PixlBit

Over the weekend I finally finished Yakuza 4. I say “finally” because I really didn’t expect to put the hours I did into it. At completion, I clocked in at approx. 40 hours which were for the most part very enjoyable with some notable exceptions.

<<MINOR SPOILERS>>

Yakuza 4’s story is divided into five chapters. Each of the games four protagonists gets a chapter to themselves with the final fifth chapter featuring all four together. In order, you play as Shun Akiyama (a good guy loan shark), Taiga Saejima (a repentant convict), Masayoshi Tanimura (a street smart police officer searching for his father’s killer) and Kazuma Kiryu (the hero from the first three Yakuza games). Each character plays differently enough with new fighting skillsets to make the transition between them interesting.

 

A great bunch of lads....

One thing that I felt was a little hit or miss was the stories pacing. At times, I felt as though the story focused too much on the miniscule slowing the major story arcs development to a crawl. Not including side-missions, the games heroes really push their noses into everything. For the most part however, especially towards the latter 30%, the story really delivers.

Outside of the main story, there’s lots to do. Players can gamble, visit strip clubs (why???), visit hostess bars, run a hostess bar, get massages (creepy…), play darts, play pool and play arcade games. Most of these are fun in doses but outside of gambling, I didn’t bother with any for too long. The majority of the games trophies are won via these mini-games so a completionist certainly has their hands full.

 

Four!

Gameplay for the most part is good. Combat is satisfying with each characters move set growing as you progress. It is possible to simply rinse and repeat no matter who the opponent, but this would be doing yourself a disservice. There really is a wide variety of moves at your disposal. Other than combat, there is chase scenes where you have to chase someone down and beat them into submission. For me, this got boring fast.

One thing I’ll finish with is saying that a lot of elements in this game come off as either sexist or childish. Whether it’s dressing up a female employee to gain additional attention at your hostess club or flirting with the hostesses of another club, some parts just feel sleazy. I’m not sure if this is something that is lost in translation but I’m really not comfortable with the belittlement of women. I won’t turn this into an argument about the depiction of women in video games but at times this is a candidate for a bad one. It may be a culture difference but it doesn’t quite sit right in my western stomach.

On that note in closing: Yakuza 4 is a good game containing some great gameplay elements and a satisfying story. Combat is tight and there is certainly lots to do. I put 40 hours into it but this could easily be doubled for a completionist. Overall I like the game but am reluctant to outright recommend it due to its overall depiction of women. Take that as you may.

I’d be very interested to hear from other people who have played Yakuza 4 what they thought.

Later doods!