Yakuza 0 (2015)

Yakuza 0 Director's Cut makes a great game worse while erasing gaming history

The latest blow to gaming history came from SEGA, and while it seems relatively minor out of context, it has many understandably upset. Last week, the company gave an update regarding Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, which is headed for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam on December 8, following its June debut on the Switch 2. The Director’s Cut is a re-release of the 2015 game Yakuza 0 (which is a prequel to the long-running Yakuza series) that features English and Chinese dubs, localization in several additional languages, a new co-op multiplayer mode, and runs at a locked 60 FPS at 4K resolution.

However, there are two problems. One, it adds roughly 30 minutes of mostly terrible non-optional cutscenes that actively undermine the original’s storytelling. And two, on December 8, the original 2015 version of the game will be removed from almost all digital storefronts and replaced with the inferior Director’s Cut. SEGA is even pulling the original version of the game from systems that aren’t compatible with the new one, meaning PS4 and Xbox One users will only be able to play the game by tracking down a physical copy (which is quite difficult to do for the Xbox version in particular).

As for where the Director’s Cut goes wrong, it fails to understand the basic dramatic principle that less is often more. Across five cutscenes that span an additional 30 minutes, characters prattle on about plot points that were better left inferred. Boring explanations are given, and every little detail needs to be sanded over, fixing a “problem” that didn’t exist in the first place. In. In short, these sequences feel very much like deleted scenes that would have been better left on the cutting room floor. Unfortunately, these moments aren’t just dry sequences that hurt the pacing, but have bigger narrative consequences. The first and worst cutscene of the bunch makes the most of these blunders. For one, it needlessly spoils a crushing late-stage reveal involving a fixed memento that ties the story together.

Additionally, it makes the dunderheaded decision to outright un-kill a character who meets a shocking, tragic death in the original story. It was an important turning point, both for one of the game’s protagonists and for the audience in understanding that the story wasn’t afraid to have its major players exit stage left. After literally exploding in a ball of flame, we see the un-killed characters wrapped in bandages, looking on from an alley before inexplicably never appearing in the narrative again. Later, another character who was pumped full of lead reveals he somehow made it through, and there’s a mercilessly long scene with a nameless guy who seemed to bite it off-screen in the first telling.

Just played this for 2 hours. Truly an exceptionally amateurish product:

• Boots into the loudest and whitest screen i have ever seen (sega logo).
• No autosaves. LMAO.
• You can only save at phones. Between this and Persona 4 i'm starting to think Japanese devs are allergic to letting people save normally.
• The karaoke rhythm game uses IJKL. LMFAO. You can't remap this in-game. I thought WASD was bad but this is just straight-up impossible. The arrow keys are right there on my keyboard.
• Following and target locking require you to hold a key instead of being toggleable.
• No text speed option... in a game that so far is at least 50% text.
• When you can enter a building it displays a tiny, light-blue icon in the top right of your screen. And you have to stand in the right place, which you have to guess because it's not indicated.
• Continue isn't 'continue'. It's 'load savegame'. And your saves are sorted by save slot instead of newest to oldest.

And finally:

• Exiting the game. I mean, wow. I have logged 1723 played games. I gave 523 of them a 1 star rating. I have seen designers fail in all kinds of creative ways. And yet, in my 36+ years of gaming i have never, ever seen a developer fail this hard at this most basic feature. First you have to find a phone, because of course there is no save and exit. Then you go to settings > return to title > yes > yes. Then you get fucking Tien Segahan Solar Flaring you again. Then you have to click through 3 more screens. And then. You exit the game. With right mouse button. Yes, right mouse button. Followed by another confirmation screen.

Just imagine that you don't know about Alt+F4. Absolutely insane.

Anyway, the actual game seems alright so far. Brutal combat, good cutscenes.

I don't know about you, but I might've been quick to judge the side missions and gameplay of Yakuza 0 a little bit. the fun of side missions comes in the later part of the game, and with a little bit of searching online, there are more to the game's mechanics than what appears on the surface.

It doesn't mean the flaws are not there, but I do find it is a clear case similar to the movie "It's a Wonderful Life", where the later part of this movie is why it is considered one of the best movies ever.

Here's another one I started briefly and got caught up with in other things. I am definitely going to get game pass again for this and no man's sky, which I haven't tried yet.

Yakuza 0 is a must play for me. For the hour that I got to play it I was fascinated with the voice acting.

And I watched more reason reviews of No Man's Sky and apparently it is leagues better than what it was on launch day.

16 hours in, Update:

Still in Chapter 2 if you are curious to know. the sub-plot missions are getting very annoying in the way, and it is becoming a hassle, almost like doing a secondary job, and not enjoying the game. So far, I'm still pushing in hopes the game gets better again.

3 of the sub plots are weird. the girl in the store, the policeman, and the lady that doesn't understand how to be a dominatrix or whatever. Can we Please finish this weird ass chapter!

10 hours in, Summary of the game so far:

Good news, I'm in chapter 2. yes. after 10 hours. too many dialog, and too many cutscenes later, I realized the game is overstuffed with things to do, and how annoying that you don't have the option to traversal with a bike. unlocked the 3rd fighting style, did a few sub missions, and I'm only in CHAPTER 2? I understood where most of the memes from this game came from, and the honestly, the story's really good.