The 1980s in Japan were defined by unprecedented amounts of decadent overindulgence – and nothing was out of greed’s reach, especially in Kamurocho. A chilly but electric Tokyo in December 1988 is the backdrop for Kazuma Kiryu’s ascension into the ranks of the Yakuza – the name given to members of notorious crime organizations. And with Yakuza 0, newcomers to SEGA of Americas Yakuza series will be able to get in on the ground floor, with the game’s standalone, story-driven action that focuses on navigating the seedy underworld of Japan with series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, and for the first time in a numbered title, players will be able to play as long-time NPC, Goro Majima – the Mad Dog of Shimano. Available on the PlayStation 4, the game will be localized and released as physical and digital versions in the Americas.

Yakuza 0 portrays the genesis of Kazuma Kiryu, the rising Dragon of Dojima in the heyday of the economic bubble in the late 1980s. Starting off in series familiar location Kamurocho, Kiryu, a junior member of the Dojima family, gets blamed for a debt collection that ends in murder. Of course, this murder happens on a hotly coveted plot of land in Kamurocho, and Kiryu quickly finds himself in over his head trying to regain his honor and save the reputation of his savior and father figure, Shintaro Kazama.

Meanwhile, series familiar Goro Majima is living the life in Osaka, running a cabaret above board. But his desire to rejoin the Yakuza Clan he was ousted from is intense, and in order to do so, Majima must complete impossible tests set by increasingly unforgiving bosses. The clan keeps pushing his limits just to see how far he will really go to prove his loyalty…