First launched on the PlayStation 2 in 2005 as Ryū ga Gotoku, retitled Yakuza for Western audiences, the series has delivered its unique blend of crime drama and offbeat humour for nearly two decades. Since then, it has been completely rebranded in the West (as Like a Dragon), pumped out multiple sequels and prequels, and spun off side stories that range from Edo-period swordplay to a modern-day pirate yarn. Whether you favour the classic beat-’em-up combat or the newer RPG systems, the franchise has maintained a level of quality that many peers never manage to sustain. Although PlayStation has been Yakuza’s home base, Sega has occasionally favoured other hardware, most notably giving Yakuza: Like a Dragon timed “new gen console” exclusivity on Xbox Series X|S.
Now, for the first time in the West, the series arrives on Nintendo hardware as a launch title for the Switch 2. Rather than dipping into the back catalogue and simply porting across a past work, Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have returned to Kazuma Kiryu’s chronological starting point with Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, updated with all the modern conveniences of recent entries – including full English voice acting – and offered only on Nintendo’s new console. In an era of tightening household budgets and limited hardware availability, locking a new release in a cult-favourite franchise behind a $700 AUD system may seem like a tough ask. But, how well does this Director’s Cut hold up, and is there enough new here to tempt players who have already finished the original?
For the most part, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut see’s us follow the same narrative as before, dropping us into the neon-soaked frenzy of late-80s era Japan from the perspective of two icons of the franchise in their earliest days – Kazuma Kiryu who finds himself framed for a back‑alley murder that threatens to derail the Tojo Clan’s land‑grab over a single, mysteriously valuable empty lot, and ex‑yakuza Goro Majima manages a lavish cabaret under the watchful eye of the Omi Alliance, desperate for a path back into the life he’s been cast out of. Their stories criss‑cross long before they collide, laying down an irresistible push‑and‑pull between honour and ambition, crime‑film grit and slapstick absurdity. It’s a classic Like a Dragon cocktail, with equal parts high-stakes melodrama, and a range of sidestories that leave you questioning whether you fell asleep for the prior 10 minutes or actually experienced that in a crime-drama game. It’s a strong narrative, and while it wasn’t many fans’ first introduction to the series, it remains an excellent entry point for what’s to come over the series’ long and ongoing history.
With Yakuza 0 offering a tightly wound and enjoyable narrative overall, they would, in my opinion, need to juxtapose the “30 minutes of additional cutscenes” into the cutscenes flawlessly. These new clips look sharp and contribute enough to the experience, but they are hardly needed. The added moments spell out details that the 2017 version left us to figure out for ourselves, and they take some mystery away from side characters who were once left in the shadows. In other words, while enjoyable enough, they alone are not worth the ‘Director’s Cut’ price of admission.
Given the portable nature of the Nintendo Switch and its lower specs compared to its console gaming market counterparts, many developers had to find ways to optimise their games for the system – Hogwarts Legacy often being a notable example. With the Nintendo Switch 2’s enhanced specifications, we are finally seeing some of the big-name games rolled out onto the platform, and from a graphical perspective, Kamurocho looks amazing. Docked, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut runs at a clean 4K and 60 frames per second, while in handheld mode, it maintains 1080p at the same smooth frame rate. Neon signs bathe Kamurocho and Sotenbori in rainbow light, puddles mirror billboards, and the streets bustle with pedestrians. The PlayStation 3‑era bones do peek through—background characters have flat faces, small props pop into view when you sprint, and some fight animations seem stiff at the higher speed—but the overall vibe of late‑bubble Japan is still electric. Tight city blocks crammed with arcades, clubs, and convenience stores mean you’re nearly always only a few steps away from the next distraction.
Meanwhile, the soundtrack is a time capsule of 1980s attitude. Combat unleashes rock riffs; relaxed exploration yields soft jazz or city pop; and side activities steal the show with full karaoke performances, disco bangers, and era-perfect arcade soundspaces.
Voice work is now fully bilingual. The original Japanese cast is still the gold standard—Takaya Kuroda’s deep Kiryu and Hidenari Ugaki’s unpredictable Majima keep every cutscene grounded. The new English dub is solid, but, as always, will have its supporters and detractors. However, I must admit that the English voice cast has spirit, with Matthew Mercer nailing Majima’s charm and menace. At the same time, Yong Yea’s younger Kiryu feels more aligned with the character, from my perspective, being more comfortable voicing the character from his previous appearance at the other end of the series’ chronology. Supporting actors, from Kaiji Tang’s fiery Nishiki to David Hayter’s gravel‑voiced Kashiwagi, add plenty of personality. Plus, English dubbed karaoke is back, this time with at least some of that iffy autotune dialled back from Infinite Wealth, even if Matthew Mercer remains the gold standard by a long shot.
The moment you throw your first punch you can feel why Yakuza 0’s combat still gets name‑dropped as a genre high‑point. Kiryu and Majima each juggle three fighting styles, with a secret fourth that unlocks later. Swapping mid‑battle is instant, so you might open with Kiryu’s quick Rush dodges, pivot to Beast to swing a bike at a crowd, then finish the boss with a Heat Action that slams him face‑first into a wall. Every hit showers cash, and that money is your skill tree currency, making every random brawl feel worthwhile. It can feel like button-mashing, but it is oh so satisfying.
Outside of fights, the two cities once again act like compact playgrounds stuffed with distractions. Substories pop up regularly, offering a cornucopia of random and surprising experiences. Minigames stack on top: batting cages, mah‑jong parlours, arcades with full Sega classics, the always‑excellent karaoke, and two deeper management sims – Kiryu’s Real‑Estate Royale and Majima’s Cabaret Club – that can swallow hours on their own. There’s no open‑world bloat here; it’s dense, not wide.
Director’s Cut sprinkles in helpful tweaks. You can now save anywhere, eliminating a lot of phone-booth backtracking. Load times are shorter, and fights feel smoother at 60 frames per second. A few legacy quirks remain, such as clunky camera angles and an uninspiring implementation of the mini-map. Still, the game rarely wastes your time, and difficulty scales gently as you invest money into new moves.
The big new toy in Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut is Red Light Raid, a wave‑based mode that works solo with AI or up to four players online. You pick from a massive roster that includes main characters, story bosses and even random thugs, then clear ten to fifteen rooms of enemies while a timer ticks down. Beating waves earns Yen to unlock more characters or buff the ones you like. It’s a fun way to mess around with movesets you never see in the campaign, and is definitely a ‘Director’s Cut’ type of addition, but much like other attempts to incorporate similar modes in past games, it does feel more like a distraction than anything fully fleshed out.
In the end, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut is precisely what one might expect: a definite way for Nintendo Switch 2 owners to meet Kiryu and Majima, but not a must‑buy for veterans who already own the game elsewhere. The razor‑sharp 4K/60 presentation, portable play, lively English dub and other minor additions all make this a solid recommendation if you’re jumping in for the first time or crave a fresh replay on the couch. Yet most of what makes the experience shine – from its gripping yet quirky story, punchy brawler combat and wealth of side‑content comes from its 2017 original release. Unless the new voice work, Red Light Raid sandbox, or sheer portability speaks directly to you, there’s no hurry to retire your existing copy. However, if you are new and have the option, there’s nothing that makes this anything but a strong starting point.
Final Score for Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut
This review was conducted on a Nintendo Switch 2 digital copy of Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut. A review code was kindly provided by Australian publisher Five Star Games, to facilitate this review.
Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut is now available to purchase exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2.
