I loved playing as the four different characters. It was jarring at first having played three games pretty much just as Kiryu, but the fast pace of the story draws you in so you quickly adjust.

The fact that the game is effectively split into four parts with a different character for each section doesn't give you enough time to spend with each of them and as a result, I wasn't as invested in the side quests this time around (although I wasn't with Yakuza 3 either so maybe that's the nature of these remastered games). The different fighting styles and ways of navigating the city for each character stop things from getting stagnant too.

Sometimes the plot of a Yakuza game can feel like a slog in places (hence why side quests are often a great breather) but for better or worse, the story of Yakuza 4 rockets along and never feels like it has a lull or low point.

If it could have struck the balance of main story and giving you a reason to "live" in the world a bit more this would possibly be 5 stars.