Review: Yakuza: Dead Souls

When Sega announced they would be subjecting their popular Yakuza series to a zombie outbreak, many gamers wondered what was in their tea (or whisky, as is more likely the case in regards to the designer of this particular series). Yakuza: Dead Souls will in some ways reinforce that immediate reaction; however, the series — known for its quirky humour and wild characters — somehow manages to endear itself to the horror theme. Actually, by the time the credits rolled I was convinced that everything that had transpired in the previous 15-odd hours fit perfectly into the Yakuza canon.

Four playable characters make up the main storyline, each with their own dedicated section, and each playing differently – the charismatic loan shark Shun Akiyama dual wielding pistols; psychotic Goro Majima favouring his shotgun; cool and towering Ryuji Goda blasting zombies with his prosthetic Gatling gun; and the suave mainstay, Kazuma Kiryu, learning very quickly that his fists won’t do him very much good in this game…

In fact, this is where the title veers strongly away from that of its predecessors. While Yakuza 1 through 4 primarily relied on beat-’em-up mechanics, Yakuza: Dead Souls is, for the most part, a third-person shooter. Players accrue and equip multiple weapons over the course of the game, and the capability for modification has carried across from previous titles, lending the game an almost RPG-like quality.

The zombies themselves are quick and aggressive, and the game borrows generously from other titles of the same genre – employing boss characters reminiscent of enemies to be found in both Resident Evil and Left 4 Dead. However, while the similarities are clear, the game manages to maintain a look and feel of its own.

The fictional city of Kamurocho — based strongly on the very non-fictional Kabukicho in Tokyo — looks just like it always has… gorgeous. Yet again, this is an almost PERFECT representation of Tokyo, with many real businesses lining the streets (such as Don Quixote, Matsuya, and Karaokekan, to name a few). Of course, much of this falls into ruin as the game progresses, but you really should take it all in while you can – it’s so faithful to the source material.

However, in terms of graphical fidelity, there’s something not quite right about Yakuza: Dead Souls. It doesn’t appear to be as clear as previous titles, as if looking through a soft focus. This is really only a minor quibble, as there is plenty of detail to be found throughout the game.

The main quest took just over 13 hours to complete, yet only comprises about 20% of all content. From side quests and sub-missions (not to mention the many mini games), there are almost too many distractions – more than enough to keep a dedicated gamer playing for up to 50 hours. On completion of the main title for example, additional game modes are unlocked allowing players to enter the game world as a sandbox.

Players of previous Yakuza titles will be aware of the many cut scenes that perforate the action, and Dead Souls is no exception. In fact, the main story is quite compelling and presents in Japanese with English subtitles. This is preferable, to be honest – it lends an air of authenticity to the gameplay.

Nevertheless, it’s far from perfect. The controls are so frustrating it’s almost painful – why the L2 button was chosen as manual aim in conjunction with the LEFT control stick is beyond my comprehension, and it takes quite some time to get used to. The swarms of zombies won’t allow time to reload or regain your bearings, and given the difficulty presented in simply trying to turn around, you’ll find yourself on your back more often than you would like… And if you were halfway through the reload animation? You’ll need to start again, so you best keep moving.

This does create tension, but it’s predominantly maddening — almost game breaking at times. Once you DO get used to the layout, though, you will likely find yourself ‘in the zone’, and playing the game on Normal is not too much of a challenge — provided you have enough health drinks to keep you going. That said, each weapon plays slightly differently, so you find yourself needing to readjust to a different mechanic each time you run out of ammunition. It sounds clever, but again, it’s more of a headache than anything else.

The menu system leaves a lot to be desired — particularly in the weapons truck (which acts as a storefront for buying and selling weapons, armour and items, as well as modifications). There is no capability to perform multiple actions at a time, and each choice will throw you back out to the very first menu choice, so there’s no real way to try to get in and out quickly if you have a number of things to do. Given the loading times it can take quite a while to get things done, and I found myself cringing every time I needed to visit.

Beyond that, there are some excruciating sub games that need to be cleared before moving on — the worst of which involved a forklift and some terrible in-game instructions. Cut scenes can’t be skipped, and you may well rage at their length every time you reload a checkpoint. There is some pretty major slowdown from time-to-time — not necessarily where there are numerous zombies on screen — and the action does tend to get a bit repetitive later in the game.

Still, Yakuza: Dead Souls manages to be damned fun despite itself. The imaginative storyline dragged me enthralled from scene to scene and some surprisingly great ideas just made everything that little bit more persuasive — I mean, Goda has a machine gun for an arm! Fans of the Yakuza series in particular should not miss this one. It may be a little different, but it has a place the Yakuza stable.