Thank you Nintendo for sending us a review code!

Just like my recent Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition for Switch 2 review, this review will strictly be looking at Yakuza 0: Director's Cut from a performance standpoint as it runs on the Switch 2. For a look from a gameplay and moral perspective, as well as performance on other consoles, see our original review. 

Also like my Cyberpunk 2077 review, I had not experienced Yakuza 0 before, or any game in the Yakuza franchise for that matter. I'd seen very little of the franchise, and what I had seen was crazy and over-the-top action from Yakuza 8. So Yakuza 0 should be glad I'm not reviewing it for it's gameplay and content, because I have very strong feelings about video games that make you sit through multiple hours of cutscenes with very little actual gameplay before finally letting you play the real meat of the game.

Graphically, Yakuza 0: Director's Cut looks like PS4-level fidelity, at least on the Switch 2. The Nintendo Switch 2 isn't a powerhouse by any means, but if we are just comparing the original release of Yakuza 0 on the PS4 with the Switch 2, then the graphics seem nearly identical. People on YouTube have made side-by-side comparisons, and I honestly can't spot the difference between them. Both run at 30fps, so don't look for 4K, 60fps output with this release.

In terms of performance, the Switch 2 edition runs very smoothly the vast majority of the time. In the hours I spent with the game, I noticed a jitter in one frame during one cutscene, and one moment during normal play where an item loaded in on a bit of a delay as I was sprinting through the city. Those were the only two subpar moments I had in the entire time I played. In addition, the loading times between scenes are very quick. On the occasion where a loading screen appears, it's gone almost as quickly as it pops up.

What makes the Director's Cut different from the initial release, according to Sega's website, is "online multiplayer, new cutscenes, and added languages." It has a fully voiced English dub, complete with matching mouth movements. I switched between the two audio tracks multiple times, and the mouth movements sync with whichever audio track you've chosen. It's a nice bit of immersion that they didn't have to do, but one that I absolutely appreciate. Granted, I think the primary protagonist's Japanese voice is much more suited to the character than the English voice, but that's just a personal preference.

With regards to stability, I experienced only a single bug, and it was very minor: In the batting cage minigame, the sound effect for the countdown before the ball is pitched sometimes doesn't play. Considering the countdown fills up the entire center of the screen, this was barely even an annoyance. In every other regard, Yakuza 0 has run admirably.

If you're someone who loves the Yakuza series and has been waiting for the title to drop on a Nintendo console, now's your chance to pick it up. I get the feeling these games are a bit of an acquired taste, but once I was finally able to get into the main part of the game, I had quite a bit of fun with Yakuza 0. You'll get the same performance and stability out out of the Switch 2 that you would get from the PS4. As long as you weren't looking for major graphic enhancements, then the Switch 2 edition stands tall beside its original PS4 release.