WHERE THE WILD KIDS GROW
Also for: Playstation 3 (original version)
With Yakuza 3, this series continues to hammer home the importance
of upbringing. Once again orphans play a vital part of the story, with series
protagonist Kazuma Kiryu (voiced by Takaya Kuroda) stuck in the middle
of a messy situation. The orphans in the center of this story might end up
good or bad, depending on the way society nurtures them into responsible
adults, or leaves them to rot in the seedy nature of the urban jungle. It's
hard to disagree and although it's a repeated statement, it's one that cannot
be repeated enough.
As, would I say, is the very charming nature of the entire Yakuza experience.
Every game is more or less the same, which makes it a source of repeated
entertainment. You might take a stranger up on a weird proposition, not
knowing whether he's scamming you (probably) or really needs your help. Or you
might end up in a brawl. Or you might spend it going from bar to bar playing
darts or pool, or enter a SEGA arcade to play a shooter, only to wind up all
alone in a karaoke booth, singing your bleeding heart out.
The main story often gets sidelined, because the substories are so much more
whacky and fun. They convey life-lessons so totally devoid of subtlety that it
makes them irresistible. And no-one seems to learn these lessons lightly - you
have to beat it into their dimwitted brains time and time again. Many of the
subjects will return for later substories. Heck, some of the most unfortunate
even carry over across games. Remember that lovelorn, suicidal millionaire
from Yakuza Kiwami? He and his manipulative fiancée return to
conclude(?) their tale.
The Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has always known how to make compelling
characters. But here the writers step up their game to also embroil them in
quite a decent storyline. That is because this game dares to take itself more
seriously, involving politics and straight-faced drama rather than the
operatic gangster family twists that made previous entries so melodramatic
(which also happens here, but less so and only very sporadically). All-in-all,
Yakuza 3 has the best main story this series has seen since Yakuza 0.
The early scenes are quite touching. Series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, a.k.a.
The Dragon of Dojima, has formally left the Tojo clan and is the proprietor of
an Okinawan orphanage. With invaluable assistance from his adoptive daughter
Haruka (Rie Kugimiya), he shows great affinity for parenting, and the
kids prosper under his wings. The early scenes set the stage perfectly.
Okinawa is a tropical paradise, like Hawaii, with sunny beaches and a mellow
atmosphere - quite the contrast from the crowded chaos of Kamurocho - and
Kiryu displays a relaxed, happy attitude we've rarely seen.
Unfortunately, the narrative team chooses to cut back-and-forth during the
introduction. This heightens the tension a little, and needlessly complicates
the heck out of the chain of events. We eventually understand that major
interests inside the Tojo clan, the C.I.A. and another Yakuza clan all vie for
the deed to Kiryu's orphanage. You must fight tooth-and-nail to defend it.
Keeping track of the exact details is a handful, especially towards the end,
as the story unfolds to a world-wide conspiracy.
Since Yakuza 3 for the Playstation 4 is "only" an HD remaster, it's also,
technically speaking, the oldest entry in the franchise I've played so far.
The engine is at its simplest iteration, which I presume is some legacy of its
Playstation 2-era entries (I haven't yet played those). The presentation feels
dated down to the slightest detail, and the annoying invisible walls make me
recall the heyday of PS2 level design. Even the font and sound effects in the
menus reek of antiquated standards.
Most of all, this hampers the mini-games, which in many cases feel like a step
back in quality from the Kiwami-entries and Yakuza 0. Bowling, pool and
baseball are all barely passable. Darts is too easy, whereas karaoke is too
hard - some command prompts appear with very little time to react, making them
a nuiscance to try and master. I tried them once or twice, with no desire for
more. For me personally, however, the mini-games have never been that
important.
We get some new additions of varying quality. Golf is a fully serviceable
simulator which I only avoided exploring deeper because of a lack of interest.
Boxcelios is a fun, wholly original SEGA arcade machine; a side-scrolling
shooter in 3D. Might it be the remains of a full-blown game that SEGA
abandoned halfway through production? Massage parlour is a pointless, highly
suggestive game about trying to relax. The hostess maker is time-consuming and
boring; a watered-down version of the awesome cabaret club management
simulator from Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 2.
My favorite new addition is the photo/blogging events. These allow Kiryu to
learn new moves by photographing hilarious slapstick incidents around him. For
instance, you might learn a crotch-crunching combat move by observing a guy
getting hit in the family jewels with a baseball. Or a handy throwing move by
watching a female judo expert defend herself against a pervy boob-grabber.
The older engine also simplifies the RPG levelling, consisting of only four
upgradeable combat skill categories: body, tech, soul and heat. This makes the
fights more streamlined and less intriguing than ever. The only complexity
comes with the boss encounters, where you need to find a way around their
incessant blocking. Some of them also wield weapons you need to find ways to
deal with. Because of a lack of options, it doesn't take long. On the plus
side, you can find a lot of hidden comedy by experimenting with weapon
pick-ups and their unique heat actions.
This evolutionary step back also reinstates a senescent charm in Yakuza 3:s
presentation. A lot of both the main plot and substory dialogue is text-only.
This brings back some of the exaggerated animations and brief vocal reactions
that made the Yakuza 0 substories so hilarious and charming. Ahead of a
battle, a low-life street punk might try to mock you through some lame-ass,
upper body zig-zagging. And those funny animé vocal grunts suit the primitive
3D models nicely. It ain't subtle, but if you're looking for subtlety four
games into such a crazy franchise, I think you should give up.
The Yakuza series has produced new entries annually for a long time, and the
constant high quality is remarkable. Re-using the same map (Kamurocho) with
the occasional addition or alteration makes it like a home away from reality.
When characters in the game direct me toward, for instance, Nakamichi Street
or the Champion District, I know exactly where to go. My instincts tell me
what characters to avoid in the open world, and just by looking around I can
see where there's a substory going on.
Repetition is part of its charm, and after spending so much time in Kamurocho,
you start to feel like the legend. All know of the Dragon of Dojima, and once
they realize he's the one standing before them, their attitude totally
changes. When Kiryu offers advice about how to make it big - or just survive -
in his city, it has a profound impact. Because when all is said and done, what
can replace the experience of repetition, and the time we spend perfecting our
craft?
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