Yakuza 3
Encyclopedia
Yakuza 3 is a PlayStation 3
video game, originally released in Japan as , the sequel to Yakuza 2 and the fourth installment in the Yakuza series
. It is developed by Sega Japan
's CS1 Team
and published by Sega. It was released in Japan and South East Asia on February 26, 2009 and in North America and Europe on March 9, 2010 and March 12, 2010, respectively.
The sequel, Yakuza 4
, was released on March 18, 2010 in Japan.
Six sub-scenarios (Date's Pride, Two Fathers, Hometown Girl, The Finishing Touch, Silver Screen Dragon and Murder at Café Alps) are special missions featuring "event scene" cinematics. Holding R1 and pressing the X button will activate an automatic mode that skips the cutscene dialogue.
sidestories are located in Kamurocho, the remaining five in Ryukyu.
Twenty minigame
s are available within Adventure mode. These are aromatherapy massage (eastern releases only), darts
, pool, karaoke
, bowling
, mahjong
(eastern releases only), chinchirorin, shogi
(eastern releases only), chō-han, koi-koi
, oicho-kabu
, roulette
, poker
, blackjack
, Answer & Answer (eastern releases only), UFO Catcher, batting cage
, golf
, surf fishing
and Boxcelios. 2-player support for some of these mini games and an expansion for Answer & Answer are added through DLC, as well as main menu direct access in the eastern releases. However, the quiz minigame's expansion was eventually removed from the western release and 2-player support became a time limited DLC exclusive to the North American release's Challenge Pack.
Challenges like Mack Shinozuka's training, Inner Fighter 7 and Haruka's Request aren't considered either mini games or side stories.
Beating the game in "Hard" mode unlocks the "Ex-Hard" (extreme hard) extra difficulty level. Completing the game in any difficulty mode will create a "cleared data" save file and unlock "Premium New Game" and "Premium Adventure". The first allows to restart the game with all accumulated money, items, experience levels and fighting techniques. The latter is a free-run mode dedicated to exploration and completion as it doesn't include the main story, with only sub-scenarios remaining (though a small number of missions will only appear at a certain point in story mode, and cannot be triggered in Premium Adventure). Extra game contents are added through DLC.
competition sponsored by Majima is held in the area beneath Kamurocho Hills, formerly Purgatory. The arena is inspired by real life Japanese cage fighting competitions such as K-1 World Grand Prix
; gameplay is similar to fighting games Toshihiro Nagoshi
previously worked on such as Virtua Fighter 5
and SpikeOut
. Single Tournament has 50 unique international fighters (a minor character with its own profile) and 11 grand prix tournaments to choose from. These 3-round competitions have various rings, rules and difficulty levels; the different types of tournament are Exhibition Tournament, Street Fight GP, Breakout GP, Heat GP, Bounding GP, Bomber GP, Golden Glove GP, Weapon Master GP, Hyper GP, Magnum Force GP and Maximum GP. Tag Tournament is a two-partner team match including 20 unique teams. Each team is made of paired Single Tournament fighters enhanced with a special duo attack. There are 2 available grand prix named Tag Match GP and Twin Dragon GP. Three Single Tournament fighters and two Encounter Battle characters will join Kazuma Kiryu's "Team Dragon" ("Team The Dragon" in the original release) as tag partners once he finds them in the Adventure Mode; these are boxer
Maxim Soldatov , kenpō
Bruce Ebinuma , puroresu Daiji Hiyama , Keigo Kanno and Masaki Hatae . Orders can be given to these partners using the Dual Shock 3's arrow keys.
Completing the story mode unlocks 35 additional Battle Missions gathered in a bonus mode called . The first competition has 10 missions and is called , the second has 5 missions and is called , the third has 10 missions and is called , and fourth competition has 5 missions and is called . Completing these four competitions unlocks a fifth competition called the which has 5 missions. Completing all 35 missions with an "S" rank, the highest rank possible, unlocks a special item delivered by Bob Utsunomiya, which is a talisman called the that, when equipped, permanently maintains the Heat Gage at maximum level.
Once story mode is completed the player can start a Premium Adventure and meet a hidden minor character (a clairvoyant woman) who allows access to four added through DLC, only available in a special edition of the game in Europe, and as a preorder bonus in North America. In Survival Battle Kazuma Kiryu must find and defeat the , Yoshitaka Mine; eight bonus bosses are disseminated within Kamurocho. In Survival Onigokko, Kazuma Kiryu is chased by Bob Utsunomiya in Kamurocho, with ten missions to complete in three minutes. All Star Tournament is an extra Arena single tournament that involves all 8 boss characters plus Goh Hamazaki, the latter of which can only be fought in this mode. All Star Tag Tournament is an extra tag tournament that pits Kazuma Kiryu and his fighting partner Goro Majima against 7 teams of bosses and bonus characters such as Kazuki, Yuya, Goh Hamazaki and Komaki.
As a mixed game including elements of the sandbox game and RPG
genres, Yakuza 3 includes a "Completion" feature that sums up what percentage of the game was actually completed by the player.
Only 100% completion (Completion + Sub-Scenario) will unlock the final mission involving a recurring hidden all-black character named Jo Amon , a.k.a. "Mysterious Hitman", which is returning character from the spinoff and is a secret boss available since the original Yakuza title. In Yakuza 3, Jo Amon's weapon is dual light sabers.
The following extended chart includes the Completion feature and shows the differences between the eastern and western releases. A detailed version of this chart is available in the game's options menu. To learn which contents are specific to each release, see the detailed sections Downloadable content and Versions. Some contents included in the following chart require a completed game save file (such as the Battle Mission), a spinoff game save file (Ukiyo's Bell) or a PlayStation Network redeem code (Battle Pack and Challenge Pack) to be unlocked.
-based spinoff set in Edo period
Kyoto
, this latest installment continues the adventures of Kazuma Kiryu from Yakuza
and Yakuza 2. The game takes place both in Kamurocho, a fictional version of Tokyo's red-light district
Kabukicho
, from the first two games and in a brand new location called Ryukyu.
The area of Okinawa where the story takes place is a fictional area, based upon Naha's Makishi. It includes real life landmarks such as the Ichiba Hondori (linked to Mutsumibashi Dori and Heiwa Dori) covered shopping arcade renamed in the game as well as the popular Makishi Public Market shortened , the famous entertainment strip Kokusai Street called , the Okinawa Monorail Kencho-mae Station as or the Mitsukoshi
department store (Okinawa Mitsukoshi) which kept its actual name as part of the game's tie-in policy.
Compared with the earlier episodes, the Kamurocho area has some minor changes with additional backstreets and landmarks. Hence South-East Kabukicho's European medieval castle
-shaped karaoke box
has been modeled and renamed "Kamuro Castle", and north-west Kamurocho love hotel
Hotel Aland has been recreated in Kamurocho hotels quarter as the Hotel Tea Clipper.
but by Masayoshi Yokoyama. Yakuza 3 takes a departure from the first two games with its choice of setting: instead of focusing on the gritty cityscape of Tokyo
and Osaka
, it switches gears and sends Kazuma Kiryu to the Ryukyu Islands
, Okinawa, where he runs the Sunshine Orphanage ( in Japanese) with his adoptive daughter Haruka Sawamura (she calles him "Uncle Kaz") who accompanied him in the previous episodes and the Movie Version.
Sunshine Orphanage is on a land that is owned by Shigeru Nakahara
, the boss of a local yakuza clan or bōryokudan, known as the Ryudo Family . Nakahara is under pressure from the country's government to sell the land, which is planned to become a seaside resort
. When his friend Daigo Dojima, Chairman of the Tojo Clan, is shot, Kiryu once again finds himself in a series of tough situations and has to fight to protect his new sanctuary.
HD graphics
rendering at a resolution of 1024x768 without anti-aliasing
but it supports 1080p
mode upscale
.
Daisuke Tomoda, CS1 Team
(Sega CS R&D) visual artist and character design team leader of the Yakuza series since the original episode, partially unveiled Yakuza 3`s development at the 2009 Game Tools & Middleware Forum seminar held in Tokyo on June 15. Yakuza 3 character designing began shortly after the completion of Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! in 2008 with a three-week project phase followed by an eight months production. In the end 110 high polygon characters, for they appear in Event Scene cinematics, plus 250 minor characters were created by 60 teams producing a dozen characters each. Thus 360 characters were produced following a "one person one body" philosophy and a three-day per body target schedule. As a comparison, the production of Yakuza
on PlayStation 2
took 10 months and had no more volume. The series' production pace is one game per year since the original Yakuza
in 2005. CS1 used a slogan to describe the game's graphics: .
's head & face color 3D scanner (model PS). As detailed at the GTMF 2009, Event Scene cinematics are real-time and render highly detailed XSI 6.5 2.5MB data size characters using 18,000~20,000 polygons each; 3D model bones are made of 107 meshes with 64 used for the body and the remaining 43 used for the face. In addition, the PlayStation 3 employs advanced graphics technologies without LOD
, texture size 512×512 front buffer with 512×512 back buffer, diffuse map and normal map, multi map (ambient occlusion
, specular mask, 8-bit specular power RGB) within cutscene. These Event Scene cinematics fully exploit Sega's in-house facial expressions engine called Magical V-Engine. This engine is based on a unique "wrinkle shader" technology that allows for advanced facial animation from voice recordings alone. By animating based upon not only the phonetic lip syncing but tone, the software can emulate the basic human emotions in full facial expression.
The same technology was used in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.
or surround
) and Dolby Digital 5.1
surround.
with Cyberware Inc.'s latest scanner. These include returning voice actors Takaya Kuroda
(as Kazuma Kiryu), Rie Kugimiya
(as Haruka Sawamura), Hidenari Ugaki
as Goro Majima, and TV actor Satoshi Tokushige (as Daigo Dojima).
New faces are film actors Tatsuya Fujiwara
(as Rikiya Shimabukuro) known overseas for his Shuya Nanahara
role in Kinji Fukasaku
's Battle Royale
and Battle Royale II: Requiem
, Nakamura Shidō II (as Yoshitaka Mine) who featured in Ronny Yu
's Jet Li is Fearless
and Clint Eastwood
's Letters from Iwo Jima
, veteran actor Tetsuya Watari
(as Joji Fua) famous for his yakuza roles in Seijun Suzuki
's Tokyo Drifter
, Kinji Fukasaku's Graveyard of Honor
and Takeshi Kitano
's Brother
, veteran singers and tarento
Shigeru Izumiya
(as Shigeru Nakahara
) and George Takahashi (as Goh Hamazaki), veteran seiyu
Akio Ōtsuka (as Ryuzo Tamiya), tarento Daisuke Miyakawa (as Mikio Aragaki) and Hiroyuki Miyasako (as Tsuyoshi Kanda).
in Japan on February 26, 2009. It was bundled as a bonus enhanced CD in the Yakuza 3 PAL version's standard deluxe edition called the Battle Pack. The music was composed by Hidenori Shoji
, Kentaro Koyama, Takahiro Kai, Hiroyoshi Kato, Yoshio Tsuru and Hideki Sakamoto
, and includes a track by Love Sound System (DJ Giuliano, Ayako, Yoshiji Kobayashi). Performers are Minako Obata (a.k.a. Mooki), Chihiro Aoki (chorus) and Mitsuharu Fukuyama (trumpet). Two Karaoke minigame songs are also included, performed by voice actors Takaya Kuroda
(Kazuma Kiryu) and Rie Kugimiya
(Haruka Sawamura). The tracklist for Yakuza 3 has 31 titles (details are available below).
Additional soundtrack includes three songs by Japanese rock music
artist Eikichi Yazawa
.
s were delivered through a weekly game update campaign starting on March 5, 2009, with one DLC per week. These downloadable contents consist of:
Four Premium Adventure exclusive modes are also added through DLC, these are:
All this DLC is also in the Japanese version.
Regarding the western release of the DLC, a Sega America spokesperson officially stated on February 24, 2010: "[T]he western versions of the game will come pre-packaged with codes for the DLC, already localized and ready to be enjoyed".
stores. These additional downloadable contents were:
This pre-order only extra DLC are also available for the Japanese version, for which they were delivered for free through an eight-week downloadable content campaign.
This DLC can now be downloaded on the PlayStation Network for $4.99.
made twenty-seven tie-in
with local companies to produce 3D model
reproductions of existing shop, restaurant or hostess bar
buildings. Such replicas include real exterior, interior, products, menus and sometimes jingle
s.
Kabukicho's tie-in are Club Sega game center
s, Don Quijote
discount stores, Matsuya restaurants, Pronto café
s (a Suntory
joint venture) and Karaoke Kan. Collaboration with Sole tanning studio, Promise, Aeon
and Geos
is limited to visible ads within Kamurocho.
Okinawa's tie-ins are Blue Seal ice cream parlor, Quickly
bubble tea
stand, Sam's Maui steak house, Stone Market accessory shop, Okinawaya , Okinawarigura liquor store and Velotaxi Japan. Limited collaborations include the exterior design of Naha's Apa Hotel, Okinawa's Mitsukoshi and OPA department stores (which cannot be entered). Orion draft beer, Tantakatan
shōchū
, Higashuzou awamori
and Skymark Airlines
have ads visible within the Downtown Ryukyu area.
Sega extended its product placement
policy which was introduced in the original episode. Now real products can be bought within discount and convenience stores including Axe
fragrance, various Ace Cook instant noodles
, several Suntory
beers or soft drinks (such as Boss Coffee
and C.C. Lemon
), Pepsi
soda (a Suntory licensee), Kodansha
magazines (including Young Magazine
, Weekly Morning
and Vivi
). This also applies to bars and pubs, since the Suntory group produces alcohol and owns many licenses for foreign alcoholic beverages like Early Times
whiskey, Beefeater Gin
, Courvoisier
cognac
and Carlsberg Beer. Suntory vending machines are still disseminated within Kamurocho as in the previous games.
Some sub-scenarios even resolve around product placement with minor characters specially created to advertise products, for example the sidestory involving Ace Cook noodles and the fictitious ramen
shop or Young Magazine and the generic convenience store Poppo. Some items on the food and drink menu, required for 100% completion, cannot be purchased without first being in possession of a copy of Tokyo Isshukan.
As part of the pre-ordering campaign, the Japanese and Asian first prints were bundled with a limited item, a monography called Kamutai Magazine (February 2009 issue).
Sony celebrated the Japanese release of the game with a 10,000 console limited edition of the Ceramic White 80GB model PlayStation 3 called the .
The eastern versions include an exclusive extra Adventure Mode item. If the game detects an existing save file of Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! stored on the PlayStation 3 hard disk drive, a reward item will be unlocked in Ryū ga Gotoku 3 upon beginning a new game. This is a red copper bell called used by Miyamoto Musashi
(a.k.a. Kazumanosuke Kiryu) in the spin-off, which grants 3 points in the defense, edge and firearm stats when equipped.
The PAL version features the Japanese voice cast (with localized subtitles) and includes a previously unreleased 18-minute video interview of Tamiya according to the BBFC.
Other bonus contents include a free compact disc with the game's original soundtrack and an animated character guide. Western packages also come with PlayStation Network redeem codes to unlock DLC; these western bundles are called Challenge Pack (time limited) and Battle Pack (regular).
Although the game was not censored for the western release, much extra content was removed due to time constraints. According to a Sega representative:
The western localization of Yakuza 3 was officially unveiled by Sony and Sega in late December 2009. The same month, Sega Australia managing director Darren Macbeth declared in an interview with Gamespot
:
On February 24, 2010, a Sega America Blog community manager officially declared:
This statement was an answer to IGN
journalist Greg Miller's unofficial insight report of February 23 claiming:
The referred strip clubs are "Show Pub Asia: Kamurocho Asia Beauty Show Dance
and Pole
" and Ryukyu's "Canal Grande: Cabaret Club", both are linked to main and side stories in the original Japanese release and therefore were not removed as confirmed by a new game trailer. A video showing the game's locations and was officially released by Sega on February 25. A Sega PR
further commented to Kotaku
blog on February 24, 2010:
Sega gave no further details about what was cut, but comparing the eastern and western releases PSN Trophy lists revealed that five trophies (out of 50) had been removed, two sub-scenario missions (out of 103) were cut as well half-aspect of romancing the club hostesses (out of 10 completion challenges) and four minigames (out of 20). The remaining 45 trophies are the same as in the original Japanese 2009 release, except two Bronze trophies, named "Legendary Champion" and "Key Collector", were upranked as Silver trophies. Removal of a first trophy called hinted that the sidestory called was cut. This mission consists of scouting a young female NPC
in the Downtown Ryukyu (Shoko, Hiromi, Shō and Kirie) or Kamurocho (Ritsuko) areas, and to make her the top hostess at cabaret club South Island, by customizing her physical aspects (with variable parameters such as make-up, haircut, outfit and à la mode accessories). A similar club management mission was introduced in Yakuza 2, in which the club, rather than the girls, is customized. Club or "cabaret
" hostesses are a common phenomenon in Japan and have dedicated fashion magazines; such as Koakuma Ageha which is a tie-in
with the game. This mission reappeared in Ryū ga Gotoku 4.
Removal of a second trophy, , hinted that the ten-episode hostess clubs completion challenge had been partially cut, since the trophy is unlocked by spending a large amount of money in Club Ageha, Club Koakuma and Flawless. In this multipart completion, which is a romancing challenge, Kazuma Kiryu orders food and drink while conversing with the ten hostesses. All characters are modeled after a real Japanese hostesses cast and this gameplay element was introduced in the original Yakuza episode. The possibility of romancing club hostess characters outside clubs in the western releases of Yakuza 3, as officially announced by the Sega representatives, was eventually confirmed by the presence of Mika Tsuchiya of Flawless playing the pool minigame on the game's back cover. This possibility is inherited from the Japanese version since the romancing completion challenge actually includes both hostess club dialogues (ordering meals and offering presents) and dating activities such as dual sessions of pool, darts, bowling and karaoke. If the former text part was cut, the latter dating part, which requires a minor translation work, definitely remain in the western releases. While the hostesses remained, the trophy was still removed since it was impossible to spend money on them within the club setting.
The third trophy to be removed was which requires the player to take the Love In Heart massage parlor
's two courses. This erotic minigame was cut along with its connected sidestory, where the masseuse, Ayaka Tsubaki, reveals to Kiryu that she is actually a transsexual. This minor character is modeled after its voice actress, Ayana Tsubaki
, who is a Japanese TV personality and a transsexual herself.
The fourth and fifth cut trophies, and respectively were the first sign that both Shogi
chess and Mahjong
minigames had been removed from the western releases. These are based on traditional board games that are fairly popular in Japan, yet uncommon overseas.
Another confirmed cut was Kamurocho Club Sega's Answer & Answer, a Japanese history
quiz minigame based on the real Sega arcade game, which is only available in Japanese game center
s. The last cut was an Adventure Mode unlockable bonus item, Ukiyo's Bell, which is awarded to players of the eastern-only PlayStation 3 spinoff Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! and, as such, would be both impractical and impossible for the majority of players.
According to a community manager's official announcement on the Sega America blog:
The PAL version was released as a standard deluxe edition called Battle Pack (or Premium Pack). The package's sticker lists the following free contents:
As an ECD
, this CD contains both audio and interactive features. The audio part is the full OST featuring the 31 tracks licensed by JASRAC; it was previously sold by Sega's audio branch in the Japanese market and is now offered to western customers. The data part cointains a fully animated characters guide called Yakuza Who's Who
; like the OST these profiles are exclusive to the western releases.
) set the release date and cover art of its licensed DVD version for Yakuza: Like A Dragon in order to match the local marketing for Yakuza 3. The English subtitled version for Takashi Miike
's 2007 live-action film adaptation of the first Yakuza game was originally planned for a March 2010 release date; the release schedule was eventually changed to February 23, 2010.
but outselling Capcom
's Resident Evil 5
blockbuster, and is part of 2009's best-selling titles in this market with 499,436 copies sold as of December 7, 2009 according to Weekly Famitsu.
Due to their commercial success all Asian versions had bargain re-releases, a PlayStation 3 the Best edition in Asia on November 30, 2009, then in Japan on December 3, 2009 and a PlayStation 3 BigHit Series edition on December 11, 2009 in Korea.
By March 27, 2010 Yakuza 3 had sold more than 683,905 copies worldwide and approximately 120,000 in the west.
on February 19, 2009. The same demo was released on the European PlayStation Store
on February 18, 2010.
2009's "Games of the Year Division" for its "Dramatic story development, freedom of the story and the graphics elaborated up to the details of the work. In addition, amusement found in every portion of the game including the vast number of sub-stories and mini games. This work was awarded the prize for the high quality of entertainment." Yakuza 3 also earned SCEJ's PlayStation Award 2009 Gold prize for achieving more than 500,000 sales in the Japanese market. Other Gold Prizes were Resident Evil 5
(PS3) and Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP
). It was also well received in the west, with the UK's Official Playstation Magazine awarding it 9/10; however, it was criticised for the removal of content during localization.
Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu rated the game 38/40.
was released in Japan in March 2010, and will be released in North America and Europe in the first quarter of 2011. A spin-off game, Ryū ga Gotoku Of the End
, was originally scheduled for be release in Japan in March 2011, however due to the Earthquake the game was delayed unil June 2011.
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game, originally released in Japan as , the sequel to Yakuza 2 and the fourth installment in the Yakuza series
Yakuza (series)
Yakuza is a Fighting game video game franchise created by Amusement Vision and owned and published by Sega.The series has sold at least 3.2 million copies as of March 2009...
. It is developed by Sega Japan
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's CS1 Team
New Entertainment R&D Dept.
Amusement Vision, Ltd. is a former Japanese video game developer formerly known as Sega AM4.Amusement Vision was formed in 2000 and was then considered to be a second-party developer to Sega...
and published by Sega. It was released in Japan and South East Asia on February 26, 2009 and in North America and Europe on March 9, 2010 and March 12, 2010, respectively.
The sequel, Yakuza 4
Yakuza 4
, is a video game developed and published by Sega exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game was announced on July 24, 2009. A promotion video was presented at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show and a preview presenting the main story was released on January 13, 2010....
, was released on March 18, 2010 in Japan.
New features
Yakuza 3 introduces PlayStation Network Trophies to the series with 45 trophies (50 in the Eastern releases). It also adds four new gameplay elements as listed below:- Seamless Battle (シームレスバトル shimuresu batoru): Seamless Battle is a streamingStreaming mediaStreaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
data-based loading-free system that allows the game to directly connect the adventure mode and the battle mode (called "Kenka") without the usual loading black screen. - Chase Battle (チェイスバトル, cheisu batoru): Chase Battle is a new battle mode which replaces the regular brawling (Kenka) with a running sequence set within a certain area. Both chaser and chased have a stamina gauge that decreases as naturally as the character runs, by being hit with a thrown object or by colliding with a passer-by. When the stamina gauge is empty the exhausted character stops the chase. During the game a minor character, Mack Shinozuka will train Kazuma to improve his running performance.
- Revelation (天啓, tenkei): Ten revelations will allow Kazuma Kiryu to learn new in Adventure mode; it is rather similar to the system introduced in the previous game Ryū ga Gotoku: Kenzan!. This time Kazuma uses the built-in camera on his cell phone to record new moves and techniques. These are acquired through hints and incidents spotted in First Person View. Learned Heat Actions are posted on Kazuma's personal blog, called "Kamuroblo", which uses the same template as producer Toshihiro NagoshiToshihiro Nagoshiis a Japanese video game producer and designer for Sega. Nagoshi headed Sega AM4/Amusement Vision. He is best known as the producer and director of the Super Monkey Ball series, excluding Super Monkey Ball Adventure. His credits also include Virtua Striker, Daytona USA, and Spikeout...
's own blog. - First Person View: When pressing the Dual Shock 3's R3 button during the adventure mode, the standard third person view switches to a brand new first person mode. This perspective allows a better observation of the streets and people, but looking some people in the eyes using First Person View will provoke him and he will attack. First Person View is disabled in some indoor places and at certain angles.
Event Mode
The main story spans over twelve chapters plus a prologue. As with the earlier games, each chapter is preceded by a cinematic, called an "event scene", which later becomes available in the Gallery mode. Skipping these scenes using the Start button can only be done after enabling the scene-skipping option in the menu, which is switched off by default. The western version of Yakuza 3 features 295 minutes of cutscenes according to the BBFC.Six sub-scenarios (Date's Pride, Two Fathers, Hometown Girl, The Finishing Touch, Silver Screen Dragon and Murder at Café Alps) are special missions featuring "event scene" cinematics. Holding R1 and pressing the X button will activate an automatic mode that skips the cutscene dialogue.
Adventure Mode
In the eastern releases, the main story is completed with 103 unique side stories called "sub-scenarios" ("substory" in the original version, sabustori). These sub-scenarios are divided into two classes: Mission and Hitman. There are 103 standard missions, some of which are made up of different episodes, and 20 hitman sub-scenarios. Fifteen of these bounty hunterBounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
sidestories are located in Kamurocho, the remaining five in Ryukyu.
Twenty minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s are available within Adventure mode. These are aromatherapy massage (eastern releases only), darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
, pool, karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, mahjong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
(eastern releases only), chinchirorin, shogi
Shogi
, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan...
(eastern releases only), chō-han, koi-koi
Koi-Koi (card game)
is a popular card game in Japan played with Hanafuda.The object of the game is to form special card combinations called "yaku" from cards accumulated in a point pile. Players can gain cards in their point piles by matching cards in their hands, or drawn from the draw pile, with cards on the table...
, oicho-kabu
Oicho-Kabu
Oicho-Kabu is a traditional Japanese game that is similar to the Western games, blackjack and baccarat. It is typically played with special kabufuda cards. A hanafuda deck can also be used, if the last two months are discarded...
, roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
, poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
, blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
, Answer & Answer (eastern releases only), UFO Catcher, batting cage
Batting cage
A batting cage is an enclosed cage for baseball players to practice the skill of batting.It is usually made of netting or a chain-link fence and rectangular in shape. A batter stands at one end of the cage, with a pitching machine at the opposing end...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, surf fishing
Surf fishing
Surf fishing is the sport of catching fish standing on the shoreline or wading in the surf. A general term, surf fishing may or may not include casting a lure or bait, and refers to all types of shore fishing - from sandy and rocky beaches, rock jetties, or even fishing piers...
and Boxcelios. 2-player support for some of these mini games and an expansion for Answer & Answer are added through DLC, as well as main menu direct access in the eastern releases. However, the quiz minigame's expansion was eventually removed from the western release and 2-player support became a time limited DLC exclusive to the North American release's Challenge Pack.
Challenges like Mack Shinozuka's training, Inner Fighter 7 and Haruka's Request aren't considered either mini games or side stories.
Beating the game in "Hard" mode unlocks the "Ex-Hard" (extreme hard) extra difficulty level. Completing the game in any difficulty mode will create a "cleared data" save file and unlock "Premium New Game" and "Premium Adventure". The first allows to restart the game with all accumulated money, items, experience levels and fighting techniques. The latter is a free-run mode dedicated to exploration and completion as it doesn't include the main story, with only sub-scenarios remaining (though a small number of missions will only appear at a certain point in story mode, and cannot be triggered in Premium Adventure). Extra game contents are added through DLC.
Battle Mode
As with the previous games, the is available. An illicit mixed martial artsMixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
competition sponsored by Majima is held in the area beneath Kamurocho Hills, formerly Purgatory. The arena is inspired by real life Japanese cage fighting competitions such as K-1 World Grand Prix
K-1 World Grand Prix
K-1 World Grand Prix, also known as the K-1 World GP, is an elimination kickboxing tournament that has been held annually since 1993 by the K-1 organization. Each year, K-1 holds various 16-men, 8-match grand prix style tournaments throughout the world to determine which 16 fighters will compete in...
; gameplay is similar to fighting games Toshihiro Nagoshi
Toshihiro Nagoshi
is a Japanese video game producer and designer for Sega. Nagoshi headed Sega AM4/Amusement Vision. He is best known as the producer and director of the Super Monkey Ball series, excluding Super Monkey Ball Adventure. His credits also include Virtua Striker, Daytona USA, and Spikeout...
previously worked on such as Virtua Fighter 5
Virtua Fighter 5
is the latest game in Sega's Virtua Fighter series and direct sequel to Virtua Fighter 4: Final Tuned. The original version was released on July 12, 2006 into Japanese arcades and in February 2007 in European arcades...
and SpikeOut
SpikeOut
Spikeout is a 3D beat 'em up developed by Sega-AM4 and published by Sega in 1998....
. Single Tournament has 50 unique international fighters (a minor character with its own profile) and 11 grand prix tournaments to choose from. These 3-round competitions have various rings, rules and difficulty levels; the different types of tournament are Exhibition Tournament, Street Fight GP, Breakout GP, Heat GP, Bounding GP, Bomber GP, Golden Glove GP, Weapon Master GP, Hyper GP, Magnum Force GP and Maximum GP. Tag Tournament is a two-partner team match including 20 unique teams. Each team is made of paired Single Tournament fighters enhanced with a special duo attack. There are 2 available grand prix named Tag Match GP and Twin Dragon GP. Three Single Tournament fighters and two Encounter Battle characters will join Kazuma Kiryu's "Team Dragon" ("Team The Dragon" in the original release) as tag partners once he finds them in the Adventure Mode; these are boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Maxim Soldatov , kenpō
Kenpo
is the name of several Japanese martial arts. The word kenpō is a Japanese translation of the Chinese word "quánfǎ. This term is often informally transliterated as "kempo", as a result of applying Traditional Hepburn romanization, but failing to use a macron to indicate the long vowel...
Bruce Ebinuma , puroresu Daiji Hiyama , Keigo Kanno and Masaki Hatae . Orders can be given to these partners using the Dual Shock 3's arrow keys.
Completing the story mode unlocks 35 additional Battle Missions gathered in a bonus mode called . The first competition has 10 missions and is called , the second has 5 missions and is called , the third has 10 missions and is called , and fourth competition has 5 missions and is called . Completing these four competitions unlocks a fifth competition called the which has 5 missions. Completing all 35 missions with an "S" rank, the highest rank possible, unlocks a special item delivered by Bob Utsunomiya, which is a talisman called the that, when equipped, permanently maintains the Heat Gage at maximum level.
Once story mode is completed the player can start a Premium Adventure and meet a hidden minor character (a clairvoyant woman) who allows access to four added through DLC, only available in a special edition of the game in Europe, and as a preorder bonus in North America. In Survival Battle Kazuma Kiryu must find and defeat the , Yoshitaka Mine; eight bonus bosses are disseminated within Kamurocho. In Survival Onigokko, Kazuma Kiryu is chased by Bob Utsunomiya in Kamurocho, with ten missions to complete in three minutes. All Star Tournament is an extra Arena single tournament that involves all 8 boss characters plus Goh Hamazaki, the latter of which can only be fought in this mode. All Star Tag Tournament is an extra tag tournament that pits Kazuma Kiryu and his fighting partner Goro Majima against 7 teams of bosses and bonus characters such as Kazuki, Yuya, Goh Hamazaki and Komaki.
Completion
The quest for the disseminated 100 coin lockers (half of them are hidden in Kamurocho, the others are in Ryukyu) is rewarded in Yakuza 3 with the "Key Collector" Silver PSN Trophy. The latter was called (lit. "vagrant keys") and was only Bronze level in the Eastern releases.As a mixed game including elements of the sandbox game and RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
genres, Yakuza 3 includes a "Completion" feature that sums up what percentage of the game was actually completed by the player.
Only 100% completion (Completion + Sub-Scenario) will unlock the final mission involving a recurring hidden all-black character named Jo Amon , a.k.a. "Mysterious Hitman", which is returning character from the spinoff and is a secret boss available since the original Yakuza title. In Yakuza 3, Jo Amon's weapon is dual light sabers.
The following extended chart includes the Completion feature and shows the differences between the eastern and western releases. A detailed version of this chart is available in the game's options menu. To learn which contents are specific to each release, see the detailed sections Downloadable content and Versions. Some contents included in the following chart require a completed game save file (such as the Battle Mission), a spinoff game save file (Ukiyo's Bell) or a PlayStation Network redeem code (Battle Pack and Challenge Pack) to be unlocked.
Setting
Unlike Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! (often confused with Yakuza 3), which was a Miyamoto MusashiMiyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
-based spinoff set in Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, this latest installment continues the adventures of Kazuma Kiryu from Yakuza
Yakuza (video game)
Yakuza, originally released in Japan as is an action-adventure fighter video game developed and published by Sega in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2...
and Yakuza 2. The game takes place both in Kamurocho, a fictional version of Tokyo's red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
Kabukicho
Kabukicho
is an entertainment and red-light district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Kabukichō is the location of many hostess bars, host bars, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the "Sleepless Town"...
, from the first two games and in a brand new location called Ryukyu.
The area of Okinawa where the story takes place is a fictional area, based upon Naha's Makishi. It includes real life landmarks such as the Ichiba Hondori (linked to Mutsumibashi Dori and Heiwa Dori) covered shopping arcade renamed in the game as well as the popular Makishi Public Market shortened , the famous entertainment strip Kokusai Street called , the Okinawa Monorail Kencho-mae Station as or the Mitsukoshi
Mitsukoshi
is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Mitsukoshi Ltd. has amalgamated with Isetan Co.,Ltd ,and changed company name to Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd.- History :...
department store (Okinawa Mitsukoshi) which kept its actual name as part of the game's tie-in policy.
Compared with the earlier episodes, the Kamurocho area has some minor changes with additional backstreets and landmarks. Hence South-East Kabukicho's European medieval castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
-shaped karaoke box
Karaoke Box
A is a common type of karaoke establishment commonly found in Japan. Karaoke boxes consist of multiple rooms containing karaoke equipment, usually rented out for time periods. A typical karaoke box establishment contains 10-20 such rooms as well as a main karaoke bar area in the front...
has been modeled and renamed "Kamuro Castle", and north-west Kamurocho love hotel
Love hotel
A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing couples privacy for sexual activities...
Hotel Aland has been recreated in Kamurocho hotels quarter as the Hotel Tea Clipper.
Characters
Yakuza 3s main characters are Kazuma Kiryu and Haruka Sawamura. Additional castings total three hundred and sixty characters, who appear in the main adventure and sub-scenarios.Plot
Unlike the previous episodes the story is not written by Hase SeishuHase Seishu
is a well-known Japanese novelist. He is known for writing Yakuza crime novels.A few of his novels were turned into movies.Seishu also wrote the story for Sega's 2006 video game, Yakuza, and its sequel, Yakuza 2....
but by Masayoshi Yokoyama. Yakuza 3 takes a departure from the first two games with its choice of setting: instead of focusing on the gritty cityscape of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, it switches gears and sends Kazuma Kiryu to the Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
, Okinawa, where he runs the Sunshine Orphanage ( in Japanese) with his adoptive daughter Haruka Sawamura (she calles him "Uncle Kaz") who accompanied him in the previous episodes and the Movie Version.
Sunshine Orphanage is on a land that is owned by Shigeru Nakahara
Shigeru Nakahara
is a veteran seiyū . He works at Vi-Vo .-Notable voice roles:*Another Century's Episode 2 , *Arion *Aura Battler Dunbine *Biker Mice from Mars...
, the boss of a local yakuza clan or bōryokudan, known as the Ryudo Family . Nakahara is under pressure from the country's government to sell the land, which is planned to become a seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
. When his friend Daigo Dojima, Chairman of the Tojo Clan, is shot, Kiryu once again finds himself in a series of tough situations and has to fight to protect his new sanctuary.
Graphics
The game's default video output is 720p720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
HD graphics
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
rendering at a resolution of 1024x768 without anti-aliasing
Anti-aliasing
In digital signal processing, spatial anti-aliasing is the technique of minimizing the distortion artifacts known as aliasing when representing a high-resolution image at a lower resolution...
but it supports 1080p
1080p
1080p is the shorthand identification for a set of HDTV high-definition video modes that are characterized by 1080 horizontal lines of resolution and progressive scan, meaning the image is not interlaced as is the case with the 1080i display standard....
mode upscale
Video scaler
A video scaler is a device for converting video signals from one size or resolution to another: usually "upscaling" or "upconverting" a video signal from a low resolution to one of higher resolution A video scaler is a device for converting video signals from one size or resolution to another:...
.
Production
EWLINE
|
Daisuke Tomoda, CS1 Team
New Entertainment R&D Dept.
Amusement Vision, Ltd. is a former Japanese video game developer formerly known as Sega AM4.Amusement Vision was formed in 2000 and was then considered to be a second-party developer to Sega...
(Sega CS R&D) visual artist and character design team leader of the Yakuza series since the original episode, partially unveiled Yakuza 3`s development at the 2009 Game Tools & Middleware Forum seminar held in Tokyo on June 15. Yakuza 3 character designing began shortly after the completion of Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! in 2008 with a three-week project phase followed by an eight months production. In the end 110 high polygon characters, for they appear in Event Scene cinematics, plus 250 minor characters were created by 60 teams producing a dozen characters each. Thus 360 characters were produced following a "one person one body" philosophy and a three-day per body target schedule. As a comparison, the production of Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
on PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
took 10 months and had no more volume. The series' production pace is one game per year since the original Yakuza
Yakuza (video game)
Yakuza, originally released in Japan as is an action-adventure fighter video game developed and published by Sega in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2...
in 2005. CS1 used a slogan to describe the game's graphics: .
Magical V-Engine
As with the previous PlayStation 3 Ryū ga Gotoku game, main characters have their face scanned through CyberwareCyberware (company)
For other uses; see Cyberware Cyberware Inc. is a company that produces high performance color 3D scanners. Cyberware is owned and managed by the Addleman family with headquarters in Monterey, California; it has scanning centers located in USA, UK, Europe, Australia and Asia.-3D Color Scanners:A 3D...
's head & face color 3D scanner (model PS). As detailed at the GTMF 2009, Event Scene cinematics are real-time and render highly detailed XSI 6.5 2.5MB data size characters using 18,000~20,000 polygons each; 3D model bones are made of 107 meshes with 64 used for the body and the remaining 43 used for the face. In addition, the PlayStation 3 employs advanced graphics technologies without LOD
Level of detail
In computer graphics, accounting for level of detail involves decreasing the complexity of a 3D object representation as it moves away from the viewer or according other metrics such as object importance, eye-space speed or position....
, texture size 512×512 front buffer with 512×512 back buffer, diffuse map and normal map, multi map (ambient occlusion
Ambient occlusion
Ambient occlusion is a shading method used in 3D computer graphics which helps add realism to local reflection models by taking into account attenuation of light due to occlusion...
, specular mask, 8-bit specular power RGB) within cutscene. These Event Scene cinematics fully exploit Sega's in-house facial expressions engine called Magical V-Engine. This engine is based on a unique "wrinkle shader" technology that allows for advanced facial animation from voice recordings alone. By animating based upon not only the phonetic lip syncing but tone, the software can emulate the basic human emotions in full facial expression.
The same technology was used in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.
Audio
Yakuza 3 outputs uncompressed or compressed audio, respectively Linear PCM 2ch/5.1ch (stereoStereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
or surround
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
) and Dolby Digital 5.1
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
surround.
Cast
The game's main characters have their face modeled in 3D after their voice actors, who are Japanese celebrities. Softimage XSI 3D data is obtained by scanning a human head3D scanner
A 3D scanner is a device that analyzes a real-world object or environment to collect data on its shape and possibly its appearance . The collected data can then be used to construct digital, three dimensional models....
with Cyberware Inc.'s latest scanner. These include returning voice actors Takaya Kuroda
Takaya Kuroda
is a Japanese voice actor, narrator, and actor. He is affiliated with the Bungaku Company, formerly with Mausu Promotion and Aoni Production. He is currently a member of 81 Produce....
(as Kazuma Kiryu), Rie Kugimiya
Rie Kugimiya
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with I'm Enterprise.Kugimiya's most famous roles include Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Happy in Fairy Tail, Kagura in Gintama, Nagi Sanzenin in Hayate no Gotoku!, Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Taiga Aisaka in Toradora!, and...
(as Haruka Sawamura), Hidenari Ugaki
Hidenari Ugaki
is a Japanese seiyū from Tokyo. He is currently attached to 81 Produce. He is best known for his roles in Mobile Fighter G Gundam , the TV Tokyo edition of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the 2005 Doraemon series .-Television animation:*Class of 3000 *Digimon Adventure...
as Goro Majima, and TV actor Satoshi Tokushige (as Daigo Dojima).
New faces are film actors Tatsuya Fujiwara
Tatsuya Fujiwara
is a Japanese television and film actor.-Biography:Born in Saitama, Fujiwara has had an interest in acting from a young age.He is famous for acting the part of Shuya Nanahara in the controversial 2000 film Battle Royale and continues the character as a leader of the Wild Seven in the sequel, Battle...
(as Rikiya Shimabukuro) known overseas for his Shuya Nanahara
Shuya Nanahara
is a fictional Japanese student and one of the three main protagonists of the violent and controversial novel, manga, and film Battle Royale. In the English-language manga he is nicknamed Shu....
role in Kinji Fukasaku
Kinji Fukasaku
was a Japanese film actor, screenwriter, and best known as a celebrated and innovative filmmaker. He was born in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, and died in Tokyo, from prostate cancer...
's Battle Royale
Battle Royale
thumb|260px|Cover of the 2009 expanded edition, ISBN 978-1-4215-2772-3 is a 1999 Japanese novel written by Koushun Takami. The story tells of schoolchildren who are forced to fight each other to the death....
and Battle Royale II: Requiem
Battle Royale II: Requiem
, abbreviated as BRII , is a 2003 Japanese, dystopian, action-thriller film. It is a sequel to the 2000 film, Battle Royale, which in turn was based upon a controversial 1999 novel of the same title by Koushun Takami...
, Nakamura Shidō II (as Yoshitaka Mine) who featured in Ronny Yu
Ronny Yu
Ronny Yu Yan-Tai is a Hong Kong director, producer, and movie writer. Yu was born in Hong Kong and graduated from Ohio University. He has worked on both Hong Kong and American films.- Career :...
's Jet Li is Fearless
Fearless (2006 film)
Fearless, known in Chinese as Huo Yuanjia and Jet Li's Fearless in the United Kingdom and the United States, is a 2006 film directed by Ronny Yu and starring Jet Li...
and Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
's Letters from Iwo Jima
Letters from Iwo Jima
is a 2006 war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...
, veteran actor Tetsuya Watari
Tetsuya Watari
is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's .He is now the president of Ishihara Promotion.He has a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who is also an actor.-Filmography:-External links:* *...
(as Joji Fua) famous for his yakuza roles in Seijun Suzuki
Seijun Suzuki
, born Seitaro Suzuki on May 24, 1923, is a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are renowned by film enthusiasts worldwide for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility...
's Tokyo Drifter
Tokyo Drifter
is a 1966 yakuza action film directed by Seijun Suzuki. The story follows Tetsuya Watari as the reformed yakuza hitman "Phoenix" Tetsu who is forced to roam Japan avoiding execution by rival gangs.-Plot:...
, Kinji Fukasaku's Graveyard of Honor
Graveyard of Honor (1975 film)
Graveyard of Honor is a yakuza film directed by Kinji Fukasaku.-Cast:*Tetsuya Watari as Rikio Ishikawa*Tatsuo Umemiya as Kozaburo Imai*Yumi Takigawa as Chieko Ishikawa*Eiji Go as Makoto Sugiura...
and Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
's Brother
Brother (2000 film)
All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"Drifter... in LAX"#"Solitude"#"Tattoo"#"Death Spiral"#"Party "#"On the Shore"#"Blood Brother"#"Raging Men"#"Beyond the Control"#"Wipe Out"#"Liberation from the Death"#"I Love You, Aniki"#"Ballade"...
, veteran singers and tarento
Tarento
is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...
Shigeru Izumiya
Shigeru Izumiya
Shigeru Izumiya is a Japanese poet, folk singer, actor, tarento. He established record company "For Life Records" with Takuro Yoshida, Yosui Inoue, Hitoshi Komuro in 1975...
(as Shigeru Nakahara
Shigeru Nakahara
is a veteran seiyū . He works at Vi-Vo .-Notable voice roles:*Another Century's Episode 2 , *Arion *Aura Battler Dunbine *Biker Mice from Mars...
) and George Takahashi (as Goh Hamazaki), veteran seiyu
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
Akio Ōtsuka (as Ryuzo Tamiya), tarento Daisuke Miyakawa (as Mikio Aragaki) and Hiroyuki Miyasako (as Tsuyoshi Kanda).
Soundtrack
The Ryū ga Gotoku 3 Original Soundtrack (HCV-452) was published by Wave MasterWave Master
Wave Master Inc. is a research and development team for Sega, focusing on the soundtracks for various games...
in Japan on February 26, 2009. It was bundled as a bonus enhanced CD in the Yakuza 3 PAL version's standard deluxe edition called the Battle Pack. The music was composed by Hidenori Shoji
Hidenori Shoji
is a video game music composer who has contributed to such Sega titles as Fighting Vipers 2 , Yakuza 2 , and Yakuza Kenzan. He is a member of H., a band composed of Sega sound designers.-Live performances:...
, Kentaro Koyama, Takahiro Kai, Hiroyoshi Kato, Yoshio Tsuru and Hideki Sakamoto
Hideki Sakamoto
is a video game music composer who has contributed songs to the soundtracks of Echochrome, Yakuza 2, and Yakuza: Kenzan!. He serves as the representative director of Noisycroak, a Tokyo-based sound design company focused on game soundtracks....
, and includes a track by Love Sound System (DJ Giuliano, Ayako, Yoshiji Kobayashi). Performers are Minako Obata (a.k.a. Mooki), Chihiro Aoki (chorus) and Mitsuharu Fukuyama (trumpet). Two Karaoke minigame songs are also included, performed by voice actors Takaya Kuroda
Takaya Kuroda
is a Japanese voice actor, narrator, and actor. He is affiliated with the Bungaku Company, formerly with Mausu Promotion and Aoni Production. He is currently a member of 81 Produce....
(Kazuma Kiryu) and Rie Kugimiya
Rie Kugimiya
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with I'm Enterprise.Kugimiya's most famous roles include Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Happy in Fairy Tail, Kagura in Gintama, Nagi Sanzenin in Hayate no Gotoku!, Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Taiga Aisaka in Toradora!, and...
(Haruka Sawamura). The tracklist for Yakuza 3 has 31 titles (details are available below).
Additional soundtrack includes three songs by Japanese rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
artist Eikichi Yazawa
Eikichi Yazawa
is an influential Japanese singer-songwriter, and important figure in Japanese popular music.Yoko Yazawa of The Generous is his daughter.-Biography:...
.
- opening theme: Loser by Eikichi Yazawa. This main theme was released as a title track single by Garuru Records, the artist's own indie label (GRRC-7), on February 25, 2009.
- closing theme: Omoi Ga Afuretara by Eikichi Yazawa from Your Songs 2 released by Toshiba EMI in 2006 (TOCT-26004) and re-released in 2009 by Garuru Records (GRRC-2). This is a reprise of the original version released on his 1997 album Yes.
- additional theme: Jikan yo Tomare (Subway Express 2 Version) (時間よ止まれ ~SUBWAY EXPRESS 2 バージョン~) by Eikichi Yazawa from his album Subway Express 2 released by Toshiba-EMI in 2002 (TOCT-24840).
Eastern releases
Eight DLCDownloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
s were delivered through a weekly game update campaign starting on March 5, 2009, with one DLC per week. These downloadable contents consist of:
- eight Item packs and eight S-Item packs delivered in-game by a minor character named Bob Utsunomiya
- 2-player support for five mini games (pool, darts, bowling, golf and Answer & Answer)
- two add-ons (Yakuza quiz series for Answer & Answer and Rank Ex-SSS for Haruka's Request)
- three extra costumes for Kazuma Kiryu, Rikiya Shimabukuro and Haruka Sawamura (costume selection per character is four).
Four Premium Adventure exclusive modes are also added through DLC, these are:
- Survival Battle
- All Star Tournament
- All Star Tag Tournament
Regular DLC
Four lots of DLC were delivered on release day with the PAL version's Battle Pack (a.k.a. Premium Pack). These free downloadable contents are:- Battle For Survival: Take on all the bosses of Yakuza 3 as Kazuma (previously known as "Survival Battle" in the Japanese version).
- All-Star Tournament: 7 character tournament (completed game save file required to access content).
- All-Star Tag Tournament: 8 team tournament (completed game save file required to access content).
- Haruka's Request: This unique series of challenge missions will send Kazuma on a task of exploration throughout the entire Yakuza 3 world, playing minigames and entertaining Haruka (completed game save file required to access content).
All this DLC is also in the Japanese version.
Regarding the western release of the DLC, a Sega America spokesperson officially stated on February 24, 2010: "[T]he western versions of the game will come pre-packaged with codes for the DLC, already localized and ready to be enjoyed".
Extra DLC
Two exclusive extra DLC codes were sent only to North American customers who pre-ordered Yakuza 3 in their local GameStopGameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
stores. These additional downloadable contents were:
- 2 player mini games (for pool, bowling, darts and golf).
- 3 extra costumes for Kazuma, Haruka and Rikiya (completed game save file required to access content).
This pre-order only extra DLC are also available for the Japanese version, for which they were delivered for free through an eight-week downloadable content campaign.
This DLC can now be downloaded on the PlayStation Network for $4.99.
Tie-in and product placement
Producer Toshihiro NagoshiToshihiro Nagoshi
is a Japanese video game producer and designer for Sega. Nagoshi headed Sega AM4/Amusement Vision. He is best known as the producer and director of the Super Monkey Ball series, excluding Super Monkey Ball Adventure. His credits also include Virtua Striker, Daytona USA, and Spikeout...
made twenty-seven tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
with local companies to produce 3D model
3D modeling
In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model...
reproductions of existing shop, restaurant or hostess bar
Hostess bar
Hostess clubs are a common feature in the night-time entertainment industry of Japan, east Asian countries and other areas with a high east Asian population. They employ primarily female staff and cater to males seeking drinks and attentive conversation. The more recent host clubs are similar...
buildings. Such replicas include real exterior, interior, products, menus and sometimes jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s.
Kabukicho's tie-in are Club Sega game center
Game Center
Game Center is an online multiplayer social gaming network released by Apple. It allows users to invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking, track their achievements, and compare their high scores on a leader board.-History:...
s, Don Quijote
Don Quijote (store)
is a discount chain store that has over 160 locations throughout Japan as well as three stores in Hawaii. It carries a wide range of products, from basic groceries to electronics to clothing. The store is well known in Japan and is often referred to by its shortened name .-History:Don Quijote...
discount stores, Matsuya restaurants, Pronto café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
s (a Suntory
Suntory
is a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains...
joint venture) and Karaoke Kan. Collaboration with Sole tanning studio, Promise, Aeon
AEON (eikaiwa)
is a chain of English conversation teaching companies in Japan. It is considered one of the historical "Big Four" eikaiwa schools. Although it shares a nearly identical name in English, Aeon is not affiliated with the Aeon Group, a major Japanese retail and financial services corporation.The...
and Geos
GEOS (eikaiwa)
was one of the Big Four private eikaiwa, or English conversation teaching companies, in Japan. Its extensive network of overseas schools made it the world's largest language school chain. The firm went into bankruptcy in Japan on 20 April 2010...
is limited to visible ads within Kamurocho.
Okinawa's tie-ins are Blue Seal ice cream parlor, Quickly
Quickly
Quickly is one of the largest tapioca milk tea franchises in the world, with over 2000 locations in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Quickly is the brand name of Kuai Ke Li Enterprise Co. Ltd., which was founded by Nancy Yang in Taiwan and started franchising.Quickly Corporation was...
bubble tea
Bubble tea
Bubble tea is the name for pearl milk tea and other similar tea and juice beverages that originated in tea shops in Taichung, Taiwan during the 1980s. Drink recipes may vary, but most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit and/or milk...
stand, Sam's Maui steak house, Stone Market accessory shop, Okinawaya , Okinawarigura liquor store and Velotaxi Japan. Limited collaborations include the exterior design of Naha's Apa Hotel, Okinawa's Mitsukoshi and OPA department stores (which cannot be entered). Orion draft beer, Tantakatan
Tantakatan
is a kind of shōchū made with perilla leaves. It is produced in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan. The alcohol content is twenty percent.-References and notes:* Tantakatan - shochucircle.com...
shōchū
Shochu
is a Japanese distilled beverage. It is typically distilled from barley, sweet potatoes, or rice, though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as brown sugar, buckwheat or chestnut. Typically shōchū contains 25% alcohol by volume...
, Higashuzou awamori
Awamori
Awamori is an alcoholic beverage indigenous to and unique to Okinawa, Japan. It is made from rice, and is not a direct product of brewing but of distillation ....
and Skymark Airlines
Skymark Airlines
is a low-cost airline headquartered at Tokyo International Airport in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, operating scheduled passenger services within Japan...
have ads visible within the Downtown Ryukyu area.
Sega extended its product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
policy which was introduced in the original episode. Now real products can be bought within discount and convenience stores including Axe
Axe (grooming product)
Lynx is a brand of male grooming products, owned by the British/Dutch company Unilever and marketed towards young males.-History:Axe was launched in France in 1983 by Unilever...
fragrance, various Ace Cook instant noodles
Instant noodles
Instant noodles are dried or precooked noodles and are often sold with packets of flavoring including seasoning oil. Dried noodles are usually eaten after being cooked or soaked in boiling water for 2 to 5 minutes, while precooked noodles can be reheated or eaten straight from the packet...
, several Suntory
Suntory
is a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains...
beers or soft drinks (such as Boss Coffee
Boss Coffee
is a brand name of canned and plastic bottled coffee and coffee-flavored beverages sold by Suntory in Japan. It was released in 1992 and is one of many brands of Japanese Canned Coffee....
and C.C. Lemon
C.C. Lemon
C.C. Lemon is a Japanese soft drink created by Suntory. It is known for its lemon flavor and for its advertisements featuring characters from the popular American cartoon The Simpsons.-Sizes:...
), Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
soda (a Suntory licensee), Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
magazines (including Young Magazine
Young Magazine
is a Japanese manga magazine published weekly by Kodansha. The magazine was started on June 23, 1980 and is targeted at adult males . It is also known as Young or YM. It goes on sale Monday every week...
, Weekly Morning
Weekly Morning
is a weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha, aimed at adult men. It debuted in 1982 as and is also known as simply .- Series running every week :- Series running every other week :...
and Vivi
Vivi (magazine)
is a Japanese fashion magazine published by K L. ViVi is one of Asia's top fashion magazines, and is published in Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand...
). This also applies to bars and pubs, since the Suntory group produces alcohol and owns many licenses for foreign alcoholic beverages like Early Times
Early Times
Early Times is a brand of Kentucky whisky produced by the Brown-Forman Corporation. The whisky sold under this brand name outside the United States is labelled as bourbon, while most of the brand bottlings sold within the U.S. do not meet the qualifications for marketing as a bourbon and are just...
whiskey, Beefeater Gin
Beefeater Gin
Beefeater Gin is a brand of gin bottled, and distributed in the United Kingdom, by the company of James Burrough. It is a 47% alcohol product in the US and New Zealand, and a 40% alcohol product elsewhere in the world . 40% alcohol is 80 proof in the US...
, Courvoisier
Courvoisier
Courvoisier is a brand of cognac owned by Beam Inc.. The production is now based in the town of Jarnac in the Charente department of France...
cognac
Cognac
Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right...
and Carlsberg Beer. Suntory vending machines are still disseminated within Kamurocho as in the previous games.
Some sub-scenarios even resolve around product placement with minor characters specially created to advertise products, for example the sidestory involving Ace Cook noodles and the fictitious ramen
Ramen
is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as , , kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn...
shop or Young Magazine and the generic convenience store Poppo. Some items on the food and drink menu, required for 100% completion, cannot be purchased without first being in possession of a copy of Tokyo Isshukan.
Kamutai Magazine bundle
As part of the pre-ordering campaign, the Japanese and Asian first prints were bundled with a limited item, a monography called Kamutai Magazine (February 2009 issue).
Rising Dragon Pack
Sony celebrated the Japanese release of the game with a 10,000 console limited edition of the Ceramic White 80GB model PlayStation 3 called the .
Ukiyo's Bell
The eastern versions include an exclusive extra Adventure Mode item. If the game detects an existing save file of Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! stored on the PlayStation 3 hard disk drive, a reward item will be unlocked in Ryū ga Gotoku 3 upon beginning a new game. This is a red copper bell called used by Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
(a.k.a. Kazumanosuke Kiryu) in the spin-off, which grants 3 points in the defense, edge and firearm stats when equipped.
Localization
The PAL version features the Japanese voice cast (with localized subtitles) and includes a previously unreleased 18-minute video interview of Tamiya according to the BBFC.
Other bonus contents include a free compact disc with the game's original soundtrack and an animated character guide. Western packages also come with PlayStation Network redeem codes to unlock DLC; these western bundles are called Challenge Pack (time limited) and Battle Pack (regular).
Although the game was not censored for the western release, much extra content was removed due to time constraints. According to a Sega representative:
"The content between Yakuza 3 US/UK and Yakuza JP is a little different in that we took out certain bits in order to bring the game to the west in the time alloted for us to do so. The parts we ended up taking out were parts that we felt wouldn't make sense (like a Japanese history quiz game) or wouldn't resonate as much (such as the concept of a hostess club). We didn't replace the parts we took out, but we made absolutely sure that the story continuity stayed intact so that the story experience was the same as the Japanese version and that it didn't take away the human drama so inherent to the Yakuza series."
The western localization of Yakuza 3 was officially unveiled by Sony and Sega in late December 2009. The same month, Sega Australia managing director Darren Macbeth declared in an interview with Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
:
"The publisher needs to be comfortable enough that there is a strong market in the West before giving the go-ahead to local Japanese releases like the Yakuza seriesYakuza (series)Yakuza is a Fighting game video game franchise created by Amusement Vision and owned and published by Sega.The series has sold at least 3.2 million copies as of March 2009...
. In a lot of cases we have a very strong vocal group of fans, who demand the opportunity to play these games in their local markets, and are very outspoken in their support. However, when the time comes, they are reluctant to stay committed and actually make the purchase."
Removed content
On February 24, 2010, a Sega America Blog community manager officially declared:
"We wanted to confirm that there is some content in the Japanese version of Yakuza 3 that didn’t make it over to upcoming Western version, mostly involving the Hostess Clubs and the Japanese History trivia sections. [...] The choice that had to be made was either no Yakuza 3 in the west, or a version of the game that was almost exactly the same, but with a little less trivia."
This statement was an answer to IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
journalist Greg Miller's unofficial insight report of February 23 claiming:
"Even though the hostess clubs are out, you can still go on dates with the girls.[...] The strip clubs are still in Yakuza 3."
The referred strip clubs are "Show Pub Asia: Kamurocho Asia Beauty Show Dance
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
and Pole
Pole dance
Pole dance is a form of performing art, a combination of dance and gymnastics. It involves dancing and performing acrobatic tricks with a vertical pole and is an increasingly popular form of fitness and dance, practised by many enthusiasts in gyms or dedicated dance studios...
" and Ryukyu's "Canal Grande: Cabaret Club", both are linked to main and side stories in the original Japanese release and therefore were not removed as confirmed by a new game trailer. A video showing the game's locations and was officially released by Sega on February 25. A Sega PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
further commented to Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
blog on February 24, 2010:
"We had a tight schedule to abide by for localizing and releasing Yakuza 3 in the west. Due to the limited time we were given we had to leave certain bits of the game out and we chose portions we felt didn't resonate with western culture i.e. a Japanese history quiz show and the concept of hostess clubs. [...] Given the options of releasing the next chapter of a beloved game so that our fans can experience the story of Yakuza vs. not releasing it at all, we felt it was worth it to release it with 99% of the content intact. We made sure that the story in no way, shape or form changed from the lack of the quiz show or hostess clubs. You can still go into Cabarets and on dates with the ladies in the game."
Sega gave no further details about what was cut, but comparing the eastern and western releases PSN Trophy lists revealed that five trophies (out of 50) had been removed, two sub-scenario missions (out of 103) were cut as well half-aspect of romancing the club hostesses (out of 10 completion challenges) and four minigames (out of 20). The remaining 45 trophies are the same as in the original Japanese 2009 release, except two Bronze trophies, named "Legendary Champion" and "Key Collector", were upranked as Silver trophies. Removal of a first trophy called hinted that the sidestory called was cut. This mission consists of scouting a young female NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
in the Downtown Ryukyu (Shoko, Hiromi, Shō and Kirie) or Kamurocho (Ritsuko) areas, and to make her the top hostess at cabaret club South Island, by customizing her physical aspects (with variable parameters such as make-up, haircut, outfit and à la mode accessories). A similar club management mission was introduced in Yakuza 2, in which the club, rather than the girls, is customized. Club or "cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
" hostesses are a common phenomenon in Japan and have dedicated fashion magazines; such as Koakuma Ageha which is a tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
with the game. This mission reappeared in Ryū ga Gotoku 4.
Removal of a second trophy, , hinted that the ten-episode hostess clubs completion challenge had been partially cut, since the trophy is unlocked by spending a large amount of money in Club Ageha, Club Koakuma and Flawless. In this multipart completion, which is a romancing challenge, Kazuma Kiryu orders food and drink while conversing with the ten hostesses. All characters are modeled after a real Japanese hostesses cast and this gameplay element was introduced in the original Yakuza episode. The possibility of romancing club hostess characters outside clubs in the western releases of Yakuza 3, as officially announced by the Sega representatives, was eventually confirmed by the presence of Mika Tsuchiya of Flawless playing the pool minigame on the game's back cover. This possibility is inherited from the Japanese version since the romancing completion challenge actually includes both hostess club dialogues (ordering meals and offering presents) and dating activities such as dual sessions of pool, darts, bowling and karaoke. If the former text part was cut, the latter dating part, which requires a minor translation work, definitely remain in the western releases. While the hostesses remained, the trophy was still removed since it was impossible to spend money on them within the club setting.
The third trophy to be removed was which requires the player to take the Love In Heart massage parlor
Massage parlor
A massage parlor is a business where customers can receive a massage. Sometimes the term is synonymous with brothel as the term "massage" may be used as a euphemism for paid sexual favours....
's two courses. This erotic minigame was cut along with its connected sidestory, where the masseuse, Ayaka Tsubaki, reveals to Kiryu that she is actually a transsexual. This minor character is modeled after its voice actress, Ayana Tsubaki
Ayana Tsubaki
is a Japanese transsexual TV personality and fashion model.-Biography:Tsubaki entered Aoyama Gakuin University as a male, but left in the second year to work in Kabukichō, Tokyo. In July 2006, she underwent sex reassignment surgery in Phuket, Thailand, and in December 2006, officially changed her...
, who is a Japanese TV personality and a transsexual herself.
The fourth and fifth cut trophies, and respectively were the first sign that both Shogi
Shogi
, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan...
chess and Mahjong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
minigames had been removed from the western releases. These are based on traditional board games that are fairly popular in Japan, yet uncommon overseas.
Another confirmed cut was Kamurocho Club Sega's Answer & Answer, a Japanese history
History of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
quiz minigame based on the real Sega arcade game, which is only available in Japanese game center
Game Center
Game Center is an online multiplayer social gaming network released by Apple. It allows users to invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking, track their achievements, and compare their high scores on a leader board.-History:...
s. The last cut was an Adventure Mode unlockable bonus item, Ukiyo's Bell, which is awarded to players of the eastern-only PlayStation 3 spinoff Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! and, as such, would be both impractical and impossible for the majority of players.
Challenge Pack
According to a community manager's official announcement on the Sega America blog:
"Yakuza fans who pre-order the game at their local GameStop will receive additional content via the Challenge Pack. This will allow them to enjoy 2 player mini games, competing against their friends at Pool, Bowling, Darts and Golf. They will also be able to customize their principal characters with four alternative costumes for Kazuma, Haruka and Rikiya."
Battle Pack
The PAL version was released as a standard deluxe edition called Battle Pack (or Premium Pack). The package's sticker lists the following free contents:
"Bonus enhanced CDEnhanced CDEnhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players....
soundtrack with a guide to Who's Who in the world of Yakuza + 4 pieces of unlockable content."
As an ECD
Enhanced CD
Enhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players....
, this CD contains both audio and interactive features. The audio part is the full OST featuring the 31 tracks licensed by JASRAC; it was previously sold by Sega's audio branch in the Japanese market and is now offered to western customers. The data part cointains a fully animated characters guide called Yakuza Who's Who
Who's Who
Who's Who is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on a particular group of people...
; like the OST these profiles are exclusive to the western releases.
Licensed movie version
North American video distributor Tokyo Shock (Media BlastersMedia Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
) set the release date and cover art of its licensed DVD version for Yakuza: Like A Dragon in order to match the local marketing for Yakuza 3. The English subtitled version for Takashi Miike
Takashi Miike
is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...
's 2007 live-action film adaptation of the first Yakuza game was originally planned for a March 2010 release date; the release schedule was eventually changed to February 23, 2010.
Sales
Yakuza 3 is the second best selling 2009 PlayStation 3 game in Japan, following Square-Enix's million-selling Final Fantasy XIIIFinal Fantasy XIII
is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Released in 2009 in Japan and 2010 in North America and PAL regions, it is the thirteenth major installment in the Final Fantasy series...
but outselling Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
's Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on March 5, 2009 in Japan and on March 13, 2009 in North America and Europe...
blockbuster, and is part of 2009's best-selling titles in this market with 499,436 copies sold as of December 7, 2009 according to Weekly Famitsu.
Due to their commercial success all Asian versions had bargain re-releases, a PlayStation 3 the Best edition in Asia on November 30, 2009, then in Japan on December 3, 2009 and a PlayStation 3 BigHit Series edition on December 11, 2009 in Korea.
By March 27, 2010 Yakuza 3 had sold more than 683,905 copies worldwide and approximately 120,000 in the west.
Playable demo
A free demo version was released on the Japanese PlayStation StorePlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
on February 19, 2009. The same demo was released on the European PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
on February 18, 2010.
Reception
The Japanese industry gave it the "Award for excellence" in the Japan Game AwardsJapan Game Awards
Japan Game Awards is the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's awards ceremony for the Japanese video game industry created in 1996 as CESA Awards ....
2009's "Games of the Year Division" for its "Dramatic story development, freedom of the story and the graphics elaborated up to the details of the work. In addition, amusement found in every portion of the game including the vast number of sub-stories and mini games. This work was awarded the prize for the high quality of entertainment." Yakuza 3 also earned SCEJ's PlayStation Award 2009 Gold prize for achieving more than 500,000 sales in the Japanese market. Other Gold Prizes were Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on March 5, 2009 in Japan and on March 13, 2009 in North America and Europe...
(PS3) and Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
). It was also well received in the west, with the UK's Official Playstation Magazine awarding it 9/10; however, it was criticised for the removal of content during localization.
Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu rated the game 38/40.
Sequel
Yakuza 4Yakuza 4
, is a video game developed and published by Sega exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game was announced on July 24, 2009. A promotion video was presented at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show and a preview presenting the main story was released on January 13, 2010....
was released in Japan in March 2010, and will be released in North America and Europe in the first quarter of 2011. A spin-off game, Ryū ga Gotoku Of the End
Ryū ga Gotoku Of the End
is an action-adventure video game, developed and published by Sega exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game is the sixth installment in the Yakuza series. The game's concept and keyword is "destruction"; a promotional image for the game showed the series' main locale, Kamurocho, in ruins...
, was originally scheduled for be release in Japan in March 2011, however due to the Earthquake the game was delayed unil June 2011.