IGN
We head to the streets of Japan for a look at Sega's nearly-finished adventure.
by Chris Roper
August 7, 2006 - Every time we've gotten a new look at Yakuza, Sega has stressed to us that beyond all of its fighting and "do almost anything" aspects there lies a very strong story at the heart of the game. So it's no surprise then that Yakuza opens up with plenty of cut-scenes to set up the backbone for the game.
You first see an old man lying dead on the floor of an office with plenty of cinematic camera views to give the scene lots of weight. Your character, Kazuma, stands in front of the body with a gun in his right hand. Cops bust in just before the game backtracks to the day before, with you and another associate on your way to pick up $2 million in uncollected cash at a "bank" (read: money launderer).
After a quick warning, a fight of course breaks out, serving as the combat tutorial for the game. You're introduced to a few different combo types and then have to attack entirely complacent enemies a number of times to pass each combo section. When this is over you head off to a local bar and meet up with Nishiki and his sister Yumi, two childhood pals, for a few drinks. At a meeting the next day you receive a distress call and learn that Yumi has been kidnapped by the boss of the Tojo clan. After arriving at the scene and learning that Nishiki has already killed Dojima, you send him off with Yumi in order to protect her while you take the heat and are sent away to prison for 10 years.
After serving your time, getting into a few brawls on the inside and learning that Yumi has disappeared, you're set free on parole, though things aren't quite the same as they were when you left. Nishiki calls an impromptu Tojo clan meeting and claims that 10 billion yen has been stolen from the clan's bank. As that would mean the family is essentially broke, no one in the room is all too happy. Back in control again, you head off to meet with an informant and see what you can piece together.
Walking through the game's main district area and brushing through the crowded streets, we bumped into a woman who promptly began screaming that we'd groped her. Calling her a liar to her face, some large thug named Punk Ass Abe ran up and demanded $10,000 or a fist to the face. We went with the latter and promptly kicked him all over the street. The lady then asked us if we'd like to partake in a little hustling of strangers, much like this shady lass and Abe had done, but unfortunately we weren't given the chance to agree. To the curb with you then, wench.
While we're on the topic of street fights, Yakuza has some great lines that fools will spout at you before going to fisticuffs. One of our favorites so far is, "Hey, so you're the one starting all that @#&$? I'll murder your bitch ass!"
Heading into the local Club Sega, we cruised over to the UFO Catcher machine, otherwise known as one of those crane games where you can win valueless stuffed toys. After throwing down a few bills we managed to win a giant yellow bird, a raccoon, a small pink bird and a bear with a bandage on his head. Unfortunately there weren't any orphans around to hand them off to (being as we're the good kind of Yakuza), so we just fit the gigantic fluffy creatures into our pants pockets for later use of some sort.
Though playing UFO Catcher is pretty fun for a time or two, it's the only thing inside Club Sega that you can interact with, unfortunately. This seems to be the case for most any store you can head into. The local convenience store would only let us flip through a single magazine or buy food from the clerk. The ice cream shop was only good for its namesake and we couldn't find a decent drink at the host club. Though there does seem to be lots to do in the world of Yakuza, individual areas seem to be limited.
The in-game map is pretty helpful in that it highlights buildings that you can enter and points out your next place of interest. It can be a little confusing however as the game uses a fixed-point camera in the district so sometimes you'll be walking up the screen while on the map you'll be heading sideways, but in the next area you'll be walking left to continue going east. It's not too bad and certainly helps a ton, but it is a little disorienting at first.
So far, what we've been able to play of Yakuza has mostly lived up to Sega's promises. It's very story-centric, featuring tons of cut-scenes, but luckily they've all been fairly interesting at this point. The combat, as we've covered in previous articles, is simplistic but can be rather fun. And while there's not quite as much stuff to do in any one shop, there are still plenty of things to do when wandering around town. The game is set to ship in just under a month, so stick around for more coverage soon and head to our media page pronto for new screens and videos.
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