The plot of Yakuza 3 once again revolves around the protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, who is now taking care of children at an orphanage located in a peaceful and sunny coastal area. However, his past once again sneaks up on him as he is soon caught up in another mess with the Yakuza. Kazuma’s new found peace is threatened by the demons of his past, which he must face and slay once more. The first Yakuza was seen as a spiritual successor to the legendary Shenmue. Now, while Shenmue started something really new and was considered to be revolutionary, the original Yakuza didn’t quite take such a major leap. However, Yakuza 3 looks to be the Shenmue 3 fans have always wanted.
Kazuma returns on the PlayStation 3!
Backed by power of the PlayStation 3, Yakuza 3 has the level of scope and variety that the previous games could only dream of. The amount of things you can do in the game and the scope and detail of the in-game world looks quite impressive.
Yakuza 3 once again takes place in the same fictional district of Tokyo, and adds another new location, the sunny coastal area where the orphanage is located. The busy bustling Tokyo looks far more believable in Yakuza 3 then ever before. It is fully populated and has all the popular locations from the previous games and more. There are certainly a lot more activities to do this time around which include singing in a karaoke box (Parappa the Rapper style), dating lovely hostesses, hanging out at clubs, gambling and playing sports like bowling, darts and outdoor golf. You can also do things like shop around, play arcade games, interact with civilians and basically ‘live’ inside a virtual Japan.
One of the most admired features of past Yakuza games was the battle system. It was easy to grasp but had plenty of scope and depth, which made each encounter entertaining. Yakuza 3 retains the same brilliant system of its predecessors, but adds a whole new range of weapons, techniques, holds and combos that will surely make battles even more fun to watch and play.
The youth of Japan learning the basics of being a Yakuza.
Visually, Yakuza 3 looks stunning and is quite mind blowing from a technical standpoint. The scope of the locations and the attention to detail is amazing. That, and they are even more populated than ever before. The character models look very realistic, especially in the facial animations and model detail. What’s more, the cinematography matches that of a big budget Hollywood movie. The soundtrack sounds really atmospheric and dramatic from what we have heard in trailers and the voice acting sounds masterful.
Yakuza 3 has done really well in Japan and it’s not hard to see why. This has the potential to be one of the best exclusive titles on the PlayStation 3. In the past, these games have tanked commercially outside of Japan but hopefully now, the gaming population here is now more informed. The future of the Yakuza series in the Western world now rests in your hands.
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