GAME CASA .NET

SPOILER ALERT: This game is fucking fantastic.

Someones looking for a knife fight... and that someone looks like you

Yakuza releases for me are like the equivalent of GTA releases for most people. So, I was pretty stoked to pick it up on its release date to say the least.

Once again you take the role Kazuma; a former (bar none) yakuza badass. You’re giving the yakuza life the boot to start an orphanage in Okinawa (since you yourself were an orphan) with your adopted daughter. We soon find out that the land your orphanage is on is owned by the Ryudo Family (yakuza clan), and the boss of the clan is getting pressured by the government to sell the land for a Beach Resort. That, and when his friend Daigo (former member of the ex-clan you belonged too) are involved in assassination attempt; you once again find yourself in a series of gnar situations.

You’ll also find yourself going back & forth from Okinawa and Kamurocho (a fictional version of Tokyo’s red light district; Kabukichō) to fight for your sanctuary. One of the awesome factors of the game is how close Kamurocho resembles it’s non-fictional counterpart; you can pretty much use the game as a 3d map. The game also has a great product tie-in adding to the authenticity of it.

One of the best aspects of the game is the almost endless amount of mini games, which include from ridiculous karaoke and golf to arcade games and a ufo catching game. Along with the loads of mini-games the action isn’t just some repetitive beat-em up crap, this sandbox game has a great balance of elements of RPG and fighting games. There also is some sweet weapon modifications, were you can frankenstein your own custom weapon.

Now there still are some things that can make you limp from the game. The western localization did take away the hostess clubs (but don’t worry they kept the strip clubs). All in all, the cuts from the western version total up to making the game go from about 80 hours of gameplay to about 60 hours.

Also, don’t worry about picking up the game if you haven’t played neither of the last ones before. The game includes two movie versions of the first two games to get you up to date. Actually whether you have played the old ones before or not, you still might want to watch the videos. Which have action and guns up to par with a John Woo film.

If you end up liking the game as much as I do you might want to think about importing Yakuza 4, which “yes” has already been out in the land of the rising sun  since March 18th. Considering it takes about a year and half before games from this series hit the states. Sheesh

Yakuza 4 (region free)

And, if your visiting Japan anytime soon, you might want to think about staying at one of these lovely Love Hotels.

-JCTM

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