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Dec 08, 2015  Yakuza 5 is a 2012 open world action-adventure video game developed and published by Sega exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Yakuza PS2 ISO Posted on July 12, 2018 July 12, 2018 by love Yakuza PS2 Iso free download For PCSX2 Pc and mobile,Yakuza apk android ppsspp,Yakuza ps2 iso Sony Playstation 2,Yakuza is an action-adventure title with a story and setting focusing on the darker side of Tokyo life. Yakuza 3 is a Action-Adventure game published by SEGA released on March 9, 2010 for the Sony PlayStation 3.

Yakuza, known in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku (龍が如くLike a Dragon, Japanese: [ɾʲɨᵝː ɡa̠ go̞to̞kɯ̟ᵝ]), is an action-adventurebeat 'em upvideo game franchise created, owned and published by Sega. The series originated from Toshihiro Nagoshi's desire to create a game that would tell the way of life of the yakuza. Nagoshi initially struggled to find a platform for the project, until Sony showed interest in the prospect.^[2]

The series primarily focuses on the yakuza Kazuma Kiryu from the Tojo Clan. While Kiryu often assists the Tojo Clan, the series has also featured him searching for another way of life in the form of raising orphans. The gameplay of Yakuza has the player controlling Kiryu (or another character depending on the title) in an open world where he can encounter an enemy or perform an activity in the city to obtain experience.

The franchise has become a commercial and critical success, and as of 2017, Sega has reported that the Yakuza franchise has sold a combined total of 10.5 million units in physical and digital sales since its debut in 2005.^[3] Strong sales of the games in its original Japanese market has led to the franchise's expansion to other media, including film adaptations.

• 4Games
  • 4.1Main series
  • 4.2Spin-offs
  • 4.3Rereleases and Remakes
• 5Production
• 7Adaptations
• 8Reception & Legacy

Setting[edit]

The Yakuza games are primarily set in Kamurocho, a fictionalized version of the real life Kabukichō district in Tokyo. Throughout the series, characters visit other areas of Japan, such as Osaka in Yakuza 2 and 0, Okinawa in Yakuza 3, Nagasugai, part of the fictional Fukuoka based on Nakasu, Tsukimino, part of the fictional Sapporo based on Susukino and Kin'eicho, part of the fictional Nagoya based on Sakae in Yakuza 5, and Hiroshima in Yakuza 6.

Gameplay[edit]

In all games the player controls Kazuma Kiryu, who is the sole playable character in the first three entries. The game is made of three distinct yet connected modes called Event, Adventure and Battle. The main character randomly encounters foes on his path. The ensuing fight is called Encounter Battle. In fights the player character uses hand-to-hand combat while weapons can also be wielded, though firearms are rare. Winning some of these battles can result in the player winning money which can be used to purchase equipment or healing items. Encounter Battles caused by the story can end quicker by finishing the leader of the enemies, as well as by using powerful moves called Heat Actions, which require the filling of the 'Heat Gauge' to become usable. Some of these tend to include quick time events. Across his fights, Kiryu gains experience. This can be used to expand his stats and become a stronger fighter.

The series is well known for its high number of entertaining sub-stories, which often complement the main game story.^[4] These also give the player extra EXP. There are also many mini-games, which range from things like bowling, darts, and arcade games, to much more involved things like hostess club management which can take a number of hours over the course of several sessions in themselves to complete. This includes:

• Coliseum Fights: where the player fights in three-round mini championships against various opponents in different challenges to earn points which can be spent on unique items.
• Weapon/gear crafting: the player needs to find various components and blueprints to produce powerful and varied gear and weapons.
• Cabaret Club Management: the player runs a hostess club in three-minute sessions and tries to earn as much money as possible by matching up the right girl with the right client and quickly responding to their calls for help. They also take part in battles against other hostess clubs.
• Pocket Circuit: this is where cars called Pocket Circuit cars (like slot cars, but bounded by the car's lane and self-powered) race against each other. On both Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, there are several race series that take place and a number of side stories relating to this mini game.
• Hostess/Cabaret Clubs: this involves talking to hostess girls to fill out their 'love' gauge, as well as ordering the right food/drink, buying gifts and wearing the right accessories to please them as much as possible, until you are able to take them out on a date. This was one of many aspects that was controversially cut from the western release of Yakuza 3, leading to criticism of SEGA for ignoring western gamers' desire to experience Japanese culture.^[5] This content was mostly restored in the remastered version, although there was some content that was removed from the Japanese remaster and thus was not included in the western version either.^[6]
• Club Sega: a virtual recreation of the real-life Sega arcade chain that features activities such as UFO catchers, darts, and fully playable emulations of classic Sega arcade titles such as Fantasy Zone and Virtua Fighter. The available games differ with each series installment.

A recurring Superboss known as Amon appears in most of the games. Depending on the title, there may be more than one. For example, Yakuza 5 features an Amon for each playable character, including an idol version for Haruka to face off against.

Characters[edit]

In the first three installments, the playable protagonist is Kazuma Kiryu. Yakuza 4 introduces multiple playable protagonists, which include Kazuma Kiryu, Masayoshi Tanimura, Shun Akiyama, and Taiga Saejima.^[7]

Yakuza 5 continued this trend and featured five playable protagonists; Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, Tatsuo Shinada, as well as the long running supporting character, Haruka Sawamura.^[8] The prequel installment featured two protagonists, including another long running supporting character Goro Majima, alongside Kazuma Kiryu.^[9] Kiryu is once again the only playable character in Yakuza 6, while an additional story featuring a playable Majima was added to the remake of Yakuza 2, Yakuza Kiwami 2.^[10]

The latest mainline installment, Yakuza: Like A Dragon (previously named as Shin Ryu Ga Gotoku) will feature a new main character, Ichiban Kasuga.^[11]

Games[edit]

As of 2017, the Yakuza series includes seven main games, released in chronological order (with the exception of one prequel), with each new installment following the events of the previous title; the series is largely exclusive to the PlayStation series of consoles, starting with PlayStation 2.

There are also several spin-off titles. One relates Kazuma Kiryu's supposed ancestor, historic figure Miyamoto Musashi from the 16th and 17th centuries; another follows a zombie invasion of Kamurocho, the primary setting for the series; on the PlayStation Portable, another series is about a teenage street fighter from Kamurocho that ends up in a fight where he kills a Tojo clan yakuza.

On August 31, 2011, two new Yakuza games were announced: Yakuza 5, and a sequel to Kurohyō, Kurohyō 2.^[12]

Ryū ga Gotoku 0: Chikai no Basho, a prequel to the original game, was announced August 24, 2014. It was released on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in March 2015 in Japan.^[13]

On December 6, 2014 at PlayStation Experience, Sega announced that because they received so many requests from fans, Yakuza 5 would get a worldwide release in the third quarter of 2015 via the PlayStation Network.

On December 5, 2015 at PlayStation Experience, Sega announced that Yakuza 0 would be localized for Western audiences.

On December 3, 2016 at PlayStation Experience 2016, Gio Corsi announced that both Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza 6 would be localized for Europe and the Americas in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Yakuza 6 was initially set to release in March before being delayed to April.

In August 2017, Sega announced the releases of two new installments, Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Shin Ryu Ga Gotoku (the latter officially known as Yakuza: Like A Dragon starting from August 2019), as well as two additional spinoffs, Ryu ga Gotoku Online and Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise. A listing for Yakuza Kiwami 2 was leaked onto the Taiwanese PlayStation Store, but was originally intended to be announced on August 26, 2017.^[14]

In May 2018, Sega announced plans to release remastered versions of Yakuza 3, 4 and 5 for PlayStation 4 over the course of the following year, making the entire mainline series playable on the console. One month later, on June 11, 2018, Sega announced that Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami would release on Microsoft Windows, marking the first time that Yakuza games would be available on that platform and the second time for the series would appear outside a Sony console since the remasters of Yakuza and Yakuza 2 on Nintendo's Wii U.^[15]

Notes

• Main series
• Remake

1. ^With the exceptions of Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō and Kurohyō 2: Ryū ga Gotoku Ashura Henu which were developed by Syn Sophia, all games were developed by Sega.
2. ^ ^abcdefReleased only in Japan.

Main series[edit]

The storytelling of the series is inspired by yakuza films, one of the most popular cinematic genres in Japan. The stories of the first two games in the series were supervised by novelist Hase Seishu, a writer of crime fiction. It was brought to the screen by director Takashi Miike. The main story is presented in chapters, much like Kinji Fukasaku's classic yakuza movie Sympathy for the Underdog and is expanded upon with around a hundred subplots per game. The depth this provides leads to the series having a large cast of characters, including many which recur in minor roles.

During the 1970s, three children, Kazuma Kiryu, Akira Nishikiyama, also known as Nishiki, and the latter's younger sister, Yuko Nishikiyama, are raised in the Sunflower Orphanage of Shintaro Kazama. In the summer of 1980, they are joined by Yumi Sawamura, a young girl whose parents were inadvertently killed during a gang shootout. Following a yakuza tradition, the honourable Kazama secretly raises orphans whose parents he has directly or indirectly killed. In return, these children look to him as a father and he eventually introduces the teenagers to the Dojima Family, a Tojo Clan affiliate.

Years later, the promising Kiryu quickly rises in the yakuza hierarchy and earns the nickname 'The Dragon of Dojima' for the dragon irezumi tattoo on his back, which is the origin of the original title ryu ga gotoku, which means 'like a dragon'. His childhood friend Nishikiyama is torn between loyalty for his kyodai, or yakuza 'brother', and jealousy against the one who has always been Kazama's protege. Another subject of rivalry between the two friends is their secret love for Yumi, who looks at them as her older brothers. In 1990, in order to remain close to both of them, she left the orphanage and moved to Tokyo's red-light districtKamurocho, where they found her a job as a hostess at Reina's Serena bar. On October 1, 1995, Kiryu told his friends he was ready to create his own yakuza family, only lacking the approval of Sohei Dojima, Chairman of the Dojima Family. Later that night, the latter kidnaps Yumi from Serena. Nishikiyama tries to interfere, but Dojima's men hold him. When Nishikiyama eventually reaches Dojima's office, he finds his boss attempting to rape Yumi and shoots him dead. Kiryu, at a meeting with Kazama, was called by Reina and comes shortly after to find Dojima on the ground and Nishikiyama and Yumi in shock. Kiryu takes responsibility for the death in order to protect Yuko, who needs her brother Nishikiyama as she is about to undergo a critical operation. Kiryu orders Nishikiyama and Yumi to leave before the police arrive.

Yakuza[edit]

The first game follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu (桐生 一馬 Kiryū Kazuma), a formerly promising yakuza who is released from prison in December 2005 after a ten-year sentence for the murder of Dojima. The Tojo Clan he was once a member of has had ten billion yen, or approximately 100 million U.S. dollars, stolen from their vault. The search for the money, undertaken by the entire Japanese underworld, results in Kiryu being forced back into the brutal, lawless world of the yakuza. A mysterious young girl would lead Kiryu to the answers, if he can keep her alive.

Yakuza 2[edit]

In 2006, Kazuma Kiryu has left his post as the Chairman of the Tojo Clan, Japan's most violent crime syndicate. When an all-out war erupts, Kiryu must return and uphold the honor of his former clan, with brutal clashes with rival gangs, the police, and the Korean mafia through the back alleys and neon-lit nightclubs of Tokyo and Osaka.

Yakuza 3[edit]

In March 2009, Kazuma Kiryu now runs the Morning Glory Orphanage in Okinawa where he raises nine children, including his surrogate daughter Haruka Sawamura. When an impending business deal threatens to tear down the orphanage, Kiryu travels from the beaches of Okinawa to the darkest side of Tokyo as he is pulled back to a life he thought he had left behind.

Yakuza 4[edit]

In March 2010, Kazuma Kiryu is again involved in an incident in Kamurocho. First, a man is fatally shot on the turf of the powerful Tojo Clan. Then, a man investigating the murder is stabbed to death. These events spark a full-blown struggle for money, power, and above all, honor, in a story experienced through the eyes of four characters.

Yakuza 5[edit]

In December 2012, the seventh chairman of the Omi Alliance is on his deathbed. His death would end the truce between the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance, leading to a war between the clans. To prepare, the Tojo Clan is forced to strengthen their organization by aligning themselves with older clans based in other major cities across Japan to create a new organization, rivaling that of the Omi Alliance. This new alliance would breach the old traditional barriers of clan territories, leading Daigo Dojima to head for Fukuoka.

Yakuza 0[edit]

In December 1988, many years before the original Yakuza, a young Kazuma Kiryu is framed for the murder of a civilian, leading him to be hunted by members of the Tojo clan. At the same time, Goro Majima finds himself protecting a helpless blind girl whom he was ordered to assassinate, making him a target himself. The two must each attempt to protect themselves and uncover the truth, including how both incidents are tied to the mysterious 'Empty Lot'.

Yakuza 6[edit]

In 2016, after willingly spending three years in prison for his past crimes, Kazuma Kiryu is released only to discover that his adoptive daughter Haruka has disappeared, later found comatose and critically injured after a hit-and-run incident. A devastated Kiryu decides to travel to Onomichi Jingaicho in Hiroshima, hoping to find the truth behind what happened to Haruka.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon[edit]

In 2019, Ichiban Kasuga, a former member of the Tojo Clan's Arakawa Family who is released after 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, ends up in Yokohama after the police and the Omi Alliance join forces.

Spin-offs[edit]

Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan![edit]

The success of the main Yakuza series has spurred the creation of a spin-off, Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!, which was released in Japan and Asia on March 6, 2008.^[16]

Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō[edit]

Formerly known under the working title 'Project K', Shinshō (also known as Yakuza: Black Panther) is a spin-off on PlayStation Portable that was released in Japan on September 22, 2010.^[17]

Yakuza: Dead Souls[edit]

Yakuza: Dead Souls, known as Ryū ga Gotoku Of The End in Japan, involves a zombie outbreak in Kamurocho, and was initially scheduled for Japanese release on March 17, 2011,^[18] but the release was delayed to June 9, 2011 following the Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011.^[19] This spin-off entry was released in the west in March 2012 (in North America, on March 13, 2012; in Australia, on March 15, 2012; in Europe, March 16, 2012).^[20]

Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Ashura Hen[edit]

Kurohyō 2: Ryū ga Gotoku Asyura hen is a sequel to Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō. It was released in Japan on March 22, 2012.

Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin![edit]

Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! is a spin-off on both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 released in Japan on February 22, 2014, the launch date for the PlayStation 4 in Japan.^[21]

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise[edit]

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, known in Japan as Hokuto ga Gotoku, is a spin-off for the PlayStation 4, based on the series Fist of the North Star. The game was released in Japan on February 22, 2018,^[22], and worldwide on October 2, 2018.^[23] This is the first Ryu ga Gotoku title since Yakuza to release with an English dub, and the first overall with dual audio options. Kazuma Kiryu appears as an equippable DLC skin, while other Yakuza characters make minor cameo appearances.

Ryu ga Gotoku Online[edit]

Ryu ga Gotoku Online is a free-to-play spin-off released on Android, iOS, and PC on November 21, 2018.^[24] The game features both Kazuma Kiryu and new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga.

Judgment[edit]

Judgment, known in Japan as Judge Eyes: Shinigami no Yuigon, is a legal thriller set in the Yakuza world, in Kamurocho, and follows private detective Takayuki Yagami, who investigates a serial murder case.^[25] It stars Japanese actor Takuya Kimura. Sega released a demo of Judgment on the Japanese PlayStation Network. The game employs a fighting system similar to the one from Yakuza 0 where players can change into different styles. Additionally, it features an investigation mode where the player has to find traces of the criminal. It was released for PlayStation 4 on December 13, 2018, with a Western release following in June 2019.^[26]

Rereleases and Remakes[edit]

Ryū ga Gotoku 1&2 HD Edition[edit]

A high-definition remaster of the first two games in the series was released in Japan on November 1, 2012 for PlayStation 3.^[27] The high-definition remaster was ported to Wii U and released in Japan on August 8, 2013 under the title Ryū ga Gotoku 1&2 HD for Wii U.^[28][29] Both versions of the compilation were only released in Japan.

Yakuza Kiwami[edit]

A remake of the first Yakuza game was announced for a January 21, 2016 Japanese release on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.^[30]Kiwami for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 were the top two best-selling games in Japan during release week, selling 103,256 copies for PlayStation 4 and 60,427 for PlayStation 3.^[31] The PS4 version received a western release in August 2017. The game was made available on Microsoft Windows via Steam on Feb 19, 2019.^[32]

Yakuza Kiwami 2[edit]

A remake of Yakuza 2 was released in Japan on December 7, 2017 for the PlayStation 4. It was released in the United States on August 28, 2018. The game runs on the Dragon Engine, which was previously used in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. The remake also adds Goro Majima as a playable character, continuing stories of his that were previously established in Yakuza 0. The game received a western release in August 2018.

Yakuza Remastered Collection[edit]

A compilation rerelease, titled The Yakuza Remastered Collection, was announced and released digitally in English-speaking territories on August 20, 2019 for the PlayStation 4. The collection contains the remastered versions of Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 5, which were released in Japan between 2018 and 2019, with re-translated game scripts and content removed from the original English releases restored. At the time of the collection's launch, only Yakuza 3 was available, with Yakuza 4 scheduled for release in October 29, 2019 and Yakuza 5 on February 11, 2020. A physical release containing all three games will be released alongside Yakuza 5 with a collectible PlayStation 3 styled case for Yakuza 5, which came out digitally in the west.^[33]

Production[edit]

Toshihiro Nagoshi first brought his story for the scenario to Seishu^[who?] two years before Yakuza started development.^[when?] Seishu had been a gamer since the days of Space Invaders, but over the past four or five years he had lost interest, as he was less concerned with 3D visuals and gameplay than he was with story. Yakuza caught his attention though, and he decided to accept the project even though it came at the busiest point of his professional writing career. Nagoshi wanted players to get enjoyment from merely walking through Kamurocho. Touching upon the game's name, Nagoshi revealed that it was his concoction. The name translates to 'Like a Dragon', as Nagoshi felt that dragons have a strong image about them, and that when players sample it, they would, as the title suggests, get a feel for the strength and manliness of the main character.^[34]

Marketing[edit]

The series is known for its expanding video game tie-in and product placement. An example of this is the Don Quijote discount store, whose in-game stores are based on the stores in the equivalent real-life districts. This strategy allows to support the game's costly production and at the same time gives a realistic aspect to the environments which are based on real locations in Tokyo, Osaka and Naha. In promoting the game, Sega hired Takashi Miike, who directed the live-action Like a Dragon film. There were no problems in doing this due to a member from the team who was originally from the film industry who worked with Toei Company on V-cinema.^{[citation needed]} Sega went to a lot of companies to try to get brands into the game, like car companies and fashion companies, but because of the nature of the Yakuza game, they were turned down by most of them.^{[citation needed]} However, the company Suntory accepted them. Suntory wanted to sell whiskey, and they felt the game's demographic and the whiskey-drinking demographic would mesh nicely.^[35]

Voice cast[edit]

The game's original voice actors are Japanese celebrities which can be voice actors, singers, tarento, film or TV series actors, radio or television celebrities. Cabaret girls and alike characters have featured models, gravure idols and adult actresses as voice actresses and likenesses. Since the 2008 spin-off, the game series' main characters have their face modeled in 3D after their voice actors. As in the Virtua Fighter series, Western main and minor characters do not speak in Japanese, but rather in English.

The first game in the series to be released to the United States and PAL regions was dubbed in English. However, due to criticism of the English voice acting, each subsequent Western release has retained the original Japanese voice acting.

The PlayStation 3 installments' realistic character design is based on Cyberware3D scanner, Softimage XSI 6.5 3D models^[36] and Sega's Magical V-Engine.

Localization changes[edit]

When the series was internationalized and localized to fit the Western market several changes occurred. These include changing the title of the game (Like a Dragon 龍が如く, ryū ga gotoku became Yakuza) and the names of several characters (Shintaro Kazama is Shintaro Fuma, Akira Nishikiyama is Akira Nishiki, Futoshi Shimano is Futo Shimano, Sai no Hanaya is Kage).

Yakuza 4 adjusted several of these localisation changes, following criticism of the previous games, and in particular the content excised from the Western release of Yakuza 3. Producer Noguchi noted that there was an attempt to 'bring a more complete localization that was more faithful to the source material'. This included reversing several name changes. In addition, some conventions were changed; in previous Western localisations, protagonist Kazuma Kiryu had been referred to primarily by his first name. In Yakuza 4, he is referred to primarily by his family name, Kiryu, which more closely reflects the original dialogue.^[37]

Music[edit]

The three Yakuza original soundtrack albums are composed by Hidenori Shoji, Hideki Sakamotoet alii and are published by Wave Master. Additional soundtrack features songs from Japanese artists Crazy Ken Band, Zeebra, Ketsumeishi and Eikichi Yazawa.

Adaptations[edit]

The Yakuza franchise includes various types of merchandise and adaptations outside of the video games. Currently, this includes a direct-to-video movie, a feature film, original soundtracks, official guides, Kamutai Magazines (pre-order campaign limited book) and other licensed products such as Cropped Heads long tee shirts and parkas based on main characters tattoos,^[38] limited edition PlayStation 3 console packs,^[39][40]Kubrick toys^[41] and action figures manufactured by Maitan.^[42]

Books[edit]

With the original game in 2005, Sega created a pre-order campaign limited item called Kamutai Magazine (カムタイマガジン). This color book was a monography dedicated to the game with Mai, a sub-scenario female character, as the cover girl. This character's physical aspect was inspired by its voice actor, Mihiro, a Japanese adult video idol acting in porno films. Since then, each new game release coincides with a new Kamutai Magazine issue featuring a voice actress as cover girl. Hence this December 2005 issue was followed by a December 2006 issue (cover girl is Japanese porn star Nana Natsume), a March 2008 issue (cover girl is Taiwanese porn star Yinling of Joytoy) and a February 2009 issue (cover girls are Shizuka Mutou, Sayaka Araki and Rina Sakurai). The fifth issue was bundled with Ryu Ga Gotoku 4 and released in March 2010.

Original video[edit]

Takeshi Miyasaka directed an original video during the promotion period for the western release of the game which depicted Kazuma, Nishiki and Yumi growing up at the Sunflower Orphanage and then leaving for Tokyo. This short film called Like a Dragon: Prologue (龍が如く 〜序章〜, ryu ga gotoku -joshou-) serve as a prequel and set up the events which take place in the game.

Feature film[edit]

A film adaptation was released in Japanese theaters on March 2, 2007, called Like a Dragon: movie version (龍が如く 劇場版, ryu ga gotoku: gekijoban). It was based on the first installment of the game and is directed by Takashi Miike. The movie was premiered in the United States on June 23 at IFC theater.^[43]

American distributor Tokyo Shock, a Media Blasters affiliate, has released a licensed DVD on February 23, 2010.^[44] The original release date was actually March 2010 in order to coincide with the North American localization of Yakuza 3.

Radio dramas[edit]

Since September 2008, Japanese voice actors from the Yakuza series, including Takaya Kuroda (Kazuma Kiryu) and Hidenari Ugaki (Goro Majima), are running a radio drama which is known as Ryu Ga Gotoku Presents Kamuro-cho Radio Station (龍が如くPresents神室町RADIOSTATION). The second season Shin Kamuro-cho Radio Station (新・神室町RADIOSTATION), which covers 2009~2010, is currently ongoing with back number episodes available for download as podcasts.^[45] Past episodes from the 2008~2009 season, Kamuro-cho Radio Station (神室町RADIOSTATION), are also available as archived podcasts.^[46]

Web TV[edit]

The Kamurocho Caba Jou TV (神室町キャバ嬢 T V) is a Japanese web television dedicated to the series's cabaret girls. Main contents are audition and girls profile, but it can also be related to other aspect of the game series; for example volume 15 focuses on its soundtrack artists. All shows, called 'volumes', are archived within the web TV's official website.^[47]

Reception & Legacy[edit]

The original game was heavily acclaimed in Japan for combining innovative game play with cinema like story telling and character development on the back of Japan's criminal underground.^[71]Weekly Famitsu gave high scores to the series, Yakuza scored 37/40 (92.5/100),^[72]Yakuza 2 scored 38/40 (95/100),^[73]Yakuza Kenzan! scored 37/40 (92,5/100),^[73]Yakuza 3 scored 38/40 (95/100)^[73] and Yakuza 4 scored 38/40 (95/100).^[74]Yakuza 5 scored (40/40) which has the highest score out of all of the Yakuza installments. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life scored (39/40).

Each installment earned an excellence award at the Japan Game Awards and had a PlayStation the Best re-release in both Japanese, Asian and Korean markets.^[75] The Japanese entertainment industry gave Yakuza 3 the 'Award for Excellence' in the 2009 Japan Game Awards 'Games of the Year Division' for its 'dramatic story development, freedom of the story and the graphics elaborated up to the details of the work. In addition, amusement found in every portion of the game including the vast number of sub-stories and mini games. This work was awarded the prize for the high quality of entertainment'.^[76] In 2010, the Japan Game Awards once again gave a Yakuza series game the 'Award for Excellence'. Yakuza 4 won due to 'a rich story with a high degree of freedom that is developed from the different perspectives of the 4 characters. There are also many play spots that boast several sub-stories and mini games. The astounding quality and volume provide a high level of entertainment and was the reason for granting this award'.^[77] As the protagonist of the series, Kazuma Kiryu is often recognized as a PlayStation mascot.^[78][79]

The western localized versions were released between one and three years after the originals and received generally favorable reviews.^[80]

Sales[edit]

The series sold 3.2 million games worldwide as of 2009^[81] and 4 million copies as of September 2010;^[82] the best sellers being the first two games which sold between 500,000 – 1 million worldwide, each winning the PlayStation Gold Award.^[83]Yakuza 3 sold 500,000 copies in the Asian markets as of 2010, also winning SCEJ's PlayStation Gold Award.^[81] However, after Yakuza 4, Sega said that sales were slow in North America and Europe due to 'the adverse market condition', noting 'sluggish personal consumption' in those regions.^[84]

By June 2015, the Yakuza series sold over 7 million units worldwide.^[85] As of 2017, the series has sold over 10.5 million copies.^[3]

References[edit]

1. ^'Yakuza Kiwami 2 delivers on the potential of a 10-year-old game'. Polygon. August 29, 2018. Atlus director of production, and certified Yakuzologist, Sam Mullen told me [...] “People realize now that Yakuza is not a open-world GTA clone; it’s a crazy over-the-top action RPG, and if you have any interest in Japan or Japanese content, you’re bound to love it.”
2. ^Martin Robinson (August 24, 2011). 'Yakuza unlikely on Xbox 360'. Eurogamer. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
3. ^ ^abRomano, Sal. 'Persona series sales top 8.5 million, Megami Tensei series sales top 7.2 million'. Gematsu. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
4. ^Kuan Leong Yong (January 7, 2019). 'You'll love these Yakuza 0 Substories'. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
5. ^Brian Ashcraft (February 24, 2010). 'Sega, You Are Once Again Making A Giant Mistake'. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
6. ^Robert Ramsey (August 23, 2019). 'Yakuza 3 Remastered Restores Cut Content That Wasn't in the PS3 Western Release - Push Square'. Push Square. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
7. ^'GameSpot Reviews - Yakuza 4 (PS3)'. YouTube. Gamespot. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
8. ^Concepcion, Miguel. 'Yakuza 5 Review'. Gamespot. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
9. ^Ogilvie, Tristan. 'Yakuza 0 Review'. IGN. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
10. ^Treese, Tyler. 'Yakuza Kiwami 2 Features a New Story Featuring Majima'. Playstationlifestyle. Craveonline. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
11. ^Strawhun, Aiden. 'Yakuza Online Brings The Series To PC And Mobile'. GameSpot. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
12. ^'Ryū ga Gotoku 5 and Kurohyō 2 Announcement Coverage' (in Japanese). 4Gamer.net. August 31, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
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External links[edit]

Yakuza 1 Ps2 Iso

• Official website(in Japanese)
• Official blog(in Japanese)

Yakuza 1 Iso Version