Yakuza 3 elements removed for us Westerns. Thanks Sega!

[the7k]

http://www.destructoid.com/yakuza-3-hos ... 4765.phtml

Thank God Sega is looking out for us in North America and Europe by removing elements like participating in a quiz show and running our own hostess bar.

God knows, we wouldn't want our poor Western brains to hurt themselves trying to comprehend that a game that takes place in Japan is going to have things in it that are unique to Japan.

[Bootaaay]

Also the Mahjong and Shogi parlours have been removed, presumably because SEGA felt western gamers weren't at all familiar with those games. Personally i'm glad I imported the Japanese version, having to refer to a walkthrough for every mission and cutscene isn't my ideal way of playing a game but at least I got to experience all the content as the developers intended.

[dedalusdedalus]

That's just condescending of SEGA to think that our Western minds would be blown by seeing things that are unique to Japanese culture. Wow. Did Bernie Stolar get his job back at Sega, or something?

[the7k]

Also the Mahjong and Shogi parlours have been removed, presumably because SEGA felt western gamers weren't at all familiar with those games. Personally i'm glad I imported the Japanese version, having to refer to a walkthrough for every mission and cutscene isn't my ideal way of playing a game but at least I got to experience all the content as the developers intended.

Where'd you hear that? Not that I don't believe you, I'd just like to have a source to point others to.

This whole thing has me considering canceling my pre-order. Sure, none of this stuff is a major part of the game, but they all serve a purpose - they give the game a soul. It's all the little things that come together and make what is ultimately just lines of code feel like a believable, cohesive universe.

[Bootaaay]

Where'd you hear that? Not that I don't believe you, I'd just like to have a source to point others to.

I believe I read it in the Yakuza 3 thread on neogaf - apparantly the trophies relating to winning at Shogi & Mahjong aren't in the US versions' trophy list, suggesting the mini games themselves didn't make the cut.

[Inazuma]

The name change alone is bullshit. They could at least call it "Like a Dragon" instead of changing the name to Yakuza. It reminds me of Ninja Ryuukenden when they changed it to Ninja Gaiden for the USA. That doesn't even make sense! You don't call the main series in a game "Gaiden" (side story).

Anyway, from a business perspective, I will sadly have to agree with SOA here. The game will likely sell more copies and receive higher ratings if the foreign elements are removed. Remember, it's more important to make money than to release a quality product. Business 101 = Money > Everything else.

[Anubis]

The name change alone is bullshit. They could at least call it "Like a Dragon" instead of changing the name to Yakuza. It reminds me of Ninja Ryuukenden when they changed it to Ninja Gaiden for the USA. That doesn't even make sense! You don't call the main series in a game "Gaiden" (side story).

I personally don't mind the name change to Yakuza. Like A Dragon doesn't flow very well, and doesn't give much of an idea of what the game is about. Yakuza gave me exactly what I expected, a crime story. I feel like Like A Dragoon would be more detrimental to it's already low sales.

While I don't agree with it, I understand why they are probably removing the games. I doubt that the games have a tutorial, and Sega would have to implement one for anyone to understand how to play them. That would require more work then just removing them.

[the7k]

It's not even that they are removing the game that has me pissed. And man, the more I think about it, the more I'm pissed.

It's all about that one line they use to justify why they took it out.

"[It] wouldn't resonate as much."

I'm sorry, did I step into a time rift? Did we go back to a time when all anime had its origins obscured? A time when all manga-styled box art from games like Alisia Dragoon was replaced with an imitation Red Sonya? It seriously feels like we've stepped back to a time when Japanese elements were thought to be unmarketable because the Westerners just wouldn't understand it.

[Dakinggamer87]

I was disappointed but I'm glad Yakuza 3 is still coming to US and will enjoy it nonetheless. I hope it does well so we can see Yakuza 4 in US.

[Niode]

I'm just glad it's coming. I couldn't care less about the lack of hostess bar mini game. As long as the Karaoke is still in the game I don't mind. Karaoke is the shit in this game. I had so much fun in the demo.