A New Version Of A Classic
Let’s get something out of the way first: Yakuza 0 is my favourite game of all-time. But the Director’s Cut will not be getting the five-star treatment. With this new version, there are a lot of new additions that offer little in the way of improvements. And then we get onto the mis-management of the removal of the original game.
It doesn’t make sense to myself and many others that Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut is now the only way to play the game. In Japan, Yakuza 0 first launched way back on the PlayStation 3 and 4 in 2015. Now, in 2025, it is only available for purchase on current-gen consoles. The original – and arguably better – version has been removed from storefronts completely.
For the most part, yes, Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut is the same game as the OG Yakuza 0, with more additions than omissions from the previous release. But some of these additions retroactively change things, and not for the better.
It Remains An Engaging Crime Drama…
The story of Yakuza 0 tells the origin stories of two of the franchises best characters: main series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and everyone’s favourite anti-hero Goro Majima. Kiryu has been framed for a murder on a patch of land that everyone seemingly has an interest in, and Majima is being kept prisoner as the manager of a cabaret club for his actions a few years previously.
The action takes place across two cities; Kamurocho, based on the real-life red-light district of Kabukicho and Sotenbori, the Yakuza version of Dotonbori. Aside from a strong and engaging story, the Yakuza games are fantastic examples of virtual tourism. Both cities are superb recreations of their respective areas in 1985, where a bubble economy in Japan meant that cash was being thrown around everywhere. Sometimes even quite literally, as one of your unlockable actions will allow.
…Mixed With Some Of The Most Surreal Sidequests In Gaming
If you have still yet to experience the Yakuza franchise since it has blown up in the West, then there is another element that maybe doesn’t quite fit in with the crime drama and fisticuffs, but it is part of the series’ charm. Over the course of 100 substories the game will have you laughing, crying, confused, bewildered and much more. These irreverent side stories are filled with some of the quirkiest tales; some take only a few moments and require nothing more than a fight, whilst others continue on over several chapters with nonsensical hilarity.
And if that wasn’t enough, then there are minigames galore to distract you from the excellent main story. As well as the ability to play card games at the casino, mahjong, karaoke, OutRun at the arcade and – if you choose to – Space Harrier, are amongst many other diversions.
Bigger diversions come in the form of the Cabaret Club Czar and Real Estate Royale. Kiryu becomes a real estate mogul and Majima takes charge of another cabaret club. Having waxed lyrical about cabaret club management many times before, I will just say this: There is a very good reason this minigame makes a return in Yakuza Kiwami 2.
What Does The Director’s Cut of Yakuza 0 Include?
That’s the stuff that is the same from the original version. But what is new in this Directors Cut of Yakuza 0? Well, some stuff, but depending on how you play these games, the larger inclusions may well be redundant.
First and foremost is a new English dub, present in Yakuza 0 for the first time. These dubs have been included for a while now in the later Like a Dragon/Judgment games, but is the first time one has been retroactively added. If you can call it that, as this is technically a new release.
There is also a Chinese dub added, as well as new localisations for French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian and Brazilian Portuguese, thus making it far more accessible than the original release. But whilst I cannot verify these localisations legitimacies, reports online regarding the latter two have not been positive.
The Director’s Cut also comes with a new online mode called Red Light Raid. It feels a bit of a throwback to when single-player games tacked on multiplayer modes, and it plays like one too. It is fine, if a little shallow, and plays like those sections in the main game where you have to run through an area clearing out enemies and minibosses, only with more enemies and online buddies. That said, across multiple times I have loaded it up, I have been unable to find a full team online with AI bots filling up the empty slots.
This mode being available at launch came as a surprise though. On the Xbox storefront it states that Red Light Raid will be available in a post-launch update, but it was available day one. Anyone who has been following these recent re-releases of the Yakuza games will tell you that it has been a bit of a mess all round.
But then we get to the biggest controversy surrounding this new Director’s Cut. There are about 25 minutes of new cutscenes added, which doesn’t sound a lot in a 40+ hour game, but that hasn’t stopped it going down like a lead balloon. Particularly when the new additions add very little in terms of the overall or wider franchise plot, instead just retconning minor moments. I won’t go into details here because they are quite spoiler heavy in the sense that characters once assumed dead have been resurrected in this new version.
Also, the original theme song has been added to Western versions for the first time. But one song that has been removed is the catchy jam that plays whenever you are in the Don Quijote store. Likely due to licensing issues, but probably a relief for those that work in the real-life store and have to hear it continuously for eight hours a day.
And one thing that has been added, but for some reason hasn’t been mentioned in the pre-release stuff, is autosaving is now enabled. No longer do you have to go to the telephone boxes to save – though you still can – as autosave kicks in after most events and fights.
The Best Game In The Series – But Not The Best Version
At its’ core, Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut is still the same Yakuza 0 – one of the best games in the entire franchise. And whilst a few new cutscenes don’t completely ruin the story, the question is more why they have been included in the first place. However, the poorly received new dubs and superficial multiplayer mode mean the Director’s Cut is the inferior version of Yakuza 0 and unfortunately it is the only version available digitally, and that is a massive mistake.
Important Links
The Dragon of Dojima Rises – Yakuza’s Origin Saga Lands in Definitive Editions! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-dragon-of-dojima-rises-yakuzas-origin-saga-lands-in-definitive-editions/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/yakuza-0-directors-cut/9NRKLTWN2ZQ7/0010
Grab the Complete Series – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/yakuza-complete-series/9MXVSHL8GBHH/0010
