Yakuza 3

  I didn't play any of the previous Yakuza's, but I was well aware that it was a what could be described as a SBS style of video game. By that I mean its foreign and has subtitles so if you can't read then this isn't the game for you. If your still reading this review after that 'revelation' (more on that later) Yakuza 3 could be best described as a modern successor to Streets of Rage meets Grand Theft Auto. 

You take charge of Kazuma Kiryu an ex Yukuza mobster/part time chairman of the Tojo clan and owner of an orphanage. Kazuma has quite a bit on his plate and when his orphanage becomes under threat he quickly discovers that there is more to this than a desperate grab for land titles. The outset sees you helping the annoying children with their go here get this type missions. I must say some are quite heartfelt but on the grand scale the game picks up once you leave for Tokyo. 

In Tokyo you'll find meet up with old friends from the previous games, who mean nothing to me but as long as it means me getting to punch the heck out of someone the its fine by me. Other high points are some of the side activities that are really well polished. There is a golf course that plays and feel very nice and could work as a standalone game in itself, and it is woven into the story very nicely. This is one of the moments in  Yakuza where your left in awe of the achievement that this game is. Yet Yakuza never fails to bring back down to the boring and mundane tasks of helping out the kids, chasing a cat or taking your girlfriend to Karaoke.

 It seems to be something that is in nearly all Japanese games, there is a flash of brilliance followed with a design decision that leaves you scratching your head. Brilliance which is 'Revelation system.' Throughout the game  Kazuma is emailed by a friend of an interesting thing that is about to happen  and you should get there and capture it on your camera phone.  For example I was informed of a 'Drunk Man' getting into trouble outside a bar. I was able to trigger of a Quick Time Event and capture the event unfolding. I then choose an appropriate title and post it on my blog. After competing this successfully I was able to have the revelation of learning Drunken Boxing. There are 10 in the game all of which are quirkily Japanese and are well worth the exploration. After this flash of brilliance comes random battles. I can be walking in downtown Tokyo with one of my kids and some punk comes up and wants to start some shit. A few maybe or how about being warned about a dangerous street or shady alley so I can avoid it if I don't want to be bothered , cause my child wants a fucking ice cream.

 For Yakuza 3; Sega famously took a backward step after the failure that was Yakuza 2 in the west and didn't put any effort into localisation and in fact took aspects of the game out. Most notably the hostess clubs,  after recently finishing ready a book called Yakuza Moon which described them in quite a lot of detail, I don't think we missed out on too much. This said I was still able to find and 'date' a fine Japanese girl who had an over protective dad. I'm sure there were more ladies of the night to find but I found myself too ingrained in the story to bother chasing tail. I did however feel that a lot more may have been cut that we weren't told about. I could stroll through the games 2 main locations and feel that I couldn't really go into many buildings.

If you're after an alternative or change to the GTA formula you could do worse than Yakuza 3. All in all I enjoyed my time in Yakuza 3 and solving you problems with you fists never gets old.