Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut Game Review – Game Review

Going back to Yakuza 0 after all of these years was a fascinating experience. On the one hand, this is a decade-old entry in a franchise that has since exploded in its popularity and ambitions, all of which is thanks in large part to this particular prequel’s success. Sure, the Like a Dragon games had a devoted cult following in the West, but Yakuza 0 is when Kazuma Kiryu and Co. became bona-fide gaming superstars. It was only a few years before 0’s release that overseas fans had to beg SEGA to release a digital-only localized version of Yakuza 5. Now, even the wacky, pirate-themed spinoffs are getting blockbuster releases with expensive English dubs, and SEGA is doing everything it can to expand the Like a Dragon audience even further by porting the games to handheld systems like the Switch and Switch 2. In that sense, seeing Yakuza 0 get a prestige release as a system-selling launch title is a no-brainer move for SEGA to make.

On the other hand, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut is a polished-up expansion of a decade old game, and I was convinced when I booted up the game on my Switch 2 that there were going to be some wrinkles and blemishes that would stand out much more than they did when I first played the game on my PS4 in the pre-pandemic era. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of games can prove to be completely timeless despite also being firmly of their era, but I’ve seen the Like a Dragon games evolve and perfect their visions of the franchise in real time, and I’m not just talking about the recent entries’ exploration of turn-based RPG mechanics. While a certain amount of earnest jank has always been a part of the games’ appeal, there are also plenty of genuine issues with the older Yakuza games that I feel more than happy to leave in the past. When it comes to Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, the question is the same one that comes any time someone slaps “Director’s Cut” onto a package: Will this fancy new version improve upon the original, or will the additions and changes only make the original’s flaws that much more glaring in the stark light of day

Here’s the funny thing: Even a decade later, almost everything that Yakuza 0 did right the first time around still holds up remarkably well. It’s some of the “improvements” that this Director’s Cut tosses into the mix that threaten to undermine the whole product.

Let me clarify right up top: The technical improvements to the game are uniformly excellent. From stem to stern, this is the best that Yakuza 0 has ever looked and run on a home console. Again, the whole “this game is 10 years old” caveat should be taken into consideration – we’re not operating on the level of the incredibly impressive Cyberpunk 2077 Switch 2 port, here – but the fact remains that this is the prettiest and most immersive iteration of Kamurocho and Sotenbori that you’re going to find in any of the original Like a Dragon titles from before Ichiban Kasuga and his Dragon Quest-inspired delusions took over the franchise. Unlike the very compromised Yakuza Kiwami port that I reviewed for the original Switch, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut never needs to rely on shoddy framerates or smeary-looking dynamic resolution as crutches to keep the game running. Whether you’re playing with the Switch 2 docked or in handheld mode, this game is buttery smooth and crystal clear compared to the last-gen console versions.

The inclusion of a brand-new English dub helps the argument for this version of Yakuza 0 being the definitive console experience, too. It’s the same cast that have been featured in the most recent Like a Dragon Games, so anyone that has played them will know what to expect: Solid lip-sync for the big cutscenes, quality localizations for the most part, and great performances from the likes of Mattew Mercer as Majima, who continues to embody the Mad Dog’s energy with perfectly deranged gusto. As a prequel, Mercer also gets a chance to showcase Majima’s more recognizably human characteristics, which is all the better.

Skeptical fans might even like to hear that Yong Yea does some of his best work as Kiryu in this game. While I think the actor has gotten far too much hate from the fans for his past efforts, I will concede that he doesn’t sound old enough to pass for the grizzled veteran that Kiryu is meant to be by the time we get to The Man Who Erased His Name and Infinite Wealth. Here, he’s playing a guy in his 20s, and his tone is a much better fit for the character (which is ironic, since one of my complaints about the original Yakuza 0 was that Tayaka Kuroda did not even try to pretend he didn’t sound like a 50-year-old man). Yakuza 0‘s story has long been held up as one of the best in the series, and the Director’s Cut now makes it that much more accessible for new and old fans alike.

So far, so good, right? The game runs as well as it ever has; it looks crisp and clean; it’s now portable and easy to play on the go thanks to the Switch 2’s handheld mode; it even has a fancy new English dub that helps to bring it closer to the modern Like a Dragon titles. It’s not like the gameplay has been messed with, either. Beating up mooks with Kiryu and Majima’s different fighting styles is still satisfying as hell. The mini-games are all here, and they’re just as liable to eradicate your free time. All of the wacky and heartwarming sub-stories are present and accounted for, too. What could all of that ominous foreshadowing that I included have been referring to?

I am sorry to say that Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut makes one major misstep in its efforts to “improve” on the original, and that’s in the 26 minutes of brand-new cutscenes that have been added throughout the campaign. Usually, I love getting access to an alternate cut of a movie or TV episode, since they can provide really fascinating looks at the creators’ original intentions, even if the result doesn’t always make for a better work of art. In the case of this Director’s Cut, the issue isn’t just that the new scenes don’t add much; they actively make the experience worse.

Plenty of the new scenes are examples of the game going out of its way to bluntly clarify what the audience could have already figured out via subtext, but some of the changes straight-up retcon story beats and make the plot veer into the realm of the truly ludicrous. I won’t go into further detail so that I don’t spoil some of the game’s twists and turns, but let’s just say that the ultimate fates of certain characters have been transformed into genuinely stupid soap-opera asspulls. I’m saying this as a die-hard fan of the usual soap-opera ass-pulls that these games get up to.

It would be one thing if the players could maybe toggle these new scenes on or off and opt for a “Classic” experience, but SEGA has gone and pulled a George Lucas on us. Of course, anyone that doesn’t want these silly changes to the story can just stick to the other ports of the game, but for brand new fans that are getting into the series with this game on Nintendo‘s shiny successor to the Switch, this will be the only version of Yakuza 0 they can experience. That sucks.

As for what else this Director’s Cut has to add to the base game, I won’t waste too much of your time getting into “Red Light Raid”, the new multiplayer beat-’em up mode that is exclusive to this Switch 2 edition. It’s a cobbled-together throwaway mode that sees the player and up to 3 friends (or CPU fighters) take on wave after wave of goons and bosses from the main game. It might make for a decently entertaining drunken diversion if you have some buddies to mash buttons with, but only for a few sessions. I cannot imagine anyone investing a serious amount of time or energy into unlocking all of the playable characters and level-ups.

If you are someone who has been dying to get into the Like a Dragon games, and you are for some reason only willing or able to purchase them on Nintendo consoles, should you get Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut? Absolutely. Despite all of my gripes, this package still contains one of the best games of one of the industry’s most incredibly weird and wild action sagas, and everything that made it a modern classic is still in there, looking and feeling better than ever. It’s just a shame that, for all of its improvements and refinements, this Director’s Cut cannot truly be called the definitive version of Yakuza 0.