I think it is super wild that there are so many RPGs out there that take inspiration from this game, while very few accomplish the same achievements this game does. It is fantastic.

This was my 4th time trying to play this game. First, I tried to play it on my hacked SNES Classic. Got up to Robo and stopped playing. Then I tried the PC port in 2021. Port sucked. I tried again in 2022. Port still sucked. Finally, I tried the PC port again, and now works.

So to start, story. I do think the game has a fantastic opening. But then, it kinda drags a little for a bit. But then you hit the mid point of the game, and the entire concept of this game finally clicks. I ended up falling in love with every member of the cast.

This game has a ton of side content, that initially, I had no intentions of doing. However, many friends HEAVILY suggested I do them, and yup I agree, they are all very important and worth doing. All of the character specific quests are great.

Gameplay, this game is also great, though I do have a few nitpicks. Combat is super fun, no complaints there. However, navigation is a little weird. There were a lot of times where I really had no idea where to go, and with no quest menu, I had no way to double check.

I think this game could really benefit from some kind of HD-2D remaster to add a quest menu, and maybe even markers for main quests and side quests. I think it would do wonders to improve the game for a newer audience.

Along side that, why is Chrono Cross on all platforms, but the only modern way to play Chrono Trigger is the Steam version? This game should be on all modern platforms, and I can't find a good reason for why it's not, besides maybe a remake is in development.

Side note - during my playthrough, I was heavily considering dropping it while the story was at a low point. I am super happy I pushed through, because this game was really worth it. I am super excited to revisit it for NG+ at some point.

This game feels like it has a super big identity crisis, and is never confident in its direction. This game has a bunch of different play styles, but all of them feel like they never reach their full potential by the time the game ends.

This game has a few moments where it begins to shine, and the charm of the different outfits are cool, but it struggled to outweigh the slightly jarring direction this game took. Some play styles are just not fun at all (looking at you mystery levels).

I feel like GoodFeel has been in an unfortunate downward spiral of games as of late. They made the great Kirby Epic Yarn and the amazing Yoshi’s Woolly World. They then made the meh Crafted World and now the meh Peach Showtime. It’s a bummer for sure.

I know I am pretty negative on this game in this thread. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate this game. I would still say the good outweighs the bad. However, I think this game could have been significantly better.

This has been a series I have been putting off getting into for a while. 0 is something special. While it's not perfect, I found myself insanely engaged in the story and was on the edge of my seat by the end.

I tried playing this game a few years back, and put it down because the intro didn't interest me. Going back now, I still stand by the first 2 chapters of this game being a little meh. However, once the game hits chapter 3, it hits its peak and never comes down.

I will also say, the combat wasn't a very strong element of this game for me. It was fun for a bit, but nearing the end, I was purposely avoiding combat encounters. Excited for when I get to 7 and 8 and I get to check out the turn based combat.

Overall, I had a fantastic time with Yakuza 0, and I am glad I took the time to finally take it off my backlog. I highly suggest playing this game if you haven't yet.