A lot of you will be playing Yakuza 0 over the next few weeks, and for many it will be your first time with the series. Which is OK! While it may seem daunting at first, weâre here to help.
https://lastchance.cc/yakuza-0-the-kotaku-review-1791493186%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Series veteransâŠthese will be a lot less useful to you. Youâve been warned.
DONâT BE AFRAID TO LOWER THE DIFFICULTY
Thereâs a massive gulf in Yakuza 0 between the real heart of the game and the mechanic that will most test you. Not many people buy this game for the fighting, they buy it for the world and story, but itâs fighting youâre going to need to do if you want to get anywhere.
Because of that, if youâre ever running intro troubleâŠjust slide the difficulty down to easy. Itâs not a total cop-outâyouâll find that encounters with large groups of enemies are still challengingâbut it makes things simple enough that you wonât hit many roadblocks on your way to the next dramatic cutscene.
DABBLE TO MASTER
Letâs say you ignore that advice, or youâre someone whoâs actually decent at brawlers. In that case, youâre going to be exploring the fringes of each combat styleâs upgrade wheel, and finding that many of the best attacks are locked out, even if youâre flush with cash. Thatâs because you need to unlock these through training and sidequests, so if youâre finding your progress through main story missions halted by a tough boss or encounter, track back and spend some time improving your own skills.
STOCK UP ON DRINKS
Yakuza 0âs more difficult fight sequences are exhausting affairs, and youâll rarely get time to catch your breath (or heal up). So before you go on a story mission, make sure youâre fully equipped with as many healing drinks as you can carry. Specifically, stock up on Staminan Royale, which you can get from the drug store in each city.
SAVE OFTEN
Yakuza 0 has a very old-fashioned save system, only allowing you to store your progress at phone booths scattered around the cities and between chapters. So every time you complete a story mission, save. And every time youâre about to begin a story mission, save.
SLUG IT OUT
To compensate for the reduced character roster in Yakuza 0, both Kiryu and Majima have a number of different styles of fighting they can employ. Which sounds good in theory, but youâll really only need two of them: Kiryuâs default (the other two styles are too limited in their application), and Majimaâs âsluggerâ (which is almost a God Mode, especially with its âbat nunchukâ heat move).
BONUS FIGHTING TIPS: Youâre mostly impervious from getting knocked down if youâre grabbing an opponent. So if a swarm of bad guys is making life tough for you, thatâs always an easy way out (throwing is a decent boost to your heat moves too, which can really help clear a room). Also, the best basic upgrade you can get for Kiryu is a move where he can leap off the ground after getting knocked over and perform a brutal finishing move, which in most cases is an insta-kill.
TAKE YOUR TIME!
The game worlds of Yakuza 0 donât really change. You donât unlock massive new areas of the map, or see the availability of places drastically changed. Which means you should never feel like youâre being rushed through the story. If you want to stop and smell the roses (and play 60 sidequests) at any point, then do it.
ARTFUL DODGER
Random encounters can be fun and rewarding, but they can also get tiring if youâre running around the map on other business. Youâll eventually pick up the ability to literally throw cash at this problem, but until then, know that you can always see gangs of thugs on the map before they engage you. If you donât want to fight, just give them a wide berth and, if they chase you, just keep on running. Theyâll give up eventually.
SEE THE WORLD
While games like GTA will slowly introduce you to each of its leisure pursuits over the course of the main story, a lot of the best parts of Yakuza will sit undiscovered unless you venture out and find them. So do just that. Like I said above, the story can wait at any point, so whenever you feel like having some fun, head out the door and visit a club or sports facility for some of 0âs more off-kilter pursuits.
Or, if you really want to explore, just run around the streets; some of the best diversions will only be found by noticing that an âenterâ prompt appears on the screen when you run past its door.
BACKSTORY
While most of what happens in Yakuza 0 is laying the groundwork for the rest of the series, there is one incident in the game that has already taken place in a previous title, courtesy of Yakuza 4âs series of 1985 flashbacks. If youâre new to the series, you probably need to know how Goro lost his eye, who his âsworn brotherâ Saejima is and how he wound up in a hole for a year. You can see Saejimaâs shootout here, while for everything else, this clip will get you up to speed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHyu9cI2Gns
TAXI!
The main story only ever puts you near a cab when you need to leave the two main hub worlds for a side adventure. So itâs never explained to the player that there are actually taxis parked all around the edge of both Tokyo and Osakaâs maps, available at all times, which serve as fast-travel points. You can see them on the gameâs map screen as little car icons.
Sometimes, I get it, youâll want to run around and enjoy the city, but if all you need to do is get to a drug store or a certain sidequest location, then catching a cab is the fastest way to get around.
That should just about do it! Like I said above, these are tips for people who have never played these games and are trying Yakuza 0 on the insistence of people like me. Theyâre not for series veterans. That said, if anyone with experience with the series have any other good ground-level tips, let me know below and if theyâre good Iâll add them!
