If you haven't heard already, Sega announced a while back that Yakuza 3 was coming stateside. I cannot express how excited I am about this game. With elements from so many genres including brawlers, sandbox gameplay, RPG tactics, and arcade fighters - the Yakuza series has always been a fun, fast paced action game with an intriging cast of characters and a deep story.In preparation of this coming sequel, I have been playing Yakuza 2 for the PS2. Taking place a year after the events of the first game, you find that Kiryu Kazuma has left Kamurocho to live a better life with Haruka. One event leads to another and you find yourself back to help save the Tojo Clan. But this time around, you won't just be stuck running the streets of Kamurocho, you also get to take a trip out west to Kansai. There, you get to explore a bit of Osaka - the sights, the food, and the accent. In case you didn't know, there is actually a pretty big rivalry between Tokyo (East) and Osaka (West). In some ways it's like comparing California and Florida, both have nice weather and both states grow oranges - but the similarities stop there. Likewise, Tokyo and Osaka are often compared with each other.
One thing that stands out the most when traveling through Osaka is the accent of the people there. Because Yakuza 2 retains its original voice actors (which is a huge plus), you get to really hear the differences between both styles of Japanese. Here's the interesting thing about Japanese accents, unlike what you find with English, its not how the words are pronounced that differs but the words themselves. A Californian accent is definitely different from something you'd find in New Jersey or Texas, but for the most part the words stay the same. It's like the to-may-to/to-ma-to thing, it's all how you say it. In Japan, you are dealing with brand new words, even something as simple as the verb "to be" can be a completely different word. Accents make Japanese all that much harder to learn.
While I'm enjoying Yakuza 2, I can't wait to head back east soon. The game is just as tight as the first with an interesting story that has me wanting more. With a leap in graphics, Yakuza 3 is definitely one of the games I'm most looking forward to this year.
