Review for Yakuza 0. Game for PC, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 12/03/2015 The version for PC came out on 01/08/2018 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 24/01/2017
Yakuza 0 finally arrives on PC, bringing us a much younger Kiryu in his early yakuza years. The title, released in 2017 for PS4 (which has already been reviewed here), it came a little late on Steam, in a version that, after all, manages to assert itself worthily in comparison to its rivals.
SEGA offers us a story with two protagonists set in a reinterpretation of Kabukicho, the famous red light district of Tokyo and Dotonbori.
Creative flair and ignorant blows
What is not lacking in Yakuza 0 is certainly the ability to provide very high quality cutscenes where not only the camera is able to capture any nuance of the characters' faces and the situation, but thanks to the sound sector and the extraordinary dubbing each scene has an effect on the player, managing to make the sensations experienced by the protagonists feel on the skin. This directorial ability to handle tension and climax is not lost in the PC version, which indeed with the right hardware manages to give more color especially to the characters, who are treated with obsessive care and border on photorealism.
With the frame rate that occasionally gets embarrassed and drops slightly for a few moments, particularly violent scenes may lose their effectiveness, but the drops are still rare and the beauty of breaking a person's head on a wall remains pure in every situation. It is not possible to say the same thing about the fights with people on the street, which although in most cases they are managed well, in some situations (especially when you have to follow someone), they do not happen and the sprites of the extras are magically moved as if they had a flying carpet under your feet. A shame, since in general he is treated more than worthily.
The gameplay, Luckily, it does not have the same defectsindeed, it is even more fun thanks to the different fighting styles, which will allow us to fight differently according to the situation. Their management and their in-game switch is not annoying thanks to the slight slowdown of the game time, which allows you to change style without risking being hit. The movesets are varied and expandable through the level up system, which relies entirely on style and functions similar to that of final Fantasy. This system, although very simple to interpret, is immediately not very convincing due to the paucity of the upgradeable elements, which apart from a few exceptions add little or nothing to the gameplay.
Write a crime novel
One of the aspects that immediately catches the attention is the script. The dialogues and the main scenes immediately follow very specific lines that reveal many things about every single character we meet. The great care in the script and the great power of the dubbing manage to give life to the scenes, making us witness a story worthy of a novel or a film, thanks above all to the ability of the writers to create the perfect atmosphere for a thriller even when nothing too dangerous actually happens to the protagonist. Even just being alone with a superior makes the atmosphere full of tension, giving the player that thrill given by empathy with the two protagonists. Nor is it possible to forget the fact that, by daring a little more, the story could have taken off and surpassed the simple definition of "compelling".
All this potential is a bit dampened by the rest of the game, which while very fun, leaves too much room for the craziness of the side missions and mini-games. The latter are the main cause of delays in the completion of the plot and, given their number, it is not difficult to waste hours in the arcade, bowling or, above all, karaoke. Karaoke is in fact the very heart of the game, his heart and his body. The choreographies behind the songs in film form, the music itself and the context in which it is produced come to make it clear that there is something beyond history, beyond life, in addition to the very meaning of humanity. Too bad that as a mini-game it is a little too crude and that it can cause a bit of problems due to the method with which you send the commands and follow the rhythm. Not because it's hard, on the contrary, but it can get bored quickly and it's way too stiff.
The music, however well suited to situations of tension, fails to leave its mark except in karaoke, remaining pleasant but quite anonymous. A real shame, given that the rest of the game manages to assert itself thanks to its originality.
Yakuza 0 maintains its crude elegance on PC as well, showing its worth to all and enchanting players with a compelling story worth following. Passed with flying colors, despite the inconvenience it offers, which in any case are small things as opposed to its size.
► Yakuza 0 is an Action-Adventure type game developed and published by Sega for PC, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 12/03/2015 The version for PC came out on 01/08/2018 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 24/01/2017
