1. Gameplay

1.1. Adventure

The gameplay shows minimal evolution from the first two episodes except for the new item storage system which allows to access an unlimited amount of items from savepoints.^[1] However the graphical engine's improvement is obvious during the numerous real-time 3D cutscenes.^[2]

1.2. Battle

There are four fighting styles in the game; fists, one blade, two blades and two-handed blades. There are also QTE-based special moves that the player can execute, known as 'heat action'.^[1]

2. Plot

The action moves from Kamurocho to Kyoto's Gion district

Landmarks such as the Kiyomizu Temple and Nijō Castle are modeled in the game

2.1. Setting

This spin-off is set in Kyoto during the Edo period, in 1605. It is an account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi. The main adventure is completed with sidestories including minigames and a hundred "sub-stories".^[3]

2.2. Story

After being defeated by the Tokugawa clan at the historical Battle of Sekigahara which took place on October 20, 1600, Miyamoto Musashi retired from his great swordsman life to become a modest yojimbo (bodyguard) in Gion (祇園), Kyoto. Five years after the battle, a little girl named Haruka comes to Gion seeking a local hitman known as Kazumanosuke Kiryu which is actually Miyamoto's new identity. After eventually finding Kiryū, Haruka asks for him to assassinate an impostor pretending to be Miyamoto Musashi. At first, Kiryu refuses, then when the girl goes as far as becoming an indentured servant in an opulent oiran brothel in order to pay the assassination mission he accepts the one-ryō request.

2.3. Characters

Cyberware Inc.'s facial scan technology was used with main characters and fully exploited on the Event Mode's high polygon models. Here character Gion Toji borrows actor Takashi Tsukamoto's physical appearance

This is the first game in the series where the games's main characters have their face modeled in 3D after their voice actors who are Japanese celebrities.^[4] Cyberware's color 3D scanner (model PS)^[5] was used to analyze each actor's head & face in order to collect data on its shape and appearance, then this file was worked with the Softimage XSI 3D graphics application.

• Takaya Kuroda as Kazumanosuke Kiryu (桐生 一馬之介) / Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵)
• Shota Matsuda as Sasaki Kojirō (佐々木 小次郎)
• Susumu Terajima as Itō Ittōsai (伊東 一刀斎)
• Masaya Kato as Seijuro Yoshioka (吉岡 清十郎)
• Takashi Tsukamoto as Gion Tōji (祗園 藤次)
• Hiroki Matsukata as Mysterious Monk (謎の僧)
• Naoto Takenaka as Marume Nagayoshi (丸目 長恵)
• Aya Hisakawa as Yoshino Tayū (吉野 太夫)
• Rie Kugimiya as Haruka (遥)
• Yinling of Joytoy as Libido Waterfall (滝の煩悩)

3. Releases

3.1. Trial Versions

Two playable demos were released on January 7, 2008 via the Japanese PlayStation Store. The first demo included sandbox play, and the second had a collection of various combat and romantic gameplay segments.^[6]

As part of the pre-ordering campaign, the Japanese first print was bundled with a limited item, a monography called Kamutai Magazine (March 2008 issue). Sony celebrated the Japanese release of the game with a 10,000 pieces limited edition Satin Silver 40GB model "PlayStation 3 Like a Dragon Kenzan! Pack" (龍が如く 見参！パック, ryu ga gotoku kenzan! pakku) SKU including a "Rising Dragon" (昇竜, noburyu) stickers set to customize the console case.^[7]

3.2. Asian and Western Markets

The Japanese version was released on March 6, 2008 in both Japan^[8] and South East Asia,^[9] while Sony published it in South Korea on March 25, 2008 with a subtitled script book.^[10]

In late December 2009, commenting the opportunity of a western release, Sega Australia managing director Darren Macbeth said "there is nothing in the plan at this stage for Yakuza Kenzan. Right now we are focusing on the release of Yakuza 3. The feedback we get from this release will help us in making future decisions".^[11] In March 2010, Yakuza 3 had a western release as did in 2011 Yakuza 4. Then again, in 2012, a second spinoff was also released abroad and localized as Yakuza.

3.3. Soundtrack

The Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! Original Sound Track (HCV-381) album was published by Wave Master in Japan on March 6, 2008.^[12] Music was composed by Hidenori Shoji, Hideki Sakamoto, Hiroyoshi Kato, Keisuke Ito and Yuri Fukuda. This OST is noticeable for an exotic track, a flamenco piece titled Baile con la mariposa (Spanish for "Dance with the Butterfly") which is the theme for the duel between Musashi Miyamoto and Itto Ittosai. The track list has 31 titles (details are available below).

Additional soundtrack includes two songs by Japanese hip hop artists Zeebra and Ketsumeishi ; Zeebra collaborated later with the Yakuza 4 opening theme, Butterfly City.

• opening theme: Bushido by Zeebra. Released in Japan by Pony Canyon (PCCA-02642) as a dual-disc single on March 5, 2008. First disc is a CD including the title track and an instrumental version plus a B-side Lyrical Gunman (Three Gunz Up Remix) featuring Rudebwoy Face and Chappa Ranks. Second disc is a bonus DVD with the music video for Bushido which includes cutscene footages from the game.^[13]
• closing theme: Life is Beautiful (ライフイズビューティフル, raifu izu byutifuru) by Ketsumeishi from their 2007 album Ketsupolis 5 published in Japan by Toy's Factory.

4. Marketing

Marume Nagayoshi versus Miyamoto Musashi (a.k.a. Kazumanosuke Kiryu) in Event Mode.

4.1. Licensed Products

Clothes manufacturer Cropped Heads collaborated with Sega to produce licensed Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! tee-shirts,^[14] and Ace Cook produced Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! cup noodles.^[15]

5. Reception

As of July 9, 2008, the game has sold 270,438 copies in Japan, according to Famitsu.^[16][17] As a best seller in Japan, the game received a budget re-release under the PlayStation 3 the Best bargain collection on December 11, 2008.^[18]

It earned the Award for Excellence at the Japan Game Awards 2008,^[19] and the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu reviewed it 37/40.^[20]