Kazuma and his story are entangling and amazing from start to end, and while the gameplay plays as a lesser element, it still does a pretty decent job.

Damn...talk about a TRUE underrated gem. Yakuza,from top to bottom, is just a fantastic game. The story is (in my opinion) 1 of the best ever in the history of videogames. Its LIITTERALY a phenominal crime/mafia novel in videogame form and its 1 (of the many) strongest things about the game. Main character Kazuma is a true badass who has a huge amount of honor and is insanely likeable because of it. He's just a great character all around. The city that you explore is so alive that it just completely took me by surprise. It really feels like a living, breathing place that exists. And theres TONS to do in it. Bored? Go to a strip club. Feeling down? Go to bars and get drunk. Need some "action"? Meet up with escorts and have a good time. Feel like spending some dough? Go to the gambling casino's and let the good times roll. The variety in the game is delieverd in spades. Yakuza also has a very solid and easy to learn fighting system. Every punch, kick, throw, etc is meet with satisfying bone crushing impact. The more you fight, the more expirence you gain, the more moves you learn. Voice acting is great all around, controls are very simple to learn, and the graphics are some of the very best on the PS2. The ONLY negative a can come up with is that it does have alot of loading. It just sucks that part 3 just got released in japan and we have yet to get part 2. Here's to hoping it may come state side. One of the very best games on PS2.… Expand

One of the best games I've played this year. If you like story driven games akin to RPG's but without all the micromanegment and the visceral fighting in action games Yakuza certainly delivers. Notwithstanding, the fighting gameplay and envirtonment are pretty basic, but their good enough to drive the game. The story is what really shines. It one of the few games that you actually build an emotional attachment to the characters.… Expand

Story is fine, although it feels a bit like Gungrave, but not as good. Sound is fine as well, except for the annoying looping town talk which loops every 5 seconds. The voice acting is poor as always when it comes to american voice actors. I do like Michael Madsen's voice though. They should properly educate their people how to prounounce Japanese names right, especially when a game like this is supposed to be Japan. Gameplay is horrible. I hate the camera switching and the way you manage to run with your character in the direct opposite direction of where you want to go, as soon as the camera switches. Fighting system is worthless as well. You have a 'On Target' kind of thing when you press R1, but it all comes down to: as soon as your opponent dodge your attacks, your character will be targeting nothing but air and have your back turned to your enemy. Camera angles during fights can be messy as well as you can't really control it, except to turn it "straight forward" of where your character are looking. But as soon as you walk forward a bit and come close to a wall, it will automatically go little by little to a side view and voila, there's no chance to see what's coming. You get to fight several mobs at a time too and it's when these sequences kick in that you'll notice how horrible it can be with the targeting system. You get ganged up and can't do jack about it except for taking a beat, back out and try again. The 'exp system' is fairly ok and they made the streets of Japan look really nice with all neon signs and people walking around. Unfortunately, people may pop up in one section but dissappear right when you enter the next. Loading times can be annoying during the switch between walking around in town and getting yourself into a fight. Overall, it is an OK game. Nothing out of the extraordinary but it has it's charm with a few nice characters and story.… Expand

Best game I've played in along time, fraction to easy.

I love this game! Good.

An excellent game all around. good story cool guy and a cute little girl to pull on your heart strings but enough butt kicking action to keep you on your toes. Very enjoyable.

This game has so much potential that was not utilized. The story and characters are great. There is entirely too much cursing and the beat downs you administer to others quickly get old. I like how when you get approched by a thug he says a curse word that can only be described as sounding like a chicken cluck. The game is plagued with bad camera angles that do not make the game unmanageble but do make it annoying. The weapons system is not unlike streets of rage in that you use a weapon so many times than it is disgarded, but I think the game could benefit from permanent weapons. Despite all the things I have said it is still a good game and is very enjoyable. It however just lacks the refinement required to make it a great game.… Expand

This game is an overall good game other than the bad storyline and the horrible voice overs. The game also gets very repetitive over and over when your walking down the streets and the game pauses and loads while your waiting to move on to the next part of the city, which takes way longer to get to places that anyone might have expected. The fighting can be difficult and repetitive.

Too much talking and cinematics, makes you yawn and say...enough allready!, let me play. and when the game lets you have control, you realize that you dont have much control over things after all. 10 years ago this game could have been amazing, but how can somebody play this if they own a copy of hitman or splinter cell or something like that?...arent we past these kind of rigid, linear, story heavy, you can throw a guy but cant throw him out the window kind of games??? im gona put my foot down and say, guess what sega...you dont have rag doll physics, you dont have havoc engine, dont have bullet holes and blood on walls...good bye and good luck!… Expand

The camera is a bit wonky and the dub coupled with a westernized script is so full of F-bombs that the cool and collected yakuza sound more like foulmouthed, drunken suburban teens. Other than that, though, the game delivers an excellent story, memorable characters, and plenty of optional stuff to discover in a sandbox of Tokyo's seedier district.

this game does not have a name or the packaging like god of war or devil may cry that easily acttracts gamers and so it's often overlooked. And who can blame us,i mean who really cares about yakuzas (i know i don't) but after a friend recommended it to me i finally got the game and i was so glad i did. The story in this game can only be found in a great movie or a best seller novel for it's that damn good.it involves love,betrayer,honour and even tragedy.after taking the fall for his best friend,our hero gets out of prison only to find out his girlfriend is missing,betaryed by bestfriend and yakuza world in chaos.he must protect a mysterious little who would lead him to the truth. With awesome characters,great combat system,free roaming gameplay and great looking cut scenes i must say yakuza is a master piece. A game for only hardcore gamers,casual gamers be warned… Expand