Chaos Raiden
Avid Gamer & Reviewer
I am always a fan of Yakuza series. Each game have excellent story, great cast, good gameplay, excellent rock/rap music, etc. I am pleased to see that Yakuza 3 was released in English version, albeit the game was released a year later than the Japanese release.
Storyline
Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, returns in high definition for Yakuza 3.
Here is the basic summary. A few years later after the events of Yakuza 2, Kazuma and Haruka runs the Sunshine Orphanage at Okinawa. However, the Tojo Clan that Kazuma used to work for has suffered major problems, and once again, Kazuma is there to help the the clan that he used to work for, and uncovering the secret plot of taking over the Tojo clan.
The story, like the previous Yakuza games, are epic, intriguing, emotional, and have plot twists. So far, all three Yakuza games that I have played have deep and amazing storylines, unlike many other games. Also, this game is very Japanese, with all the Japanese terms usage and stuff, which makes the game feel more than authentic. Plus with the Japanese voice acting, the game feels more real like. The storyline for each game is nearly independent, thus make it not necessary to play the previous games to understand this game's story. However, you can replay recaps for Yakuza and Yakuza 2, which is a nice feature for those who does not play the previous Yakuza games.
The character development for each characters is rather impressive, from main characters to the supporting characters. It is nice to see that CS1 Team pay attention to the characters as well as the gameplay and story.
Gameplay
You have two cities to explore during the gameplay. Kamurocho and Okinawa.
The game plays like the first two games. Featuring an open world gameplay like the famous Grand Theft Auto series, albeit in smaller scale. You must travel from one place to another to proceed in each chapters. However, there are a lot of things to before doing it.
Some points in a chapter require to beat your enemies. Some requires you to complete a mini game, etc. This adds more variety in the game, and makes the game non-repetitive. Like Assassin's Creed II, there is a lot of variety when you want to proceed in each chapters. You can check in your menu to see what is your next objective. Most of the time, the objectives are clear enough, and the destination points often marked in your map and mini map. On some occasions however, the objectives aren't clear enough, forcing you to explore around the cities to trigger a cutscene or something.
The battle system plays like an RPG game. You do not encounter enemies randomly, but on screen. If they see you, they will chase after you, and fights you. He may bring a whole gang as backup, and it is up to you to wipe the floor of them. You can avoid them by avoiding eye contact, or just quickly run away. Once you have initiated a battle, it is not over until you or they are defeated. If you win a battle, they will give you money or an item as reward, or rather, 'compensation' for disturbing you.
You going to fight yakuzas, gangsters, and punks on the street. Teach them some respect with your yakuza skills!
You have access to Rush Combo(Square), Kick attacks (Triangle), and Grab (Circle). Rush Combo interrupt enemies movement, with Kick attack as the Finishing Blow (Triangle). Strong attack initiates a kick. Grab attacks allows you to grab enemies, where you can do many things. You can punch him repeatedly by Square button, kick him far away using Triangle, and throw him to the ground using Circle. You can also grab weapons to defeat your enemies, but be warned that they can do the same thing as well. This game is like a brawler, where you must fight alone to defeat your enemies. There is a lot of moves that Kazuma can learn, so experiment each moves to see their effects. Using weapons is highly recommended to defeat your enemies quickly. Weapons have their own durability, to balance the game out. Only a few weapons have unlimited durability.
This is one of Kazuma's Heat moves. There is more than a dozen of Heat moves that Kazuma can use.
Kazuma has access to Heat moves. He has two gauges, Health gauge and Heat gauge. Hitting enemies without being hit will raise your Heat gauge. When you have successfully fill your Heat gauge, you can initiate special Heat attacks. Heat attacks can deal major damage to your enemies, and it is useful to defeat bosses. You can execute Heat moves while grabbing your enemies and drag them near to wall, using weapons, and etc. Using weapons can charge your Heat faster than usual.
Kazuma can upgrade his skills by using Experience points by defeating enemies and completing side quests. There are 4 categories:
Soul - Allows Kazuma to increase his Heat gauge and learning Heat related passive abilities.
Technique - Allows Kazuma to learn new attacks.
Body - Allows Kazuma to increase his Health gauge and learn useful passive abilities.
Essence - Allows Kazuma to learn new, stronger Heat moves.
The game can be challenging (especially the final chapters) as enemies gets tougher, so it is recommended that you upgrade your stats as much as possible.
Kazuma can buy and use items from stores, etc. There are few categories of items. Healing items, weapons, accessories, materials, etc. Keep it mind that as the game wants to be realistic as possible, simple items like food is considered as healing items, and etc, so make sure you read the description of each items carefully. You can use weapons that you have in your inventory in battle, use healing items, etc by accessing the menu while battling or not. This is crucial as bosses can do some major damage to you, especially in harder difficulties.
You can also spend money to eat at restaurants to restore health, play mini games, etc.
The weapon system is slightly different than the first two Yakuza games. There are two weapons category. Weapons on site and weapons on inventory. Weapons on site means that you can use weapons on the ground scattered in the fighting ground, like chairs, tables, etc. You cannot keep the weapons on site, and it will disappear after each battle or it's durability has reduced to zero. Weapons on inventory means that you can equip your weapons from your inventory, with it's own durability. Unlike weapons on site, weapons on inventory will remain in your inventory even if it's durability reduced to zero, and will remain unusable until you repair it. However, there is a cost to repair it. Strong weapons require higher payment, and vice versa.
You can also modify your weapons with the appropriate materials and money. This is optional, and it is not necessary to modify weapons to progress in each chapter.
The game also features some Quick Time Events, which is used to dodge bosses' attacks, etc. Unlike God of War games, it is optional to complete the Quick Time Events or not. However, fail to do so often results Kazuma in low health.
The gameplay is simple, yet effective. The gameplay is more or less the same as the previous Yakuza games, with some modifications. There are more Heat moves than the first two games, the camera can be adjusted while exploring and fighting, different camera system than the first two Yakuza games which allows more freedom for sightseeing in the game, slight different weapon system, etc.
Graphics
It is not every day you see such detailed made characters. Superbly detailed character models, and beautiful environments, especially Kamurocho city.
Needless to say, awesome graphics. Well detailed Japanese characters, beautiful environments (especially Kamurocho), etc. One of the finest looking Japanese games, and it surpasses the first two Yakuza games visuals at ease.
Sound
Authentic, high quality Japanese voice acting, with great music complements the game well.
I am pleased to see that the original Japanese voice acting is retained from the Japanese version. This makes the game feel more special, and it is hard to see English voice actors replacing them, because it is sound so... weird. This applies to the first Yakuza game, where mediocre English voice acting replaces the Japanese voices. Weird thing is, the first game have the most 'F' word usage compared to Yakuza 2 and Yakuza 3. Possibly, it was an ad-lib by the English voice actors, or maybe other reasons. The Japanese voice acting is high quality, gives each character well detailed personalities. However, as they speak Japanese, a number of people have problems following their speech. Fortunately, the English subtitles translates the dialogue well, so reading the subtitles is highly recommended for those who are not used to hear Japanese voices.
The music is as good as the first two Yakuza games. A mix of rock, rap, etc which complements each situation well. A number of battle themes in this game are awesome, as I love Japanese rock music a lot.
Replay Value
Rich replay value, complemented with many side quests and mini games.
This game has an extremely rich replay value. There is a lot of mini games to do like playing arcade games, doing side quests like helping someone to find a cat, etc. A lot of these has rewards, like bonus Experience points and items, which means that they are worth to do. It is recommended that you do some side quests to get extra Experience to upgrade Kazuma for later chapters.
There is a feature called Revelation.
Unfortunately, there are some mini games and side quests cut from the English release. The official reason is time constraint of localising the game. Some of the cut contents are cabarets, massage parlour, etc. This is in effect, reduce the number of Trophies to obtain in the English release.
Conclusion
Anyone who likes to see good Japanese stories with a balance of good gameplay should give this game a try to learn about the yakuzas and Japanese culture.
In conclusion, I love this game. I am pleased to see that the core gameplay does not change from the first two Yakuza games. However, my criticisms are that the camera system while fighting can be annoying, the weapon modification system is a tedious task, and the cut content from the Japanese version. It would be best if they release the cut content via DLC, but Sega does not have any plans to do it.
If you like games with good story, balanced with nice gameplay, etc, give this game a try. I find myself immersed in the Yakuza series mainly because of each games' storyline.
Score
Story - 9/10
Gameplay - 8/10
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 9/10
36/40 or 9.0/10.0.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Amazing storyline about yakuzas.
- Great characters, both main and supporting ones.
- Authentic, high quality Japanese voice acting.
- Great battle system.
- Good music.
- Improved Heat system.
- Superb, detailed graphics.
- Cool to execute Heat moves.
- High replay value.
Cons
- The core gameplay remains virtually the same, except some modifications.
- Little replay value.
- Game may not appeal to much people.
- Repetitive battle system.
- Some objectives in certain chapters are not clear enough, leading to frustration.
- A considerable amount of content was cut in the English release.
- Annoying camera system while fighting.
Storyline
Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, returns in high definition for Yakuza 3.
Here is the basic summary. A few years later after the events of Yakuza 2, Kazuma and Haruka runs the Sunshine Orphanage at Okinawa. However, the Tojo Clan that Kazuma used to work for has suffered major problems, and once again, Kazuma is there to help the the clan that he used to work for, and uncovering the secret plot of taking over the Tojo clan.
The story, like the previous Yakuza games, are epic, intriguing, emotional, and have plot twists. So far, all three Yakuza games that I have played have deep and amazing storylines, unlike many other games. Also, this game is very Japanese, with all the Japanese terms usage and stuff, which makes the game feel more than authentic. Plus with the Japanese voice acting, the game feels more real like. The storyline for each game is nearly independent, thus make it not necessary to play the previous games to understand this game's story. However, you can replay recaps for Yakuza and Yakuza 2, which is a nice feature for those who does not play the previous Yakuza games.
The character development for each characters is rather impressive, from main characters to the supporting characters. It is nice to see that CS1 Team pay attention to the characters as well as the gameplay and story.
Gameplay
You have two cities to explore during the gameplay. Kamurocho and Okinawa.
The game plays like the first two games. Featuring an open world gameplay like the famous Grand Theft Auto series, albeit in smaller scale. You must travel from one place to another to proceed in each chapters. However, there are a lot of things to before doing it.
Some points in a chapter require to beat your enemies. Some requires you to complete a mini game, etc. This adds more variety in the game, and makes the game non-repetitive. Like Assassin's Creed II, there is a lot of variety when you want to proceed in each chapters. You can check in your menu to see what is your next objective. Most of the time, the objectives are clear enough, and the destination points often marked in your map and mini map. On some occasions however, the objectives aren't clear enough, forcing you to explore around the cities to trigger a cutscene or something.
The battle system plays like an RPG game. You do not encounter enemies randomly, but on screen. If they see you, they will chase after you, and fights you. He may bring a whole gang as backup, and it is up to you to wipe the floor of them. You can avoid them by avoiding eye contact, or just quickly run away. Once you have initiated a battle, it is not over until you or they are defeated. If you win a battle, they will give you money or an item as reward, or rather, 'compensation' for disturbing you.
You going to fight yakuzas, gangsters, and punks on the street. Teach them some respect with your yakuza skills!
You have access to Rush Combo(Square), Kick attacks (Triangle), and Grab (Circle). Rush Combo interrupt enemies movement, with Kick attack as the Finishing Blow (Triangle). Strong attack initiates a kick. Grab attacks allows you to grab enemies, where you can do many things. You can punch him repeatedly by Square button, kick him far away using Triangle, and throw him to the ground using Circle. You can also grab weapons to defeat your enemies, but be warned that they can do the same thing as well. This game is like a brawler, where you must fight alone to defeat your enemies. There is a lot of moves that Kazuma can learn, so experiment each moves to see their effects. Using weapons is highly recommended to defeat your enemies quickly. Weapons have their own durability, to balance the game out. Only a few weapons have unlimited durability.
This is one of Kazuma's Heat moves. There is more than a dozen of Heat moves that Kazuma can use.
Kazuma has access to Heat moves. He has two gauges, Health gauge and Heat gauge. Hitting enemies without being hit will raise your Heat gauge. When you have successfully fill your Heat gauge, you can initiate special Heat attacks. Heat attacks can deal major damage to your enemies, and it is useful to defeat bosses. You can execute Heat moves while grabbing your enemies and drag them near to wall, using weapons, and etc. Using weapons can charge your Heat faster than usual.
Kazuma can upgrade his skills by using Experience points by defeating enemies and completing side quests. There are 4 categories:
Soul - Allows Kazuma to increase his Heat gauge and learning Heat related passive abilities.
Technique - Allows Kazuma to learn new attacks.
Body - Allows Kazuma to increase his Health gauge and learn useful passive abilities.
Essence - Allows Kazuma to learn new, stronger Heat moves.
The game can be challenging (especially the final chapters) as enemies gets tougher, so it is recommended that you upgrade your stats as much as possible.
Kazuma can buy and use items from stores, etc. There are few categories of items. Healing items, weapons, accessories, materials, etc. Keep it mind that as the game wants to be realistic as possible, simple items like food is considered as healing items, and etc, so make sure you read the description of each items carefully. You can use weapons that you have in your inventory in battle, use healing items, etc by accessing the menu while battling or not. This is crucial as bosses can do some major damage to you, especially in harder difficulties.
You can also spend money to eat at restaurants to restore health, play mini games, etc.
The weapon system is slightly different than the first two Yakuza games. There are two weapons category. Weapons on site and weapons on inventory. Weapons on site means that you can use weapons on the ground scattered in the fighting ground, like chairs, tables, etc. You cannot keep the weapons on site, and it will disappear after each battle or it's durability has reduced to zero. Weapons on inventory means that you can equip your weapons from your inventory, with it's own durability. Unlike weapons on site, weapons on inventory will remain in your inventory even if it's durability reduced to zero, and will remain unusable until you repair it. However, there is a cost to repair it. Strong weapons require higher payment, and vice versa.
You can also modify your weapons with the appropriate materials and money. This is optional, and it is not necessary to modify weapons to progress in each chapter.
The game also features some Quick Time Events, which is used to dodge bosses' attacks, etc. Unlike God of War games, it is optional to complete the Quick Time Events or not. However, fail to do so often results Kazuma in low health.
The gameplay is simple, yet effective. The gameplay is more or less the same as the previous Yakuza games, with some modifications. There are more Heat moves than the first two games, the camera can be adjusted while exploring and fighting, different camera system than the first two Yakuza games which allows more freedom for sightseeing in the game, slight different weapon system, etc.
Graphics
It is not every day you see such detailed made characters. Superbly detailed character models, and beautiful environments, especially Kamurocho city.
Needless to say, awesome graphics. Well detailed Japanese characters, beautiful environments (especially Kamurocho), etc. One of the finest looking Japanese games, and it surpasses the first two Yakuza games visuals at ease.
Sound
Authentic, high quality Japanese voice acting, with great music complements the game well.
I am pleased to see that the original Japanese voice acting is retained from the Japanese version. This makes the game feel more special, and it is hard to see English voice actors replacing them, because it is sound so... weird. This applies to the first Yakuza game, where mediocre English voice acting replaces the Japanese voices. Weird thing is, the first game have the most 'F' word usage compared to Yakuza 2 and Yakuza 3. Possibly, it was an ad-lib by the English voice actors, or maybe other reasons. The Japanese voice acting is high quality, gives each character well detailed personalities. However, as they speak Japanese, a number of people have problems following their speech. Fortunately, the English subtitles translates the dialogue well, so reading the subtitles is highly recommended for those who are not used to hear Japanese voices.
The music is as good as the first two Yakuza games. A mix of rock, rap, etc which complements each situation well. A number of battle themes in this game are awesome, as I love Japanese rock music a lot.
Replay Value
Rich replay value, complemented with many side quests and mini games.
This game has an extremely rich replay value. There is a lot of mini games to do like playing arcade games, doing side quests like helping someone to find a cat, etc. A lot of these has rewards, like bonus Experience points and items, which means that they are worth to do. It is recommended that you do some side quests to get extra Experience to upgrade Kazuma for later chapters.
There is a feature called Revelation.
Unfortunately, there are some mini games and side quests cut from the English release. The official reason is time constraint of localising the game. Some of the cut contents are cabarets, massage parlour, etc. This is in effect, reduce the number of Trophies to obtain in the English release.
Conclusion
Anyone who likes to see good Japanese stories with a balance of good gameplay should give this game a try to learn about the yakuzas and Japanese culture.
In conclusion, I love this game. I am pleased to see that the core gameplay does not change from the first two Yakuza games. However, my criticisms are that the camera system while fighting can be annoying, the weapon modification system is a tedious task, and the cut content from the Japanese version. It would be best if they release the cut content via DLC, but Sega does not have any plans to do it.
If you like games with good story, balanced with nice gameplay, etc, give this game a try. I find myself immersed in the Yakuza series mainly because of each games' storyline.
Score
Story - 9/10
Gameplay - 8/10
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 9/10
36/40 or 9.0/10.0.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Amazing storyline about yakuzas.
- Great characters, both main and supporting ones.
- Authentic, high quality Japanese voice acting.
- Great battle system.
- Good music.
- Improved Heat system.
- Superb, detailed graphics.
- Cool to execute Heat moves.
- High replay value.
Cons
- The core gameplay remains virtually the same, except some modifications.
- Little replay value.
- Game may not appeal to much people.
- Repetitive battle system.
- Some objectives in certain chapters are not clear enough, leading to frustration.
- A considerable amount of content was cut in the English release.
- Annoying camera system while fighting.