Welcome to my blog! I am Nicholas Rambhajue, but you can call me Nick.
I will post weekly about my favourite video games, how much they have impacted me, and why I even loved them. For my first post, I will share my favourite game from my favourite series. But what is the game I will be discussing? Fear not, as I will be discussing about “Yakuza 0”! I am a big fan of the Yakuza series, but I would like to share why I loved 0 the most out of all the games in the series and how it has impacted me to this day!
The Story:
To give a quick summary, “Yakuza 0” is a prequel to the series that focuses on two protagonists. The first is “Kazuma Kiryu” who has been the iconic protagonist throughout the entire series (until the 7th game) and we dive deep into how he became the “Dragon of Dojima” in the life of Yakuza and achieved the legend status when he was 20 years old. The second Protagonist is “Goro Majima”, the beloved psycho who puts up an act as if he’s a Joker but can switch back to his true self by dropping his voice if someone truly messed with him, and his true self is much more dangerous than his persona. But in this game, we get to play as him and see what led him to his persona and receive the legendary status, of “The Mad Dog of Shimano”.
The game takes place in Kamurocho and Sotenbori, in the 1980s during the bubble era. The economy is booming, and there is a land that the yakuza has their eye on… the “lot”. A small lot stands in their way so the Tojo Clan (Kiryu and Majima Yakuza family) can build the “Millennium Tower” to rake in more money. I won’t say too much to avoid spoilers, but it is an amazing game with an awesome story. It deals with betrayal, loyalty, a tragic love story, comedic side stories, many fun references, and has a fantastic soundtrack.
Why I loved the game:
The reason why I loved this game was because it led me to play the entire franchise and I fell in love with it. It is a story about Kiryu, and we see how his life has changed throughout each game but in 0, we learn what made him decide to join the yakuza, who was his close friend before becoming the antagonist in the first game, and what led him to live a life as a man that is feared by a crime family yet a kind-hearted man who runs a orphanage to take care of his kids. In terms of how it impacted me? Well, I see Kazuma Kiryu as my role model. He is someone with courage, determination, kind, and a strong leader. I’m especially inspired by his determination, as he is someone who will never give up, even if it looks like he will lose. He never loses hope, and I hope to someday be like him. Is it goofy to look up to a video game character? Maybe. Do I care? Not really.
The Music:
Before wrapping up, I would like to focus on the soundtrack a bit more. Yakuza 0 soundtrack is AMAZING! The music used in the game would perfectly fit the emotions the player is meant to feel, fun karaoke and disco music to jam out to for their minigame, different battle soundtracks for each of the styles you use when fighting enemies, and the awesome boss soundtracks to motivate the player! If you have the time, I highly recommend checking out the soundtrack as it is available on Spotify to stream. For now, I would like to share my favourite track from the game as I think it’s very underrated. The soundtrack belongs to “Kuze”, a boss you encounter many times in the game but for his final encounter, he has a new theme that plays as he tests Kiryu if he is ready for his final task and gains respect from him after all their fights in the game. The track is often overshadowed by his more popular theme, “Pledge of Demon”, but I think his final theme, “Oath of Enma”, deserves the recognition it deserves.
Conclusion and links to the game:
Thank you for taking the time to read this post about the story in the game that leads up to future titles, what the franchise means to me as a person, and presenting the game’s amazing soundtrack. Please make sure to comment down below what you like about the series or tell me about your own favourite video game!
If you would like to purchase the game to try it out, check out the links below!
PC – Steam/GOG | Playstaion 4/5 | Xbox One/Series X and S