Recent reviews by Ἐπὶ ἀσπαλάθων

I reached the final chapter of the game and instead of finishing it up, I decided to get on with the sidestories and write this review. This one is personal because 1) it's my first time writing an actual review, 2) it's the first game I actually complete totally by myself. I'm not what you'd call a "gamer" and I usually enjoy inviting friends over to play together or ask 'em for hints, tips etc. But this one is mine alone. I will divide the review into sections:

- Story -
The story is literally like a really well-made crime thriller, set in old Japan, during the days of Yakuza. Great character archetypes, action, drama, emotion, exceptionally interesting plot with well-written plot twists and amazing atmosphere (more details on that below)

- Gameplay -
Some might not find the combat system interesting, it revolves around stances that your 2 playable characters use, each with a unique set of moves/special actions. Basically what happens pre battle is that you stumble upon some hostile fellas and the fight begins, once you wipe 'em all out, the fight scene ends and you're back from where you left. Boss fights or special fights are the same, there's a scene being displayed, combat starts, finishes and scene goes on. The game is focused on martial arts and pure brawling so don't expect anything Mortal Kombat-like. The "Abilities" section in the menu allows you to spend money you collect on upgrading your battle stances. NOTE: You DON'T need to upgrade all the stances or all the skills of one stance to the maximum, you can finish the game by having incomplete stance skill trees but unlocking the 100% of a stance is legit broken but requires an amount of grind. Smooth movement across a Japanese background, historically accurate, well-depicted scenery and random spots around town that serve as restaurants, shops or places of interest in general. You're free to enter any shop, eat and restore HP, train into your battle stances, play old Sega arcade games and other minigames (e.g. bowling, darts and more) or buy items you can carry around in your inventory. Also includes an Item Box as an option.

- Main story & substories -
I'll start off by saying that Yakuza 0 is basically 40% gameplay and 60% watching. For some, this isn't a good thing, while others find the story captivating and don't mind at all (like me). Substories are of course an optional part, however there are so many funny, witty, well-written substories, that I'd encourage any player to complete as many as they can. By completing substories, you gain some sort of points that you can exchange at certain places in the city called "shrines" for buffs or perks. The best thing about the main story and the sidestories is that the game overall serves as a small history lesson. You get a peak of '80s Japan, when technology started thriving, the economy started booming and the transition between old and new took place. The way people speak, eat, respect, show honor, betray, party, it's all as realistic as it gets. There are references to history, economic subjects, pop culture, innovations of that period, Japanese pornstars (I'm not joking), the yakuza code and so much more. There's one type of collectible items, which is old telephone cards you can find at random places on the street. On these cards, there are pictures of Japanese women and their real names. With a quick Google search, you see that these women are indeed Japanese real-life actresses in adult films.

- Minigames -
Haven't tried them all myself but most of them are fun, especially the karaoke. Different gameplay for each one with secret achievements or substories following their successful completion. The main "big" minigames are that of Kamurocho Real Estate (1st protagonist) and the Cabaret Club (2nd protagonist). Completion for these requires too many hours (this is where I am currently), but it's optional of course. The more you play 'em though, gives you access to even more content, part of which is so witty and funny

- Cons -
Some might find it slow-burn. If the story doesn't attract you, you'll probably wanna just get done with it. The real estate and cabaret minigames might feel like a drag and combat might be considered flat since you don't have a huge variety of moves. Friends of mine have called it boring from time to time; it's not a game you can launch and hope to complete part of the story in 20 minutes time for example. Cutscenes might take enough of your time so you end up playing for 1.5 hours cause in between the cinematics you didn't have a phone booth to save your progress (yeah, your save points are phone booths scattered around the city). Thank god I don't go with none of them possible cons.

An amazing experience that will soon end. If you read the whole thing, thank you so much for reading my feelings about it. Onwards to Yakuza Kiwami 1