Yakuza tells the story of one Kiryu Kazuma, one of the Yakuza's rising stars who gets sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Owing his outlook to the organization's strong beliefs about respect and honor, it's not surprising that Kazuma seeks to learn the truth about why he was framed for murder. Complicating things is an expanding web of intrigue surrounding a missing girl (as well as a missing $100 million). The title features some intense in-game cutscenes, full of macho posturing, copious amounts of profanity, and a constant threat of violence. It's interesting to note that the game's story was created by novelist Seishu Hase, whose book City of Lost Souls was turned into a brutally violent film by Japanese auteur Takashi Miike.
The game features an impressive representation of Tokyo, full of neon and advertising as far as the eye can see. In the sequence we checked out, our hero was exploring the nightlife district, going from bar to bar in an attempt to find an old acquaintance. You'll be able to walk around a number of sections of the city (they'll be unlocked gradually), and there will be a lot of ways to stay busy while you're unraveling the story. We were told that there will be over 70 side missions, as well as 10 mini-games, including the ability to play pachinko or hit the batting cages. We're not sure exactly how large the city will be, but it looks like you'll have plenty to do if you just want to explore.
As you'd expect from a Yakuza-themed title, this one's got plenty of violence, and the developers created a brand new fighting engine from scratch. It looks nice and moves smoothly, but we were very surprised to see that you'll have to sit through a loading screen every time you get into a street fight. This fairly annoying technical issue notwithstanding, the fighting engine is solid, allowing you to string together punches, kicks, and grabs, and pick up environmental weapons. The majority of the action that we saw was good old-fashioned hand-to-hand brawling, but the developers mentioned that you'll also be able to use swords and firearms.
Although it's not perfect, it looks like Yakuza will be an entertaining game that combines a hard-hitting storyline, some fun brawling action, and plenty of wide-open exploration. The game's visuals are pretty impressive too, especially the lighting effects (the bar's Tiffany lamps cast some great light) and the characters' faces in the cutscenes. While combat plays a large part in the game, we're happy to see that it seems to take a backseat to the story, which features some of the most badass dialogue we've heard in quite some time. Will this be the game that launches a wave of Yakuza titles? It's too early to tell, but we wouldn't bet against it.
