Yakuza 3 Launch Resource

Against all odds, Yakuza 3 was released today in the US! To help get everyone prepared and ready for the face punching, gun slinging, crime story madness, I’ve compiled this Yakuza 3 Launch Resource.

GAMEPLAY

Yakuza 3 is an RPG that takes place in a realistic recreation of various parts of Japan. It has open world gameplay and the series sheds traditional RPG combat for that of a brawler. If you’ve played Shenmue, Yakuza is essentially an evolution of that concept. You won’t be bored in Yakuza 3 even when you decide to not advance the story, the cities are filled with shops, restaurants and tons of diversions, like arcades, golf, massages, strip clubs and more. You get experience for everything you do, so even when you’re munching on some ramen, you’re building up your character’s levels. As you level up the various aspects of your character, you get stronger and learn more moves.

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STORY

You don’t need to have played Yakuza 1 or 2 to play Yakuza 3. If you are interested in the stories of the first two games, Yakuza 3 allows you to watch quick overviews of all the important story elements of the previous titles. You can choose not to watch these overviews though and will likely still not be lost, but it does help those new to the series, or those who are forgetful, to remember all the key characters and backstory of the world. If you like dramatic crime stories that treat you like an adult, you’re likely to really enjoy the story in a Yakuza title. They have some of the best writing and interesting stories in video games, which is part of the reason the series is so loved.

If you absolutely need to see what the story is like prior to buying Yakuza 3, StrikeArranges on YouTube has all of the cinematics for Yakuza 1 and Yakuza 2.

PRESENTATION

Let’s get this out of the way from the start, Yakuza 3 has Japanese audio with English subtitles. If you can’t stand subbed games or movies, then you’ll likely want to avoid this title. I think this was the best choice for a game that is so thoroughly Japanese, and it really adds to the authentic nature, as well as convey how scary a yakuza style voice sounds, but I can understand not everyone wants to read while being entertained. Yakuza 3 is a very visually impressive title, with a lot of artistry and budget behind what you see on screen. That said, some people may be turned off by the fact that not every line of dialogue is spoken. This is fairly standard for a JRPG, but it’s certainly less common this generation. The characters still animate and act while giving non-spoken dialogue though, so the humor or drama of the conversation is still conveyed. The combat looks great and realistic a lot of the time, but there are some ridiculous animations or items that can be used in a fight. I think this adds to the enjoyment, but some may be a bit sour on this element, especially if they haven’t grown up playing brawlers.

REALISM

I was going to talk about how realistic the city and its inhabitants are in the presentation section, but it’s such an important part of Yakuza, that I wanted to give it a section all its own. I’ve never played a game series that made me feel so thoroughly in the city or world its portraying as in the Yakuza games. The series uses real locations, items, fashion, culture and opinions to make you feel like you’re virtually transported to Japan. I had some appreciation for this when I played Yakuza 1, but I went to Japan prior to playing Yakuza 2 and going back to the game after actually having been to Japan for real, I was even more blown away by how well the series nails the feel of Japan. If you’ve ever wanted to visit Japan, but never got the chance, this is a relatively cheap first step to seeing what your experience may be like. Playing these games just makes me wish that there were more games like this for other countries in the world. All too often cities or countries in games are so falsified that they become indistinguishable from anywhere else in the world.

EDITS

SEGA unfortunately edited out some parts of Yakuza 3 from the Japanese original. Most noticably the arcade Quiz game Answer x Answer and the Hostess Clubs are removed entirely. They said at first this was for cultural reasons, but then stated these elements were cut due to a lack of production time. Recently it was found that SEGA was holding back some info on the gaming public, as whole side-quests are also cut out of nearly every chapter of the game. I honestly think it’s bullshit that SEGA made this move, but I gladly bought Yakuza 3 because I didn’t really ever think it had a chance in hell of coming out over here (Yakuza 1 & 2 didn’t sell well outside of Japan). So I urge anyone who is upset about these changes to still purchase the game. Trust me, SEGA has gotten the message at this point that they fucked up and if Yakuza 3 sells well enough for them to warrant bringing the 4th here, I’m sure they won’t make the same mistake again. Of course there’s no chance of that happening if Yakuza 3 doesn’t sell.

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BOX ART

If you don’t like the changes that SEGA made to the box art for its US release, VGBoxArt has some user created alternatives that might please you more.

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.CREATOR

Toshihiro Nagoshi is the producer of the Yakuza games. If you don’t know the name, you may know some of the other games he’s worked on. Super Monkey Ball is what he’s best known for outside of Japan, but he’s also had a hand in Phatasy Star Online, Puyo Puyo 7, F-Zero GX and of course Shenmue (among others). He’s known for how tan he is and his unique fashion choices. Personally, I think he looks like he’d be at home in a yakuza clan, as the picture of him and above clearly shows.

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