Yakuza 4 times the characters, 4 times the fun!
As I make my way through the Yakuza franchise with blistering speed (playing other games in between each entry to prevent burnout) I've come to the conclusion that the boss combat will always be poor, and Yakuza 4 is absolutely no exception to that rule. The final boss "rush" ended with two of the most head-rubbing monotony I've had in recent memory come video games, but does that tarnish the entire journey of the 22 some hours this game took? Absolutely not.
The fourth entry to this series does something completely new by multiplying the amount of playable protagonists by four. Instead of just playing as the Dragon of Dojima (going by release order, because 0 has a split protag campaign,) you are four very different characters. The first character is Akiyama, a philanthropic goofball with more money than he knows what to do with and a kicking based combat style. I found his part was a great introduction to the game as it was your first real outsider point of view into the Yakuza lifestyle. He's not Yakuza, he's not a cop, he's really just a guy who made it big following the events of Yakuza 1. As per usual I don't speak on story events but he plays a great role as a mediator and ally to several of the integral characters in this story.
Secondly you play as Taiga Saejima, Goro Majima's aniki and convicted felon who doomed the Mad Dog of Shimano's fate previous to the events of Yakuza 0. His story is also unique to Yakuza and really this style of game as you begin as a man whose life has been decided. Unlike Kiryu, who previously had served a ten year prison sentence, Saejima begins the game on Death Row with only a grim outlook on life. His story is emotional, asking players to take a chance on a condemned man and attempt to make a hero out of a man that is convicted for mass murder. Does this pay off? Absolutely if you follow his story, though he is stern and offputting, Saejima is a phenomenal character and I can't wait to see where he goes. Though his combat style was extremely basic and brute based, which makes sense given his story, I actually liked it in the end as it made me feel powerful.
Then you have Masayoshi Tanimura, whom others that I've read seem to have a little bit of an issue with as his campaign runtime is shorter and his story can be a bit of a plot tie-in for plot tie-ins sake. Tanimura's campaign is where the gears start to roll, and I found him a great liason for the common man as a police officer, something that you don't get in Yakuza up to this point as a playable offering. I wasn't a fan of the way Tanimura fights though, as he's the only character with a built in parry system but after playing the nth many character action games that I have, it just didn't feel great. Most of the time when you parry (which wasn't reliable because of Yakuza's questionable combo locking and hit timing) you put the enemy at a distance in which you can't close before they are able to muster up another attack.
Lastly is Kiryu's campaign, and oh boy was that fun. Going from all of these new fighters who are relatively low on the social ladder to the Dragon was awesome. Kiryu just feels strong, and you are able to bully most boss fights and enemies into submission, I loved that.
The music for this game was absolutely phenomenal, with some awesome wonky jazz pieces during the chase scenes. I felt enamored by Kamurocho once more, often sitting atop the apartment buildings and shops just staring at the neon signs and plethora of city lights. When a game drags me in like that, that's a really good sign. Also I nearly lost my marbles when I heard "Live and Learn" from the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack playing at the Mahjong parlor.
In all, Yakuza 4 was a great refresher in the Yakuza series and definitely the most fun I've had since 0 from a gameplay standpoint. Though I think the story doesn't quite match 0's or Kiwami 2's, I still found it to be very strong overall as it incorporated a great cast of new and old friends and foes to the fullest extent. I think the ending sequence was a little drawn on, and not necessarily the series' best, but it was still very good overall. If you were a little disheartened by Yakuza 3's gameplay and story like I was, Yakuza 4 will hopefully be that breath of fresh air.
As I make my way through the Yakuza franchise with blistering speed (playing other games in between each entry to prevent burnout) I've come to the conclusion that the boss combat will always be poor, and Yakuza 4 is absolutely no exception to that rule. The final boss "rush" ended with two of the most head-rubbing monotony I've had in recent memory come video games, but does that tarnish the entire journey of the 22 some hours this game took? Absolutely not.
The fourth entry to this series does something completely new by multiplying the amount of playable protagonists by four. Instead of just playing as the Dragon of Dojima (going by release order, because 0 has a split protag campaign,) you are four very different characters. The first character is Akiyama, a philanthropic goofball with more money than he knows what to do with and a kicking based combat style. I found his part was a great introduction to the game as it was your first real outsider point of view into the Yakuza lifestyle. He's not Yakuza, he's not a cop, he's really just a guy who made it big following the events of Yakuza 1. As per usual I don't speak on story events but he plays a great role as a mediator and ally to several of the integral characters in this story.
Secondly you play as Taiga Saejima, Goro Majima's aniki and convicted felon who doomed the Mad Dog of Shimano's fate previous to the events of Yakuza 0. His story is also unique to Yakuza and really this style of game as you begin as a man whose life has been decided. Unlike Kiryu, who previously had served a ten year prison sentence, Saejima begins the game on Death Row with only a grim outlook on life. His story is emotional, asking players to take a chance on a condemned man and attempt to make a hero out of a man that is convicted for mass murder. Does this pay off? Absolutely if you follow his story, though he is stern and offputting, Saejima is a phenomenal character and I can't wait to see where he goes. Though his combat style was extremely basic and brute based, which makes sense given his story, I actually liked it in the end as it made me feel powerful.
Then you have Masayoshi Tanimura, whom others that I've read seem to have a little bit of an issue with as his campaign runtime is shorter and his story can be a bit of a plot tie-in for plot tie-ins sake. Tanimura's campaign is where the gears start to roll, and I found him a great liason for the common man as a police officer, something that you don't get in Yakuza up to this point as a playable offering. I wasn't a fan of the way Tanimura fights though, as he's the only character with a built in parry system but after playing the nth many character action games that I have, it just didn't feel great. Most of the time when you parry (which wasn't reliable because of Yakuza's questionable combo locking and hit timing) you put the enemy at a distance in which you can't close before they are able to muster up another attack.
Lastly is Kiryu's campaign, and oh boy was that fun. Going from all of these new fighters who are relatively low on the social ladder to the Dragon was awesome. Kiryu just feels strong, and you are able to bully most boss fights and enemies into submission, I loved that.
The music for this game was absolutely phenomenal, with some awesome wonky jazz pieces during the chase scenes. I felt enamored by Kamurocho once more, often sitting atop the apartment buildings and shops just staring at the neon signs and plethora of city lights. When a game drags me in like that, that's a really good sign. Also I nearly lost my marbles when I heard "Live and Learn" from the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack playing at the Mahjong parlor.
In all, Yakuza 4 was a great refresher in the Yakuza series and definitely the most fun I've had since 0 from a gameplay standpoint. Though I think the story doesn't quite match 0's or Kiwami 2's, I still found it to be very strong overall as it incorporated a great cast of new and old friends and foes to the fullest extent. I think the ending sequence was a little drawn on, and not necessarily the series' best, but it was still very good overall. If you were a little disheartened by Yakuza 3's gameplay and story like I was, Yakuza 4 will hopefully be that breath of fresh air.
2 Comments
Haha I read your review per usual before writing mine and did a long "Oh nooooooo." I do echo your feelings with that final boss fight though... and man that other grapple fight was ROUGH
Nancyfly
1 year ago