I'm So Glad I Started With Yakuza 0
Getting into a series with eight mainline entries and far too many spin-offs is never easy. Where do you start with something like Yakuza? Apparently - and expectedly - the first game released is a good bet, but so is the prequel 0, and so is the brand-new Like a Dragon. Three very different starting points. Luckily, I stuck with my gut and started at the (chronological) beginning with 0. If I hadn’t, I’m not sure I would’ve enjoyed Kiwami and the chapters that were to follow. It’s the perfect introduction to this world and its characters.
Yakuza Kiwami - itself a remake of the PS2 original - is confusing. You’re introduced to a bunch of random criminal overlords who immediately die, and a sworn brother who suddenly twists into a villain. That initial pre-prison Kazuma Kiryu prologue is so quick that you couldn’t possibly grasp how much the entire Tojo clan changed in the ten years our protagonist has been locked away. It’s rushed and lacks crucial background.
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But with the context of 0, I knew who Sohei Dojima was, the tight bond Nishiki and Kiryu had, how different Majima had become, and how far the Tojo clan had fallen. Without that vital context, I’d have been playing catch-up for several chapters as I scrambled to figure out who was who and why these obscure figureheads that died at the beginning were so important. 0 tells that story, diving deeper into Kiryu’s past to explore his relationship with Nishiki while also giving Majima much more character. He’s not just this eccentric masochist but a tragic and abused figure, someone who was put through the wringer and had to come out of it laughing to cope. His turn at 0’s conclusion might have felt
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