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PS2 | Adventure | Yakuza

Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 09/06/2006
Genre: Adventure
Number of Players:
ESRB Rating: R/P
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121 screen shots

GRAPHICS: 4.00
SOUND: 4.00
CONTROL: 4.25
FUN FACTOR 4.50
AVG USER SCORE 5.0
AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.0

Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

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Review: Yakuza

Review by Rice Burner | 09/05/2006 | 12:03:11 PM PST

PROTIP: Keep the heart icon in the middle of the gauge to prolong your massage.

Who Knew Plastic Hurt So Much

In Battle Mode, you'll have several nifty options to inflict bodily harm on your attackers. Landing consecutive blows to your assailants fills up your Heat Gauge. Once your Heat gauge is full, you'll be able to pull off some truly extraordinarily devastating moves. Another useful trait to know about Battle Mode is that their generally is a lot of items scattered around the area that can be potentially lethal weapons. You should make good use of store signs, plastic beer crates, and garbage cans when surrounded by enemies.

As I alluded to before, Yakuza has a lot of things in common with Shenmue. Just like Shenmue, you'll be able to utilize a quasi RPG engine to level up, increase your abilities and attributes, and learn new moves. You can increase your attributes in three different categories, including Soul (Heat gauge), Technique (Combos and Throws), and Body (HP gauge and the ability to parry and dodge).

One of the most crucial aspects of the game is acquiring new attacks and elongating your combo strings. Once you have the ability to initiate a Heat Attack on a prone opponent, the game gets significantly easier.

Mama Said What?

It's also worth noting that this is only technically an M-rated title. There's tons of profanity in the Battle Mode, however; everything else in the game is implied. Yakuza's city does have hostess bars, a pornography shop, and a massage parlor, but you won't see anything titillating here. It's strictly PG.

PROTIP: Getting drunk at the local watering holes allows your Heat gauge to recover faster in Battle Mode.

The overall gameplay experience of Yakuza is a mix bag of outstanding moments of plot development and intrigue soiled by repetitive Battle Mode ambushes and experience point grinding. The game starts off engaging and immersive for the first two hours of gameplay. However once you get to a certain event, the instance like Battle Mode ambushes get ridiculously frequent --about a battle every city block. This pattern of rinse and repeat is duplicated throughout the entire game and it becomes a chore to travel from one part of the city to another.

Say after Me, "Rakuza"

Another lacking feature is the absence of a Japanese audio option. While Sega has instituted a major effort to get the voice acting production just right for Yakuza, playing a game that takes place in Japan and is steeped in Japanese culture and philosophy in English is a little jarring. It is unfortunate that the game could not have been presented with a duel voice over option which would allow you to switch audio tracks.

Overall, Yakuza is a fun game with a pretty decent game engine and an engrossing storyline on par with the Japanese cult classic movie series Yakuza Papers. If you're into crime noir action games, then Yakuza won't disappoint you. The gameplay may be a little convulsive but Yakuza more than makes up for that through engrossing story and attention to details.