For over a month now, I’ve been testing out the Nintendo Switch 2. But I must confess that my primary game of choice is not playing Cow in Mario Kart World or Mario’s primate rival in Donkey Kong Bananza — but mahjong in Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut. It’s been 10 years since the original Yakuza 0 was released and the Director’s Cut makes significant changes to the game’s narrative. But rather than concern myself with the story’s main campaign, I found myself returning again and again to the game within a game — the small tables of riichi mahjong, filled with non-playable characters’ chatter and the sound effects of shuffling tiles.
This 200-year-old game has already occupied me for multiple evenings, from its elaborate rules to its increasingly challenging opponents. What began as a small detour has quickly turned into a full-blown obsession, turning summer nights into meditative sessions trying to build the perfect, winning hand. Before I knew, I’d look up and it would be past midnight.
