Yakuza (Restored)

This is a bit different than the other stuff I've written about here, but I thought I'd branch out a bit and start playing the Yakuza games, starting with the first one.

I played the "Restored" patch on my PS2.

I suppose I should preface this by explaining what I mean when I say "Restored". When this game originally launched on the PS2 in the west, it had some notable changes from the Japanese release. Most significant of which being the fact it was dubbed in English and had many character's names changed. There is a relatively recent effort from a fan by the name of Sylwahan to "restore" the original version of the game for a western audience by incorporating the original Japanese audio and altering the translation to be more in line with the script from Yakuza Kiwami (as well as a few other changes). Because I've modded my PS2, I was able to get this patch running on original hardware.

Now that that's out of the way, I want to say that this game was great.

The combat is a large part of the game and, initially at least, I wasn't a fan. But once I had gotten a few upgrades and fully made use of the Heat mechanics I started to really like it. Heat is, essentially, a combo meter that builds up as you attack enemies and, when you have enough of it, you can spend that Heat to execute some special moves. These range from basic things like stomping on enemies when they're down to more elaborate environmental attacks or, more interestingly, powerful weapon attacks that vary depending on what you have equipped.

As for the story, it's essentially a melodrama about a former Yakuza member named Kiryu Kazuma getting out of prison and readjusting to the changed world on the outside. There's also a bit of a Lone Wolf and Cub element with him becoming a sort of foster father for a young girl named Haruka that shows a softer side to Kiryu's personality. He's not necessarily a hard man, but he doesn't show much emotion and even the wilder events encountered in the substories are confronted with a stoicism that's frequently very funny. I can already tell that Kiryu is going to be an all-time straight man in my eyes.

The dynamic between Kiryu and Haruka is genuinely very sweet.

These substories flesh out his character a fair amount, if only to show that Kiryu is willing to try anything. Hey Kiryu, want to help out this hungry kid you found on the street? "Sure." Hey Kiryu, want to be a wannabe-yakuza's mentor? "Sure."Hey Kiryu, want to buy a European gun like the kind a spy would use? "Sure." There's almost nothing Kiryu won't be up for, provided he's not hurting anyone innocent. He's the ultimate yes-man. Things don't get as wacky as I thought they might, given what I've seen of later games, but there's still a lot of variety to the world that helps paint Kiryu as being more than just a common criminal.

Also adding to that, there are a number of minigames that you can spend time on. These range from claw machines to a batting cage to multiple, unrelated, underground casinos. Most of these minigames are relatively simplistic, but they hammer home the idea that Kamurocho is a living-breathing city with culture and things to do outside of the hundreds of street fights that are apparently commonplace.

The game is full of interesting characters, from the aforementioned Kiryu and Haruka to Majima and the Florist, or Date, or countless one-time villains. Each fight, in this restored version at least, opens with a title card telling you who you're up against and there are just so many named characters in this game. It's a bit overwhelming and I'm not going to pretend I remember everyone, but it helps sell the idea that Kiryu is ultimately only one person going up against an organization and a city far larger than himself.  

That city, as I alluded to earlier, is also a big part of this game. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself because I know how later games will build on this game's foundation, but I'm already getting a good feel for Kamurocho as a place. I know the layout of the streets, I know where most important stuff I want to go to is, and I suppose I just want to say that I'm excited to watch it develop and evolve over the course of the series.

To close this out, and I wasn't expecting something like this, I have a results screen from the end of the game.

I've tried to cover all of the bases but I just want to reiterate that I really loved this game. It was a slow burn for me, as I actively disliked the way it played for a long while, but I can tell already that this is a series that has its hooks in me and I'm eager to play the others. I imagine I'll spend a bit of time playing some more new releases before I get started on Yakuza 2 (which also has a restored patch I'll be playing, even though that one is less necessary) but, well, I'm making a commitment now to play all of them and it's fun to be at the start of something once again.