Yakuza 3 – How to start a fight club in Tokyo

You may not have heard of the Yakuza series before, but if you’re in the market for a gory brawl in Japan, rush over to your game store.  Yakuza 3 (GAMESPOT Review) is the game’s first installment on the PS3, and is a marked improvement over the previous two.

If you played any of the GTA series, you’ll feel right at home playing Yakuza 3.  It has similar gameplay elements, such as allowing the player to choose between going from mission to mission, or branching out and starting a few brawls in karaoke bars.  You’re free to influence the main character, Kazuma, to either progress the story, or complete side missions and gain experience.

The graphics are pretty good for the game.  If you’re looking for jaw dropping, drool all over yourself, landscapes, you may want to move on.  But overall, the fighting is exciting (though there are a few bugs), and the whole game looks pretty good, overall.

Some people have problems with the progression and direction of the story, such as reviews at GameSpot.  I have to agree with them to a point, because there were times it seemed like story dragged you between different plot initiators.  But overall, going from mission to mission was smooth and exciting.  And with all of the extra side missions you can do, you’ll sit and play for hours

There is another unique aspect to this game that deserves mention; weapon/armor crafting.  With materials you pick up throughout Yakuza 3, you can craft and upgrade weapons and armor.  This is one aspect where the game misses completely.  Though it can be fun to do, the whole thing is pointless, as none of it is necessary to complete the game.

Overall, Yakuza 3 is a fun game to play that gives you hours of entertaining brawling across the streets of Tokyo.