I have never played any of the Yakuza series, but from what I gather they sound a lot like the GTA games, which makes sense.  They both deal with mobs, violence, and sex.  New screens and info about Yakuza 3 let us move into the somewhat seedy and dangerous world of the hostess bar.

These kind of clubs are very popular in Japan.  Men that are getting off of work will swing by for a drink and have a chat with a pretty lady, or what they feel is a pretty lady, and just enjoy her company for a certain amount of time.  Depending on the club, these fees change.  I have heard that most of these places charge a flat fee of around 25 to 60 dollars an hour and you get to drink as much as you can in the time limit.  I’ll discuss all that a bit more later first I should talk about what the game offers.

According to Famitsu, first thing’s first — you have to scout girls.  This is done in Japan by standing outside of train stations and asking pretty girls if they would like a job.  I can’t say I have seen this work really well, but at least the guys look respectable and talk politely.  The next part in the game is to fancy up your girl with hair, make-up, and an outfit.  If you have ever been to one of these places in real life you know the screenshots are pretty accurate to what is really out there, most of the time.  Some of these clubs also exist out in the country and usually the ladies are a little less than “dreamgirls” but are still very sweet, I’ve heard.

The last part of the side game is to train the girl in how to make the customer come back.  This is done by teaching them how to sweet talk the old men, telling them how nice they look, and asking them about their day.  Really it is usually standard conversation, but with emphasis on making every part of the man’s life feel a bit more important than it really is.  This gives him a sense of pride and from what I understand usually ends up in bigger tips.

Now, you may be telling yourself that this all sounds really good, there’s no downside.  A pretty girl making you feel good about yourself for a couple hours — no harm done.  There are some wonderful tricks to the trade that really help these places bring in money.  One of the first is the lady’s drink.  This is the special menu for the female companions that sit and talk with you.  Most people would feel bad if they are drinking and the girl isn’t so they buy them a drink to coin a phrase from T-pain.

These drinks are not part of the all-you-can-drink program and usually range from at least 15 dollars to 50 dollars a glass.  And of course, one of the most popular things to do in Japan is sing karaoke.  The girls love to hear their client sing, so for an extra 5 dollars a song they will try and convince you to get up there and bellow out some drunken tunes.  Now, compound all of this with becoming drunk and you can quickly get yourself into a dangerous situation.

You’ve had a couple drinks and are feeling a lot more free with your money, maybe you buy her a couple drinks not thinking about the price, and sing a few songs of karaoke.  A couple of hours go buy and you have spent well over a hundred dollars, just to have a few drinks and talk to a girl.  This is probably money in the bank for any Yakuza that can scout well, so this could be your big money maker in the game.

There are stories of things going further, but that is neither here nor there. I highly doubt it’s in the game, but I can’t say for sure.  If you are interested, hope for an English translation like the previous games, and enjoy playing dress up with some girl that may be down on her luck, or just doesn’t think she can do any better than to get paid to sweet talk old men for hours.  Now don’t get me wrong — many of these girls make a lot of money if they are good at what they do, but I would think there are more rewarding jobs in this world.

Source:  Famitsu

Famitsu has some pictures of the special PS3 pack you can purchase with the latest in the Yakuza game series.  I think it’s rather stylish — I wonder what real Yakuza think.

The white 80GB model has a classic eastern dragon design on it.   It is rather fancy, but unless you turn your PS3 sideways to show it off, nobody will really see it.   The set will release on February 26th and retail for around 450 bucks.

I doubt they make it stateside though, but it would be a nice model to have.

Source: Famitsu

It appears that the recently released (in Japan) Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! is a side story to the Ryu ga Gotoku series, known as Yakuza in North America. The true third part in the series is on its way— and sooner than you’d think.

Ryu ga Gotoku was a gamble. It was expensive and attempted to recreate a real-life locale authentically. It was a decent hit in Japan, but when it came to North America touting an expensive voice cast it failed to capture much attention from gamers.

In Japan the series saw a sequel on the PS2 and then another game on the PS3 called Kenzan!, just released in March of 2008. Kenzan! unexpectedly moves the action from modern day Tokyo to Japan’s Edo period, complete with sword fighting, while still largely retaining the same cast of characters.

It turns out this is a fun but temporary departure for the series, and that the real third installment is well underway and will appear on the PS3 in Japan in Spring of 2009.

While exciting for those of us who enjoyed the first game, this is kind of funny considering we’re still waiting for not only Yakuza Kenzan!, but also Yakuza 2 here in North America. Thankfully it appears Sega has not given up on releasing these titles outside Japan.

While nothing has been said about Kenzan! specifically as far as a date, 2008 doesn’t seem out of the question, and Yakuza 2 looks slated to appear on the PS2 this September—this time lacking the costly English voice cast in favor of subtitles and the authentic Japanese voice work, which is reportedly quite excellent. That is a very smart choice.

It’s been quite a delay getting Yakuza and Yakuza 2 here, but there are heavy dialog and localization issues with these titles. Hopefully PS3 owners will be seeing Kenzan! a little closer to its Japanese release than we have with the first two games, and that Yakuza 3 follows suit.

The first Yakuza was visceral, atmospheric and enjoyable. Hopefully Yakuza 2 and Kenzan! will see more success here and not give Sega any excuses to leave the series Japan-only.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on these games as the year progresses. I urge anyone out there remotely interested to check out the first game.

Source: Neogaf via Famitsu