Yakuza (PS2) Goes Gold

[RainOfTerror]

SEGA announced that its PS2 exclusive action adventure game Yakuza has officially gone gold. Take to the streets of Tokyo’s authentic nightlife and experience the thrilling lifestyle of the largest organized crime group in the world, the Yakuza.

In a society where respect and honour holds great importance, there is an even higher regard for these traits within the one organisation that is most feared by all: the Yakuza. Kiryu Kazuma – a former rising star in the Yakuza who is rebuilding his life after serving a 10-year prison term for murder – suddenly finds himself caught in a spiraling underworld plot involving a mysterious girl known as Haruka and 10 Billion missing Yen. Kazuma must use his fists and his wits to stay alive as he unravels the complex web of truth and lies that surrounds the notorious Yakuza.Check new Yakuza screens & trailers (http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=35898) over at WorthPlaying.

[SexualChoc]

I can't wait to get my hands on this. It sounds and looks like a really fun title.

[Shjinta]

I'm curious, Is it like Shenmue at all? because thats the vibe i got when i checked out the priviews for it. Can anyone go into more detail?

[Stormwatcher]

From what I read in the past, it does seem like a violent shenmue... probably a Grand Theft Shenmue... I'm also excited about it.

[Spiffae]

I really wish there was a version in Japanese with subs. As it is, I will probably end up getting the Japanese version and trying to catch as much as I can - there's no point in playing a Yakuza game voiced by Americans.

[Kamalot]

I really wish there was a version in Japanese with subs. As it is, I will probably end up getting the Japanese version and trying to catch as much as I can - there's no point in playing a Yakuza game voiced by Americans.
Agreed. Why can't companies leave in the Japanese voices and put in subtitles? It would be cheaper and the games would be more enjoyable.

Could you imagine Dead or Alive with American voice acting?

[captainstrombosis]

Agreed. Why can't companies leave in the Japanese voices and put in subtitles? It would be cheaper and the games would be more enjoyable.

Could you imagine Dead or Alive with American voice acting?

Honestly, most people don't care enough to read subs. So if the game has a lot of voice acting, they want it done in their language. We have come too far at this point to go back to all text games in most cases.

Also, most people playing DOA only had to read in small amounts.

[Kamalot]

Honestly, most people don't care enough to read subs. So if the game has a lot of voice acting, they want it done in their language. We have come too far at this point to go back to all text games in most cases.

Also, most people playing DOA only had to read in small amounts.
Ack. That is sad. I would much rather hear the original voice acting and read the story than hear some lousy voice acting of a bad translation.

[Dakar]

Ack. That is sad. I would much rather hear the original voice acting and read the story than hear some lousy voice acting of a bad translation.

From what I've read, they got some quality American voice actors for the game, so who knows.

And I agree it's sad that some people think it's too much "trouble" to read subtitles. I once heard someone say they didn't feel like watching a movie with subtitles because they didn't feel like a "mental workout". It was hilarious and sad at the same time.

[Animated X]

I owned shenmue, and honestly really didn't care for it much. I will probably try this one out, the combat is apparently bone crunchingly brutal...which is always fun.

[YoungAlCapone]

Grand theft Shenmue? I wasn't interested before but sure as hell am now.

I agree about subtitles and dubbing. My friends all thought I was crazy when we watched Ichi the Killer and I turned off the horrible british dubs in favor of the original Japanese and subtitles. Plus, after watching Enemy at the Gates the first thing I said was it would have been so much better if they would have had Russian actors and spoken Russian. It does alot for authenticity, miles more than disjointed dubs or just not using the actual language.

Go watch City of God and tell me that it would have been much better if it had been dubbed in english.

Edit: Yes, I am fully aware that Enemy at the Gates had british actors and was never in Russian to begin with.

[uaq]

I'm curious, Is it like Shenmue at all? because thats the vibe i got when i checked out the priviews for it. Can anyone go into more detail?
Having played the import extensively, but not really played much more than the first few hours of Shenmue I'm not sure how much help I can be, but here I go.
It's not much like Shenmue, but then again it is.

There is a totally different combat system, which is very streets-of-rage (nothing like GTA really).
There's lots of cutscenes and good voiceacting like Shenmue (I'm talking about the Japanese versions, I wasn't at all impressed by the American trailer for Yakuza).
There aren't any action cutscenes that I've heard are in Shenmue.
There are minigames like arcade games and gambling, but I don't know if they're in Shenmue as much.

I figure if you enjoyed Shenmue, and enjoy beat-em-ups then you should love Yakuza. If you can't stand beat-em-up combat, you might want to rent it first.