Game Journal: Yakuza

THIS POST CONSISTS ENTIRELY OF GAMEPLAY AND STORY SPOILERS FOR YAKUZA

There. That's probably easier than trying to decide which items are okay to talk about and which ones aren't.

As I said previously, Chapter 4 was a delight. Anything could happen and usually did. In many games, this honeymoon phase is often followed by a big letdown as nothing remotely new happens. I'm glad to say this in not the case with Yakuza. Sure, there are still random mooks to beat up. But there are also the bizarre events that could only happen in this game.

A shady looking guy had me procure a package that contained dirty underwear. I helped some thugs who had tried to beat me up earlier defend themselves against some pretty skilled Yakuza thugs. I helped Detective Date (pronounced DAH-tay) with his daughter, who I first met when she offered to do me for money. "No rough stuff, okay?" O_o

You remember that reporter I helped out? I've seen her two or three times since then, rescuing her from Yakuza at least once. It's pretty bizarre how much time I spend beating up Yakuza, considering I used to be one. I even helped some thugs who had tried to beat me up earlier against some Yakuza. For me, it's all XP, really.

I met a match girl. A match girl is just a girl selling matches on the street for a bit too much money. It's a step up from begging, I suppose. Anyway, she wasn't charging much, and I haven't found much in this game worth spending money on, so I helped her out. I ran into her again later. She told me her boyfriend had run out on her and gave me some cologne she had got for him as a holiday gift. Then she took off. I felt bad for her.

Speaking of feeling bad, let's talk about bum town. That's not what it's called, but that's what it is. Even in "the hood", San Andreas never felt as abject as this tent city does. For as much as the GTA games lampoon America, their plots are usually pure Horatio Alger. Social conditions are only temporary in that world. They don't feel that way in Yakuza. I don't remember ever seeing poverty like this in games. Sure, slums or ghettos would occasionally be the backdrop in some games. But they were rarely as pathetic as this tent city, and I don't think they ever had this many homeless people around them, just standing or sitting around, looking like they would probably never leave.

I met an older martial artist there who taught me a valuable fighting technique. I met a former author there and gave him a painting that helped him recover his muse. It's good that bum town wasn't just for show. And it's even better that I can't really do much for the vast majority of the people there. Poverty doesn't work that way, and it's always ridiculous when games imply that social issues can be solved through violence.

I also met a dead man in bum town. Or at least I thought he was dead. It turns out the crime reporter who died while I was in prison actually just went into hiding and is still investigating the underworld. I'm guessing he'll turn up somewhere interesting in the future.

As for the main plot, well, let's just say there haven't been too many surprises lately. The plot is moving forward pretty slowly, really. The girl I rescued has a locket which is somehow the key to a fortune stolen from my old clan. Her mother was killed by my former friend, but I knew he was evil a very long time ago. And I don't think we've got any leads on Yumi still. Meh. The plot is okay, but the crazy side stuff is still where it's at.

A guy on the street was having problems with vandals and asked me to stand watch. I chased down a punk who turned out to be his son, who was vandalizing his father's store to protest his dad trying to force him into the family business when he wanted to pursue art.

Did I mention a guy had me conduct a shady transaction for what turned out to be dirty panties? Yep. It's Japanese alright.

Also, some random moron attacked me on the street to test if I was good enough to be his mentor. I told him to get lost, but he said he'd made up his mind and ran off. That jerk's gonna be trouble.

The mechanics of the game are about the same. Bosses still never drop their weapons, making them a chore to fight. Opponents are dodging a lot more now, which generally isn't fun. I can compensate by picking up more weapons, but I prefer using my fists, and taking the time to run and grab something depletes my heat meter. And I've really started having fun with the heat moves.

Kazuma has tons of different heat attacks. Plus there are follow up attacks now. I don't just smash a guy against the wall. If I press a button just as he hits the ground, I follow up with a stomp. In one fight, I tackled a guy and mashed on the square button to wail away on his face. And Kazuma did some crazy move with an umbrella I couldn't even follow, much less describe. I need to learn where the taunt button is in this game so I can keep my heat level up. At first I dismissed heat moves as not doing enough damage. But now that I've unlocked ones that look cool and have follow up attacks, they're becoming my favorite part of combat.