Yakuza 0, (龍が如く０：ちかいのばしょ, Ryuu ga gotoku 0: Chikai no basho; Lit; Like a Dragon 0: The Promised Place), is an action-adventure video game, originally released in Japan on March 12, 2015. The sixth installment in the famed Yakuza video game series, it is a prequel set in 1988, at the peak of Japan’s economic boom. The plot centers around the “Empty Lot”–a small, yet valuable piece of land in the heart of Tokyo’s Kamurocho (read: Kabukicho) neighborhood–and the yakuza-fueled dispute surrounding the land’s ownership.
The game switches between two main characters: Kiryu Kazuma, a rising star in the Dojima Family, and Majima Goro, a disgraced member of the Tojo Clan in Osaka’s Sotenbori (read: Dotonbori). Kiryu is on a mission to clear his name after being framed for a murder that took place in the Empty Lot. Meanwhile, Majima must find the the Empty Lot’s owner and kill them.
While the main story is a compelling mix of action and mystery, Yakuza 0 also has side-quests (aka “Substories”) and side businesses. What makes the game even more interesting is the side content remains faithful to the time period (i.e. karaoke bars instead of karaoke booths, lavish discotheques, etc.). Additionally, there are moments that go beyond nostalgia and reference aspects of Japan’s Bubble Economy.
Here are some of the highlights.
Real Estate Royale
Usually, in the Yakuza video game franchise, money is earned through street fights. But Yakuza 0’s additional twist is that both Kiryu and Majima can earn money through lucrative side businesses. Keeping in theme with the wealth of the 80s, Kiryu’s side business is Real Estate Royale.
In this menu-based mini-game, Kiryu must buy and manage various properties throughout the Kamurocho neighborhood. Kamurocho is divided up into five areas: Leisure, Electronic, Pleasure, Gambling, and Media. Each area has a respective King in charge–together they are known as the Five Billionaires.
The overall goal is to become Kamurocho’s #1 real estate agent and take control away from the Five Billionaires. This is done by acquiring a variety of managers, advisors, and security. In order to grow your staff, you, as Kiryu, complete their substories. However, it’s important to keep your staff in constant rotation in order to achieve your maximum earning potential each day.
At certain intervals of developing a property, a respective King will reach out for a themed challenge. For example, the Pleasure King challenges Kiryu to a telephone club battle, where he has to successfully land a date in less than three minutes. If you win, you earn an area share of the Pleasure District, and vice-versa if you lose. Oh, and there’ll be a fight with some tough lackeys after.
This literal throwing around of money is based in some real-life history, specifically that of The Plaza Accord. This was a G5 deal signed in 1985 signed between France, Germany, the U.K., the U.S., and Japan. The Japanese yen, in particular, rose in value twice over. This led to a sharp increase in real estate transactions. Some land in the upscale Ginza neighborhood was valued at 191 million yen ($1.8 million USD), when adjusted for 2020 inflation.
Cabaret Club Czar
Majima Goro’s side business is Cabaret Club Czar. Luckily, he’s experienced when it comes to this line of work. Majima was the manager of The Grand Cabaret–albeit under restrictive circumstances. After aborting the assassination mission against the Empty Lot’s owner, Majima decides to lay low in a failing cabaret club called Club Sunshine.
The side business is mainly a strategy and time management simulator (a la Diner Dash). The goal is to earn as much money as possible during a shift. Customers may have preferences for a type of hostess (sexy, funny, cute or beautiful). Wealthier clientele may ask for a Platinum hostess by name. Platinum Hostesses are obtained by defeating a member of the Five Stars–the five top cabaret owners in Sotenbori.
However, the most significant part of Cabaret Club Czar is the Special Training segment. Here, as Majima, you are tasked with training the Platinum Hostess on customer service. Specifically, you’re tasked with training her on how to hold a conversation with customers. This mini-game is done in the style of a dating simulation, however, the conversations are rather enlightening. There are six Platinum Hostesses in total, all with very different personalities, lifestyles, and ambitions.
Related: see our discussion of Japanese nightlife in the 80s and 90s in Platonic Sex: The Wild Ride of Japanese Porn Star Iijima Ai
One notable conversation is with Mana, formerly from Club Moon. She’s a bubbly, outspoken woman, and plans to be a hostess well into her old age. One question she asks concerns the current state of the economy. It’s doing “super well right now, but do you think it will keep going?”
Obviously, the correct answer is, “We’ll crash”. When asked to expand on his answer, Majima says there’s a lot of “free money” going around and everyone’s spending it freely. But no one is “paying attention to where the money’s comin’ from”.
Historically, the economy crashed in 1992, after the Bank of Japan raised its discount interest rates multiple times in order to combat inflation. Many firms ran into huge amounts of debt, and they were unable to pay off their bank loans. The bursting of the Japanese bubble economy gave way to The Lost Decade, which lasted for most of the 1990s.
The Disciple of the New Order
This is an optional substory about Majima infiltrating a cult. After overhearing an older woman confronting two individuals oddly dressed in all white, Majima approaches her and asks her what’s wrong. She informs him that her daughter Iori joined said cult a while back. But tensions escalated when they came to the house and coerced Iori to move to their headquarters. Iori hasn’t returned since. Because the cultists know the mother’s face, they won’t allow her inside the building.
The mother asks Majima to join the cult–The Order of Munan Chohept Onast–under false pretenses, and to pass along a message that she simply wants to see her again. He is then to simply sneak back out. Accepting the mission, Majima reconnects with the two cult members from before, and accompanies them to the headquarters.
When Majima arrives, it’s heavily implied that a member who tried to escape is being tortured. But his mentor brushes it off and they head inside the main hall. It is for the first time that Majima witnesses their “shooreh pippi” practice–a parody of ascetic training. He also learns that Order members have not only completely wiped their memories of their secular life. They’ve also pay an exorbitant amount of money for tithes–one “rincho” costs 100,000 yen.
This substory specifically parodies the cult Aum Shinrikyo. However, many new religious movements were founded in 1980s Japan. Notable ones include the Ho no Hana, a fraudulent cult based around foot-reading, and Happy Science, a syncretic new religion where the leader claims to be a reincarnation of Buddha, Jesus and Yoda.
Experts say this period-specific surge of cults is a product of the times. Japan enjoyed a sudden abundance in wealth and technology. However, people suffered a growing disconnect with society as a whole. Young people in their 20s were the main target of these cults because they were still likely to “take orders” from an authoritative figure.
Yakuza 0 can be enjoyed purely as a game, without knowing any of this background. But knowing its historical context can make your play-through not only enjoyable, but educational to boot.
Yakuza 0 is currently available to play on the PlayStation 4, XBox One, and PC.
For those who have played and or watched the game, what other references to the Bubble Economy have you noticed?
