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Most people who are familiar with my RPG habits know that I seldom touch action-RPGs. It's not that I generally dislike them – far from it, it stems from a problem of coordination. Often I find when there's too many enemies on screen, I get flustered and then... poof! I'm dead. I've had an interest in games like Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, and Demon's Souls, but I've often worried that I lack the necessary skills and focus that these games demand. There's a certain video game quote that I suppose should be applied here to my personal gaming woes: "Weneverknowunlesswetry!"
As much as it irks me to quote a certain main character from a certain Suikoden game, he oddly makes a point. Unless you try something, and put in the effort to say you tried, only then can you truly say you like or dislike something. I'd be lying if I said I've put in plenty of time with the aforementioned games, but I haven't due to my lack patience.
Enter the first game I purchased on my new PlayStation 3 - Yakuza 3. I'm not entirely sure why I picked up or entirely what I was expecting from a Yakuza game. I'm aware it's an action-RPG, and I fully was expecting a heavily action-based combat system. What I wasn't expecting is how much fun the combat is. Yes, it's done as a brawler, al a River City Ransom, but it works. You can pick up objects and beat the snot out of other gang members, street punks and yakuza. What makes the combat fun is that the objects in each encounter will always be different, meaning Kazuma can charge a few different power moves with a weapon in hand. For example, by picking up a park bench while in heat mode, if Kazuma triggers his power move, he'll throw the bench at the enemy, then jump on top of it and smash the bench while the enemy writhes in pain. The game offers so many techniques to learn as you level up, and the game invites you explore its world, even if you are completely unfamiliar with Japan and Japanese culture.
Although I'm downright terrible at action-oriented combat systems, Yakuza 3 has been nothing but a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting to get swept away into the story, or get completely absorbed into the side-quests. I wasn't anticipating that the combat would be fun or deep. There is simply so much greatness that I feel disappointed with myself for not going out of my element more often. For me, Yakuza 3 might be that first step into breaking me away from the traditional RPGs I love, and maybe allow me to scratch the surface on something brand new. While it's a complete shame how Sega treated this particular title, in a way I'm grateful for the fact that it even made it to North America at all.
Have you ever played a game that was so different from what you regularly play, that it was simply a pleasant surprise? Yeah, I wish I had more experiences like this.
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