YAKUZA 3 REVIEW

 

We're done goofing around. It's time to ASCEND!!!

Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku
Publisher: Sega
Series: Yakuza
Release date: February 26, 2009 (Japan), March 2009 (Rest of World)
Platforms: PS3, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Genres and Modes: Single player

The Dragon of Dojima... Accepting his fate... The time for his ascension to the status of Eastern God is NOW!!!

The entry that TRULLY changed everything. Released during the new generation of consoles at the time (when the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 were still brand new), Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios took their shot to expand the franchise that they created back in 2005. The PS2 hardware limited the developers and their ambition to make the game they wanted since day 1. PS3 allowed them to do just that. Bigger worlds, more interactions between characters, the ability to do more complex things during and off fights, to see Kamurocho from Kiryu's very own eyes. 2009 was the year of all time. But we're in 2022. The game got remastered for modern hardware and PC, and I finally managed to beat this beautiful game a few months back. The only reason why I didn't make a review on it as soon as I finished it was because I played the rest of the games. That was it. Their reviews will come soon, and once I'm done with the Yakuza games, I'll start reviewing other video games. 
Brief intro aside, let's dive in to the review. Or as Kiryu would always say before a big fight: "If you are ready to die, THEN STEP UP!!!"

PLOT

2007 - It's been 3 months since that faithful fight against the Dragon of Kansai. Ryuji Goda! What a man. Never in all the years will we see a man that wanted to beat his rival fair and square. And in the end, Kiryu became THE Dragon of Dragons. 
With the fight left behind, and after a brief visit to pay their respects, Kiryu kazuma and his adoptive daughter Haruka Sawamura head to Kamurocho to say goodbye to everyone there. For Kiryu has decided to actually start living a peaceful and normal life. In the sunny beaches at Okinawa, in an orphanage...

Okinawa... Where the sun always shines, the neighbours always nice, and the children of the Morning Glory Orphanage forever cheerful...

2008 - The peaceful life of Kiryu, Haruka, and the others in the orphanage was never meant to last for long. Trouble found them in the form of the Ryuodo Family, Okinawa's #1 yakuza. However, all of the events in 2008 ended in a positive note, as Kiryu's love, care and desire to protect the children he swore to raise made the family change their minds. On top of that, they were assisted by the Dragon of Dojima to rescue the daughter of the patriarch of the Ryuodo Family from their rival, the Tamashira family. To say that Kiryu kicked ass is an understatement. He may be a scary looking dude, but deep down, he's a proper father...

Captain of the Ryuodo Family, Rikiya Shimabukuro, Okinawa's Viper

The patriarch of the Ryuodo Family, Shigeru Nakahara, Okinawa's Shisa*

2009 - Peace was once again restored. Kiryu can now continue to look after his children with the help of his new friends. His days spent cleaning the home, helping the little ones with their homework, play with them, and overall him being a dad are just precious. 
But then, as it is tradition, something bad must happen. And something bad happened it did!
The Sixth Chairman of the Tojo Clan, Daigo Dojima, has been gravely injured by none other than Kiryu Kazuma's deceased father-figure, Shintaro Kazama. However, Kiryu is in doubt that his idol would do such a thing. On top of that, foreign forces try to force Kiryu and the kids to find another place to live. With no other option on his deck, he decides to return to Kamurocho and discover the reason behind the murder of Dojima, the desparate attempts to force them out of Okinawa, and just be done with all of the negativity in general...

At this point, Kiryu just HATES this place. Everything bad that has happened to him in his life has happened here. Also Tenkaichi street looks kinda... Ominous with those PS3 graphics

GAMEPLAY

Ah, Kamurocho! You never change, do you? Punks, yakuza, gangsters. What's next? Zombies?

Before I explain how the gameplay of this game works, I'd like to take a minute to talk about something I skipped over when I reviewed Yakuza Kiwami & Yakuza Kiwami 2:

The original 2 games played completely different from their remake counterparts. The remakes have the camera locked behind the player and follows them around town, with the option to go into First Person mode to look for items that are normally not found on the streets or easily accessible areas. Yakuza 1 & 2 have "fixed" cameras, that show a specific part of the area when a player is around said part of the city. You couldn't go into first person mode, and you had the whole area visible to you. Some parts of Kamurocho and Sotenbori (Yakuza 2 only) were inaccessible due to these limitations.

Not the best of examples, but this is the difference between the games.

The gameplay of Yakuza doesn't feel too different from the previous games, but it feels odd when you play it after finishing Kiwami and Kiwami 2. At this point, the player should be aware that the fighting styles from 0 are gone, and he only uses his signature Dragon of Dojima fighting style. You punch, kick, grab & throw, stab, shoot, and do things to opponents. Thankfully, they never die because Kiryu doesn't kill. It's all made out of rubber. 

The new feature that Yakuza 3 introduces is the Red Heat. The heat is just as iconic as the series itself. Once a character starts emitting aura of any colour, you know you're in for some good time. 
Red Heat actually makes Kiryu's attacks stronger and faster, and can be super useful when doing an extended Heat Move that requires the player to use more of the Heat gauge. 

Another part of the Heat game in this... game? Is the Heat finishers. Similar to Kiwami's "Kiwami Moves", the player is given an opportunity to finish off an opponent with a super stylish move. Granted, the finishers can end the fight quickly, but sometimes they will lower the health enough so that the player can beat the enemy with ease.

The upgrade system looks... Simple? What?

The screenshot above says it all. The upgrade system in 3 is the closest thing to experiencing the PS2 days of Yakuza. You gain experience by doing substories, continue with the plot, eat at restaurants, get wasted, catch fish, date hostesses. You know, the usual Yakuza shtick.

That's right! The first appearance of the fishing minigame is here. And it's a lot more difficult than the later entries. Still fun however...

Before further explaining 2 specific side stories of the game, I'd like to introduce CHASE! Basically, it all boils down to chasing an enemy and catch them by tackling them whilst avoiding obstacles along the way. There's also Chases where you are the one being hunted down and you must escape. If caught, press the indicated button to shake off your pursuers and continue running. Should your stamina meter reach 0, you either lose the target (if you chase) or get caught (if chased). Meaning it's game over and try from the last save that you saved. You did save before the chase, right?

Kickass music during a frustrating chase. Credit goes to devilleon7.

HONEST LIVING ASSOCIATION

The lore expands...

Like previous titles, this one is no stranger when it comes to having side stories that impact the main story.

The main plot of this sidestory is tied with a man that has played a major role in Kiryu's life during his time at the Tojo Clan. Osamu Kashiwagi, captain of the Kazama Family, subsidiary of the Tojo clan, had this place up and running in the background for some time now. The association aims to help yakuza that got the boot or simply quit due to the harsh lifestyle. His right hand man, Ibuki, is one of those people. They work together to guide ex-criminals into the world of civilians. But as of late, they've been under a lot of pressure from a gang called "The Reapers", causing all sorts of trouble for H.L.A.

Now what does Kiryu have to do with any of this? Well... He's there to help them out, of course.

Main element of this side of the game is: Check on the bulletin board if there are any missions available, and when selected, you have to go to the place marked on the map, beat up said target, and you'll have them sent to H.L.A for rehabilitation. The rewards are pretty good. You get money and items.

It has its own twist and end, but that's a spoiler. You gotta find out for yourself how it ends, and how it ties to Kiryu's character as a whole.

PRODUCE #1 HOSTESS

It's like the Cabaret Club minigame, but more tedious and not so fun...

So uh. Yeah. These are the origins of the independent Cabaret Club owner. Instead of managing the entire club, you focus on the girls. You have to dress them, train them, give them space to breathe, relax and calm down if they're under pressure.

This was all present in Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 2, but here... IT'S SUPER AWKWARD AND ANNOYING!!!

You have to observe what they're doing at all time, and appeal to what the customers want from a girl. If you don't do well, you won't earn money for the day to improve your girl's game. And the money doesn't come from YOUR pocket, but rather, it comes from the money you EARN through this sidestory.

it gets worse however. Compared to 0 or Kiwami 2, there were no consequences for failing to satisfy a customer. Here, if you don't do things accordingly, you are doomed.

Oh and by the way, THIS IS JUST TO COMPLETE A SUBSTORY!!! This whole sidestory IS A SUBSTORY, unlike H.L.A., which is a proper sidestory.

REVELATIONS

This feels a bit familiar...

POSSIBLY ONE OF THE BEST PARTS OF THIS GAME!

Basically, Revelations are in a way, a creative method of acquiring new abilities for Kiryu. Throughout the worlds of Okinawa and Kamurocho, weird stuff will happen, and you'll be required to pay attention on what's going on. Choose the right title for an event, and you'll find a REVELATION in said event. Choose wrong, and you'll fail. But don't worry, you get a second shot. 

I bet his motto is: "If you are ready to die, THEN STEP UP!!!"

GALLERY

FINAL THOUGHTS

There's not a whole lot on what to talk about the game. It looks different, yes, and plays different, but at the core, it's still Yakuza. What boils down to is how you react to it:
- If you're a newcomer that has started with 0, you'll find the game weird, clunky and probably want to skip it cause of that.

- If you're a veteran of the series, then this game holds a special place in your heart, despite it's janky feel.

Yakuza 3 as a whole is a game that can be labeled as "experience", rather than a game. It's still a video game, but the joy comes from the time you've spent playing the story, its characters, Kiryu's "dad vibes"... Simply put, this is a game that is mechanically flawed, with said mechanics laying the foundation for later titles, with a story that's more personal than any other in the series (rivaled only by 6).

I am the former, started the games from 0. And I am one of those rare people that actually enjoyed this game. It felt like a fresh new start for me. As if I have started riding a bike without the training wheels. I left the popular bubble and started my journey onto becoming a legend in the yakuza world...

TRIVIA

- Yakuza 3 is the first mainline game on the PS3, but Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! ( 龍が如く 見参！, "Like a Dragon Arrives!") was the first Yakuza-esque game the studio has made, which released in 2008.
- The game is notorious for having the enemies constantly blocking your attacks. This gets worse if you play on the harder difficulties.

- The Remastered version of Yakuza 3 has its substories revealed on the map, unlike the original, which were not marked on the pause menu map. Some say it's easy for players to do the silly stories and get exp., some say it's bad.

- Yakuza 3 is the last game in the series where Kiryu and Majima fight one another. It is also the first time in the series (prior to 0) where Majima fights barehanded..

- Certain minigames were removed when the game was released overseas. One of these was a trivia game. It was removed because: 1. People outside of Japan might not know much about some of the things and jokes. 2. Said minigame was removed in the Remastered version on an international level, due to he questions & answers being outdated.

- Kiryu Kazuma's appearance in this game closely resembles his voice actor, Takaya Kuroda. It's slightly modified though.

- Seeing Kiryu with kids is just too wholesome 😊

- *Shisa (シーサー, Shīsā, Okinawan: shiisaa) is a traditional Ryukyuan cultural artifact and decoration derived from Chinese guardian lions, often seen in similar pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawan mythology. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from some evils. People place pairs of shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses, with the left shisa traditionally having a closed mouth, the right one an open mouth. The open mouth shisa traditionally wards off evil spirits, and the closed mouth shisa keeps good spirits in.

Credits: Norman Packernickle

Next game review will be about Yakuza 4, but it won't take that long for me to write it. I promise that once I clear out all 7 Yakuza games, I'll start reviewing other games. But trust me: These games are ONE OF THE BEST in existence! I still thank my friend for introducing me to them...

The 4 Eastern Gods are a patient bunch. But not so patient when it comes to busting skulls, singing karaoke or dating hostesses...

Ѓорѓи „GioGio“ Илиев