. This leads the young yakuza down the path of truly becoming the legendary yakuza we first see in his debut back in 2005. Expelled from the family and now hunting for clues in Kamurocho, finding the real killer and the one who framed him means more than just clearing his name… but also clearing the name of his mentor and father figure, Dojima captain Shintaro Kazama. To make matters worse, the empty lot where the body was found is a crucial piece of land for the Dojima family’s revitalization project. Kiryu adamantly denies killing this man, realizing that there is someone out there setting him up. Before either of these men were the “Dragon of Dojima” or “the Mad Dog of the Shimano family,” they were young and brash former yakuza expelled from their respective families.įor Kiryu, a simple collection for a loan shark turns bloody when the man Kiryu shook down for cash turns up dead in an empty lot. Split between two protagonists in two different locations, Yakuza 0 tells the tale of the rise of franchise hero Kazuma Kiryu and fan favorite Goro Majima. Set in 1988 Japan, Yakuza 0 follows two former Yakuza as they face an ever growing tale of intrigue that is meant to set the tone for the series to come. With that we have Yakuza 0 from SEGA, meant to tell the story of the franchise’s two biggest personalities before they became legends. Written by Justin Prince ( good prequel story can be hit or miss… for some franchises it can reinvigorate a series with a narrative that further adds to the legends… in others it can create pages of retcons and inconsistencies that do the originals zero favors.
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