Eliza Dushku

DPAD Home: Yakuza Review

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a yakuza? Sega takes gamers deep into the complex world of Japanese organized crime in this unrelentingly brutal epic of fists and fortune.

Developer: Sega Entertainment R&D #1 Publisher: Sega Genre: Adventure Rating: M (Mature) Platform: PlayStation2 Players: 1

We’re all familiar with criminal narratives. Some of the best stories ever told focus on the intricate interconnected relationships of the crime underworld, especially those of the Western and European mafias. However, Asian organized crime has been underrepresented in Western media, maybe because the audience doesn’t “get” it or doesn’t care for it... In any case, Sega’s Yakuza is the answer to this drought. But how does Yakuza hold up to the icons of criminal storytelling: the Godfathers, the Goodfellas, the Grand Theft Autos? And more importantly, is it fun to play?

Meet Kazuma Kiryu, the hero of this tale. He just got out of prison for murder - a crime he didn’t even commit. During his decade-long sentence, his girlfriend lost her memory and went missing. Upon his release, ten billion yen (approximately $100 million US) disappears from his old clan’s vaults, sparking a chain of events that quickly drags the entire Japanese underworld down into an intricate struggle for power and riches.

Along the way are a couple major twists, a few clichés, and a fascinating look into the yakuza subculture - and Japanese culture in general. Yakuza received critical acclaim upon its initial release in Japan for being the first video game to depict the yakuza so accurately, and it is apparent that Sega did their research. After all, they hired well-known yakuza crime novelist Hase Seishu to write the game’s story - which remains intriguing to the very end.

Most of the game is spent in an accurate replication of Tokyo’s red-light Kabukicho district, famous for its high gang population. On top of the actual stores and locations that made it into the game are many unfamiliar aspects of Japanese culture (to Westerners). Hostess bars are a common sight, where Kazuma can spend large amounts of money to chat with hired girls. He can also stop by “massage” parlors where a lot more than massaging probably takes place - not to mention the utterly baffling and hilariously suggestive mini-game that goes along with it. Several of the characters Kazuma will run into are deceptively pretty con-artists, cross-dressing assassins, and even high school prostitutes.

Unfortunately, the story’s cast is so vast that keeping track of who’s who with all the difficult Japanese names can be quite a chore at times. There is an always-accessible feature to read up on the main characters and their histories, so it’s never a major problem if you forget a name (or two).

Sega deserves praise for not pulling any punches with the localization. None of the controversial violent and situational scenes have been removed or even censored, not to mention the language. Oh, the language. The opening sentence of the game boasts the first of countless f-bombs, while the rest of the game features enough foul language to make the most hardened of sailors blush. This is a mature game for mature audiences, and Yakuza absolutely revels in its own profanity to the point where it’s almost over the top at times. I have no idea if the language is an accurate representation of how yakuza actually speak to each other, but if the game is any indication, there are two things I never want to get into with a yakuza member: a fist fight and a cussing contest.

A major aspect of the American localization was the Hollywood voice actors Sega hired to flesh out the cast of Yakuza. Quite a few recognizable names show up including Michael Madsen, Mark Hamill, Michael Rosenbaum, and Eliza Dushku, who all do good jobs filling their parts. Darryl Kurrylo, who voices Kazuma, stands out with an excellent performance of the gangster. The rest of the cast can be hit-or-miss - especially for some of the smaller roles, which can be quite bad at times. It is regrettable that the Japanese audio track could not be included on the disc due to size restrictions. In general, the voice acting is acceptable and even good at parts.

There actually aren’t many songs on the soundtrack. There are only a few fight themes, which while good, can get very repetitive very quickly. The lack of variety hurts the overall aural experience, but definitely not enough to sour the rest of the game.

The in-game visuals are quite an impressive feat for the aging PlayStation2 hardware. Locations are surprisingly detailed with notable lighting and an astonishing number of NPCs that can appear on-screen at once, giving the illusion of an actual interactive city. But the eye candy comes at a price as camera angles are fixed and scene changes are handled with static jumps, similar to the original Resident Evil. In fact, the player is almost never given direct control of the camera, which can be a major problem at times, but more on that later. There is also minor slowdown from time to time and some of the models can be a bit blocky, but the graphics are indeed an achievement for the PlayStation2. Ruh roh

Of course, none of this matters if the game is not fun to play. Thankfully, beating down random street thugs and fellow gang members is very satisfying with a combat system that opens up with progress. Even though the combat starts out with a very limited move set, this swiftly changes. Fighting earns you experience which can be spent on three different areas: Soul, Technique, and Body. Each upgrades different stats and offers new moves. As Kazuma learns better dodges, reversals, recoveries, throws and more, the combat system becomes much deeper and more rewarding than when first encountered. It is definitely lots of fun to beat down dozens of thugs with Kazuma’s fighting skills, a wide selection of weapons, and some awesomely brutal finishing moves.

One of the downsides in battle is the lack of a targeting system. Aiming Kazuma toward the desired enemy is often difficult, as movement adjustment is impossible in longer combos. This frequently results in Kazuma getting “locked” into a move while punching nothing but air. This is compounded by the almost complete lack of camera control, making it even more difficult to find targets. Hitting the L2 button will center the camera behind Kazuma which is the only way to manipulate the viewing angle, but it is simply not enough. This becomes less of a problem when Kazuma learns some upgraded dodges, but full camera control is still a feature that should have been included.

Outside of battle, the game progresses fairly straight and if the optional content is skipped, it will only take players about 15-20 hours to complete. The city does open up with many optional side quests; taking up a couple hours in the game. However, advancement boils down to running to point A and beating up people, then running to point B and beating up more people. But since the game is more of a beat-‘em-up than an open-ended adventure, it isn’t much of a problem.

Yakuza is a refreshing experience in a sea of generic knock-offs. While it is mostly a straight-forward affair, it is a sincere attempt that succeeds admirably in what it sets out to do: Tell a unique tale with fun and satisfying combat. All the optional side quests, hidden items, unlockables, and hefty post-game content... Well, that’s just icing on the cake.

Positives +Engrossing story +Fun combat with character customizability +Impressive graphics

Negatives

 Voice acting is bad at times
 Combat starts out slow
 Camera can be frustrating

Gameplay - 84 Graphics - 90 Sound - 80 Multiplayer - N/A