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 | Yakuza 0 made me a fan of the series. It has interesting characters and a immersive story, while also managing to mix it all with silly side stories and activities. Before giving this game a try, the most I knew about the Yakuza series was "something something Dame da ne guy, Friday Night". So basically nothing. One night i caught a stream of somebody playing through the begining chapters of the game and it got me interested enough to check the game out. Note: I was going to 100% the game before writing this page, but I heavily underestimated how long it'd take, so I'll just update it as I go. |
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The story is split between two characters.
 | Kiryu is a 20 year old yakuza, who's part of the Dojima Family. One night he gets a job to collect a debt for a loan shark. The next day when he's out with his bro Nishkiyama, the guy who he beat up turns up dead. Once he realises that he's the number one suspect, he sets out to clear his name. |
Majima is 24 years old, former yakuza and the manager of Cabaret Grand. Thanks to him the cabaret became the best play spot in Sotenbori. He has everything: fame, money... all except for freedom. He's serving a sentence, forced to make money for the Tojo Clan after disobeying his boss's orders. But one day, a oportunity arises that could get him back into the Clan. He now has a tough decision to make... |
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The central part of the gameplay are the combat encounters. A big bulk of them is random encounters in the city streets, and the rest are either boss battles in the main or side stories, or dungeons that you fight through in the main story. Both Kiryu and Majima have their own four fighting styles that you unlock as the story progresses. Every style has it's own advantages and disadvantages making it so that all of them have situations they excel in. Switching between styles during battle can also be benefitial as enemies also have unique fighting styles. Another ability that plays a big part in fights is the Heat Meter. It's the three bars that are below your health bar. Once you have at least 2 filled up, you can preform a heat action. Doing so will start a cuyscene where Kiryu or Majima will do a super powerful attack that drastically drains the enemy's health. There are dozens of different heat actions depending on where the enemy is, what you're holding, which style you're in etc. |