yakuza 0 reflections
for posterity, this series is beginning to be retitled as "Like a Dragon", which more closely resembles its Japanese name, Ryu Ga Gotoku. quite confusing, but if you know "Like a Dragon", know this is the same series!
playing yakuza gives me a sense of internal quiet. it's a (relatively) small set of game systems that pattern themselves in a predictable way: you stroll around the city towards the next story segment, where you might encounter a street brawl, a substory, or enjoy some diversions at the local shops along the way. this structure is punctuated with larger story events which often place you in a dungeon-esque environment.
in contrast to a more traditional jrpg such as dragon quest, the scenario in yakuza is layered over itself rather than fanned out over a large world. in yakuza, you don't change environments often, but instead the environment changes as you play with new events appearing. this way, one becomes intimate with the game world. that sense of familiarity is part of the narrative too, which are stories about these places' deep histories and webs of internal relationships.
one could say the yakuza series is an inversion of the traditional jrpg structure, where the story mainly "looks inward" rather than "looks outward". this is reflected in other areas, such as the personal and down-to-earth nature of its story, and how its vignettes have a unanimous sense of compassion. the world feels introspective, of looking inwards on people and places.
yakuza themselves are something of the "inside" of a city, the dark underbelly of society. the game's main story and substories often focus on strange, uncomfortable or difficult social realities, and it comes out more naturally having someone on the margins of society interact with them. it reminds me of how oddball cartoons and horror subvert our sense of normalcy in order to reach deeper subjects too.
this, alongside its gentle and predictable structure, I believe gives me that sense of peace. as someone who is in the margins of society in my own way, these non-judgmental and caring stories give me a sense of catharsis. I feel seen in this world, in this "vision of reality" in a way I often don't in my day to day life.
yakuza achieves this not by ignoring the ugliness of the world, but actually the opposite. in so many ways it's more about the ugliness of the world than anything else. by doing so and by confronting that ugliness with kind-hearted and noble characters, it creates the sense of catharsis that it does. this "narrative dialectic" creates a more complex and resonant story than a world that is simply kind or cruel with nothing to challenge it.
kiryu and majima are themselves characters that make me feel safe, who give me a sense of comfort while I watch from behind their back and tell them how to best clobber the snot out of some jerk. if they weren't such kind characters I'd feel much differently. in a way, you can say yakuza is an example of just how much narrative framing makes a difference in games. these same sorts of play elements exist in plenty of other games, but those games' to-the-bone hyper-masculinity gives them quite different meaning compared to the kindness of yakuza.
it's been quite nice to start playing in earnest a series I've always known I'd enjoy. before I had tried yakuza 1 and 7 (like a dragon), playing about a quarter of them each. this time I'm starting from 0 and basking in each moment.
I enjoy walking slowly through the streets, taking in the environment and the characters around me. it inspires me to 'role-play' in a way I don't often do. it's a world I love existing in, and feels even more palpable to me thanks to having been to some of the areas the game takes place in. (just not in the 80's hehe) (in a way, it's another fantasy for me to be able to walk through a big crowded city like this without getting overstimulated!)
I often craving games that are set in the world we live in and tell down-to-earth stories. I adore the way yakuza rides the line of realism in its over-the-top presentation, but always comes back down for its serious and tender moments. indiana jones and the great circle is another recent game I appreciated for its real-world setting. it feels great to me to get to use a videogame to interact with a real-world place. in that game, it was nice to get to appreciate the real-world locations, architecture and historical context in an almost edutainment way. in yakuza there's that and also these stories that directly touch on everyday struggles.
there's so many of these games, I'm looking forward to playing them gradually for maybe the rest of my life. RGG studio has found a way to take a (relatively) simple, sustainable format and keep riffing on it, letting the strength of their characters and scenarios carry their work entry after entry. (in a sense, one might say they're the ones carrying the torch dragon quest has left behind.) for all the things that inspire me the most, they place all their priorities in the right places--comfortably staying behind the curve on technical impressiveness, reusing their engine and assets, keeping everything focused on telling new stories and adding new fun things that bring joy to peoples' lives.
it's really special to me and I wish them success for now and the future to come!
I want to thank my friend Alix for recommending I start with 0, it's been such a wonderful time and I know I'm going to appreciate knowing the roots of these characters as their stories unfold in later games. I've already been quite emotional about Majima, since I have an idea about what he's like for the rest of the series--wondering how he goes from such a straight laced guy to a sort of "maniac" is already making my heart ache.