Managing hostesses in Yakuza 0's cabaret club is a surprisingly feminist mini-game

A forlorn little girl stands outside of an arcade, looking longingly at stuffed animals in a claw game. I warn her that this is a dangerous neighborhood of Osaka, but she doesn’t leave. I play the infuriating claw game to get her the exact blue squirrel she wants and send her home to safety. But the next night, the Doll Girl is there again. Each time we talk, I learn more about her. Her single mother works long hours. Before the squirrel, she had no toys at home, and she’s worried he’s lonely just like she was. I play the claw game for hours until I get every toy she wants. She says she feels like “a normal girl with a dad” that gives her gifts; she calls me Daddy. I try to correct her, telling her my name is Majima, but she doesn’t listen. Oh, well. Kids will be kids. 

The next day, I see the Doll Girl at the arcade, crying. Her mother has been abducted by loan sharks. No way; not on Daddy’s watch. 

I sprint to the riverside where the thugs are threatening to sell the mother and her daughter into sexual slavery. Needless to say, I beat the hell out of those guys. When the Doll Girl thanks me, she calls me Daddy; her cardigan-clad mother smiles shyly at me. I shake my head at these shenanigans; I have to get back to work managing my nightclub. 

This series of soft, delicate moments in an otherwise violent crime epic was the beginning of my love affair with Club Sunshine in Yakuza 0. 

Get to work 

Majima Goro is one of two ex-Yakuza protagonists in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s 2015 prequel. To earn his way back into the family, he must manage a nightclub to financial success. He’s a taciturn fighter and even more sullen boss. Majima’s life so far is one of suffering from and committing violence, and that doesn’t stop when the player takes control. 

This was my first time playing a game in the Like a Dragon franchise, and my friends who gifted me the game said I’d love Club Sunshine. While the main gameplay of Yakuza 0 was fun and the story compelling, it wasn’t the kind of thing I'd normally go for. I kept wondering when I would discover this mysterious “sort of cozy” nightclub. Once I finally reached it, I understood why my friends had recommended this game.

Whenever players get tired of beating people up in Yakuza 0, they can engage in an astounding 21 mini-games. Activities run from the more run-of-the-mill bowling and mahjong, to the fun but straightforward rhythm-based karaoke and disco, to the much more complex Real Estate Royale or Pocket Car Racing. However, in my opinion (with which much of the internet agrees), none reign more supreme than Cabaret Club Czar.

Clocking in at Club Sunshine

In the Cabaret Club Czar mini-game, Majima takes over the management of a small “hostess club” where women serve as sociable companions for men for the evening, though they may go on dates with customers outside of the club.