PS2 – EMPTY SKYBOX

The Journey’s End | Persona 3

Note: For this article, it’s assumed that you’ve played Persona 3, or at least have a cursory knowledge of the game’s plot, characters, and combat system. If not, you may find yourself a bit lost.

Memento Mori. Remember that you will die. Remember your death.

Riding the train on the way to a new city and new life, we suddenly experience a moment in time where everything twists. The city is bathed in reds and greens, and everyone around us now resides in a literal coffin. To everyone else, this moment in time doesn’t exist. To us, and a select few others, it has a name: The Dark Hour.

This, and the enormous, seemingly endless, tower that dominates the landscape during this time, make up the bulk of Persona 3’s narrative, themes, and play hours. I can’t honestly say that Persona 3 is better than any of the other games in the franchise, but I feel that some aspects of it are worth taking a closer look at.

Continue reading The Journey’s End | Persona 3

Yakuza Movie Review

Part 1 can be read here.

The Yakuza games have mostly been known for their long “cinematic” cutscenes filled with loads of exposition interspersed with furious fights. This isn’t to say the gameplay is terrible (it’s decent), but it stands apart from the quality of the non-interactive pieces. Most of this is due to the great direction, but what really keep the games interesting is the long list of completely ridiculous characters and expertly timed cinematic moments, both funny and serious. While there were some problems with the first game’s plot, I still came away with a positive experience because of that. People like Majima Goro are just that unforgettable.

Two years after the release of the game it’s based of off, Takashi Miike (mostly known in America for his grossly disturbing and yet darkly humorous films) took at stab at directing a film based on the first game. It would be titled Yakuza.

Continue reading Yakuza Movie Review

Yakuza 1 Review

It’s more rare than it should be for a series that’s not an RPG to make it all the way from Japan to North America, and in that sense I’m really glad that at least most of the Yakuza games crossed over. It means that more of us will get to experience the fascinatingly heavy roots in its native culture instead of merely hearing about it in easily forgotten forum threads.

I may have taken a few too many years to get around to beginning the series myself but I’m glad that I finally did. It has a number of critical gameplay flaws that try to bring it down, but the world it brings the player into more than makes up for it.

The story of Yakuza 1 hits the ground running as protagonist Kazuma’s friend and fellow Yakuza member Nishiki shoots their boss Sohei Dojima to stop the sexual assault of their friend and mutual love interest Yumi. With the police only moments away Kazuma takes the blame to protect Nishiki, going to prison for a long 10 years to pay for it.

It’s around Christmas in 2005 once Kazuma is released, and not even a single night can pass before things get complicated.

Continue reading Yakuza 1 Review