IGN: Yakuza 3 Detailed

Straight from IGN.

If you'd told us that SEGA would be continuing its Yakuza series with a third game on the PlayStation 3, we wouldn't have been too surprised. While the game was a big flop internationally, in Japan, the first two have combined for over a million sales on the PS2.

Now if you'd told us that the third game would actually be a prequel set 400 years in the past, we'd have looked around for a giant cone (or bench, or car) with which to smash you over the head (in case you haven't played Yakuza before, and few of you did, this is a typical scene in the game's battle system).

Officially titled Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! in Japan, this PlayStation 3 adventure takes SEGA's adult-oriented franchise back to 1605. Gone are the neon signs of Tokyo and Osaka, now replaced by the neon signs of an Edo Period Kyoto.

The game begins in the enclosed town of Gion, where girls use their bodies for money, and men use their money to buy dreams (that description is translated directly from a Famitsu article on the game... please don't write). Unlike the first two games, which were set in fictional towns designed to look like real places, Gion is a real historical part of Kyoto that was known for its geisha girls.

The story begins when main character Kazumanosuke Kiryu, a bodyguard who will take on any job if the price is right, is approached by a young girl named Haruka. She asks Kiryu to kill Musashi Miyamoto. Musashi Miyamoto is actually Kiryu's past self, and the name he goes by when outside of Gion. This, incidentally, is the same historical Musashi Miyamoto who's regarded as one of the finest swordsmen.

If you're familiar with the Yakuza series, you'll recognize the Kiryu and Haruka names. The two characters may share the same name as the hero and heroine of the first two titles, and they may even share the same basic model design, but they seem to have no actual relation. Presumably, these are the names we'll see in future Yakuza titles as well.

As we've come to expect from the series, SEGA has hooked up some serious talent to do the voices for Yakuza 3. The voices for Haruki and Kiryu haven't been revealed, but here's a sampling of the talent for a few of the other characters.

Kojiro Sasaki (voiced by Shouta Matsuda)
Nagayoshi Marume (Naoto Takenaka)
Itou, the bodyguard (Susumu Terajima)
The mysterious monk (Hiroki Matsukata)
Seijyurou Yoshioka (Masaya Kato)
Toji Gion (Takeshi Tsukamoto)

In Japan, these are some of the biggest personalities in television and movies. They'll be put to use this time for more than just their voices, as SEGA is using face scan technology to make their in-game counterparts share some visual similarities.

Outside of an adult-oriented storyline, Yakuza 3 appears to bring back much of what made the original two games so special. In addition to exploring a living town, now with more detail than ever thanks to the update in hardware, you'll get to make use of an updated combat system. You can now select between four fighting styles: fists (the standard style from past titles), single blade, dual blade and broad sword. "Heat Action" special moves return, complete with dramatic camera angels.

One of the coolest parts of the first Yakuza games was how your character grew as you progressed through the game. Previously, you learned new fighting moves by consulting with a master. That remains in Yakuza 3, but now you can also learn moves just by witnessing key events. Kiryu will even learn special attacks by watching animals move -- for instance, a dog leaping up to fetch a bone.

Mini games and side quests also have their expected place in Yakuza 3. The game will feature over 100 sub quests, some possibly featuring historical figures. Mini games include shogi, dice and archery -- things you might expect from the Edo Period. Hostess clubs are back, giving you a chance to woo the ladies, although these scenes now take place in a seedy tatami room rather than a seedy bar.

SEGA's NE Soft R&D Creative Officer Toshihiro Nagoshi, head producer of the Yakuza series, pointed out to Famitsu in a recent interview that the game doesn't have "3" in the title. That doesn't mean it's an offshoot. In fact, he says the game is being made to surpass Yakuza 2 in all areas, and that we'll slowly learn of the great scale as new information is unveiled.

The information should be forthcoming for this one. Although just announced, Yakuza 3 is already set for Japanese release this Spring, and will have a prominent presence in SEGA's booth at the Tokyo Game Show.

[Via IGN]