SEGA today announced that Yakuza: Of The End will be available in the West in March 2012. Renamed Yakuza: Dead Souls, this next iteration of the iconic Japanese series will be available exclusively to PS3 owners and will feature the entire storyline, Japanese downloadable content and a brand new mini-game Pachislot!

Yakuza: Dead Souls is set in the infamous red light district of Tokyo, which is under attack from hordes of zombies. Players will not only face armies of the undead and incredibly powerful mutants, but a treacherous Japanese underworld that is just as merciless. Playing through the eyes of four of the most infamous characters of the series, witness allegiances shift quickly and the line between friend and foe lost. If you thought zombies were bad…meet the Yakuza!

Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing at SEGA, made the announcement today:

“We know how much people love Yakuza in the West and with Dead Souls being the latest and greatest in the franchise, it is only right we bring it to them closer to the Japanese release than ever.”

Yakuza: Dead Souls features gunplay for the first time in the Yakuza series, where everything from pistols to machine guns and rocket launchers can be employed against the zombie invasion. Just remember to save some ammo in case you run into something even more terrifying than the zombies! With all the depth and story of a Yakuza title, plus the addition of exciting shoot-outs and previously unplayable characters Ryuji Goda and Goro Majima, Yakuza: Dead Souls is clearly worth dying for.

Check out this new trailer and screens:

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I’ve never played a Yakuza game, but I’ve always held the franchise in high regard and have wanted to get into it. I missed the previous entries, but the opportunity to play and review Yakuza 4 came up and I thought that it had been fated. Yakuza 4 offers a wandering storyline entrenched knee-deep into the sex, drama and violence of Japan’s underworld. Players first take on the role of loan shark Shun Akiyma (Mr. A), who offers financing to those that other loan sharks reject. Mr. A also runs a hostess club, a business that offers customers the chance to spend time with and build relationships with attractive, money-sucking women. Shortly after the game begins, Mr. A is ensnared in a conflict with a local Yakuza clan, setting in motion Yakuza 4‘s plot and the events that bring three other playable characters into the fold.

Akiyama

I enjoyed the storyline, though I’ll admit that I was a little lost at times. I had a hard time keeping track of all of the characters initially, but after assuming the role of Taiga Saejima in the second act (a convict sent to prison for killing 18 members of a rival Yakuza clan), I started getting to know each of the characters better and was subsequently more engaged. Eternal bad ass Kazuma Kiryu also returns from previous games to join the three new characters included in Yakuza 4.

There’s a ton of dialogue in the game and though I didn’t time it, there were several sections of dialogue and cutscenes that must have taken at least half an hour to get through.  Kojima-san would be proud.  Some of the story segments are acted out through cutscenes and some are conveyed through on-screen text. I think the developers probably could have cut down some of the dialogue, but that would cut into the length of the main game substantially. Even with that trade-off, I think the story would be easier to get into initially with tighter dialogue. The plot is similar in some ways to the movie Crash, providing four intertwining stories that bring the various characters together as they deal with their own demons.

Everyone Has Issues

Kamurocho, the city in which the bulk of the game takes place, is as alive as any of the playable characters. The city is full of life, and having lived in Asia for a while, I can say that it faithfully recreates the chaos, clutter and awe of traveling through the crowded and loud Asian streets. There’s no order to it, but after initially wandering around without an idea of where to go, you learn the shortcuts through all of the alleyways and the city becomes your own.  In contrast with the Grand Theft Auto games, there’s a surprising amount of real interactivity. There are people to talk to, a good number of side quests to embark on and you can enter and exit many of the buildings. It can at times feel artificially restrictive – you’ll encounter a lot of invisible walls when trying to get into buildings, even when it seems like you should just be able to walk right on in, but it’s a worthy trade-off considering the level of depth and interactivity.

Kamurocho

In addition to their trials and tribulations, each character has their own fighting styles and skill trees to unlock. While you’re initially stuck limited to just a handful of attacks, you’ll eventually unlock brutal finishing moves, new combos and other skills and techniques. When I first transitioned into Saejima, I was a little annoyed that my progress had been lost, but since characters have different fighting styles, I enjoyed working through the skill trees again and uncovering new moves. Experience is earned through random battles and side quests that you complete during your time in Kamurocho. As you walk along the streets, you’ll be approached by groups of thugs that want to challenge you. Their reasons for attacking you aren’t always very clever, but beating on them is certainly fun. The game plays like a classic beat-em-up, and it brought back fond memories from God of War III as I brutalized my foes.

Combat is clearly the best part of the game and this is probably the first RPG since Final Fantasy X where I actually enjoyed getting into random battles.

Finishing Moves Are Noticeably Brutal

Though you are given the opportunity to run away, I never did. Combat in the game is fairly straight-forward, with a good amount of combos available to the players. But Yakuza 4 very smartly avoids cumbersome combos and instead focuses on attacks that only require players to memorize a handful of inputs in order to pull off truly punishing attacks. The martial arts on display in the game are fluid and fast, and when you have leveled up the various characters fully you’ll be running circles around your foes. The game’s combat is paced perfectly, and adept players can get through random battles against three or four thugs quickly without taking a hit.

Yakuza 4 clocks in at a seemingly healthy 20 hours or so for the main story, but a lot of it is taken up by time spent not playing. The plot pads out the length on a game that doesn’t offer much in terms of diversity during actual missions.  Most missions boil down to simply fighting through linear areas as you work toward a final confrontation or chasing down/running away from someone. And of course, fetch quests. Players are expected to add length to the experience through the myriad of opportunities provided in Kamurocho, Asia’s largest pleasure district and here players are offered lots of things to see and do.

There Are Many "Distractions" In Kamurocho

Many "Distractions" Indeed

After a few frames of bowling, players can head over to Club SEGA and take in some classic games. But Kamurocho is an adult theme park, providing a number of hostess clubs and massage parlors. This was a major part of the game … and my least favorite. I’m not really interested in dressing up girls to make them look pretty nor coaching them to be more attractive. This whole game is steeped in a culture of total male dominance and there are few female characters presented positively. Every woman is infantilized and presented as totally dependent and subservient of male characters.  Honestly, I found this to be uncomfortable confrontation to my values.

It feels at times that the game was created by a team of horny 14-year-old boys.

How May I "Serve" You

There’s an undercurrent of male superiority/female weakness that runs through this title. Perhaps this was intended to be thematic of the macho Yakuza culture, but it doesn’t come across as that mature. Female characters in the game are either comically ugly or insanely attractive.  All of them are sexualized to some extent, and hostess clubs are largely (with few exceptions) the only place where players interact with females. These encounters allow players to interact with hostesses of their choosing, which really boils down to staring at an attractive character model as she babbles inanities at you and helps the club siphon off your money.  (Just like real life?)  Moreover, I feel that their inclusion keeps the game from appealing to a wider Western audience, but at the same time I respect that these portions do appeal to the game’s target audience. I imagine this works the same way for many non-Western gamers who pick up Grand Theft Auto. While they might appreciate certain aspects of those games, some of the subtleties of the titles might be lost in translation.

Big Finish

I’m sure there are people to whom this game would appeal more than I.  It’s beautiful to look at and the cutscenes seem pulled straight out of the best martial arts films. I loved the retention of the Japanese voice actors and dialogue and the game truly has style and flair.  Even though the game’s plot is a little convoluted and there isn’t much variety to the gameplay, the combat is outstanding and entertaining after hours and hours of play. It’s too bad all of this is marred by Yakuza 4‘s hypersexualization, which at times is off-putting and even offensive.

Yakuza 4 is a well-made game with lots of polish, but I think it’s a step in the wrong direction in terms of broader franchise appeal.

Here’s The Rundown:

+ City is vibrant and full of life
+ Fast, brutal and awesome combat
+ Insane amount of content
+ Beautiful cutscenes

- Story can be difficult to follow
– Uncomfortably sexual
– Dress up mini-games are demeaning
– Too much time spent in cutscenes and dialogue segments

Yakuza 4 was developed CS1 and published by SEGA.  It was released on March 15th, 2011 for $59.99 USD on the Playstation 3.  A copy was provided to us by the publisher for the purposes of review. Matt played the game to completion and then sent it to Dave who would probably like it better.

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Yakuza 4 is the quintessential Japanese open-world game.  If you are looking for cheats, unlockables and trophies, we’ve got the guide for you!

Read our Yakuza 4 Review.

Cheats and Unlockables

• 1000000 yen bonus – Clear Easy mode
• 2000000 yen bonus – Clear Normal mode
• 3000000 yen bonus – Clear Hard mode
• 5000000 yen bonus – Clear EX-Hard mode
• Asagao Special Torso Wrap – Have an existing Ryuu ga Gotoku 3 system file
• Bell of Gion – Have an existing Ryuu ga Gotoku Kenzan! save file
• EX-Hard Mode – Clear Hard mode
• Premium Adventure – Clear the game on any difficulty
• Premium New Game – Clear the game on any difficulty
• Reminiscence (Kaisou) – Clear the game on any difficulty
• Ultimate Competition (Kyuukyoku Tougi) – Clear the game on any difficulty
• Underground SP Championship - Clear the game on any difficulty. Enter Naomi no Yakata located on Tenkaichi Street.  Talk to Utsunomiya Bob A.

Trophy Guide – Bronze (33), Silver (6), Gold (9), Platinum (1)

• History Buff (Bronze) – View all Reminiscences from YAKUZA to YAKUZA 3.
• 4 Substories (Bronze) – Complete or finish four substories.
• 20 Substories (Bronze) – Complete or finish twenty substories.
• 40 Substories (Bronze) – Complete or finish forty substories.
• Gourmet of Kamurocho (Bronze) – Order something at least once at each restaurant.
• Way of the Key Master (Bronze) – Open five coin lockers.
• The Joy Of Gifting (Bronze) – Have a hostess wear a present you give her.
• After-Work Hookup (Bronze) – Have a hostess invite you on an after-work date.
• Fashionista (Bronze) – Gather at least one outfit from each category in ‘Hostess Maker.’
• Business Card Hunter (Bronze) – Receive business cards from all hostesses. In order to achieve this Trophy you’ll need to get a business card from each of them hostess (9 total including 3 from ‘Hostess Maker’ minigame).  Requires you to rank #1 “Permanent” hostesses and allowing you see them when you visit the Hostess Club.
• Emblem Collector (Bronze) – Collect ten emblems from survivors during gang encounters.
• Star of the Coliseum (Bronze) – Acquire the title ‘Star of the Coliseum.’
• Master In Training (Bronze) – Have one of your apprentices win the Rookie Tournament in ‘Fighter Maker.’
• Weapon Master (Bronze) – Create one or more weapons for each weapon category.
• Revelation Seeker (Bronze) – Acquire three Revelations.
• VIP Member (Bronze) – Become a VIP member at the massage parlor.
• Table Tennis Pro (Bronze) – Smash the ball three times in one match.
• The Human Jukebox (Bronze) – Sing all songs at karaoke.
• Hat Trick (Bronze) – Achieve a hat trick in darts.
• First Carom (Bronze) – Win the first point in Four-Ball pool.
• Boiled Turkey (Bronze) – Achieve a turkey in bowling.
• Novice Gambler (Bronze) – Play all non-casino gambling games.
• Casino Rookie (Bronze) – Play all casino gambling games.
• Welcome to SEGA (Bronze) – Play all minigames at Club SEGA.
• Way of the Pachinko King (Bronze) – Obtain the trophy prize in pachinko.
• Shogi Promotion (Bronze) – Achieve a promotion in shogi.
• Seven Pairs (Bronze) – Collect two of each different tile pattern in mahjong.
• Captain Two-fer (Bronze) – Successfully hit two panels at once at the batting center.
• Mr. Outdoors (Bronze) – Golf and fish five times each.
• Walking Bank (Bronze) – Possess 10,000,000 yen or more.
• Kamurocho Iron Man (Bronze) – Traverse 100 kilometers or more.
• Kamurocho Stampede King (Bronze) – Knock over 100 people you pass by.
• Memo Master (Bronze) – Collect all Memos in the Pause Menu.
• Heir to the Powerful (Silver) – Max out all characters to level 20.
• Indomitable (Silver) – Clear Normal Mode without reverting to Easy Mode.
• Akiyama Award (Silver) – Earn 1,000,000 yen playing as Akiyama.
• Saejima Award (Silver) – Purchase five hand guns playing as Saejima.
• Tanimura Award (Silver) – Acquire 10,000 casino points playing as Tanimura.
• Kiryu Award (Silver) – Destroy 100 weapons you pick up playing as Kiryu.
• Part 1 Cleared (Gold) – Clear Part 1 of the story.
• Part 2 Cleared (Gold) – Clear Part 2 of the story.
• Part 3 Cleared (Gold) – Clear Part 3 of the story.
• Part 4 Cleared (Gold) – Clear Part 4 of the story.
• Kamuorocho Tree Hugger (Gold) – Pick up 20 pieces of trash around the city.
• Heir to the Ultimate (Gold) – Clear all Ultimate Skill missions.
• Thank You (Gold) – Clear the Finale.
• Heir to the Legend (Gold) – Clear Extra Hard Mode.  Game must be completed on  Normal difficulty mode which will unlock Hard mode. Then you must complete Hard mode which will unlock EX-Hard mode. You recieve trophy after completing EX-Hard. (Note, you must complete each difficulty straight through).
• Amon Defeated (Gold) – Defeat Amon and get through all the substories.
• Platinum Trophy (Platinum) – Acquire all trophies in the game.

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The SEGA blog has confirmed  that all new copies of Yakuza 4 in the US will come pre-packaged with codes inside the box.  These codes will include:

• Bonus costumes for Kazuma, Akiyama, Taiga, Tanimura, and Haruka
• Survival Mode
• Underground car park racing
• The much-loved underground Fighting Arena

Codes are for one time use…a good motivator to buy it new and not used.

Yakuza 4 will be available on the Ides of March (March 15th) in the US of A.

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Anyone who watched the Playstation Meeting 2011 heard from Sony and third party developers alike that moving PS3 titles to NGP is relatively painless. That seems like a huge step in tech and an even larger step in faith. The NGP while technically impressive isn’t capable of running PS3 games at full specs, otherwise they wouldn’t need to be “ported” in the first place.

Hideo Kojima, while showing a very impressive Metal Gear Solid 4 demo on the device, mentioned that his dream is “cloud computing gaming”. In layman’s terms he wants players to be able to play a game on a PS3 and then walk outside and be able to play the same game on the NGP. He then goes on to say that he will be announcing a game at E3 that will fulfill his dream. Whether this title will stream from the PS3 to the NGP or if the handheld will handle the processing is still unknown, but it is an interesting concept.

Tim Sweeny, of Epic Games, mentioned that the PS3 title Dungeon Defenders was adapted to the NGP in a very short time  and Kojima even mentioned a system where model and enviornment data could be exported to the NGP from a PS3 version of the game. Nagoshi even showed a Yakuza demo just to prove how easy it is to port titles to the robust device.

If these developers are indeed telling the truth, we could see a whole new level for portable games. Imagine a game you could play on either your handheld or console and the quality would be identical or better yet – imagine a game that you only have to buy one copy to play anywhere at anytime. The possibilities are astounding, but only time will tell if these extraordinary claims turn out to be true.

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From the Press release as it’s a great decription of the video’s content:

Set in a fully realized, authentic recreation of Tokyo’s “Sin-City District”, Yakuza 4 is one of the latest games in the crime saga. The action unfolds through the eyes of its four unique and dangerous characters, the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, the loan shark Akiyama, escaped convict Saejima and the detective Tanimura. You’ll get a look at each of them in the trailer as well as the other on goings of the Tokyo underground. From fighting to hostess clubs (yup! they are in this time), there’s plenty of stuff to do in the city.

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Less than a month ago, we learned that not only was a new chapter in the Yakuza saga coming exclusively to the PlayStation 3, but that it would be headed West next Spring. If that weren’t enough for fans, series director Toshihiro Nagoshi has revealed in an interview with Famitsu that two more titles are currently in development.

One of the projects, currently unnamed, is in development for the PlayStation 3, while the other, a PlayStation Portable title called “Black Panther Yakuza New Chapter,” is currently slated for a September release in its homeland. The two differ in that the PS3 title appears as though it will be a “primary entry” in the series, whereas Nagoshi says he wants Black Panther to be built up as a separate title.

But though it is being built as a part of the main series, Nagoshi would not commit to making the game a numbered entry in the series as Yakuza 5. Though he said he could not go into details, he did allow that it would “do honor” to the series name.

One key point of interest which he did discuss was that one popular character from the series, Majima Goro, would finally become a playable character in this title, thus fulfilling a wish Nagoshi has had for some time. The new game is said to give a closer look at his unique personality, as well as the stories and expressions which it would give rise to, but without losing those elements which make him unique.

Of further interest is that Nagoshi described Goro as “a” playable character, leaving the possibility open that, like Yakuza 4, there could be multiple playable characters.

Other details given about the game’s concept, Nagoshi responded with but a single word: “destruction.” The series’ trademark drama, battles, and adventure will remain, but the developers will be trying to incorporate new gameplay around those elements.

“We want to show evidence of ‘there are still these possibilities for the Yakuza series,’” said Nagoshi. “We won’t be throwing out the past methods of enjoyment, but we will be taking a scalpel to the fundamentals of the game systems.”

Unfortunately for fans, while Black Panther is due in September, the PlayStation 3 title has no such timeframe planned. Said Nagoshi:

“While I can’t give a release time frame yet, we’re working to deliver it at a time Yakuza series fans will want.”

Source: Andriasang

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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

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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

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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

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