Yakuza 3 Reviews

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Several months ago, I introduced you to Jake Adelstein, the who spent 12 years as a crime beat reporter in Japan and wrote about it in his book. In Tokyo Vice, we meet Adelstein's arch-nemesis, a former yakuza boss named Tadamasa Goto; we also learn Adelstein he has a hodge podge of allies in the pervasive Japanese underworld. Turns out he's good enough friends with a few high-ranking gangster bosses that he was able to convince them to conduct an experiment for Boing Boing: to evaluate, a popular video game about the infamous gangsters created for ordinary citizens.

And so it was that Adelstein showed up at a shady real estate office in Tokyo one Thursday afternoon with a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of Duty-Free whiskey to teach these gangsters how to handle a PlayStation controller. — LisaIt's a Thursday afternoon in Tokyo, and I'm sitting in the reception area of a real estate rental agency playing a video game. The real estate agency is actually a front company for the yakuza — the reception area doubles as a mini mob office, and on the same floor are the living quarters for young yakuza in training. The young yakuza come in and out of the room on occasion to empty the ashtrays and pour us tea. A security camera gazes down at us from the door.This spring, Sega USA released Yakuza 3, the US version of the popular yakuza simulation/action game Ryu Ga Gotoku 3. The player takes on the role of Kazama Kiryu, a former yakuza boss and legendary enforcer. The story revolves around Kiryu's new life as the manager of an orphanage and his return to mob life when a real estate development project in Okinawa — linked to corrupt politicians, another yakuza group, and the CIA — results in circumstances which force him to fight back and protect the orphanage from being torn down.

He must avenge attacks on his nobler yakuza brethren and reunite his former gang. In the process, he visits hostess clubs, reads sleazy magazines in convenience stores, and kicks the ass of every street-punk and loser that crosses his path. He also spends the first part of the game taking care of cute orphan kids and cooking for them. (Rarely have schmaltz and violence been so well integrated into a console game!) As Kiryu, the player gets to explore in depth the island of Okinawa and the red-light district of Tokyo, Kabukicho (renamed Kamurocho for the game).

As a game for katagi (yakuza slang for 'civilians' or 'non-yakuza'), it's tremendous fun — but what do the yakuza think of this game? How do they rate it? I was able to get three reviewers from the major crime groups who do not want to be identified by their real name. (While yakuza fan magazines do exist and the yakuza are not a hidden part of Japanese society, due to, the 'reviewers' here choose to remain anonymous.) Midoriyama is a now-retired former mid-level faction boss. Shirokawa is a high-ranking boss from a different group connected to Midoriyama through a ritual sake exchange. Kuroishi knows them both but is also from a different group.

I enlist the aid of a teenager to show the yaks how to actually play a videogame. Even then, it's tough going. Of the three reviewers, only Kuroishi manages to play it all the way to the end.

Two of the three are missing their pinkies — in the old days, when a yakuza or his subordinates screwed up, they chopped off pinkies as an act of atonement — and this seems to affect their gameplay.Except for some hamonjo — notices of expulsion of a yakuza member circulated amongst yakuza groups — taped to the wall above the couch, this could be a waiting room at the Sony headquarters. There's a small bookshelf full of phone directories, files, manga, magazines, and DVDs. (Among the comic books I notice several issues of Shizukanarudon, a long running comedy series about a white collar worker employed at a women's underwear manufacturing company by day and transforms into a tough-as-nails yakuza boss at night.) The only other slightly unusual detail is a semi-nude centerfold of a young Japanese porn star posted on the wall, close to the door, with her signature on it.I ask the yakuza to compare the game as they play it to their actual life experiences as yakuza; here are some highlights.

ENVIRONMENTM: I've never been to Okinawa, but Kabukicho is dead on.S: You mean the old Kabukicho. Governor Ishihara's totally ruined the place. It's like a ghost town.K: It's like going back in time.

Koma Theater is there, the pink salons, the Pronto Coffee shops, the Shinjuku Batting center, the love hotels.S: You got your salaryman in there, the delinquent school girl and her sugar daddy, Chinese people, and even those Nigerian touts. What's with all the fucking gaijin (foreigners) in the area anyway? It used to be just Japanese, Koreans and Chinese.M: Don't say gaijin. Say Gaikokujin. It's more polite. Jake's a gaijin.S: Yeah, I forget sometimes. What's with all the fucking gaikokujin in Kabukicho anyway?K: Internationalization.

The world's a smaller place. The Nigerians? They marry Japanese chicks. They get a permanent visa. The cops can't get rid of them and they're good at steering customers into shady places.

The young Japanese punks we hire, they give up, they don't browbeat drunks into bringing business to our establishments. They got no backbone. The Nigerians are aggressive.

They can make good touts. By the way, Adelstein, usually when we say gaijin we mean non-Asian foreigners like you and the Nigerians.

Not the Chinese or the Koreans.S: Yeah, Koreans are chosenjin, not gaijin.M: I like the fact that you power up by eating real food. Shio ramen gives you a lot of power — CC Lemon, not as much. It all makes sense.S: The breaded pork cutlet bento box is like mega power. More than ramen.

That's accurate.K: If they had shabu (crystal meth) as a power-up item, that would be realistic. It's a yakuza game.S: They have sake!M: Kiryu is an executive, right? We all know the guys at the top don't drink or do speed.S: Yeah, not anymore.M: Can you smoke in the game? That should be a power-up.S: Cigarettes and shabu should be in every yakuza game. Author's note: A heated discussion takes place as to whether the game is stereotyping the yakuza, which is resolved when Midoriyama points out that the stereotypes about the yakuza are more or less correct, with the exception of their alleged prowess in martial arts.M: The corporate yakuza guys get a thumbs up for realism.

Financially savvy. Obsessed with money. Sneaky and conniving. Ruthless.S: There are a lot of guys whom I feel like I know. The dialogue is right too. They sound like yakuza.K: Braggarts, bullies, and sweet-talkers. I agree — it feels like I know the guys on the screen.M: Kiryu is the way yakuza used to be.

We kept the streets clean. People liked us. We didn't bother ordinary citizens. We respected our bosses. Now, guys like that only exist in video games.S: I don't know any ex-yakuza running orphanages.K: There was one a few years ago. A good guy.M: You sure it wasn't just a tax shelter?K: Sure it was a tax shelter but he ran it like a legitimate thing. You know.FASHIONAuthor's note: Kuroishi and Shirokawa are both wearing dark green suits, the former by Armani and the latter handmade in the posh Ginza district from local fabric.

Midoriyama is wearing gray sweatpants and a faded sweatshirt emblazoned with a drawing of Doraemon.M: What's the deal with Kiryu's scarlet red shirt? He's supposed to be a former boss of the Inagawakai-and he dresses like a chinpira (low level yakuza punk). He's a yakuza, not a host.S: Except for Kiryu's crappy shirt, it's realistic. The top executive yakuza are all wearing good suits.

They look like businessmen. The cabaret girls have incredible outfits.The hosts in the game are dressed like hosts.

Somebody did his homework.K: The lady cop, her outfit is perfect too. The boring black suit with the white blazer. That's what a woman yakuza cop dresses like.M: Except for Kiryu's shirt, good. And his tattoo.S: Not much of a tattoo.K: Only on his back as far as I can tell. Maybe he ran out of enough money to get it finished. FIGHT SCENESAuthor's note: Midoriyama gets very excited during the fighting sequences, standing up from the couch at points and actually lurching towards the screen.

Kuroishi never loses his cool playing the game and keeps practicing combinations until he gets it right. Shirokawa curses under his breath, but whenever he wins he yells 'Yatta!'

They all agree that the combat is strictly fantasy material, with some exceptions.S: Nobody ever dies. It's unrealistic.K: Kiryu is fighting all the time.

He's gotta be a fucking idiot. No yakuza is going to run around getting into fistfights like that.

Especially not an executive type. He'll wind up in jail or in the hospital or dead, maybe even whacked by his own people for being a troublemaker. These days, he'd probably get kicked out before even going to jail. Guys like that start gang wars and nobody wants that now. When a yakuza gets into a fight, it's serious business.M: A real fight-it's short and it's brutal. Over in a minute.

Nobody goes around trading blows and crap like that. Usually the first guy to punch wins.K: I like that you can grab things like ashtrays or billboards and beat the crap out of the punks bothering you.

Or smash their faces into car windows. That's what you'd really do in a fight, grab something and use it as a weapon.S: Why doesn't he just shoot them?K: That would be unrealistic. Nobody is going to waste a bullet on some street punk, like the ones that keep bugging Kiyru.M: If they wanted to make it realistic, he'd pull out a gun and shoot it and miss! Or the damn thing wouldn't fire. That would be realistic. (They all laugh).K: Shooting people sends a message.M: So does shooting anything.

Shooting people gets you sent to jail.K: That's part of the job description. Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our.We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.Boing Boing uses cookies and analytics trackers, and is supported by advertising, merchandise sales and affiliate links. Read about what we do with the data we gather in our.Who will be eaten first? Our forum rules are detailed in the.Boing Boing is published under except where otherwise noted.

A few months ago Al and myself had the opportunity to attend a media event in New York City that showcased upcoming titles from SEGA. And although the room was packed with some serious quality titles, there was one in particular that had us shaking in anticipation of its release. That game was Yakuza 3. Not only has it been worth the wait but also, in what seems like an ocean of endless amounts of first-person shooters hitting store shelves every week, Yakuza 3 is a breath of fresh air. AdvertisementWhen reviewing games, one has to try their best to remain as objective as possible. The hardest thing to do is to not draw comparisons to other titles.

However, this proved simply impossible with Yakuza 3, as it reminded me mostly of one of my favorite titles of all time.Now, normally I wouldn’t want to mention another title during a review, however the comparisons between Yakuza 3 and the other title in question are indistinguishable. The other title is Shenmue, which to this day is probably one of the most memorable titles of the last decade. And while its fans and cult-like following are constantly on the look out for a third installment to that series, they could be missing out in its first true spiritual successor in Yakuza 3.There’s something that needs to be mentioned right off the bat, especially when reviewing Yakuza 3. I know that after reading the title it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it’s a title with a heavy Japanese influence. But just how much of an influence do you ask?

Well, lets just say that you probably won’t hear a single word of English during your play through. Maybe one, but a very generic word like “no” or something.Aaron Webber, Community Manager for SEGA, told us (during the NYC event) that the use of the original audio was done to preserve the original AAA Japanese voice cast. At first I was skeptical, as I normally wouldn’t consider myself as hardcore as those gamers who play JRPG’s with the original voices. However, after playing through Yakuza 3, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if it were done any other way. The voices in the game were badass to say the least.Unfortunately, as good as the voices were, they were only used primarily during the game’s cut scenes.

In other words, if there were a scene of importance, you would be treated to a pre-rendered (almost in-game engine) cut scene, full of that same awesome voice over, mentioned earlier, and then the game would transition into a text based (in engine) dialogue between characters. It was kind of cool to go back to this old-school style of game dialogue, however, games did this back in the day because of capacity issues. These issues, especially with the capacity that the PS3 offers thanks to Blu-Ray, should be a non-factor.

If anything, this comes off as being more lazy than nostalgic on the developer’s part.If you’re looking for a game that you can get lost in, then Yakuza 3 is definitely the way to go as it has enough story to quench any gamers’ thirst. Now, even if you’re unfamiliar with the previous two titles in the series, that shouldn’t be a reason to not pick up this title. The beginning of the game actually opens up in a cemetery where you can walk around and read the headstones of those that have perished in the previous titles. During this time is when you’re given the opportunity to watch clips from the first two titles and get yourself completely caught up into exactly what’s going on.

AdvertisementOne thing that definitely comes in abundance is replay value. While the main story campaign took me about 19 hours to get through, my completion percentage was only around 21 percent. When I say that you can get lost while exploring this game, it truly is an understatement. Want to go pick up a girl at Smile Burger (maybe even fight their boyfriend) and then take her out for some Karaoke?

Want to waste hours of your life hanging out in the local arcade so you can try to win a plush toy in an impossible to win crane game? Want to okay I’ll stop, but you get the idea. Basically if you’re going to try to get a Platinum trophy for this game you better clear off your schedule for a few months.My biggest gripe about this game (because it definitely isn’t all wine and roses) is the mandatory install and load times. The load times would be a non-issue had I not been forced to install 5GB of game data. Yet, I had to and now I’m out 5GB less disk space because of it. If this game had been released two years back I wouldn’t be so harsh, but we’re already in 2010 and I don’t put up with this when it comes to 1 st party exclusives, however 3 rd party exclusives won’t get any special treatment from me either. It’s unfortunate, but I had to take away some cool points because of it.Yakuza 3, while not perfect, is definitely a very welcome return to greatness for Japanese-made action titles.

It has something for everyone and I feel that it has enough good qualities that it may even have the ability to lure in players that wouldn’t normally play a game like it. If you’re a fan of Shenmue and its sequel, then buying this game is a no brainer. Don’t walk, run to the store.

If you’re on the fence about this title, you owe it to yourself to at least try it. You will probably be pleasantly surprised with what you find.

Now, if you’ll please excuse me I need to go listen to The Vapor’s only hit “I’m turning Japanese.” Sayonara!Title: Yakuza 3Developer: CS1 TeamPublisher: SegaPlatform Reviewed: PS3.