Yakuza 3 reviewed by real-life Yakuza

As pointed out by regular reader Zack, BoingBoing has a fascinating feature up where they get three real-life yakuza members to play Ryu ga Gotoku 3 and give their opinions.

Midoriyama is a now-retired former mid-level faction boss. Shirokawa is a high-ranking boss from a different group connected to Midoriyama through a ritual sake exchange. Kuroishi knows them both but is also from a different group.

This is an ingenious feature, and a fantastic example of proper investigative games journalism. While most print publications are happy with their annual April Fool gags, phoned-in email interviews, and outdated news, it's great to see something serious like this being attempted.

My favourite section of the interview is towards the end:
Ironically, the sections that Shirokawa seemed to enjoy the most were cut out of the US version: mahjong, the sexual massage parlor, and the hostess clubs. After I explain to him what Sega cut from the US version, he said: 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.(Translation: I feel sorry for the people who bought the American version. SEGA USA sucks.)

Yes indeed, Sega USA does suck. I for one loved the mahjong in Yakuza 2.

Read the full feature HERE.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDX_qA1iP6NnnxR_tdVYzhwhd4DYjbOMVfzePX4koIwY4nRX4ijTVUJhglBpoxNEmBSF4Xxdo1xIAy2JRsfmME88upDFBw47WXuPy5CU4YlygprPtzZ4JVLC_DMZPq38cKKGVE4ZAaDg/s1600/5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506357316271488594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDX_qA1iP6NnnxR_tdVYzhwhd4DYjbOMVfzePX4koIwY4nRX4ijTVUJhglBpoxNEmBSF4Xxdo1xIAy2JRsfmME88upDFBw47WXuPy5CU4YlygprPtzZ4JVLC_DMZPq38cKKGVE4ZAaDg/s400/5.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" /></a><br />As pointed out by regular reader Zack, <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2010/08/10/yakuza-3-review.html">BoingBoing</a> has a fascinating feature up where they get three real-life yakuza members to play Ryu ga Gotoku 3 and give their opinions.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Midoriyama is a now-retired former mid-level faction boss. Shirokawa is a high-ranking boss from a different group connected to Midoriyama through a ritual sake exchange. Kuroishi knows them both but is also from a different group. </span><br /><br />This is an ingenious feature, and a fantastic example of proper investigative games journalism. While most print publications are happy with their annual April Fool gags, phoned-in email interviews, and outdated news, it's great to see something serious like this being attempted.<br /><br />My favourite section of the interview is towards the end:<br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Ironically, the sections that Shirokawa seemed to enjoy the most were cut out of the US version: mahjong, the sexual massage parlor, and the hostess clubs. After I explain to him what Sega cut from the US version, he said: 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.(Translation: I feel sorry for the people who bought the American version. SEGA USA sucks.) </span><br /><br />Yes indeed, Sega USA does suck. I for one <a href="http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/2010/02/mahjong-hanafuda-and-other-japanese.html">loved the mahjong in Yakuza 2</a>.<br /><br />Read the full feature <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2010/08/10/yakuza-3-review.html">HERE</a>.

Yakuza Kenzan interviews in English

Videos pertaining to Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan, which were on a DVD included with the rerelease of Yakuza 2 in Japan, have been translated into English.
.
.


With the recent confirmation that Yakuza 3 is coming to the west, plus continuing release of information regarding Yakuza 4, I thought now a good time to post links to Eastern Mind's translation of the Yakuza Kenzan production videos. I’d actually wanted to talk about the Eastern Mind blog for a while now, since it covers a wide range of fascinating Japanese news which other websites don’t normally carry – it also covers stuff from Japanese news sites like Dengeki, with an English explanation. They’ve covered all manner of things, including Nagoshi-san’s visit to a curry house to research Yakuza 3.


It's well worth bookmarking to see what else they report on, plus check out their archives for some fascinating past features.

Regarding Kenzan the game:
For those who haven’t played it, Kenzan features the cast of the Yakuza games, albeit in a medieval Japanese setting. Imagine almost if the cast from Goodfellas did a Robin Hood film, and you’ve got a rough analogy.
It’s also based on the excellent Musashi novel by Eiji Yoshikawa. Basically you wander around solving problems, getting into swordfights, and generally having the same kind of fun as in the Yakuza games. Steeped in Japanese history, it’s a game we’re likely never to see here. But it’s a lot of fun and relatively easy to complete without knowing the language.



Regarding the Kenzan videos:
"In the world of videogame playing, the Japanese are a fortunate people. For the Japanese re-release of Ryu ga Gotoku 2 (Yakuza 2), SEGA prepared a bonus DVD with exclusive contents that focused on advertising the third game of the series, the Kenzan! spin-off. Within this DVD there are a few presentation trailers to be found, as well as a couple of exclusive interviews that were never released online before - or at least not with proper subtitles. Because the very purpose of this blog is to fill the information gaps between East and West, I now publish two small video features."


One of the videos includes an exclusive pre-release interview with Toshihiro Nagoshi.

Link to the videos.


On a side-related note, the BBCF has rated Yakuza 3 as an 18 certificated game, and it's UNCUT. Yay!



<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_Uzp9KYqXsndJxnwZ7dmCEmOUesHnDAWHbDAI_aRe0y2EM_f1MgSaWrFY-bknOyoMHtxBR-wezS9Rc7iak5Z3PWoO8T37jAmT3dZnbh50jvwB1ympJim4be26t_oLRaLy2GbbS8X-WM/s1600-h/Yak2box.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415805628298093234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_Uzp9KYqXsndJxnwZ7dmCEmOUesHnDAWHbDAI_aRe0y2EM_f1MgSaWrFY-bknOyoMHtxBR-wezS9Rc7iak5Z3PWoO8T37jAmT3dZnbh50jvwB1ympJim4be26t_oLRaLy2GbbS8X-WM/s400/Yak2box.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />Videos pertaining to Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan, which were on a DVD included with the rerelease of Yakuza 2 in Japan, have been translated into English.<br />.<br />.<br /><br /><br /><span class="fullpost">With the recent confirmation that <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/12/yakuza-3-marches-west/">Yakuza 3 is coming to the west</a>, plus <a href="http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177250">continuing release of information regarding Yakuza 4</a>, I thought now a good time to post links to <a href="http://easternmind.tumblr.com/">Eastern Mind's</a> translation of the <a href="http://easternmind.tumblr.com/post/185277144/kenzaninterviews">Yakuza Kenzan production videos</a>. I’d actually wanted to talk about the Eastern Mind blog for a while now, since it covers a wide range of fascinating Japanese news which other websites don’t normally carry – it also covers stuff from Japanese news sites like Dengeki, with an English explanation. They’ve covered all manner of things, <a href="http://easternmind.tumblr.com/post/246825322/introducing-ryu-ga-gotoku-4-inherit-the-legend">including Nagoshi-san’s visit to a curry house to research Yakuza 3</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4fCiguGCjZCpm3wX3_1TEhGQKSzj75-MtjsQaeQGEf2c6EF1SpeQT2VpDJIvhv-IkYi2K7F7VksPgFy4Zu8Fj-OENpS5jZrIS8bb1Q4p1lyAeY8pqaQOoZs3WXzdaUWqKptr8jI4jsg/s1600-h/curry+house.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415805712664577314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4fCiguGCjZCpm3wX3_1TEhGQKSzj75-MtjsQaeQGEf2c6EF1SpeQT2VpDJIvhv-IkYi2K7F7VksPgFy4Zu8Fj-OENpS5jZrIS8bb1Q4p1lyAeY8pqaQOoZs3WXzdaUWqKptr8jI4jsg/s400/curry+house.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" /></a><br />It's well worth bookmarking to see what else they report on, plus check out their archives for some fascinating past features.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Regarding <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%AB_ga_Gotoku_Kenzan%21">Kenzan the game</a>:<br />For those who haven’t played it, Kenzan features the cast of the Yakuza games, albeit in a medieval Japanese setting. Imagine almost if the cast from Goodfellas did a Robin Hood film, and you’ve got a rough analogy.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOjNaewXIIKIiixxpoF1IlBreIZam7eMh80MV_U_Tc8MZNisrhJ8dIa9ITxeYGIq6Hv7m93YyrgJogSAaEQZGNzl-rgO4Rlv9gRgV92iMkBaXnLWlKVRHuxf3TuLDsImpIL5S5K2f-jc/s1600-h/kennnnz.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415806907314849554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOjNaewXIIKIiixxpoF1IlBreIZam7eMh80MV_U_Tc8MZNisrhJ8dIa9ITxeYGIq6Hv7m93YyrgJogSAaEQZGNzl-rgO4Rlv9gRgV92iMkBaXnLWlKVRHuxf3TuLDsImpIL5S5K2f-jc/s320/kennnnz.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" /></a><span class="fullpost">It’s also based on the excellent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musashi_%28novel%29">Musashi novel by Eiji Yoshikaw</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musashi_%28novel%29">a</a>. Basically you wander around solving problems, getting into swordfights, and generally having the same kind of fun as in the Yakuza games. Steeped in Japanese history, it’s a game we’re likely never to see here. But it’s a lot of fun and relatively easy to complete without knowing the language.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_xdkeqIi03SSXzgGXPKdJ9XxjwUIzcgbRiIdZb_Qk8VwJfKaNtXCd7cPWT4OPpB4_d36J8hvXbOKDyISA-JuvryZasVuW17knqHMvUVbMDPN1pfcwkMTge8QqSYQJuLOFl-CKEXiim4/s1600-h/Itoh1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415805806215682658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_xdkeqIi03SSXzgGXPKdJ9XxjwUIzcgbRiIdZb_Qk8VwJfKaNtXCd7cPWT4OPpB4_d36J8hvXbOKDyISA-JuvryZasVuW17knqHMvUVbMDPN1pfcwkMTge8QqSYQJuLOFl-CKEXiim4/s400/Itoh1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 269px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkaX_5vWTP89QkU-oSaWF1ASMjOi5hd26DxWDyHt66UrNANNtYG9W-epo4m-xgQI9JbnPxVlJOR2qXlgFiKPlLUwQZiebissc8D3F1-yWIAegDZWBSb10qLnFAoQExBlNaxP0XmhcYqM/s1600-h/Itoh2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415805883839749106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkaX_5vWTP89QkU-oSaWF1ASMjOi5hd26DxWDyHt66UrNANNtYG9W-epo4m-xgQI9JbnPxVlJOR2qXlgFiKPlLUwQZiebissc8D3F1-yWIAegDZWBSb10qLnFAoQExBlNaxP0XmhcYqM/s400/Itoh2.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 265px;" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />Regarding the <a href="http://easternmind.tumblr.com/post/185277144/kenzaninterviews">Kenzan videos</a>:<br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">"In the world of videogame playing, the Japanese are a fortunate people. For the Japanese re-release of Ryu ga Gotoku 2 (Yakuza 2), SEGA prepared a bonus DVD with exclusive contents that focused on advertising the third game of the series, the Kenzan! spin-off. Within this DVD there are a few presentation trailers to be found, as well as a couple of exclusive interviews that were never released online before - or at least not with proper subtitles. Because the very purpose of this blog is to fill the information gaps between East and West, I now publish two small video features."</span><br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVv7VEIJHT-U8FuCBtq5-guuI7QArZm2PQ32yVPfiTthzdsvlqLZmQo8PchyphenhyphenkrLM84xCvp33lYXtkxsq4ol03fwp6XZnuMeLC6sA7LOpetRkvyFXwuWDnDMsf03YwzVy4nXyYkAZXubY/s1600-h/Nagoshi.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415806184949335698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVv7VEIJHT-U8FuCBtq5-guuI7QArZm2PQ32yVPfiTthzdsvlqLZmQo8PchyphenhyphenkrLM84xCvp33lYXtkxsq4ol03fwp6XZnuMeLC6sA7LOpetRkvyFXwuWDnDMsf03YwzVy4nXyYkAZXubY/s400/Nagoshi.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 224px;" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />One of the videos includes an exclusive pre-release interview with Toshihiro Nagoshi.<br /><br /><a href="http://easternmind.tumblr.com/post/185277144/kenzaninterviews"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Link to the videos.</span></a><br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK24FtSyduA0NRxht8gHCRvsFdFmF623edIKf8rVwDVzod5TC12Iz79TAYcsKo-eRgAwu9ftkcVWTyD3qmtOoLWjxC6HQTXZh8qosFQL15HPZGKHUzwooVdDDcubAOLuJ03Vk96vZlQMk/s1600-h/Yak3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415807021907457970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK24FtSyduA0NRxht8gHCRvsFdFmF623edIKf8rVwDVzod5TC12Iz79TAYcsKo-eRgAwu9ftkcVWTyD3qmtOoLWjxC6HQTXZh8qosFQL15HPZGKHUzwooVdDDcubAOLuJ03Vk96vZlQMk/s400/Yak3.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br /><a href="http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/e8ea0df3a881175480256d58003cb570/3ab2c7a0185f1484802576860059448d?OpenDocument">On a side-related note, the BBCF has rated Yakuza 3 as an 18 certificated game, and it's UNCUT. Yay!</a><br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoX43XRlV8irCDBRnFjVJBqQNEjFVVmX-Ss2WrILzYVU5JyoGg4UCw5ti9Idz5rTXhpYgx_s00IjUT9OqTfiI-JLFcf1GCE84EoSsTsP-P5UP21x07CrxWJOC_Yjt3CashcJmTGTzxoA4/s1600-h/182003.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415807295776267682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoX43XRlV8irCDBRnFjVJBqQNEjFVVmX-Ss2WrILzYVU5JyoGg4UCw5ti9Idz5rTXhpYgx_s00IjUT9OqTfiI-JLFcf1GCE84EoSsTsP-P5UP21x07CrxWJOC_Yjt3CashcJmTGTzxoA4/s400/182003.gif" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 75px; height: 75px;" /></a><br /></span>