PS3 Review – Yakuza 3
Outside of combat, there are plenty of other things to keep you busy. The game employs a number of very fun mini-games that are very well put together and executed by the team at Sega. These games include pool, darts, golf, batting cages, and fishing to name a few. All of these games were well done. I spent a lot of time playing golf and shooting pool in the game, and got pretty addicted to 9 ball.
Additionally, you can run around town accepting various missions from your fellow Japanese citizens. These quests could have you help a dad take ice cream to his family or help a loan shark catch someone late on his loan payment. While running around town on these missions, you will notice locker keys laying on the ground. There are around 100 total in the game, and they provide the player with items after opening the respective lockers. These keys are very spread out around the different locations in the game, and at times can easily be missed due to the amount of civilians in the area.
A new feature in this years Yakuza game is the revelation mode. Revelation mode has Kazuma finding 10 unique situations to take photographs of with his phone’s built in camera. Details of these photo ops are provided to you by a fellow photographer looking for the perfect shot. You must be in first persion view, another new addition to the series, to find these revelations. Unlocking these will help you learn new heat moves to be used during combat. While in first person view, you can also get a better look at your surroundings, find hidden locker keys, and signal a fight with a local street punk roaming the street. However, you cannot move while in first person view, and doing so will swap you back to the original view.
If you get tired of walking, there are options to take taxis and monorails. While you are walking around, though, you will find plenty of stores to visit during your stay. There are convenience stores, clubs, bikini bars and various eateries to check out and enjoy. However, you will be without hostess clubs, as Sega decided to axe them from the western release. In the later chapters you will even unlock a combat arena to go and test your skills at and gain valuable EXP.
The gameplay is great in Yakuza 3, but I would be remiss not to mention one of the strongest points in the game: the story. Despite my initial worries that this just might be a senseless brawler or another gang story, Yakuza 3 delivers a very compelling story. The story touches on respect, honor, family, and life mistakes and how to learn from them. Each character in the game has a distinct personality and is well portrayed, starting with the great voice acting in the game. All the voices in the game are extremely well done and the overall presentation is top notch. The game looks good, with some very impressive visuals, though nothing that will blow you away.
The game is not without its faults, however tiny they may be. The camera angle can get a bit annoying at times, especially when you find yourself behind a building, as you will sometime be unable to move the camera. Another minor annoyance is that while inside buildings, you cannot run. This is nothing major, but moving through the house at the speed of a turtle can cause some frustration. There is also the cut content in the Western release such as hostess clubs and trivia games, but there is still more than enough content in the release.
Yakuza 3 is an astounding success in bringing the Japanese culture over in a great package of emotions and raw combat. Everything from the presentation to the combat is well done in this fight to the death. You can easily spend 13+ hours on the story alone without even diving into the mini games, battle arena, and side missions. Yakuza 3 will pull you into the fight and won’t let you out until you’re black and blue from head to toe. If you are ready for a taste of Japan and aren’t afraid of a little action, this is the game you need to pick up.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Brutal and fun combat Fun mini-games and side missions add depth |  |
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22 Responses to “PS3 Review – Yakuza 3”
Top notch review Cameron. 5 out of 5 eh? Looks like I will be picking this one up. Thanks!
really?? I have to say this is the first review from PSLS that I have to disagree with completely. I played the demo and thought it was atrocious. They couldn’t even include voices for most of the dialogue in the game, you just have to read the conversation. I thought the combat system felt like something I played 10 years ago and the graphics of the environment seemed like something for the PS2 (I never use that comparison because I remember how different graphics were between the PS3 and PS2). I understand that you have to consider the actual age of this game since we had to wait so long to get it here, but they still could have made some changes to make it seem like something that was made within the last 3 years.
I didn’t like the demo at all either. Combat was stiff and was as shallow as any other button-masher, the graphics/animations were unimpressive at best, and the cutscenes were long and uninteresting. To each his own.
this game is awesome, but not for everyone(especially not for kids who only play generic military shooters), it is not linear, there is a lot of stuff to do apart from the main story, and the “battle system” is so fun and deep, I remember when I used to play a lot of RPGs, there was always a point in the game when I started saying -I don’t want to grind anymore, damn this random encounters-, but with yakuza 1 and 2 that was always so different, you’re always waiting for someone to challenge you to a fight and then punch, kick, grab, throw, pick weapon, finisher…ahhh so many good times.
awesome review and the score this game deserves.
Cameron
im getting confused on the rating system.. isnt 5 a platinum picture?
@the troll
February 26, 2009 was when Yakuza 3 was released.. hardly 3 years ago.
I was going to support this game, but Sega removed too much content (much more than they stated).
The people who have played both versions are compiling a list of missing content and it seems like quite a bit. Sega should have lost at least 1 point on this review for being lazy on their port.
They used the excuse that they didn’t want to delay the game (just so they could compete with FF and GoW??) but I think the real reason is that they just wanted an easy cash grab. Let’s wait and see if they try to sell it all back as DLC.
btw great review….I have no doubt about how great this game is. I’m just P.O.ed at Sega and their actions.
sega wont get any more money out of me after the garbage that was
AvP……… i should have known better after playing the demo
giese095 and Jonathan Leack, glad to see some people who agree with me. I played both the Japanese and English demos multiple times, and had basically the same sentiments. While the story is at least intriguing and there are a ton of things to do in the city, the dated fighting mechanics and lackluster graphics really hold this back IMO. When fighting, for example, the animations are un-interruptable. This means if you start an attack and see that someone else is coming at you from the side, there is nothing you can do to try to counter it. Even God of War III allows this now, one of my gripes from the earlier entries. Oh and while you run around in the city non-important people constantly fade in and out of existence only a few feet in front of you! I’d rather have less people who I can see off into the distance than that…
But it seems you don’t buy this game for great fighting or life-like visuals. You buy it for the story and the culture of Japan, which I totally get. So I’ll likely rent this from GameFly and if it grows on me then Keep It, if the price is right that is…
Good review. Will be renting this bad boy soon.
Wow, just short of 50,000 copies sold in its first week, it’s already sold more than three times as many copies as Yakuza 2 over here!
I don’t care what u say, after playing that demo I’d NEVER play this game. Straight up Shemue fighting mechanics, they could have called this game Shemue with anew coat of paint or Shemue Reloaded. This crap should have be ported to Xbox. I could only see people for a few blocks Shemue did better than. Why would you put out a half ass demo like that if u WANT to sale games. Lets say that the graphics r better on the BluRay version, the fighting mechanics aren’t. That was the part that I couldn’t forgive. This is agame made in the country that PS3 was created in there is no excuse. I just go dust off my Dreamcast
yakuza is awsome asain gta
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I am enjoying the game so far, but it is definitely not a 5 out of 5 in my opinion.
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I would completely agree with this review.this game is brilliant one of the best this year.im still playing it trying to get the platnuim trophy.Cant wait till yakuza 4 comes west in 2011 !
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I like a few gamers on here didn’t like the demo at all. I felt like I was playing a game from PSone. I tried really hard to like the demo and like the combat but it bore me and I deleted it. It’s not interesting to me. That’s just my opinion.
And for the final version of the game to have such a great score and overall review, I’d have to think it did a 360 from the demo. I doubt that. I’ll pass on this game. It’s great that some are enjoying it.
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