 | Written by Josh Rai Published at 2009-03-20 17:44:19
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To start, if you have yet to play the previous two Yakuza titles on the PS2, you do not know what you are missing. I implore you to find them and play them. You control Kazuma Kiryu, a former member of the Tojo Clan who now resides in Okinawa running a small orphanage. Through a series of events, you get pulled back into the organized crime ring, and you go from there. I do not want to explain the exact circumstances of the story, because there are spoilers of the first two games, and everyone who likes fun games and great stories should check them out.
The first two games in the series are RPG-Brawler hybrids, and the third one does not change that. Fights occur semi-randomly while you walk around the map, by semi-randomly I mean you can see the enemy running towards you, and you can usually run away to avoid the battle. The actual fights now transition directly from the normal area to the battle sequences seamlessly, so no more watching black screens while the fights load. The actual brawling is very satisfying visually, and the combat is visceral and leaves you pumped after a battle, which makes you want to find more of them just to keep that pleasing feeling. There are really only five buttons you need to use during combat: a light attack, heavy attack, dodge, grab, and block. The other buttons give you a taunt which help fills your Heat Gauge, and a button to let you strafe around the battle area. But you do not have to fight with just your fists, as there are a ton of items Kazuma can pick up and use as improvised weapons, or you could also buy weapons and use those in fights. The combat is fairly deep, with a lot of combos and skills to unlock as you progress. If your Heat Gauge fills up, which causes Kazuma to be surrounded by a blue flame, you can do some sort of finishing move - whether that is stomping on a guy's face, smashing him into a pole, or crushing his head through a small street sign - it is always satisfying.
Every fight gains you experience with which you can upgrade four areas: mind, body, technique, and skill. Each of these four stats will give you an upper hand in all of your fights, whether it is as simple as more health points, or as an ability to do a ground attack on an opponent after they've knocked you down. There are very few bad upgrades in the game; however, your style of play will determine which upgrades you decide to focus on. If you are a run-in-and-kick-ass type player, you may focus more on the upgrades that give you additional moves and attack bonuses, and vice versa for defensive players.
No matter what style you play, it is always a good idea to keep a few health items with you, since health does not regenerate automatically. There are a ton of items that give you bonuses, including a nice glass of Jack Daniel's and other real-life liquors. The bonuses can refill your health bar or Heat Gauge to varying degrees, give you experience, or some other useful buffs. Overall though, once you find a decent health item for a good price, that is all you really need to buy, since you may want to save your money for other things.
There are a ton of mini-games to empty your wallet; for instance, an actual golf game (not just a driving range). Other mini-games include: darts, pool, fishing, and a few more things to waste your time. The lady clubs are back, and can be a really deep money sink. There are seven total women to spend your time and money on, and if you are a completionist, then you will need a lot of money to win over all the girls. There are also gambling spots like in previous games, to attempt to artificially boost your yen. The lockers make a return as well, which you open with keys you'll find lying around each district.
Graphically the game is good, but not great. The environments look pretty good and give a decent representation of the real-life areas. In saying that, there are a few lower-poly textures here and there, but for the most part this is just a nit pick that only pops up a couple of times. The character models for the crowds and average enemies have noticeably lower detail than Kazuma and other story characters, which look very good. A lot of time was spent getting their looks just right. Also, in most areas they give you full camera control, which is a change from the previous titles where they had a predefined camera positioning for most places in the game. The free camera is probably what allowed me to see the bad textures in places, but it allows you to get right into the crowds, making you feel immersed and right there in Tokyo. By no means is Yakuza 3 the next Killzone 2, but it does look significantly better then many games available now.
The cutscenes are some of the best I have seen in any game. The acting is superb and the movements are all believable. The slight eye and facial movements are spot-on, and voice acting, from what I can tell, is well done. This is helped by the great camera positioning, with the director knowing exactly where to get the right shot. Yakuza 3 uses the in-game engine for the cutscenes, which is highly impressive given how realistic they look. This comes at a cost though; a lot of conversations are not in cutscene form, but just text bubbles, which gives the title a slightly dated feel.
If you are looking to import this to play, be warned that if you do not understand Japanese, and more importantly, cannot read Kanji, you will be utterly lost. The story will go right over your head, and knowing where to go or what to do to progress further in the game will be down to luck, unless you find a great FAQ to tell you exactly what to do, and follow it religiously. If, however, you are thinking of importing, then first try the demo (which is available now in the Japanese PlayStation Store) to see if you can make it through that, since it is a decent representation of the full game.
I have played about half of the game so far, and I keep wanting to go back to it. I really want to see the ending, and the combat keeps drawing me in. It is very satisfying to stuff a guy into a giant street pylon, or throw a love seat at a guy. I do believe Yakuza 3 will make it to the Americas and Europe eventually, but it may take a year or two. It might not get the full translation that the original received, but perhaps a subtitle-only affair like Yakuza 2 (which was actually fine, and some may say better). Overall, it is a purely fun game, and the series is known to have some of the best Yakuza crime stories in any medium. If Yakuza 3 sees release in the west, run to your local stores and give it a chance - you will not be disappointed.
9 comments:
 |  Colin McFedran
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I was excited to try the demo (I don't read or understand Japanese/Kanji) but just to get a 'taste' for it. Unfortunately I've now discovered that I no longer have the patience to read my way through a story. I would definately purchase based on the concept and game mechanics if it came to NA but ONLY if they put full voice overs in (which I know will never happen :( )
 |  BamBamBoozled
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The demo was ok but the trailers still make me want to try the full game. I would be fine with subs though I didn't play the other games to make a comparison there. My main question Josh is did you play the Kenzan spinoff and how is it if so? It reminds me of Bushido Blade series which I liked.
| Josh Rai
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@BamBamBoozled: I have not played Kenzan yet, I actually should get that in a week or two. But I have played the demo of Kenzan and the gameplay from that is similar to the rest of the series. The only real difference is the setting, but once I have played it I'll let you know. If you have a PS2 (or a backwards compatible PS3) I highly recommend finding Yakuza 1 or 2 to try, they are probably not expensive and are loads of fun.
 | rtd
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can anyone tell me how to get the demo if you live in the us? (is it possible to access the japanese playstation store? and how?)
| Colin McFedran
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@cfcj12: This is a video walkthrough that will help you set up a Japanese account: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Kfm0gCTX0
| rtd
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@Colin McFedran: thx
 | anonymous
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@Josh Rai
Yeah you're right. I played the first Yakuza on PS2 when it came out and it was Ok to me. some parts of the game were too much like the classic japanese arcade style rpg, but the game itself had some unique features. My favorite was the whole idea of that one level with the triad car chase. Besides that, does anyone think that this game is very similar to GTA?
| Josh Rai
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@anonymous: It is similar to GTA in that they both are crime stories. But interms of gameplay they are nothing a like.
If any one has questions not answered I'll try to answer them if you post it in them in the comments. Also please do not put spoilers from the first 2 games in your question, if your question is that specific to the previous stories please PM me instead.