$20 for one of the best entries in a brilliant series. Yakuza tells the decades-long story of Kazuma Kiryu, career criminal with a heart of gold. Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the original game (set in the glitzy 80s), and is a great place to start for newcomers.

$20 for 82 hours of gameplay. That's a single playthrough, and I've still got half a dozen unfinished substories and a bunch of new unlocked features like New Game+ to mess around with.

$20 for one of the best localizations of any game in recent memory. Yakuza 0's violent crime tale is excellent and well-told, with a memorable trio of antagonists and plenty of manly tear moments. But it's the surreal, hilarious side quests and activities that steal the show. Stare in confused awe as Kiryu competes in slot car racing with small children, then wanders to a bowling alley where he wins a chicken capable of working at a property management firm! Wonder if someone spiked your drink as you help club owner and unhinged maniac Goro Majima take down five rival club owners using the awesome power of friendship, playing dress-up and hitting people with baseball bats! Question the meaning of existence as you guide Kiryu on a stealth mission to acquire an adult magazine for seriously dubious reasons!

TWENTY DOLLARS. For Sega at their absolute best.

And finally...

$20, because the port has some issues. The game ran smoothly at 60fps on my modest system after a few tweaks to fix the most glaring issues, but it would still periodically hang and skip frames every ten minutes or so. I was never able to resolve this. Certainly not enough to ruin the immersion, but it does suck if Kiryu's singing karaoke or dancing when it happens. The port's hardly Deadly Premonition or Way of the Samurai bad, but be ready to do some damage control.

That said, this is still my GOTY for 2018 by a mile.

$20 for one of the best entries in a brilliant series. Yakuza tells the decades-long story of Kazuma Kiryu, career criminal with a heart of gold. Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the original game (set in the glitzy 80s), and is a great place to start for newcomers. $20 for 82 hours of gameplay. That's a single playthrough, and I've still got half a dozen unfinished substories and a bunch of new unlocked features like New Game+ to mess around with. $20 for one of the best localizations of any game in recent memory. Yakuza 0's violent crime tale is excellent and well-told, with a memorable trio of antagonists and plenty of manly tear moments. But it's the surreal, hilarious side quests and activities that steal the show. Stare in confused awe as Kiryu competes in slot car racing with small children, then wanders to a bowling alley where he wins a chicken capable of working at a property management firm! Wonder if someone spiked your drink as you help club owner and unhinged maniac Goro Majima take down five rival club owners using the awesome power of friendship, playing dress-up and hitting people with baseball bats! Question the meaning of existence as you guide Kiryu on a stealth mission to acquire an adult magazine for seriously dubious reasons! TWENTY DOLLARS. For Sega at their absolute best. And finally... $20, because the port has some issues. The game ran smoothly at 60fps on my modest system after a few tweaks to fix the most glaring issues, but it would still periodically hang and skip frames every ten minutes or so. I was never able to resolve this. Certainly not enough to ruin the immersion, but it does suck if Kiryu's singing karaoke or dancing when it happens. The port's hardly Deadly Premonition or Way of the Samurai bad, but be ready to do some damage control. That said, this is still my GOTY for 2018 by a mile.