Yakuza nostalgia

Over at Boing Boing one of the best PS3 reviews in history. A journalist who has covered the Japanese crime scene for 13 years gathers some Yakuza to review the new Yakuza 3 game. The game has as its hero a former yakuza driven back to mega violence when the orphange he now runs is threatened by the normal list of baddies.

Here is one splendid part of the review. M, S and K are the three Yakuza reviewers,

M: The corporate yakuza guys get a thumbs up for realism. Nice suit. Smart. Financially savvy. Obsessed with money. Sneaky and conniving. Ruthless.

S: There are a lot of guys whom I feel like I know. The dialogue is right too. They sound like yakuza.

K: Braggarts, bullies, and sweet-talkers. I agree — it feels like I know the guys on the screen.

M: Kiryu is the way yakuza used to be. We kept the streets clean. People liked us. We didn't bother ordinary citizens. We respected our bosses. Now, guys like that only exist in video games.

S: I don't know any ex-yakuza running orphanages.

K: There was one a few years ago. A good guy.

M: You sure it wasn't just a tax shelter?

K: Sure it was a tax shelter but he ran it like a legitimate thing. You know.

Read the whole thing