Yakuza 0 Hits Its 10th Anniversary, and a Modder Lets You Experience the Latest Game as PS2-Era Polygonal Goro Majima

Today – March 12, 2025 – marks the tenth anniversary of Yakuza 0‘s initial PS4 release in Japan. Ok, so it didn’t drop worldwide until 2017, which is why you might be a bit confused right now, but still – a momentous day. Let the Kazuma Kiryu or Goro Majima disco dancing GIFs fly forth, like an army of suave gangsters who’re late for a street brawl with some generic goons.

Plus, if you fancy and are on PC, you can celebrate it by doing something like playing Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii as PS2 Majima.

First, though, RGG itself has acknowledged the occasion via a Tweet, writing: “Today marks the 10th anniversary of Yakuza 0’s launch in Japan. Share with us your favorite moments, memories, and impressions or call out a friend who should play.”

Naturally, in addition to a bunch of folks going ‘Oh god, I’m old’, the replies are home to plenty of what’s arguably come to be Zero’s defining legacy – the aforementioned fun GIFs of its two protagonists lighting it up on the dance floor because it’s Friday night. Seriously, if you’re not already familar with the meme, since about 2019 there’s been a whole fan Twitter account, with the handle @YakuzaFriday, solely dedicated to posting these GIFs every Friday.

I assume it’ll be up to its usual antics this coming Friday too – so maybe have some cake or a bottle of sake ready to make it a bit more special this time around. If you’re not a fan of that, you can badger a mate to play Zero for the first time, since it’s arguably the ideal place to start a playthrough of the full series, if you want to do things chronologically in terms of the main series’ timeline.

Or, take a look at this ‘PS2 Majima‘ mod by MerkusBerkus for the series’ latest entry/spin-off Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii. It seemingly does exactly what it says on the tin, adding an outfit that’s Majima’s PS2 skin “in all of his polygonal glory”. Assuming it works as advertised, I’d say it’s a fitting way to celebrate this occasion, given that Zero was the main place to go if you wanted to play as Goro Majima prior to him getting his own full game, unless you really love Yakuza Kiwami 2’s Majima saga or zombie spin-off Yakuza: Dead Souls.

Plus, if you were there, it’ll let you reminisce about the early days when being able to play as Majima was just a pipe dream, and we couldn’t concieve that in 2025 he’d be running around as a pirate, occasionally collecting golden balls.

Or just look at RGG’s tweet and smile. To paraphrase Bon Jovi, someone who’s about as 80s as Zero is, it’s your life.