It started on a whim. In November 2020, I had had enough of gaming on my Nintendo Switch and wanted to feel the warm glow of a PlayStation. We won't get into the details of what led to the Switch becoming my primary console or exactly how long it was my primary console. Just know, PlayStation 5 was a week away from launch, I knew I wouldn't get one, and I needed a PlayStation now. I shopped around online and eventually set off to pick up a new PlayStation 4 along with a copy of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Remake. I had fun with my nostalgia for about a week before I felt the need for something more. A new game. Not just a game that was developed specifically for the PS4, but also a game that had been developed/released recently so that it would show off the strengths of my shiny new console.
I popped into the PlayStation Store to begin my search, but it took no time at all. Right there at the top was the newly released Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Now, Yakuza is a series I've long been acquainted with in passing. I had never played any of the games or even seen them in action, but I was curious about the series and would read about them occassionally when they appeared in popular video gaming blogs. Until this moment, my impression of what the games were was largely what I had read since the first release in 2005, "GTA: Japan." While this did intrigue me, I always drew parallels to Saints Row, which I tried once, but didn't really like. While I usually try to play a series from the beginning, I really wanted to play a new game, so I read around a bit to find out if I could start from Like a Dragon.
Turns out, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a bit of an evolution from previous games. It features its own cast of characters and exists more firmly in the RPG genre than its Action Adventure roots. "Awesome!" I thought. $60 well spent. I waited for the download, started the game, got to the end of the opening scenes, and promptly quit the game. Turns out I couldn't do it. I simply wouldn't be able to play this game without playing the other Yakuza games. At first, I felt a bit defeated. I had just spent $60 for a game I wouldn't be playing any time soon. I simply had to shell out for another one if I was going to play Yakuza at all. I headed back to the PlayStation store and found that Yakuza 0 was on sale for $5. I didn't know it then, but my gaming life was about to change for the better!
Yakuza 0 originally released in Japan in March 2015. This game is quite remarkable not only in the fact that it plugged and bridged the long gap between the 5th (December 2012) and 6th (December 2016) games, but because it also launched on PS3 and PS4 at the same time. All this, and it served as a prequel to the original games with promises of remakes to come. Exciting time to be a video game. Exciting time to be my video game.
Upon firing up the game, my ill-conceived notions of GTA: Japan were immediately thrown out the window. I quickly saw that I was stepping into a well-designed neighborhood, roughly a 5x5 grid filled with neon lights and packed to the brim with things to do. Every time I turned a corner, there were more shops, restaurants, arcades, and night-life clubs. Different games also feature other neighborhoods representing other well-known Japanese regions, each with their own things to do. Aside from the lights and venues, you'll run into all kinds of people in Kamurocho. Some people will try to fight you, others will have side missions (called Substories in the world of Yakuze), but most will just be walking in the never-ending crowds. Seeing how Kamurocho evolves across games is also a real treat. You get to see changes big and small as you progress through the games.
Mostly, you'll live you life as Kazuma Kiryu during your adventures in Kamurocho. Kiryu came up in Kamurocho as an orphan, eventually becoming the 4th Chairman of the Tojo Clan. He quickly retired to attempt to live his own life over the course of the first couple of games. As the stories progress, he usually winds up playing a critical role in preserving the Tojo Clan's standing in the wider Japanese crime network. The game story lines play out very similarly to how I imagine a Japanese crime family drama would be on TV. All the plot and intrigue of coming up in a mafia-like family then all of the calamity of what happens after leaving the life.
While I can see how the presentation of the game might draw lazy comparisons to GTA, the gameplay is where the differences really come through. You'll be spending much of your time running around the streets of Kamurocho rather than driving. Combat is more akin to the beat em ups of yore than the gunplay you're used to in GTA. There are guns, but they're usually fairly weak compared to other options. Confronting enemies, or more often, being confronted by enemies leads to brawls which you beat everybody up with a series of basic combos and attacks from things you can pick up in the environment. Kiryu's moveset and skills can be upgraded through leveling and Heat Actions add some flare in the form of finishing moves. When I'm not beating people up, I'm spending a lot of time with the various side-activities available. All the regular extracurricular activities are available such as fishing, pool, darts, bowling, and even batting cages. There also several distinctly Japanese activities such as Sega arcades, hostess clubs, Mahjong, and gambling dens with Japanese games.
I am currently playing Yakuza 4. Having started with Yakuza 0, worked through the Kiwami remakes of Yakuza and Yakuza 2, then played the remaster of Yakuza 3, I have found more and more reason to be impressed with the world of Yakuza. Stories overlap games, with character arcs spanning multiple games. Similar objects, locations, story beats, and combat systems really help make the whole series feel like a single whole. With each entry, I feel I have sunk more deeply into the Yakuza lifestyle of Kamurocho.
I can hardly wait to fire up the next game when I am finished with the last. It is so much fun seeing what changes between entries while also getting a look at where PlayStation games were during each era of development. It has been a long road building up to Yakuza: Like a Dragon, yet I look forward to finishing playing Yakuza 4 so that I can get to 5 and 6 to see where Kiryu's story ends and the next generation begins. I'll keep diving into the world of Yakuza in a series of posts. Next week, we'll tour the streets of Kamurocho and see what has changed across time!
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