Yakuza

1) A slow game by 2005 standards, an even slower one by 2020's. This and the sequel, but especially this one, did not age well. It takes ages to get anywhere due to how slow you are, there are random fights everywhere and there are sections of the story feeding the dog comes first to mind that are pure padding/filler.

2) The only Yakuza game to have an English dub (which you can't turn off either). The result? Luke Skywalker plays Majima (I SAID LAUGH YOUSTUPIDMOTHAFUCKA) - lots of mispronounced names, and the quality is shit across the board (Kiryu's VA does a decent job though).

3) The localization is horrendous. Kazama's name was changed to Fuma. The dialogue is full of "fuck", "motherfucker", "fuck you", and so on while the original Japanese one has mostly makes no mention of this stuff - but combined with the voice acting it's all actually funny, and especially surreal if you played the other games. Mind you, bad localizations continued to be the norm in the series up until, and IMO including Yakuza 4. But this one is especially bad.

4) Combat is janky as fuck - once you decide on an attack direction, you're shit out of luck if the enemies are not 100% exactly in that direction, and you cannot change directions mid-combo. That said, the combat has a lot of weight to it and the sound effects are great (of note is Kiryu's hilariously uncharacteristic FUCK YOU during heat actions). Yakuza 2 fixes the combat slightly.

5) The story, while nowhere near as over the top as anything until Yakuza 0, and nowhere near as dumb as those of 4 or 5, is decent. It sets up the world of Yakuza really nicely, and the game is not afraid to rip into its characters (something which is absolutely not true for most others in the series). Still, prepare for dumb moments, specifically Nishiki detonating the bomb and everyone getting out of it without a scratch.

6) Kick-ass soundtrack - one of the best in the series. The main battle theme and some boss themes are edgy and hype. Unfortunately this '00s rock/rap/electro hybrid style would be all but abandoned a few games later.

7) This game is all but relevant due to its remake, Kiwami, which is modern, has a proper Japanese-centric localization, has a fighting system based on 0's (although Kiryu not having his Dragon style effective straight away is a considerable retcon), and has all the side content of the original and more (yay Pocket Circuit!).

8) This game is still 1000% worth playing due to the fact that the remake changes up the soundtrack completely to make it more like 0's, because gameplay-wise it's almost completely different, and because the voice acting and script are incredibly unintentionally funny.

9) Due to the above, I actually recommend starting the series with this one, and then moving onto 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 0, K1, K2. But, if you're not like me and you don't see any charm in dated, janky, obtuse 15-year old games, then play 0 instead and find your way to the remakes from there, and then the rest of the main series.

10 Thank God they kept the Kiryu door-kicking scene the same in the remake.

The imaginative minds at Sega of Japan have taken us pretty much everywhere except Japan itself.

A gritty street drama for Japanese natives and a welcome trip abroad for foreign Japanophiles, Yakuza offers a grounded vision of Tokyo that is a welcome locale missing from modern games. Featuring both staff and influence from the Shenmue series, the city of Tokyo feels alive as you visit fast food restaurants and bars, some of which are modeled after actual locations.

While Yakuza nails tone and location in its first outing, it stumbles in nearly every other aspect. The fighting is a choppy mess full of input lag and awkward controls; the story is a nonsensical maze of hardly-earned twists; and the difficulty balance makes for an early game that is a boring cakewalk only to be followed by insanely difficult bosses and encounters at its end that employ cheap tricks which stunlock the player into submission.

All these failings aside, there is still a lot to enjoy in learning these city streets, characters and the hierarchy of the yakuza mob. It may be tempting to skip this series debut, but you may find yourself lost when jumping into the superior sequels (though they do offer lengthy, detailed recaps).