Switch 2's Yakuza 0 Director's Cut Is An Upgraded Version Aimed At Old And New Fans

Ryu Ga Gotoku fans are a special type of fandom where almost everyone involved agrees on one thing: Yakuza 0 is the best starting point in the Like A Dragon/Yakuza series. It's rare that someone disagrees that Yakuza 0 is one of the best titles in the entire franchise and still one of the best games the studio has made. Even after eight mainline titles--Yakuza Kiwami through Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth--there is simply no game in the series that catches the same feel as Yakuza 0. Fans will even beg any of their friends, gamers or not, to play Yakuza 0 because it's really that wonderful.

When Yakuza Kiwami was released on Nintendo Switch last fall, fans anticipated Yakuza 0 would finally make its way to the Nintendo platforms too. Although there were many technical issues with Kiwami running on an aged console, RGG fans will be happy to know Yakuza 0 Director's Cut on Nintendo Switch 2 runs smoother than a perfect score on "Friday Night" in the disco minigame.

If you haven't checked out the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series yet, the Director's Cut is shaping up to be the best way to try it, as it takes place first in the story chronologically, and the new Nintendo Switch 2 version will have upgraded graphics and more features that are missing from the original.

Yakuza 0 remains special

Before I even dip into what the Director's Cut has to offer, I should probably explain why Yakuza 0 is unique and beloved to those who are new to the series.

Yakuza 0 takes place 20 years before the events in Yakuza 1/Kiwami, where the franchise originally started. It's a dual-protagonist setup that focuses on Kiryu Kazuma, the series' main protagonist, and Goro Majima, one of the most popular characters in the series. The story chapters transition between the two characters, who each have different quests, fighting styles, minigames, and are located in two separate fictional (but based on real-life) cities in Japan.

This was the first time I played Yakuza 0 since I beat it, and all my feelings came back. There is just something about that Japanese bubble area and the neon aesthetic that is oddly comforting and nostalgic. The soft glow of the city, the trashed alleyways, the colorful fashion--you can almost smell the cigarette smoke while you run through Kamurocho.

Getting to demo the new Director's Cut had me excited to play it all over again. Yakuza 0 brilliantly balances its goofy substories and side content with a serious, traumatic plot without ever making either of the two feel completely out of place. It blew my mind how well this game focuses on two protagonists and how all the events that happen throughout both Kiryu and Majima's arcs ended with such a satisfying payoff with a heartfelt honor to its future titles.

Director's Cut new features

Our short demo started in Chapter 3, just after Majima's iconic character introduction cutscene, where you get to play as him for the first time and explore Sotenbori. There wasn't much change in the gameplay compared to the original, but the graphics were sharp and performance was smooth, making the experience easy to adapt to on the new Nintendo Switch 2 controller.

We got to explore the area in the newly added English dub. Matthew Mercer returns as Majima again, so of course the first thing I did was check out his rendition of 24-Hour Cinderella in the karaoke mini game--which was awesome, by the way. It was a little odd getting used to hearing young Majima in the English dub, but Mercer nailed the voice and attitude of the youthful gangster. A couple of other voice actors are returning for the dub too; Yong Yea comes back as Kiryu, and David Hayter returns as the voice of The Barten- err, I mean, Osamu Kashiwagi.

One of the annoying mechanics in the original Yakuza 0 was saving. You could only save at phone booths, which made it tough during long battles and cutscenes. In the Director's Cut, you finally have the option to save whenever you want. You can still use a phone booth for sorting storage, but now you don't have to constantly remind yourself to make a pit stop for saving before getting too trapped in the story or side content.

We didn't get to explore much more of the gameplay, or any of Kiryu's, but I can tell this will be a great launch title for Switch 2. Plus, we were told there will be 25+ minutes of added cutscenes to the story, and that alone will convince a lot of old fans to bite the bullet and purchase this game.

Red Light Raid mode

The second part of the demo had us go back to the main menu and check out the new Red Light Raid mode--the new online battle mode you can play single or multiplayer. As a side note, I noticed in the main menu that the OG Yakuza 0 theme, "Bubble" by Shōnan no Kaz was added. Originally, it wasn't licensed for the U.S. release, so that was pretty cool.

The Red Light Raid mode has six challenges, all being raids where you battle waves of enemies and bosses to collect money to unlock more characters. Most of the characters are various NPCs and enemies you meet throughout the game, so it was fun building teams of random misfits and terrifying bosses. You can choose one fighting style for each raid, so it's great practice for new heat moves and combos, even though all I did was pick Kiryu's Beast Mode and throw motorcycles at every enemy.

The challenges end up getting tougher with each wave, which makes it quickly compelling. I've always felt that Yakuza's beat'em up combat gets a little too easy, so having something like this feels like a true challenge. I'm sure I will spend way too many hours on this while Nishiki is waiting in a karaoke bar for me somewhere.

Final thoughts

Overall, Yakuza 0 Director's Cut offered a lot more new features than I expected, on top of being an already fantastic game. The upgraded gameplay, added cutscenes, and online mode should be a great experience for new and old fans alike, and I'm very excited to see Nintendo fans' love grow for our Yakuza boys. I can already see the Ryu Ga Gotoku fandom expanding with this release and can't wait to relive those young Kiryu and Majima days myself.