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Finally 'Shenmue' Reincarnated
Back in 2000, there was a little unknown gem on Sega Dreamcast called 'Shenmue', which became a huge financial flop despite the universal critical praises. Its sequel only showed up in Japan and later ported to the original X-Box after Dreamcast's demise. Shenmue was the game that invented QTE (Quick Time Event) that are so frequently used by many games like Resident...
Lots of fun, but serious flaws pull you away.
Yakuza 3 brings this series to the PS3 with graphics that will remind you of the first Ninja Gaiden. Everyone seems to have put on their best hair gel, and greased up a bit for this installment.
To be fair this game has been out in Japan for quite awhile now, and there is already a demo for Yakuza 4 on the JP PSN store.
Back in 2000, there was a little unknown gem on Sega Dreamcast called 'Shenmue', which became a huge financial flop despite the universal critical praises. Its sequel only showed up in Japan and later ported to the original X-Box after Dreamcast's demise. Shenmue was the game that invented QTE (Quick Time Event) that are so frequently used by many games like Resident Evil 4, Heavy Rain and God of War series.
Yakuza 3 is the third installment of the popular Japanese action adventure game series by Sega that inherit all the characteristics of Shenmue series. But it is this installment that finally exceeds everything Shenmue tried to be in spades with so much more contents and depths. Yakuza series was understandably not well-known outside Japan at all due to its quirky and idiosyncratic eccentricity stemming from distictively Japanese culture. Make no mistake, this is one of the most popular game in Japan. With population half as big as the U.S. but so much diversities in different genres of video games (each game is targeted speficically for intended demographic rather than potential demographic as here in the U.S.), half-million copies sold is viewed as bona-fide success. With sensible budget and half-million copies means good profits and the next sequel. The fourth one has just been released in Japan. There have been tons and tons of games on PS and Nintendo consoles that never make outside Japan, and Yakuza series are one of the rare ones that are available here in the U.S.
Warning to fans of GTA or the likes and JRPG; Yakuza 3 is not a console RPG or GTA-clone, as many would describe it. It's a grand style action adventure game that indeed plays very much like JRPG but so jam-packed with contents that it put arguably all console RPG to shame and gives even the longest CRPG like 'Oblivion' or 'Fallout 3' some serious run for its money. Don't be surprise to clock in over 100 hours to unlock 100 percent completion percentage. Beside the main story, which gives you good 20-25 hours, the game is overflowing with substories and side activities. Plus you can always engage in street fight at certain points. On and all, if you ever played either of Shenmue, you'll know exactly what you're getting into. This really is 'Shenmue' reincarnated, so if you ever moaned about the demise of the series, pick this up without any hesitation.
Its fighting mechanics is Sega's own 'Streets of Rage' style beat-them-up brawler with some depth. Just don't expect more complicated fighting game like Sega's own 'Virtua Fighter'. But the actual fighting is much more brutal, violent, bone-crunching and over the top than the unrealistic arcady fighting games that let you shoot fireball from your eyes so you will have a heck of a time engaging in combat. It's really fun.
The story is thoroughly Japanese and also very realistic and real-life related like actual Japanese TV drama. The plot progresses via dynamic cutscenes and static dialogues. While each literation in the series offers a self-contain story arc but you would have much more emotional resonance if you've already played the first two on PS2. It also have many recurring themes overlapping from the first two. Luckily, the game gives you full rundown of the story of the first two games with cutscenes directly lifted from the PS2 games.
However, the game only offers Japanese soundtrack with English subtitle, due to huge cultural differences between Japanese and western nations, the game will be difficult to get into for a lot of people. Don't be surprised if you don't understand many of customs, references and logics. Pacing would also make things difficult for more casual gamers who are used to quick access and fast-paced run-of-the-mill action game. This is an action adventure game that heavily focuses on human drama. Episodic and sometimes brutal, sometimes poignant, but always humane and realistic, it requires you to read and reminisce a lot as a main character on the way.
Visual is indeed very impressive. Facial model is the most impressive aspect and on par with 'Heavy Rain'. The graphical style opts for photo-realism so everything is very real-life like. But the jagged character models and color imperfection signal that this is still a video game. While not exactly 'Uncharted 2' or 'God of War 3', this is one fine looking game.
Controversy surrounding the contents cut from the original Japanese version are indeed true.
Cut content from the western version of Yakuza 3 includes:
-"Loser" (Japanese theme song by Eikichi Yazawa)
-Wooing women in hostess clubs
-Managing a hostess club
-Mahjong mini-game
-Shogi mini-game
-Massage parlor mini-game
-Answer X Answer trivia game
-Convenience store magazine browsing (you can only see the covers)
-A handful of sub-missions all related to aforementioned cut contents (26 out of 126 substories to be precise)
The official explanation of the cut is due to the cultural gap between Japanese and westerners, Sega worried that it would not resonate as much with western gamers with the axed contents. I personally call this a load of crap for Yakuza 1 and 2 previously had massage parlor, casino, hostess club mini games. I assure you that the omitted contents really don't change the game at all. Only some of the extra side activities are cut and the game is already jam-packed with side activities. But it would be much nicer to maintain the integrity of the original work.
It's been a crazy couple of months for me. From belated port of 'Star Ocean: The Last Hope', revolutionary 3D adventure game called 'Heavy Rain' to highly controversial yet solid 'Final Fantasy XIII' and the return of the king in 'God of War 3', it really has been taxing on my budget. Now 'Yakuza 3' is another excellent addition to already impressive Playstation library filled with diversified entries, variaties and quality. With 'Fallout: New Vegas', 'Two Worlds II', 'Arcania: A Gothic Tale', 'God of War III', 'MGS: Peace Walker', 'Metroid: Other M', and possibly another Zelda, my urges and passion for CRPG and action adventure games will be thoroughly satisfied in the year 2010.
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I feel very torn in writing this review, as the release of Yakuza 3 in the US is the big carrot we must chase to get Yakuza 4 (which comes out in Japan a mere week after this release in the US) released stateside.
SEGA, I need you guys to pay attention. There's obviously been some miscommunication and misunderstanding in how this all should work. Ryu Ga Gotoku 3, the original Japanese title, is a fine and stellar game. It has a fantastic story, excellent mini games, substories and submissions to follow, and does what I feel is serve as an excellent representation of life in Japan, more to the point of life as a Japanese gangster.
The seedy underbelly and the familiar touches to anyone who has been to either Okinawa or Kabuki-cho in Shibuya are going to see massively detailed recreations at work here.
There was clearly a lot of love poured into the Japanese release. The US release, Yakuza 3, seems to have been the victim of time and poor project management. SEGA dodged questions for months regarding a western release of Yakuza 3, and when they finally announced their intentions, did so with the heaviest reservations possible.
To back this up a little bit, SEGA has had a troubled past with the series on the PS2 in the US. It's never been a high selling title, touted as a GTA game set in Japan. It's not really. It's basically Shenmue with more fighting, more gangsters, and a lot of seedy underbelly. There's no looking for sailors here or running off to look for a mirror. Your character is haunted by the violence surrounding his life and wants to be rid of the life he can never leave.
SEGA took the opportunity to take a heavy black marker to the full content of the Japanese release and started making deep and heavy cuts to the content.
Much was said about the Hostess Bar missions being cut for lack of purpose to the western audience, or that they removed the massage parlor in Kamuro-cho (the fake name for the real life Kabuki-cho).
I'm not here to defend or deny the need for those missions or content. What I'm far more worried about is how whitewashed and rushed the final product has become. There are large chunks of side story sub missions missing from the US release that were in the Japanese version. Missions that had absolutely nothing to do with the Hostess Bars or any illicit activity. Cutting Shogi and Mahjong? It's questionable why this was cut, but not Koi Koi or Oichi-ku.
I'm really disturbed that SEGA has set a trend in threatening the customer with regard to bringing the series stateside, but I want to contrast my concerns regarding the game with a very pertinent statement from Sega's own staffers.
Aaron Webber:
"It's not a question I can really answer for you, but I would encourage all fans of the series to show their support for Yakuza by picking up a copy [of Yakuza 3]. At the end of the day, numbers often speak loudest."
Speaking that the best way to see Yakuza 4 get localized in the US is to buy Yakuza 3 is an upsetting trend to someone who sees so much changed between the US and Japanese versions of the game.
SEGA, if you want to address this properly, tell the fans that when Yakuza 4 gets released stateside that it will not receive any cuts, that the gameplay, Nihongo-esque weirdness and all, will be fully intact.
As it is now, I have to rate the game with 4 stars because, it's identical to the Japanese version, but what's been cut is stuff that SEGA is deceiving it's customers into believing wasn't important to the original game.
When you release a game that's about life as a Japanese person, in Japan, cutting stuff that the western audience wouldn't understand is a ludicrous and silly decision to make at the expense of what is already a stellar title.
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After some thought I pre-ordered on impulse knowing this game would have too low of a supply for a clearance price drop but boy was I wrong about doubting this game. Best impulse pre-order ever. This game brought me back to the Dreamcast days. Think Shenmue/Virtua Fighter. The Yakuza 3 demo does not do this game justice.
Remember Jackie Chan for the Playstation? This game brought back memories of many Martial Artists. If you have any interest in Martial Arts BUY THIS GAME NOW. Adventure/Arcade style beat 'em up with RPG elements. Fast action with extremely fun mini games along the way. Yakuza 3 is so entertaining it does not need an online mode for a crutch. Coming from an online only fan this is a pretty good side step to step forward. It's just plain fun with a good story to boot.
Haven't played Yakuza 1 or 2? Don't worry this game has you covered. There are Yakuza 1 and 2 cinematics to get you caught up on the story.
Also like to add:
This reminds me of the older brother/sister spoiling Christmas...
Yakuza 3 is under the radar already. GO IMPORT it if you're such a snob to underrate this game because of import differences. If you are on the edge on either buying this or waiting for a Yakuza 4 import(and cannot read japanese) get this game you will not be disappointed.
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This excellent series is the definition of underrated. It is extremely popular in Japan, but not so much anywhere else. This is mostly due to the fact that the first 2 games were released on PS2 outside of Japan when the PS3 was already on shelves and next generation games were rolling in. It might also be due to the fact that it's very much a Japanese game (in terms of themes and culture). In fact, the first game was the only one to have english voices. That's not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.
I had never really played anything like the Yakuza games before. I wasn't sure what to think of the first game for the first couple of hours, but if you're willing to give it a chance, it grows on you like nothing else you've played before. Even if you have a hard time connecting to the Japanese feel of the game, you start to really care about the characters and you get heavily invested in the story and in the world. The best way for me to describe this series is a City-Brawler with lots of RPG elements, and plenty of goof-ball humor that is reminiscent of someone like Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle - and yes I know he's not Japanese). Even though Sega has made many mistakes with the launch of this game outside of Japan (taking too long to release it, bad cover art, no advertising, releasing it at the same time as games like God of War 3 and Final Fantasy XIII, and cutting content such as the Hostess Clubs), I hope this game sells well because I really want the franchise to continue outside of Japan, especially considering how amazing Yakuza 4 looks (and plays. I tried the demo on the Japanese PSN store).
If you're on the fence about this game, I have this to say to you: Please get the hell off of that fence and buy this game. I'm sure you've probably already seen that it's been getting great reviews - and if it's an issue of money, I say buy this first and wait to buy any other games you're wanting (such as Final Fantasy XIII). The goal here is to speak with our dollars, and if we buy this game new at the retail price, then Sega will find themselves more willing to localize future sequels of this excellent series. Besides, this game will probably go out of print soon, as opposed to something like Final Fantasy XIII which will still be available new for years to come (besides, I'm pretty sure that Yakuza 3 will score higher than FF XIII overall on gamerankings and metacritic). Buying this game used later will not benefit you or Sega - and you will feel really bad when you play the game and realize that this great series might not be in english anymore because you held off purchasing it until it was too late.
I also have to mention how the main character, Kazuma Kiryu, is just incredible. He's a total badass with a heart of gold. He is easily one of my favorite characters, and he deserves to be just as recognizable as some of Playstation's other big name stars - such as Kratos and Solid Snake.
I will close by saying that you need to buy this game. You will have a lot fun.
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I've only written a few product reviews on Amazon, but felt the need to chime in here. Yes, the game has been modified from its original Japanese presentation (about 20 hrs. of content cut from what was an 80 hr. game in Japan). And, yes, some of the cuts were obviously made to save on production costs and not because the material "isn't socially relevant" for a Western audience. However, with all that said, what remains is still one of the most enjoyable and deep games on the PS3. In fact, I find it hard to imagine that any game-loving adult (yes, Yakuza 3 is fairly violent in spots and NOT for kiddies) wouldn't be willing to overlook a few omissions for this fabulous game.
Having played the likes of "Assassin's Creed 2," "Heavy Rain," "Metal Gear Solid 4," "Valkyria Chronicles" and several other high (and not-so-high) profile games on the PS3, this is easily my favorite PS3 game so far. It oozes atmosphere and makes you feel like a gaming tourist in a fictionalized Tokyo.
Also, it must be said that by NOT buying the game (because of some personal crusade/vendetta against Sega due to the cuts) you will make it that much less likely that we see future Yakuza games in the West. And, more importantly, you'll simply be missing out on a really fun game.
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This game is for those who enjoys RPGs and Beat-em ups. Its pretty much the best of both worlds. The storyline is long but engaging and the side quests will keep you busy for hours on end. Like an RPG, there will be a lot of battles that await you but the combat is fun and highly addictive. You start the game with a small sufficient amount of moves but later on you will gain counter attacks and a wealth of extra but useful moves. The combat is fun due to "heat" moves, which is a move you can do when you fill a certain gauge up by beating people up. Once the gauge is full, you unleash a brutal attack on an enemy that can range from stylishly slashing them with a knife to smashing their face on concrete. The moves look brutal and they bring a smile to your face after unleashing them.
One thing people may not like is that the lock on isn't very precise in the game so you may find yourself hitting thin air but I believe it was done intentionally to prevent players from mashing buttons. You can't really get through the game by mashing buttons anyways. You have to strategize and find the right time to hit and dodge enemy attacks. The regular goons you fight don't pose much of a threat but bosses are when you have to utilize the fight engine to its fullest.
After beating enemies to a pulp, You will gain experience to use to level up your character's health, moves, etc... I'd prefer to learn moves than increase the character's health but that is just me. The best moves to learn are the ones you learn through optional side quests.
Overall, its a great game and worth trying out.
Graphically, the game is average. The game came out in 2009 in Japan and it uses the same graphics engine as a previous yakuza game in 2008 so it is outdated. The facial animations during cutscenes look great though. The US version had missions and minigames cut but honestly, it is not that big of a deal. You're going to get your money's worth out of this game anyways. A game like this is hard to find these days. Its rare that we get an RPG that plays like a brawler.
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The delay in Sega bringing Yakuza 3 to North American shores has been well worth the wait. Undoubtedly the best game in Sega's underrated series, Yakuza 3 packs a compelling storyline, a living, breathing, vibrant city environment, and some great action gameplay that is worth coming back to over and over again. For those who are familiar with the Yakuza series, not much has changed gameplay wise, which is indeed a good thing. Once again you play as Kazuma Kiryu, whose life of peace comes to an end when gangsters begin gunning for him. What sets Yakuza 3 apart from other free-roaming types of games is the sheer freedom of things that you can do. Ranging from confronting bullies to playing arcade games, Yakuza 3 offers hordes of replayability options. For newcomers to the series, there are lengthy video segments from the previous games that recap past story events, and while the game's fighting engine remains practically unchanged, it still provides some meaty action moments. The only real flaws with Yakuza 3 is the twitchy camera which can get quite annoying during combat, as well as the weapon crafting system, which feels like a throw away addition. Small flaws aside, Yakuza 3 is a spectacular free-roaming action/adventure game that is wholeheartedly worth your time, regardless of whether or not you've played the first two games of the series.
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Yakuza 3, known as Ryu ya Gotoku 3 (Like a Dragon 3), in Japan makes its Western appearance after two years following the second installment. Because the Yakuza are the Japanese mafia, more or less, Yakuza 3 has been described as Grand Theft Auto Japan, but the story, and many of the key gameplay elements, are very different from that successful title. The Yakuza franchise is also very popular in Japan with Yakuza 3 selling 500,000 units in that country alone, placing it second after Final Fantasy XIII and ahead of Capcom's Resident Evil 5 for sales.
Story: If you haven't played Yakuza 2 on the PlayStation 2, it will take a while to fully grasp the story. It is told from the perspective of Yakuza 3's main protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, a Chairman of the Tojo clan in the Yakuza. After spending time in jail, and the events of Yakuza 1 and Yakuza 2, Kazuma chooses to raise children in an orphanage as he was. Kazuma moves from Tokyo and relocates to Okinawa near the beach. Shortly thereafter, the land the orphanage is on gets embroiled in various crime plots and politics. The government wants to establish a new military base there, but business leaders, including members of the Yakuza, want a resort on the land as well. Because Kazuma in currently residing on the property, and many in the Tojo clan do not want evict Kazuma, this sparks backroom dealings, assassination attempts, and outright extortion, to try and get him to leave. Yakuza 3 takes place in two locations, a fictional Tokyo district called Kamurocho which is modeled after the real Tokyo district of Kabukicho, and the fictional Okinawa district of Ryukyu which shares similarities to Naha's Ichiba Dori. The cast of characters is quite large and the story can be convoluted as it carries over from previous Yakuza installments. There are, mercifully, videos included with the game that details events from the previous games.
Yakuza 3 is about as Japanese as you can get without actually having to buy a ticket and go there. The characters speak in Japanese with English subtitles, the fashion and culture is paired very closely with modern-day trends in Tokyo and Okinawa, and many of the locations in the game are inspired by, or are direct copies of, real-world areas. To keep with the sense of realism, some Japanese brands have their stores or products on display in the game. These include Don Quijote, which has a store you can buy from, complete with the catchy song "Miracle Shopping" which plays in all their real stores, Club Sega which also has arcade games you can play, PRONTO Cafe which you can dine in, Vivi and Weekly Morning magazines, numerous items which can be bought in stores and restaurants that exist outside the game, and many ads plastered all over the Kamurocho depicting real companies. This is a very Japanese game complete with all the quirks that add to the atmosphere of recreating Japanese areas.
Gameplay: Many people see Yakuza 3 as Shenmue 3 in the West, but this is very inaccurate. This game takes elements from many different games, but also changes them. Shenmue was more of an adventure game in a kind of less-gritty Japanese town. Shenmue's developers, also Sega, wanted to immerse gamers in the story and location, just as Yakuza's developers did. Aside from this, Yakuza 3 and Shenmue are very different, with Shenmue being more of an adventure where many inane or pointless activities or items to be looked at or used. This game has also been compared with Grand Theft Auto. Yakuza does have the gritty adult nature of that franchise, but, unlike GTA, Yakuza 3 has a richer story and a world with much more to do, immersed in Japan. Yakuza 3 is a type of blending on Shenmue with GTA, combined with a dusting of a fighter game.
There are several modes to Yakuza 3. The main mode you will be spending plenty of time in is the adventure mode. This is the part of the game where you move around, at first like a tourist in Japan, in the various districts. Here is where you acquire the 100 side missions, called sub stories, which add character to the game and hitman contracts. You can also find hidden locker keys and go out on dates with people you meet, for some reason, always hanging out in burger joints and ice cream stores. You can also spend your Yen and buy items from healing drinks, to weapons, all the way down to frivolous items like rings and magazines. While exploring, you can also partake in the myriad of minigames, such as the rhythm-based karaoke, Club Sega arcade games, a bowling game, darts, golf, billiards, baseball, fishing, and a slew of other gambling games. You can also participate in two different fighting tournaments, one under West Park and the other in a back alley near the Champion District of Kamurocho, foot races, and the occasional drinking game. All of these minigames are well done with the golf game being as full featured as many retail games, only lacking other golfers and a larger number of courses. Kazuma can also acquire revelations by pulling out his cameraphone, and snapping pictures of an event. After the quick time event picture taking session, you have to choose from three options about what just happened. If you pick the correct option, you get a new skill. There is always plenty to do in this game.
Aside from the adventure mode and the full motion videos in the event mode, lies the battle mode for Yakuza 3. Not being a fan of fighting games, I was a little apprehensive about this part of the game, but the battle sequences are not that difficult to figure out and are not ridiculously hard. There is a button for punches, kicks, grabs, sidestepping, blocking, and locking on. Kazuma has a health meter and another called heat. The heat gauge allows for you to do special moves and can KO most standard enemies outright and heavily damage bosses. Heat moves are standard special moves, but, since this is Yakuza, you can pick up an enemy and slam him into another or face first into a car. Kazuma can increase his health, learn new moves, and increase the heat gauge by earning experience, Exp., and leveling up four different areas. Each of the four areas max out at level ten and require increasing amounts of experience. The battles are usually against a small party of enemies with some rare boss battles being one-on-one. The lock on feature is largely useless in most battles as you can only lock onto a single enemy. Maneuvering Kazuma around the battle arena can be a little tricky as you have to factor in the camera direction and getting lined up properly. In Yakuza 3, you can also use any item which isn't nailed down to fight with. Thus, trash cans can be effective at taking enemies out, as can couches, dropped stun guns, street signs, bikes, and any number of random objects. Every item, both random and actual weapons, can only be used a limited number of times before breakage. Because of this, it makes little sense to buy and upgrade weapons since they break so easily. Many opponents carry weapons into battle so you don't have to buy any. You can simply KO an enemy holding a baseball bat, pick the bat up, and swing away against the remaining enemies.
Misc.: I was a big fan of Shenmue for the Dreamcast and was eager to try Yakuza 3. This game captures the immersive nature of that previous game very well while fleshing out a very grown up, if not convoluted, story. Although the game is loaded with minigames, secondary stories, and even romance at love hotels, it is not the exact title released in Japan February 2009. To meet certain deadlines, and to make the game a little more relatable, and in some cases, less offensive, to Western audiences, certain content was cut. The Japanese trivia game was removed since few Americans or Europeans know contemporary Japanese trivia like "Which famous band played on which Japanese Sunday morning show?" along with other obscure questions. Another element taken out was the hostess clubs. The concept of these clubs are totally foreign to many audiences but there was a lengthy sub story surrounding these clubs which had to be removed. Strip clubs, however, still exist as does the two host clubs tied to the main story, Stardust and Canal Grande. The erotic massage parlor minigame was also cut, as were the Mahjong and Shogi games.
I really enjoyed this game, despite the barrier to entry, mainly not having played the first two Yakuza's and not knowing any of the characters or back story. Yakuza 3 caught me up fairly quickly and I at least had a vague idea as to what was going on with everyone. The sub stories do vary widely in quality and scale, but really add to making the game feel like a living world. Like every game, this one is not perfect. For me, the most irritating factor with this game is the random battles. At first, they were quite fun, once I learned how to handle Kazuma. However, as they dragged on, the battles became grating and I could only play the game for a short while because of them. The battles, which can take place in large public streets filled with pedestrians, police, and security cameras, are against the Japanese version of the white suburban rappers or pudgy daddy types in sweaters. These battles would be frequent, fighting on one street, then, three blocks later, fighting again. Occasionally, they would be against the slightly more difficult Yakuza but usually they were not. These battles are quite easy, more often than not, none would lay a finger on me or cause very little damage. When these battles are over, I usually got a worthless item, like comfy soles or charcoal, which can be used to upgrade weapons which, in turn, are totally unnecessary to buy. By chapter nine (Out of twelve) or so, the absurdity of these battles really set in. They were nothing but speed bumps keeping me from doing sub stories or other, more fun, activities. To recap, here you are racing through Kamurocho to your next date or sub story, run into some Eminem looking dude throwing signs, wait ten seconds or so for the battle arena to load, which, if you're becoming increasingly annoyed always takes too long, hit six buttons to take out one enemy then do it again over and over, finish the battle, get a stuffed toy, run a few blocks and do it over again. If these battles took place on side streets or back alleys, or were not as frequent, I would have no problems with them. By chapter eleven, I had enough and decided to complete the main story. I liked everything with the game, except this one thing.
On the more technical side of things, this game runs at 720p, and looks ever so slightly dated. It's not too bad, but it lacks at times. The full motion videos are well done and are highly detailed. The voice acting is top notch and I think it was a good idea not to have English voiceovers. Some people may not like reading subtitles, which can be turned off, but with a game so immersed in Japanese culture, anything other than the language in which the game is set, would be a serious blow. The music is also well done covering everything from standard orchestral, to rock, to Enka, to J-Pop, and J-Rock. The soundtrack is worth buying as many of the songs are quite good, even if you don't understand some of the lyrics in a few of them. I competed the game in 36 hours having leveled up all four areas to eight, finishing 68 sub stories, and playing, not high scoring, all minigames. Even after all that, I still only had 30 percent completion. As for trophies, get ready to play this game for many, many hours. Trophies favor completion, you have to perform all 100 sub stories, some sub stories go away as you complete chapters, get the high score in all minigames, find keys to the coin lockers, and beat the game on the highest difficulty setting in addition to other equally involved tasks. Most trophies are bronze and expect to spend over 100 hours doing everything with multiple playthroughs. Only the most dedicated fans, or obsessive trophy hunters, should even think about getting platinum. This was a great game and is suggested for anyone who liked Shenmue, Japanese culture, or rich and lengthy games.
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You're being surrounded by a bunch of yakuza punks in a small children's park. They were hassling a woman, trying to take her
back to their boss, until you and your buddy stepped in. Soon, you're fending off these five or six thugs with kicks, uppercuts
and curb stomps. All of a sudden, when it just comes down to you and one other punk, you spy a pair of pliers lying on the
ground; you don't know why they're there, but you don't give it a second thought and quickly snag them. In a heartbeat, you've
taken the last punk in a headlock and messily ripped one of his teeth from his mouth, throwing him to ground and watching him
roll around in pain. This isn't the latest blockbuster action flick; it's just one of the many crazy moments from the superb world of "Yakuza 3."
Story: A-
An ex-yakuza chairman, Kazuma Kiryu left behind his path of violence and destruction in order to open up an orphanage on the
island of Okinawa. After a brief period of peace, he's soon sucked back into the world of violence when a developer threatens
to run him and the orphans he cares for out of their home, in order to build a resort and military base so as to stimulate
Okinawa's waning economy. This sets off a series of events both serious and lighthearted in nature. Moments of violence
and gritty crime drama are interspersed with missions which involve taking care of your kids and finding food for a stray dog.
Unlike the plot of "Grand Theft Auto IV", which was a more or less monotoned look at the criminal underworld, "Yakuza 3" crafts
a truly complex and intricate web of a plot, laced with heart-pounding action sequences and more conspiracies than you can
shake a stick at.
Gameplay: A+
To some, this may seem like a run-the-mill button-mashing affair; you've got your square button for light attacks, triangle for
heavy attacks, and circle for grab. However, this is prevented from getting stale by the colorful assortment of moves Kazuma
has at his disposal, as well as the fact that a great deal of objects can be picked up and wielded with deadly proficiency.
Hammer a street punk down to the ground with a nearby bicycle, or smash a boss stage in the face with a leather sofa. How
much enjoyment the combat provides is directly tied to just how much you like wreaking untold levels of unrealistic violence.
Very light RPG elements are also involved, as you gather experience from beating up gang members and helping out citizens, which
can be applied towards health expansions and new fight moves.
As far as exploration is concerned, you guide Kazuma through the streets of Okinawa and Tokyo, searching for side-missions while
at the same time following the main plot of the game. A few of the locations you can visit include weapons shops, crowded market-
places and seedy bars. Wandering the crowded streets never gets dull, because much like the random battles of a traditional RPG,
there is always a threat of some lone punk stepping out of the shadows and challenging you to a fight. There are no load screens
between the battles and the exploration, which makes it all the more enjoyable. "Yakuza 3" has the right balance of action and
exploration, striking the right chord with both seasoned gamers and newbies alike.
Sound: A-
The game includes superb voice acting, which is all in Japanese, and a varied soundtrack which jumps from J-Pop, to orchestral
pieces, then all the way to classic Japanese enka music. Sound always fits the mood perfectly in this game, and that is a big
feat in and of itself.
Graphics: A
It's rare to find such an accurate depiction of Japan in a video game ("Persona 4" did a pretty decent job; however, it was a little
fantastical because of the overall tone of the game itself), but "Yakuza 3" nails it spot-on. Streets are packed to the brim with
people, tiny alleyways are all over the place, and real-world locations are rendered with the utmost accuracy. Also noteworthy is
the use of real Japanese products (Boss canned coffee, C.C. Lemon, and Young Magazine, to name a few), which add to the overall
authenticity of the game.
Character models are very well constructed, facial movements are convincing and never feel strained, and the aforementioned
locations you visit are truly immersing. The only complaint I can warrant are the deceptive cutscenes, which are gorgeous, but
then set you up for thinking the in-game graphics look THAT good, which they definitely do not. Not that the in-game graphics
are BAD, but they definitely aren't as beautiful as the cutscenes would lead you to believe.
IN THE END:
"Yakuza 3" stands as one of the exclusive titles that PS3 owners can flaunt proudly. Japanophiles will love it for it's accurate
portrayal of the country they love so much, and action junkies will love the variety of ways they can defeat their enemies (Hint:
handheld flamethrower + random goon's face= good times!). If you have PS3, then there's really no reason you shouldn't be playing
this game.
OVERALL GRADE: A+
Note: For those (like me) who didn't play the first two entries in this series, and fear that they will be alienated by the plot, don't
worry: from the main menu, you can access two extended cutscenes which explain the events leading up to "Yakuza 3." Plus, the story is
really easy to jump into, and after about five to ten hours of play, you have a good idea of who's who in the plot.
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