Yakuza is a great example on how to use your fists, but it's not without some shortcomings.
- Fantastic hand-to-hand combat
- The graphics make the city vivid
- Cool specials and weapon specials
- A lot of side quest to do
Negative
- Frequent loadings in the city are annoying
- Multi enemies make combat frustrating and repetitive sometimes
If you are familiar with Japan, you must have heard of the Yakuza, a large criminal organization located within the country similar to the Italian Mafia. The Yakuza is also known as the mafia of Japan. This game puts you in the shoes of one of these yakuza, and with some of the best hand-to-hand combat around, Yakuza won't disappoint very easily.
Yakuza follows the story of a strong yakuza with a kind heart and mercy, Kazuma Kiryu. After spending 10 years in prison which he took responsibility for his friend Nishiki killing Dojima, he returns seeing how things have changed. Before at the beginning of the game, Kazuma is a well know yakuza and you have to fight a lot to progress in the game. The story changes completely after the 10 years event, with 10 billion yen are stolen, Nishiki is changed and Yumi has gone missing. The yakuza of Japan changed dramatically as well and for the first part of the game Kazuma must find out what went on when he was absent.
The combat is the highlight of the game and packs some serious punches. It's no where near perfect, mainly because the fighting gets very repetitive. Most of the time Kazuma has to fight alone with numerous enemies. The AI is smart, but not every time since they don't always attack when you make a mistake. The initial tutorial teaches you offense, but after you meet a man he will teach you defense. The enemy variety is very low, with only yakuza mostly all of the time. Combat is all packed in battles so you won't pick up with anyone. There are some random people you come to pick up a fight. After you finish the fight you move on, so you won't go against the entire city. The only enemy varieties in yakuza are slim and muscle guys. When in heat mode, Kazuma can do more damage with
By hitting enemies with brutal punches you fill your heat meter. It fills pretty quickly and drops dramatically when you receive damage. When it's full, grab an enemy and if you are near a wall or a table you can perform a special finisher to deal significant damage to one enemy. Weapon finishers are even cooler since you only need a weapon. Weapons can be found almost everywhere, like golf clubs, paper lanterns, tables, chairs and many others; these depend where you are fighting. The combat lacks a bit of variety, since you have to repeat the same type of attacks, normally you would use square X3 and then triangle. Getting experience after battle lets you upgrade Kazuma's skills. There are 3 rows to fill with what you earn. These will improve his skills, defense and HP. Items can be found around the very realistic Japanese city (sorry don't know the name). There are many people around, a lot and a lot of shops as well. There are people you can talk to, and thankfully you don't bump into people and you get stuck, if you bump in someone he will move. The HP can drop significantly when you receive a weapon attack which can put you in danger. Sometimes there are stages which you need to explore or escape where enemies keep coming. You will find items lying around to help you, and there are some bosses which are really fun if they are one-on-one, even if they are tough to knock-out. Also in the city you can't use the attack buttons. There is a lot of running in the city which can get monotonous.
There are a lot of side quest in the city (forget if I said there aren't any). By just running around the city you can encounter a lot of tugs to fight against. They are normally much weaker than those of the story missions. Also there are some missions you can do by meeting people. One such mission is to retrieve a purse of a woman you was stolen, but in the end you have to fight. You will gain experience and doing side quest can give you a lot of it. Certain shops sell helpful items for battle.
Yakuza is quite a looker from all angles. The city does feel alive with a lot of people and the atmosphere is very impressive. The character models are fantastic and there are no sights of glitches or bugs. The cutscenes are really something as well, and they can be skipped if you allow the skip event option. The camera is the biggest problem in the game. In combat there is no lock-on system so you can hit aimlessly. Because of the camera you can also miss if it happens to change angle the time you press the attack button. The only thing you can move is the mini-map at the bottom left screen. There are frequent loadings when you move from a part of the city to another. Most people will be annoyed with this since these happen often. The production values shine, especially in the city which is always at night.
The sound isn't as great as the graphics but it has its share of merits. The voices are great from almost everyone, and the names are all Japanese which fit the theme of the game. Words such as Aniki and oyabun are strange for American and English audiences; the fact that Japanese people call others by their surname isn't what we are used to. Anyway it may take some time to learn the names of the people you encounter. The soundtrack is good as well but the enemy voices get repetitive.
You won't be finding a better yakuza game, anywhere except here. The storyline will keep you immersed, the hand-to-hand combat is fantastic and the graphics are quite good. Even if this game unfortunately suffers from repetition and lack of enemy variety, Yakuza is a great fighting game for anyone looking for something with an unusual theme, but for everyone this is a must-try.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graphics = 8.8
Everything looks great, from the city to the character models to the combat.
Sound = 7.7
The voice acting is well done from most people and the soundtrack, while not the best around is still pretty solid.
Presentation = 8.2
Makes a great first impression with superb looking cutscenes, short but frequent load times in the city, amazing production values and a camera which can be a real pain.
Gameplay = 8.6
Rockin' hand-to-hand combat with cool looking special but overall lacks depth and enemy variety.
Story = 8.5
The story immediately immerses you in the yakuza world and there are plenty to look forward to.
OVERALL = 84 / 100
Yakuza is a great example on how to use your fists, but it's not without some shortcomings.