Im broke and in debt. Dont worry about that part it just adds to my hesitation. I wont be out of debt till the end of summer and the boredom will probably kll me first. The last game I bought and played was Sonic Generations which bought joy that was ended to soon. I need to buy a cheap game  with lots of content to keep me busy,  but I also ant something fresh. Im at the Yakuza series.

The only knowledge I have about Yakuza is this thread: http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=109150.

I was treated horribly and ended up facing a ban becuase I disagreed with the yakuzatards in thier. It really left a bitter taste in my mouth towards this game and the community. Xxpecally towards a certain member.

Now Im ready to put that behind me with a pending purchase of Yakuza 3.

Help me decide.

Yakuza is simply the best Japanese RPG I've played yet.

So there, go play it. It's awesome, and the only minus point is it's graphics.

edit : Excluding Demon's Souls of course.

The game has japanese voices, with english subtitles and it is amazing.

Do you like games with unforgettable characters, ridiculous beat 'em up gameplay, and lots and lots of side quests and distractions? Then get it.

Buy it. Yakuza 3 is awesome; it's like a Clint Eastwood movie experience. It starts off slow, slowly developing the main characters, but it pays off since the game does a great job making you care about the characters. I couldn't put the controller down when I got to the final two chapters. The build-up to the finale was fantastic. There's also a lot of nice diversions. The only downside about Y3 is the graphics; they look horrible.

Yakuza 4 has awesome gameplay with lots of funny side-quests & mini-games, but the story isn't that great imo. I'm currently playing Yakuza Dead Souls, and it sucks ass. The framerate is horrible, and all you do is run and shoot. For a zombie game, it lacks tension and atmosphere.

You know what, just buy Bayonetta. You'll love the Jeanne fights.

Bayonetta wouldn't be fresh Ive actually alot of Bayo oyver a friends.. just never owned it. I sas thinking about finally ownin it. I think im goin with Yakuza 3. The hair in Yakuza 3 is wtf bad.

It's open world?!?!?! I'm a little interested too now but I'm a bit xenophobic. Is it relatively westernized like Resident Evil?

Alot of ppl say its a Japanes GTA, or spiritual shenmue

i have no time to talk, i'm working on the pimping trophy!

The game has a lot of jaggies, and the running animations is awful. But I think you'll like the game; it's very Japanese, and the combat is fun. Just remember itstarts off very slow.

And I agree with you; Yakuza is a beat 'em up.

It's kind of open world, but not very big. It has two cities both really well made. And not really western. In fact the game has japanese voices.