![]() For a series dedicated to replicating the real world districts of Dotonbori and Kabukicho (called Sotenbori and Kamurocho in the game), it would be baffling to ignore that aspect of inner city nightlife, and yet in Yakuza 3 the western localisation stripped out hostess bars (opens in new tab) and sidequests referencing them. Yakuza 0 is too melodramatic to get very dark with its side-stories, so it serves up a polished-up vision of the Cabaret Club scene with its horrible features removed.īut Yakuza 0 isn't a historical document, and I'd rather see the Yakuza's characteristic reflection on hostess clubs than nothing at all. I haven't faced all the bosses, but so far the stories haven't touched on the abduction and murder of hostesses (opens in new tab), or the exploitation of women working in clubs without visas. I know I'm not getting the real story about hostess clubs. Then I spent my winnings on making Majima better at hitting punks with his baseball bat. Recently I made my first billion at the hostess club and unlocked an achievement for spending it. Even though they are violent thugs wrapped up in gang life, Yakuza's heroes seem earnest and incorruptible, and that means Majima and his staff can tell the story of a family battling against the odds in the ruthless Sotenbori club scene.Īnd so, night by night, Club Sunshine catches a little overflow from the 1980s property boom. These are deliberately forced, full of faux pas, and the awkward flirtation ricochets off Majima who, like Kiryu, is a stubbornly sexless figure. You train your platinum hostesses by roleplaying sessions. It works, somehow, because Yakuza 0 is so consistently funny. ![]() I get to feel like the good guy in comparison. One boss works his hostesses to illness, another is violent. It's down to your competitors to embody the worst aspects of the hostess bar scene. Goro Majima's club is friendly and has a good working atmosphere, and Majima is friendly with his staff. That all sits alongside a comedy caper that unfolds between opening hours, in which club owner and player character Goro Majima faces down against five evil club bosses. As a pure numbers game the club simulates the way customers and hostesses are mutually exploited for profit in ten-minute sprints. Money flies out of guests with every drink purchase until cash just pours out of the ceiling, covering everything. The game's plot revolves around an ownership battle for a tiny alleyway which represents hundreds of billions in potential profit. You can mug gold-suited 'nouveau riche' for millions. Cash flies out of enemies when you punch them. ![]() Given the context, the way the game shows money is ironic. The game is set in the midst of the asset boom in Japan, which resulted a few years later in a terrible crash and the so-called 'lost decade'. Yakuza 0 mixes slapstick humour with serious crime drama and a bit of social commentary, sometimes all at the same time. ![]()
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