Yakuza 4 (2010)

Here's the thing... You don't actually get much interactive playtime with Kiryu at all. Once you hit Part 4 (the Kiryu part), the game goes almost entirely into cruise control with cutscenes & exposition.

Loan Shark Guy, Cop Guy, and Saejima are fine. But the way they "weave" their stories together at the end just feels overly-contrived -- even for a Yakuza game.

And because they have you bouncing between these characters in a defined sequence (with no shared progress), you're extremely disincentivized from doing any of the side content. Sure, they finally give you a chance to switch characters at will right at the very, very end of the game so you can mop up the side missions. But at that point, I just wanted to beat the game.

What I'm saying is... I just wish I got to spend more time with my boy Kiryu.

I will admit that the Remastered version of this game looks & plays significantly more "modern"-like than Yakuza 3 Remastered (which was particularly jarring after Kiwami 2). Yakuza 5 makes a similarly significant leap (at least based on my first hour into it).

Finally got to play the 4th Yakuza game. After watching the series finally trying something new in the 3rd one, I'm glad to see that they kept trying with this one, even if they keep making the same mistakes. Nonetheless, probably the best Yakuza game I've played since 0.

For starters, I just want to say that out of all Yakuza games I've experienced, this one carries the best soundtrack. 0 and 3 had good ones, but this one just knocks it out of the park. Enjoyable and memorable from beginning to end.

In fact, "enjoyable and memorable from beginning to end" is a quality that this game carries throughout its lengthy campaign. It felt weird playing with characters that I've never seen before, but I got to know them, understand their motives, and get attached, very fast. Another breath of fresh air, just like Okinawa.

Those 3 new characters, along with Kyriu, make up for an amazing cast of protagonists. Especially since they all have their specific part to play in the overarching plot, while having unique types of substories and fighting styles. All of them very fun. Taiga was definitely my least favorite and Akiyama was incredible.

Dialogues were nice, plot was a bit confusing but very entertaining, the twists were surprising and fights were fun, as usual. I won't even say anything about the substories this time. Just know that they're VERY cool! Some are quite thrilling.

But despite Yakuza 4 becoming my 2nd favorite in the series so far, it is, once again, hard to not ignore its flaws. I love Kamurocho, I truly do, this place makes me want to visit Japan, but... I'm just tired of it. One of the things that I absolutely loved in Yakuza 3 was Okinawa, but this time, despite the 4 different characters novelty, it feels like more of the same, again and again.

And while substories are fun enough, eventually, you just want to get a long with the story, 'cause it's always the best part about these games. Kamurocho needs to go, despite how lovely it is. I even got tired of its restaurants and mini-games. Completely ignored them.

And well, the combat is bullshit again. I could literally copy and paste what I wrote last time about combat, difficulty and bosses, because the problem just remains. The final boss, for example, is completely insufferable, so I'm not going to waste time explaining why they should've overhauled this completely.

There's also this repetitive deus-ex machina trope in Yakuza, ever since the 2nd one, that's just REALLY annoying. I get it, the story is well-written and they pack it with PLENTY of twists, but do they STILL need to repeat the same resolution to conflicts? I wrote about the exact same thing back in the previous entry.

The thing is...

Yakuza 4 tries to innovate but constantly trips on its own. But damn! It's just so good. The story and character development just glued me to the screen. Made me excited for Y5, for real, and made me fall in love with each of the new protagonists. I just hope they get their shit together over the next few games.

Yakuza 4 Remastered is a fresh start from its predecessor. The game looks considerably better. There are rain effects where light reflects on the wet pavement. Characters are more detailed and move in a more believable manner. And most importantly the game does not feature Kazuma Kiryu as the lead protagonist. However, not everything has changed. The combat and moment to moment action are left unscathed from Yakuza 3.

The lead role falls to Shun Akiyama, a loan shark who seemingly lends to everyone, even to the Yakuza. The plot begins when a mysterious woman shows up to his office asking for a 100 million yen loan, with no interest and no contingencies. Her request becomes even more unbelievable when she demands the money in full in less than a week. Akiyama, while taken aback by the woman’s request, helps her because she reminds him of his ex-wife.

Initially, the game presents Akiyama as the only playable character, until it completely hoodwinks the player by ending the Act with a completely different character. Yakuza 4 actually features four protagonists that are played sequentially through each Act. In addition to Akiyama, you play as Saijama, the sworn brother of Majima (Yakuza 0 fans will immediately recognize him), Tanimura, a well meaning but dirty cop who is bilingual in Chinese and Japanese, and everyone’s favorite Kiryu, who is still running the orphanage, Morning Glory in Okinawa. The fate of these four unrelated characters eventually cross paths in an exciting Reservoir Dogs-like finale.

Unfortunately the four Act structure disincentives players from completing side quests. Money, equipment, experience and combat skills DO NOT transfer from one character to another. So if you spent hours training Akiyama in the beginning, it is all for naught as the next three quarters of the game are with the other characters. The only time you can swap between characters is in the final act. The final act only consists of boss fights so there is no reason to really swap characters at this point unless you want to complete the remaining side content.

Prior Yakuza games have always featured high drama, intense standoffs and numerous cutscenes, but Yakuza 4 takes it to another level. With the exception of Yakuza 0 (which was released after Yakuza 5), cutscenes are noticeably lengthier with more camera shots, motion capture and dialog. There are several half hour long stretches where it’s just watching the game unfold as if it were an episode of a Japanese crime drama.

Not all Acts are treated with an equally gripping narrative. Saijama’s Act is the highlight of the four and is a great character building exercise. He is a death row inmate infamous for an act he did 25 years ago. While other Yakuza regard him as a legend, he himself feels tremendous remorse for his actions. Kiryu’s Act is the weakest. Important characters and events just happen to stumble across the hero and Kiryu just punches and kicks his way to find all the solutions.

In the end Yakuza 4 is a mild improvement over its predecessor but is severely hampered by the four Act character structure. The introduction of new characters, Akiyama, Saijama and Tanimura help flesh out the world of Yakuza and is a nice perspective change in what used to be a series that revolved around Kiryu. Fans who have played the original Yakuza game will be rewarded as the narrative is heavily based on its events. Unfortunately part of the fun of playing the Yakuza games are the goofy optional side quests, but due to the game’s structure, the rewards for completing them are nearly pointless. Yakuza 4 is one of the few games in the series where I recommend playing it on Easy and mainlining the plot.

My Yakuza Ranking:

1. Yakuza 0
2. Yakuza Kiwami 2
3. Yakuza 4 Remastered
4. Yakuza Kiwami
5. Yakuza 3 Remastered

The Yakuza series has been known for its expertly crafted storytelling. With the fourth instalment presenting you with four different characters, each one with their stories intertwining as well as tying back to the first three games, Yakuza 4 starts off with a lot of promise.

The game is enjoyable and you will have you favourite characters. Side quests quite noticeably don't have as much love or weirdness as the first three games.

Overall an average package with few moments that make you go wow.

I liked the family stuff in 3 but otherwise, the story was lacking in a number of ways which make this one shine that much brighter!

I always enjoy the sub-stories and the weird little bits of narrative but this one has a really strong main story as well. The way the four seemingly disparate acts (and characters) come together to a conclusive and satisfying finale is really something!

Gameplay, this is just more of the same. Kamurocho added a parking lot but otherwise, it is the same. The interesting wrinkle is the 4 different characters and their different fighting styles.

I did not really notice it until the finale but I really had to think differently with each one. It was kind of like a fighting game in that way. They really made them unique.

I did every sub-story this game got my lowest completion percentage so far in my chronological run of the series. I did not even bother trying karaoke, bowling, batting cages, colosseum, idol maker, hostess bar, etc... because they are probably the same as always and I am now 5 games deep.

Still, I put 40 hours into this one and had a great time! I am very interested to see what happens in 5 based on that epilogue!

After being a little disappointed by Yakuza 3, I went into its sequel with lowered expectations. By the end of the first chapter, those expectations were exceeded. By the halfway point, I was legitimately impressed. By the end, this became my new second favorite entry of the series.

Yakuza 4 is divided into (appropriately enough) four main acts, each played as a different character, followed by a short finale. Every protagonist has their own unique backstory, motivations and personality, which extend to gameplay elements like combat styles, substories and optional activities. If you played Yakuza 0 and enjoyed switching between Kiryu and Majima, this feels like a more linear (but still very fun) forebear.

This structure benefits the story tremendously. Gone are Yakuza 3's laughably dry exposition dumps, sidelining of supposedly key characters and constant moving of the goal posts. Instead, you experience four different perspectives of the same story. Seemingly unrelated events eventually intertwine in very fun ways, with several twists that threw me for a loop. After spending so much time with each character, seeing all their stories come together near the end gave me literal goosebumps.

Some fans bemoan this entry's lack of a second open area (like Okinawa in Yakuza 3). I much prefer a more solid implementation of Kamurocho (they fixed the weird zombie crowds!) with occasional thrilling set pieces. It all feels more thoughtfully constructed and focused to me, especially the substories (which previously felt like window dressing for mini-games rather than distinct content).

I've heard that Yakuza 5 continues and expands on the multiple character structure, and I can understand why. As iconic a protagonist as Kazuma Kiryu is, the true stars of Yakuza will always be its setting and tone (a unique mix of melodrama, heroic bloodshed and camp). The more perspectives you can experience that from, the better!