Game Tech: Yakuza 0 has finger on the pulse

It's hard to put a finger on what makes Japanese gaming so special, but Sega’s Yakuza series is a great place to start exploring the question, writes Ronan Jennings.

And if you really need to put a finger on something, then the Yakuza lifestyle has you covered.

Early on in ‘Yakuza 0’, one of the Dojima family lieutenants places his baby finger on a wooden board and chops it off. Known as

yubitsume (‘finger-shortening’), this is the traditional Yakuza method for leaving the organised crime family and becoming a civilian again. The lieutenant had been caught manoeuvring his way towards captaincy in the Dojima family, by setting up a fellow Yakuza.

Blood-soaked, the shamed lieutenant leaves the room glowering — you know the story won’t end there. The lieutenant had tried to frame Kazuma Kiryu, the hero of ‘Yakuza 0’, but had been exposed.

This kind of gritty storytelling, told through Japanese, with superb voice acting and English subtitles, is typical of ‘Yakuza 0’. Kiryu must work his way through the murky world of Tokyo real estate, trying to expose a murderer, so that he can protect his Yakuza captain.

The main plot of ‘Yakuza 0’ is superbly told, worthy of adaptation into a high-quality TV series or a top-notch anime show. Outside of that main story, however, Japanese

quirkiness really starts to sing — literally, via karaoke.

When Kiryu isn’t embroiled in Yakuza politics, he is walking the streets of Tokyo, with a variety of ‘lifestyle’ activities to pursue. He can play bowling, eat sushi, sing karaoke, visit the batting cage, and fire up the SEGA classic Space Harriers at an old-school arcade. In each case, the player is controlling everything, with mini-games for every activity.

‘Yakuza 0’ is set in the 1980s and spending time on these streets feels unique to gaming. There aren’t many open worlds that truly represent other cultures, like Yakuza does.

When Kiryu walks into a convenience store, for example, he can pick up numerous magazines from ’80s Japan, with explanations of what they are.

The glue that sticks Yakuza together is the frantic beat-em-up combat. As Kiryu walks the Tokyo asphalt and through those Yakuza dens, he solves all his problems by kicking and punching people. He will sometimes take on dozens of enemies at once, powered by a brilliant, electro-metal soundtrack, as you dodge and weave and button-mash your way to victory.

The combat in Yakuza has loads of depth, but it’s at odds with the grittier aspects of the world and story. Only Japanese gaming can give us experiences like ‘Yakuza 0’. The mixture of zany, ’80s Tokyo and offbeat Asian Sopranos is unique, the kind of video game you can count on one finger.

NINTENDO DIRECT

Meanwhile, real-world Japan suffered an earthquake on the island of Hokkaido last week, delaying a Nintendo Direct by a few days. Nintendo Direct is the how the company reveals news online, by streaming announcements and trailers.

When the Direct did stream, we received lots of good news. For a start, a third ‘Luigi’s Mansion’ game is coming to the Switch. The series is a cult classic, with Mario’s brother running around a haunted mansion with a vacuum cleaner and a torchlight, sucking up ghosts. It will be good to see Luigi back in his old haunt.

Perhaps most interesting was the announcement that Final Fantasy titles were being ported to the Switch, including the seventh entry and even Final Fantasy IX’s pocket version. Final Fantasy began life on Nintendo consoles, so perhaps this is the beginning of a new partnership.

GAMING, NOT GAMBLING

Finally, the Yakuza might be involved in black-market gambling in Japan, but the real big boys of gambling are the legal kind. Gambling commissions in 15 countries, including Ireland, are teaming up to tackle gambling in video games. While they are specifically

targeting websites that allow traditional gambling on games like ‘Counter-strike’, they have also mentioned other aspects of modern gaming. “Games providers must also ensure that features within games, such as loot boxes, do not constitute gambling under national laws,” said the UK Gambling Commission. See gamblingcommission.gov.uk.