Yakuza 3 Review

Sad but true: Yakuza never really made it big in the west. Reasons vary depending on who you listen to. Some say that they were “too Japanese,” others decry the lack of marketing, and yet more considered it a step back from the western Grand Theft Auto 3. Despite this, the series managed to pick up a rabid fanbase – a rabid fanbase that was none too pleased when it learned that Yakuza 3 wasn’t coming to the west. When it saw the number of people demanding the game’s release, Sega finally relented and gave us a translated version of Kazuma Kiryu’s latest adventures.Following the traumatic events of Yakuza 2, ageing ex-Yakuza Kazuma has retired to Okinawa to run an orphanage while wearing a hilariously incongruous Hawaiian shirt. Naturally, his hopes for an idyllic life don’t quite go according to plan as it’s not long before politics and organised crime conspire to once more get him back in his suit and back on the streets of fictional Tokyo district Kamurocho.If you’re not sure what the traumatic events of Yakuza 2 are, fear not, as Yakuza 3 tries to be welcoming to the newcomer. Both the main menu and the start of the game give you the option to watch the story of the first two games unfold via the medium of abridged cutscenes and voiceovers, and the in-game menu has a helpful chart showing every major character and their relations to every other major character, with further detail available on request. Considering the Byzantine web of relationships and betrayals, this is a remarkably useful little tool.That’s not to say you won’t be confused from time to time, though. If you’ve yet to experience something full of Japanese names, prepare to be bewildered as you try to remember who Daigo Dojima is, whether he has any relation to Tsuyoshi Kanda, and which – if either – have anything to do with the Hakuho Clan. While there’s the relationship chart if you get particularly stumped, it may not be accessible enough. It’s a hard thing to introduce the third in a story-heavy series to newcomers, and while Yakuza 3 makes all the efforts possible, it’ll still require effort to get to grips with the labyrinthine backstory. Yes, you can sit down and watch the highlights of the first two games, but the chances of you remembering everything pertinent after that half hour is over are fairly slim.Other than the crime thriller aspect, in which you’ll be dealing with all of these decidedly murky characters and trying to work out whodunnit, why they did it, and, in fact, what they actually did, you’ll be spending your time wandering the streets of either Okinawa or Kamurocho. You’ll have a goal pretty much all of the time, whether it’s something big like going to have words with a Yakuza clan leader or something small like buying groceries for the orphanage, but unless something particularly time-sensitive is happening then you can go and explore to your heart’s content. This is rewarded within the game – there are plenty of subquests in each district, as well as locker keys to find, hitmen to hunt down, and more. These subquests, fittingly titled substories, honestly deserve more time than they’re going to get here, but each one delves into the world of Yakuza in some way, shape, or form, and generally expands on Kazuma’s character. It doesn’t matter whether you’re finding water for an old lady or rescuing kidnap victims – you’ll find out quickly that Kazuma takes no shit and, despite a rough exterior and a rough past, he’s a guy with a good heart.Of course, with Kazuma being the violence magnet that he is, you can’t walk down a street without being accosted by a lowlife with thirst for blood and an amusingly thin pretext. At this stage, combat begins, and it works much the same way it always has: the crowds disperse into a ring around you and your opponents, effectively acting as the arena walls, and you kick the living crap out of your foes.You’ve got your standard light attacks and heavy attacks, both of which can be comboed, in addition to the wonderful Streets of Rage-style ability to pick up pretty much any object nearby and savage your opponent with it. Brutalising opponents without taking much in the way of damage builds up Kazuma’s Heat gauge, which allow him to access some spectacularly brutal special moves.{PAGE TITLE=Yakuza 3 Review Page 2}And this is the way melee combat should be done. When I say brutal, I mean it: watching Kazuma stamp on someone’s face and seeing blood spurt from their broken nose is one thing. Having him smash their head into a wall and then, as they start to crumple, knee their head into the wall again is something else. That doesn’t even come close to some of the vicious, vicious things that man can do with weapons.Further moves can be unlocked during your wanderings through the districts in a new system called Revelations. Following a meeting with a photographer, Kazuma gets the ability to take photos of ongoing events (their locations hinted at through in-game emails and SMS messages) which can inspire a “Revelation.” These Revelations result in Kazuma getting an idea for a new move from the photographs, which he then uploads to his blog (no, I’m not kidding.)Combat is quick and flows well, and against the majority of goons you’ll face, it’s fun and simple. When you start coming up against bosses, things take a slightly different turn: most have their own fighting style and a quirk of their own which needs to be compensated for if you don’t want to be the one nursing a bloody face. All in all, there’s a nice mix of challenge.That said, there’s the sneaking suspicion that the frequent combat is in there not so much to break things up as it is to pad things out. A jaunt across town that should take a minute will become five minutes when, at every intersection, you get into a fight with lowlifes. The combat’s fun enough that you don’t really mind, but you’ll certainly wish it didn’t happen quite so often.Those really are the disparate parts of the game: combat, story, and wandering. As with all the best things, though, Yakuza is more than the sum of its parts. The game has heart. Kazuma is a genuinely likeable character, and Yakuza’s frequent changes of pace from the dark underbelly of Kamurocho to the day-to-day of running an orphanage make the world – and Kazuma’s responsibilities – feel a lot more real. By the end you’ll like characters, you’ll respect characters, and I guarantee you will loathe characters. There is little more satisfying in games than beating the living crap out of amoral monsters, and Yakuza 3 has its share.In the end, the overarching problem with Yakuza 3 is that it might just be trying to do too much without looking at what’s holding it back. While the visuals, framerates, and loading times are a vast improvement on previous iterations, there are some mechanics in there that seriously need an overhaul, with the worst of the bunch being the limited inventory system. It’s not really acceptable that almost everything you have – be it weapons, armour, or items – takes up a slot. With three weapons, three pieces of armour, and three restorative items, you’re already halfway through your limit. When you factor in the ability to modify and create items (which require you to take materials to certain shops) you’re going to be doing a lot of inventory shuffling and ferrying kit back and forth.Still, those with the mental fortitude to withstand a barrage of Japanese names and customs without succumbing to culture shock will have a blast. Yakuza 3 has good characters, a good story, plenty to do, and some of the most brutal but realistic melee combat we’ve seen. If you fancy experiencing a fictionalised version of Japan, immersing yourself into an excellent crime thriller, or playing what’s likely the closest thing we’ll ever see to another Shenmue game, then Yakuza 3 comes highly recommended.