Yakuza 3

[Brisco Bold]

Sounds about right.

[raystorm]

Just picked up Yakuza 4 at Best Buy for 39.99. Same price online if anyone here is done with Y3 and is interested in Yakuza 4.

[Daitokuji]

Didn't know it was coming out so soon... I still haven't finished Yakuza 3. Guess I'll wait till 4 is really cheap before getting it.d

[Korly]

I didn't see a Yakuza 4 thread, but FYI it's $39.99 on Amazon today.

[Andrew]

The fact that there's no Yakuza 4 thread is a hundred times more offensive to me than the Big Drama bullshit going down lately.

[Yoshi]

You have the power to remedy both problems. Make the Yakuza 4 thread and then ask a mod to perma ban you.

[Compass]

Why the hell would I bump this thread?

Boing Boing has one of the most brilliant videogame reviews I have ever read. Yakuza 3 is reviewed by... actual yakuza.

Ha. Kinda weird how accepted these crime lords are, and how it's apparently common knowledge the politicians are in bed with them.

And I totally remember all those Nigerians in Tokyo's red-light district when I visited! I didn't give them much thought, then. I wonder if it's just like they said...

I always wanted to try this series, but never got around to it, and then all the sudden there were too many too quickly (which always turns me off), and of course reports of content removal were off-putting (as Shirokawa says, "アメリカ版を買った奴がかわいそうだ。セガＵＳＡが最低だね.").

I kinda want to start at the beginning, but don't the PS2 games have real bad loading times?

[A Robot Bit Me]

They do, but the HDLoader does a fine job combatting them from what I've told. For what it's worth, I didn't find them prohibitively long to begin with.

[Andrew]

You have the power to remedy both problems. Make the Yakuza 4 thread and then ask a mod to perma ban you.

That last part doesn't even make sense.

Ha. Kinda weird how accepted these crime lords are, and how it's apparently common knowledge the politicians are in bed with them.

And I totally remember all those Nigerians in Tokyo's red-light district when I visited! I didn't give them much thought, then. I wonder if it's just like they said...

I always wanted to try this series, but never got around to it, and then all the sudden there were too many too quickly (which always turns me off), and of course reports of content removal were off-putting (as Shirokawa says, "アメリカ版を買った奴がかわいそうだ。セガＵＳＡが最低だね.").

I kinda want to start at the beginning, but don't the PS2 games have real bad loading times?

Yes, the neutering sucks. Yes, the PS2 games were a bit hefty on the load times (but like ARBM pointed out, it wasn't terrible). That being said, it's still totally worth your time. At least play the first one; you can score it for a few bucks anywhere that sells used games. Based on what I've gleaned of your gaming preferences, I think you'll love it.

Just one thing to bear in mind: the first Yakuza is the only one with shitty English voice acting. The others are straight-up Japanese with subtitles. So you only have to put up with it once.

I want to find a bar where whenever I order a drink, the bartender gives a speech about the history of the alcohol I select, how it is best enjoyed, etc. And with that music in the background, too.