In my opinion, among all the games Sega has ever produced, none surpasses the greatness of Yakuza 0.
Rewinding back to Yakuza 0, approximately eight years since my initial playthrough, stirred up some complex emotions within me for several days. However, I’m thankful I took time to reflect on both the game and my thoughts before crafting this review. In numerous aspects, I find Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut to be superb, but there are some puzzling choices that tint my advice for newcomers to the series with reservations.
If you’re new to Yakuza 0 or haven’t explored the series before, you’re in for a delightful experience with Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut. Even after all these years, I’m still amazed at how much Sega and RGG Studio managed to fit into this release. During my initial playthrough when it first came out on PS4, I was astounded by the sheer amount of content that Yakuza 0 offered in its mini-games alone, and that’s not even considering the depth of story content and side stories available for both Kiryu and Majima, each with their unique fighting styles.
After experiencing their transformations across numerous games within the series, including spin-offs, I pondered if replaying Yakuza 0 would still bring the same pleasure. Generally speaking, my answer leans towards yes. However, there are aspects of the older Yakuza games’ fetch quest mission design that have become tiresome for me, but the rewards make it all worthwhile, which is why I continued playing.
To get a fresh perspective on Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, I opted to replay the opening hours in full, experiencing both the English dub and original Japanese voiceover. Although I primarily chose the Japanese version for my main playthrough, hearing the English dub brought back forgotten moments. It was also interesting to observe how RGG Studio has evolved the series, particularly with regards to combat, in games like Judgment and Lost Judgment.
Yakuza 0 has an intriguing structure, offering a blend of crime drama, action, adventure RPG elements at first glance. However, the game frequently switches between protagonists, providing multiple perspectives on the storyline and shedding light on the origins of two iconic characters. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth seems to be the first game since Yakuza 0 that packs in such a wealth of content, although it might arguably be too much for a single game – but I’m getting off topic.
The enhanced edition of Yakuza 0, titled Director’s Cut, aspires to be the ultimate version of a timeless classic, but unfortunately, it misses the mark in certain aspects. Disregarding the cost, the additional story changes seem puzzling and more fitting for a bonus disc on a movie Blu-ray rather than part of the main storyline. The plot twists, or retcons, left me perplexed and I can’t help but worry about potential alterations in future Director’s Cut releases for games like Yakuza Kiwami 2, Yakuza Kiwami, and even Yakuza 6. Despite these concerns, the core narrative of Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut remains strong and the story is captivating overall.
Like a Dragon.
In terms of technical aspects, I find the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut disappointing when played in docked mode. While the cut-scenes are sharp, the gameplay doesn’t seem anywhere near 4K resolution. On my 1440p monitor, it appears pixelated with a lot of aliasing. Additionally, Sega didn’t seem to address any of the user interface issues from previous versions, leaving many elements looking low-resolution or blurry. Even the new Nintendo Switch 2 controller layout image has blurry assets. While these issues were present in earlier versions on PC and Xbox, I expected a more polished experience given that this is a new port, especially since it’s called “Director’s Cut” and we’ve had several years to improve upon the original.
Regarding performance, I encountered occasional stuttering while docked during my exploration and once during combat. Unfortunately, the docked experience doesn’t seem to significantly surpass the original PS4 or Xbox releases in terms of image quality and overall visuals. Interestingly, I was able to achieve superior visuals on PC, even experiencing less shimmering effects on devices like Steam Deck and ROG Ally.
Playing Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut on a handheld device offers an entirely distinct experience. I discovered I appreciated it much more. To my surprise, some parts were milder than anticipated on the Nintendo Switch 2 screen; however, overall, it functioned better in handheld mode compared to docked. It seems as though the developers optimized Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut primarily for handheld play.
Having played Yakuza 0 twice on Steam Deck, I wholeheartedly endorse the Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut on Nintendo Switch 2 for an exceptional portable gaming experience. Although the PC version boasts high frame rates up to 120fps on handheld devices, the Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut on Switch 2 offers a highly satisfying mobile gaming experience. In addition, I found playing it in tabletop mode particularly enjoyable, a trend I’ve noticed more with Switch 2 due to its larger Joy-Cons and the console’s sturdy kickstand.
If you’ve kept up with the promotions for the game, you might be curious about the new Red Light Raid mode. Frankly, I had high expectations that it would either resemble Clan Creator (from Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami 2) or serve as an additional multiplayer mode like those in many PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 single-player games. Unfortunately, it falls short of my expectations. Not only did I find the online community for it dwindling soon after its launch, but the mode itself is quite dull. To be honest, I would have preferred the resources spent on this to be allocated towards enhancing the game’s existing assets or adding bonus costumes and other content instead. As a big fan of most Yakuza mini-games who has invested over a hundred hours in the disco mini-game in Yakuza 0 since 2015, Red Light Raid might be my least favorite mini-game or extra feature in a long time.
As a devoted Nintendo enthusiast who hasn’t yet experienced the gripping world of Yakuza 0, let me tell you this is an effortless suggestion for handheld gaming. If, however, you prefer to play on a larger screen, I wouldn’t necessarily deem the additional features worth more than twice the original price across other platforms, with no substantial visual enhancement.
Even though I own multiple editions of Yakuza 0 (more than what you see in this photo), as I’ve been amassing different versions of the game, I must admit that I found it challenging to justify the purchase at full price for another version, especially a sealed Switch 2 copy. Yet, I couldn’t resist the allure and ended up adding it to my collection.
The Director’s Cut of Yakuza 0 on Nintendo Switch offers an exceptional experience for newcomers, and I’m thrilled about the inclusion of the licensed music in the Western version. However, the puzzling new cut-scenes and unnecessary new raid mode give a mixed impression, as if Sega is moving the series both forward and backward simultaneously. For those who are experiencing Yakuza 0 for the first time on Switch 2, I’m delighted to see it on a Nintendo platform, and while it’s great that it has a better conversion than Yakuza Kiwami, it’s unfortunate that there are limitations that shouldn’t be present given how impressive Yakuza 0 was back then.
8
Versions tested: Nintendo Switch 2
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2025-07-09 10:56