It's probably down to the fact that the story is so fun to watch, never-mind play. It's almost bizarre how such a simple game loop can be so effective. Outside of combat, you'll mainly be running to and fro in order to speak to people and help with their problems or progress the plot.
#Yakuza 0 pocket circuit racer upgrade#
'Dragon' is far and away the best style once you've completed its upgrade tree, so you'll probably stick to that after a certain point, though its 'tiger drop' counter-move is absolutely devastating.
As you progress through the narrative, you'll often find yourself switching styles to suit the situation and to try out new, devastating moves as you unlock them. The four combat styles that drive the experience are diverse and deep, especially once you unlock the plethora of skills available. I fought over two-hundred street-toughs while roaming around the game's hub-world of 'Kamurocho', which doesn't consider the often dizzying number of foes you face in the campaign or side-stories, and I wasn't ever bored by a battle even the slightly-too-invasive Majima didn't wear me down. The gameplay may seem slightly repetitive but, thanks to the newly reinvigorated combat system, never gets tiring. It really feels like you're playing through a crime-drama, one that isn't afraid to take its time in the quieter moments. Even though things get a little grandiose, proceedings remain grounded and, essentially, small-stakes (the world isn't in danger or anything like that). The main story can be a little convoluted, but it is gripping throughout, built around likeable leads who you care about every step of the way. These oddities aren't the main focus, but they're crucial in making the experience as enjoyable as it is, especially since they're often properly funny and usually evolve in unexpected and mature ways.
The sprawling crime-epic of a plot carries serious heft, but it is balanced perfectly by the sillier yet still well-rounded side-stuff, which serves more to fill out the world and provide you with interesting people to briefly interact with. They're written almost to perfection, frankly. All the story elements, whether they're main-line or sub-plot, are handled with immense care and attention-to-detail. Somehow, this incredibly repetitive loop ends up being an incredibly entertaining one, though. The game loop is, essentially: watch an incredibly long pre-rendered cut-scene, engage in a fight, watch a shorter but still long in-game cut-scene, engage in a fight, run to a location, watch a short in-game cut-scene, engage in a fight, run to a location, engage in a fight on the way, watch another short in-game cut-scene and then rinse and repeat. There's a distinct dissonance when it comes to its story and sub-plots, with the former usually being played deadly straight to the point that it nears melodrama and the later often being incredibly absurd to the point of being laugh-out-loud. After playing 'Yakuza Kiwami (2016)', my first foray into the series, I can confirm that this is indeed the case, at least for the franchise's first ('remastered') outing.
#Yakuza 0 pocket circuit racer series#
As an observer, the 'Yakuza' series has always seemed like an odd one. That's a refreshing thing to be able to say, especially now that we're in an age where seemingly every somewhat average game is getting a 'remaster' just a few years after its release (I mean, 'Bulletstorm (2011)' is alright but come on) and when certain 'remasters' are considered actively worse than the thing they are 'remastering' (ala 'Batman: Return To Arkham (2016)').
It's actually arguable that this is a better game than its non-'Kiwami' counterpart. The meat-and-potatoes may still be the same, and thankfully so, but these new additions go a long way in making the experience more accessible for modern audiences. It updates the combat system, introduces several new side-missions and activities - including a complete 'Majima everywhere' sub-plot that's now considered one of the game's key features - and even adds some new cut-scenes, all of which are voiced in the original Japanese by most of the original cast (as the western adaptation of the 2005 release only shipped with an almost universally panned English dub). Instead, it's an entirely different experience, one built upon the engine created for 'Yakuza 0 (2015)'. This isn't just a HD up-res, or even re-skin, of 'Yakuza (2005)'. 'Yakuza Kiwami (2016)' puts a lot of so-called 'remasters' to shame.
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