The final chapter is here, developed by Sega, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, and with it another crime to solve. This time Kazuma Kiryu must solve a mystery that has many personal implications. So far Yakuza 6 has impressed. There’s still fighting, of course, and hilarity as well to be enjoyed.
After spending three years in prison Kiryu, a former Yakuza, discovers that Haruka, his adopted daughter, has gone missing when he is finally released. Upon his return to Kamurocho he finds that Haruka has been left in a coma after being struck by a vehicle in a hit and run incident. With her however, is a newborn named Haruto. Not knowing if Haruka will ever recover, Kiryu takes the newborn with him as he makes his way to Hiroshima to find out what happened to Haruka while he was in prison.
The Yakuza series have always been very difficult to define. On the surface, it appears to be a game where you fight different types of criminals in Kamurocho. The truth is, the games are RPGs. Instead of experience, the way the characters level up is by spending money to acquire abilities. The fighting is very enjoyable just not particularly difficult. What has made the Yakuza series so popular in Japan and more recently, in North America, is a story that will have you laughing, crying and sometimes shaking your head in disbelief.
The world of Yakuza 6 is huge. You can spend days doing side quests as well as going to batting cages, gambling in a casino, and even playing full Sega games in the Club Sega Arcade. One of the newest editions in Yakuza 6 is the ability to go spear fishing. For the over 18 crowd, there is even a mini game where you can talk and flirt with live action webcam girls.
Graphics wise, the game is astounding. Even when the earlier games were on the PS2 and PS3, you could see the detail and work put in to recreate real places. I am not a huge connoisseur of Japanese brand food products, but I could even see that the products in the Don Quixote were real. The detail also goes to the character models and the brutal heat moves are just as devastating looking as before.
One of the biggest things, since one location is too small for this adventure, is the drastic difference between Kamurocho and Hiroshima. Kiryu will be traveling from the bustling city to a more quiet and serene Hiroshima. This brings a different view to the game in his final story. Kiryu has gone from being fully in the life of crime to being completely out of it. This only seems fitting that in his last story we see a mixture of both.
For fans of the series, this should come as no surprise. Yakuza 6 is only in Japanese and players will need to be aware of the captions on screen to maintain awareness of what is going on. While the story may take many crazy twists and turns, if you’re not paying attention you will be lost.
It took a long while for western audiences to get on the Yakuza bandwagon. A game series that was based on the Yakuza movie genre, it should be remembered as a series that was truly like no other. As the western world gets more remakes of the earlier games, Yakuza 6 is a fantastic send off to one of Playstation’s most iconic characters. If you have not played the earlier games, you will still be able to enjoy this sixth installment. Just be warned, much like the Yakuza lifestyle, once you get in you will never want to leave.
9/10 Stars
Yakuza 6 is available now on PS4
