Yakuza 0

Yakuza 0, an action-adventure game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sega, hit shelves in 2015 as the sixth mainline entry in the Yakuza series, though its story takes place before the very first game. The title launched on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan in March 2015, then reached North America and Europe on PlayStation 4 in January 2017. A Windows version followed on 1 August 2018, and an Xbox One port arrived on 26 February 2020. An enhanced edition, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, debuted on Nintendo Switch 2 on 5 June 2025, later spreading to other platforms on 8 December that year. Critics broadly praised the game, and it is widely credited with boosting the franchise’s popularity and sales in the West, where the series had previously been obscure. The next chronological entry, Yakuza Kiwami, a remake of the original game, succeeded it.

The plot unfolds in late 1988, during Japan’s bubble economy, seventeen years before the original game’s events. Players follow Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima as they become entangled in a struggle between Yakuza factions over a small plot of land called the “Empty Lot.” The action-adventure gameplay is set in an open world viewed from a third-person perspective, spanning December 1988 to January 1989. The environments are Kamurochō and Sotenbori, fictionalized versions of Tokyo’s Kabukichō and Osaka’s Dōtonbori. Players control Kiryu and Majima, switching between them at set story points. They can freely explore these districts, triggering side-quests by interacting with people, battling random street enemies, or playing minigames like full versions of Sega arcade titles such as Out Run, Super Hang-On, Space Harrier, and Fantasy Zone. Completing objectives—like eating every dish at a restaurant or hitting a target score in a minigame—earns Completion Points, which can be spent at a shrine for bonuses like special items or character upgrades.

The leveling system borrows from Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin!, with abilities purchased from a skill tree that unlocks gradually. Instead of experience points, players use money gained from fights or side activities. Money flows more freely than in earlier games, as every heavy attack makes enemies drop cash, but items in shops are generally pricier. Players can lose their cash if defeated by special enemies called Mr. Shakedown, who are tougher than average street foes.