One surprising feature of the year so far has been the number of exclusive games for Sony's PlayStation 3 – and here is another which, while far from mainstream, will certainly please those who love the offbeat charms the Japanese always bring to gaming.
Yakuza 3 is best described as the Japanese answer to Grand Theft Auto, except with an impeccable brawling engine, drawn heavily from the great Japanese beat-em-up tradition, in place of the cars and guns. You play Kazuma Kiryu, legendary ex-Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan, now retired to the bucolic surroundings of Okinawa, where he runs an orphanage. You can tell he's still a Yakuza, though, thanks to the trendy shirt and facial hair, plus the tattoo covering his back.
Early indications aren't great, as Yakuza 3 proceeds at a glacial pace, with countless cut-scenes, conversations to trawl through (in subtitled Japanese, thankfully, rather than incongruously dubbed into American) and trivial tasks that involve looking after kids. But graphically, it is fantastic, and the gloriously immersive and detailed Tokyo and small-town Okinawa neighbourhoods evoke memories of Yu Suzuki's overblown but groundbreaking Shenmue.
Indeed, Yakuza 3 has been hailed by Sega fanboys as the nearest thing to Shenmue 3, and its labyrinthine but gripping storyline – the Yakuza are circling around Kiryu-san's orphanage due to a putative deal to build an American air base and resort in the vicinity, and Kazuma, after being reluctantly dragged into the local Yakuza family, returns to Tokyo when full-blown internecine war breaks out – augmented with countless agreeably weird side-missions, and the ability to shop, hang out in bars and so on does indeed make it worthy of Shenmue comparisons.
Gameplay-wise, it's fairly old-fashioned, although the brawling engine is nice and responsive. You get points to upgrade Kazuma's abilities when you defeat bosses (who literally are Yakuza bosses), and if you come across "revelations" – strange goings-on that you photograph with your mobile and blog about – you get extra fighting abilities. Mini-games, including the obligatory gambling games and even a full Tiger Woods-style golf engine, are rife, as are hidden collectibles. Even the core game is lengthy, and completists should be able to keep themselves occupied for weeks or even months.
Yakuza 3 won't be to everyone's taste, but if the idea of immersing yourself in a meticulous and, more often than not, pretty bonkers reconstruction of the world of the Yakuza appeals, you'll love it. If you played Shenmue, it will probably elicit a few tears of nostalgia. And maybe ponder the irony of Sega providing Sony with an exclusive game that will become a cult classic, which has roots in the Dreamcast era when Sega and Sony were sworn enemies.
