Video Game Vintage Title: Yakuza 3

Yakuza 3

Yakuza 3 is a PlayStation 3 video game, originally released in Japan as Like a Dragon 3 , the sequel to Yakuza 2 and the fourth installment in the Yakuza series. It is developed by Sega Japan's CS1 Team and published by Sega. It was released in Japan and South East Asia on February 26, 2009 and in North America and Europe on March 9, 2010 and March 12, 2010, respectively.

The sequel, Yakuza 4, was released on March 18, 2010 in Japan.

Yakuza 3 Plot

Unlike the previous episodes the story is not written by Hase Seishu but by Masayoshi Yokoyama. Yakuza 3 takes a departure from the first two games with its choice of setting: instead of focusing on the gritty cityscape of Tokyo and Osaka, it switches gears and sends Kazuma Kiryu to the Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa, where he runs the Sunshine Orphanage (Morning Glory (アサガオ Asagao?) in Japanese) with his adoptive daughter Haruka Sawamura (she calles him "Uncle Kaz") who accompanied him in the previous episodes and the Movie Version.

Sunshine Orphanage is on a land that is owned by Shigeru Nakahara, the boss of a local yakuza clan or bōryokudan, known as the Ryudo Family 琉道一家 (Ryūdō Ikka?). Nakahara is under pressure from the country's government to sell the land, which is planned to become a seaside resort. When his friend Daigo Dojima, Chairman of the Tojo Clan, is shot, Kiryu must deal with the three gang bosses who arranged the attempted murder.

The game ends with Kiryu succeeding in his mission, and he and Haruka meet to explore the town. Kazuma is confronted by a mysterious man, who is revealed to be Goh Hamazaki, having survived the offscreen attempt on his life. In anger, Hamazaki stabs Kiryu in the stomach, and is subdued afterwards, leaving a critically wounded Kazuma to give dying words to his adopted daughter.

In an after credits scene, the orphanage's children gather to play. As Haruka stands near a man, who the camera turns to reveal a bandaged Kiryu, having survived the stabbing, and he goes to continue running Sunshine Orphanage with Hakura helping him.

SettingUnlike Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! (often confused with Yakuza 3), which was a Miyamoto Musashi-based spinoff set in Edo period Kyoto, this installment continues the adventures of Kazuma Kiryu from Yakuza and Yakuza 2. The game takes place both in Kamurocho, a fictional version of Tokyo's red-light district Kabukicho, from the first two games and in a brand new location called Ryukyu.

The area of Okinawa where the story takes place is a fictional area, based upon Naha's Makishi. It includes real life landmarks such as the Ichiba Hondori (linked to Mutsumibashi Dori and Heiwa Dori) covered shopping arcade renamed "Karyushi Arcade" (かりゆしアーケード karyushi ākēdo?) in the game as well as the popular Makishi Public Market shortened "Public Market" (公設市場 Kōsetsu Ichiba?), the famous entertainment strip Kokusai Street called "Ryukyu Street" (琉球通り Ryūkyū Doori?), the Okinawa Monorail Kencho-mae Station as Template:"Ryukyugai-mae Station" or the Mitsukoshi department store (Okinawa Mitsukoshi) which kept its actual name as part of the game's tie-in policy.

Compared with the earlier episodes, the Kamurocho area has some minor changes with additional backstreets and landmarks. Hence South-East Kabukicho's European medieval castle-shaped karaoke box Royal Castle Bldg. (王城ビル?) has been modeled and renamed "Kamuro Castle", and north-west Kamurocho love hotel Hotel Aland has been recreated in Kamurocho hotels quarter as the Hotel Tea Clipper.