Quick Look: Yakuza 0

Really pleased to see a QL of this up before the BEast playthrough.

Edit: This was a great QL given how awkward this series is to get a snapshot of. Aside from the zany side-missions it provided a good cross-section of what these games are about. Jeff also did a better job of highlighting the combat than the UPF segment, switching styles, upgrading abilities and making use of the heat gauge. Looking forward to Alex and Dan's turn!

Nice!

Might be we have GOTY so early.

Really hope Dan can stop with the tangents in the GBE playthrough of this while story cutscenes are playing. Ruined the Shenmue ER for me and a lot of recent quick looks

Definitely looking forward to this one, I've been meaning to jump into the series for years now but finally think I'll make the leap on this.

I hope they get to one of these.

@atwa: 2017's 2015 game of the year.

Kuze gives me some real Bad Guy From Snatch vibes.

@cloudymusic: YES!!

Information on the internet is vague somehow. Can someone tell me what sorta Minigames exist in it? Is it only Space Harrier? Minigames make these open-world games for me.

Shenmues strongest point was playing Outrun!

@edmundus: i thought the same thing

@dray2k: I'm new to the series but my understanding is the Yakuza series as a whole has had tons of weird minigames. I don't know which will be in 0 but from a Google image search it looks like the series has had disco dancing, karaoke, UFO claw games, cooking, women's wrestling, batting cages, etc.

@alex is this the one with the NJPW guys?

Jeff did good, but he should try targeting while moving away and use the fast back and side dodge ability more, makes combat much easier.

@bobafeet: That's Yakuza 6.

The trouble with the Yakuza series is that you can't really jump in the middle of it. Like Jeff mentions, you start off running an orphanage in 3, but almost all the characters and events leading up to that requires you to have played 1 and 2.

If you want to start in on the series, this is the game to do so.

Here's a trailer with all the mini games in 0. You won't be disappointed.

Never played a Yakuza game, but watching this makes me wish it had Sleeping Dogs style combat. I miss Sleeping Dogs.

@subcan@beefygrandmole: Thanks!

I understand chronologically this makes perfect sense for them to play Zero first.. but man is going to Yakuza 1 from Yakuza 0 going to be a super rough transition. I also think they should play the original Yakuza 1 with the amazing english dubbing on a PS2 as opposed to that remake or whatever I hear they're going with. That dubbing is roughly 40% the reason why I kept playing. Man the incessant profanity.. it's glorious.

EDIT: Didn't realize that "Kiwami" had the dubbed voices - all is good in the world again.

I can't wait to play this.

So does anyone know if this game has "real" cutscenes? The lightly animated stills are neat, but the Yakuza games have had such great cutscenes previously it woul be a bummer if this game didn`t have any.

THE DRAGON OF DOJIMA RETURNS!

@odinsmana: If you watch the UPF they talk about in this video, you totally see fully animated cut scenes. And its awesome.

I am so psyched for this game. Forgot how early in the year the came out, so the quick look reminded me to order it on amazon.

@cheesebob: Thanks! I didn`t want to watch too much since I am getting it day one either way, but that`s nice to hear.

@humanity: That's a fan created video. I'm pretty sure Kiwami wont have the english dub.

Looks awesome, always wanted to get into this series but the story gets confusing as hell. Seems like a good point to get into it.

Definitely buying this, looks good for a PS3 port to. Always liked the over the top combat in previous games.

It's the strongest Yakuza title since Yakuza 2, even more so with Hase Seishu departing from the writing after 2. 0 is Yakuza back on top in terms of story, and content is plenty. It also has the most enjoyable combat I've played in the series even better than 6. So hopefully it'll sit right with most people and put the Yakuza series into the spotlight like it deserves.

@humanity: I remember skipping the original Yakuza because it was dubbed but that's pretty fucking hilarious.

.

Riki Takeuchi has pretty much the best natural Yakuza look imaginable.

@odinsmana: It does. All Yakuza games have text heavy cutscenes too, which I don't mind as it generally means there's more dialogue, more quest, which would be scaled down if they were all voiced (Yakuza 6 stands attest to that).

Can't wait to play this. I've been a fan of the series since 3, and having 0, 6, and Kiwami on the horizon is giving me a perpetual beat-em-up boner.

Fuck, this looks fucking good, can't fuckin' wait. Fuck man, fucking yakuza!

@opethrockr55: That's not true. Yakuza 4 is an easy place to settle into because it centers it premise on 3 new characters and Kiryu is just sort of there. Sure there are established relationships you won't be getting but I found it was easy to settle with it. Nevermind it has a recap video with Kiryu narrating the events of the 3 previous games.

I'm way into everything I'm seeing here.

This game looks really goddamn cool

I can't wait to play this! Just wrapped up Yakuza 5. Going to try to play 0 through 4 over the next year or so. Should keep me plenty occupied.

@humanity: Yeah, if they're planning on doing the whole series they should've probably gone in release order. Alex did say on twitter that they're prepared for a rough transition, but if 0 is the best in the main series everything after that will feel downhill (I'm really digging the 60fps in 0, shame that Y6 fell short there). I've heard mixed things about Kiwami, but given how janky that original game is I figure it's sensible for them to play Kiwami instead.

Wow Kiryu's walk to run animation looks actually decent now. Color me surprised!

Two chances to buy a dropkick and you buy max health. Jeff you got old man.

@bobafeet: I believe that is 6, which will be out next year in the West

This series is definitely like Shenmue...is Shenmue were actually good...and had fun/interesting things to do...and interesting story beats and characters...and good voice acting...

Have it preordered and be my first Yakuza game and glad that part of chapter 1 looks good, just hope the camera in combat isn't too annoying (as looks a bit).

Love the Jeff and Brad quick looks. Great job guys! Game looks great.

@vessel28: oh then that's terrible; I love that dub

Hm, I'm pretty tempted to play this. Only problem is no PS4... is it time to change that?

Looks pretty great.

Jeff/Brad Quick Looks are pretty rare, so I always appreciate it when they team up!

As someone who has actually played every Yakuza and Shenmue game, the series are nothing alike aside from a few similarities, like martials arts, minigames and being set in Japan (of which only Shenmue 1 is set in Japan). Yakuza isn't really an adventure game, more of an action adventure mixed with RPG; it doesn't have the same attentions to detail, tone, realism, in-game clock, fully voiced NPC's with their own schedules or deliberate pacing as Shenmue. And likewise, Shenmue doesn't have the same goofiness and quirkiness of the Yakuza series.

Saying 'Yakuza is a better Shenmue' is sort of like saying 'Half Life 2 is a better Gone Home' or 'Bioshock is a better Hotel Dusk' or something; it's a myopic statement that comes from a place of ignorance. And Jeff, for someone who wants diversity in gaming and for games to appeal to multifarious audiences, sure sounds like a hyprocite when it comes to Shenmue and that game's audience. His arguments really aren't that much different to those angry-14-year-old rants about Gone Home 'not being a game', but for a 42 year old 'veteran' of the industry it's a shame to see him display that same level of ignorance; I thought his viewpoint would have matured by now.

@shtinky: I wouldn't necessarily agree with that. I too have played every entry in the main series (not the zombie one) and I agree with the Shenmue assertion. Yakuza is trying to replicate a slice of life of a Japanese gangster, with a heavy emphasis on combat. Shenmue was going for something for similar except the technology back then made it more of an RPG. The attention to detail is definitely there except Yakuza paints with broader strokes, instead of concentrating on individual magazine covers - although there are plenty of items that can be examined close up.

As for Jeffs point of view.. ehh Jeff will be Jeff. In large that uncompromising nature is part of his charm. Unfortunately it cuts both ways, and when you're on the receiving end it can be quite aggravating.

I really want to play this game but it wasn't going to be a day one purchase for me with Gravity Rush and RE7 out so soon. I text my fiancée and told her I watched the quick look and it looked really good... a few minutes later she text me a screenshot of her Amazon order page with Yakuza set to be delivered on Tuesday! She's the best!