Yakuza 4 Review

I have always loved sandbox games that are well produced and the Yakuza series has always been one of those. With all the changes that have happened over the life of the game, will this 4th iteration be worth the money, or will it be worthless?

If you are not up to speed with the series don't worry as there is a section for all newcomers in order to bring you up to date with all the events and happenings that have transpired throughout the previous games. These are, unfortunately, lengthy cut-scenes which seems to be a long running trend. However if you can get over this point, you will find the information in these cut-scenes to be useful as they give you the background information on the game and the storyline that has been running through the series.

There is a lot of detail in the cut scenes within the game. In fact in some of the scenes, there is so much text dialog or video to watch it’ll make you want skip to playing the game. In order to fully appreciate the game’s storyline, you will have to unfortunately read most of the cut scene text, as it is all voiced in Japanese. While this adds to the drama, it is a lot of work to try and sit through, as it seems that every five minutes there is a cut scene or a wall of dialogue for you to read from. However, I am really glad they didn't do an awful English dub.

Unlike the previous instalments where you played as the same main character, Yakuza 4 introduces three more characters, that are new to the game, to play. It is really interesting to see how the story develops from the perspectives of these characters and how the characters are completely different. It is an interesting idea to allow you to play four characters rather than just one throughout the game.


When you do finally get some game time you will be mostly left to your own devices allowing you to explore the city as you please. Along the way you will be jumped by anyone who seems to have a bad day and wants to take it out on you. These brawls are the main way of leveling up your character. You unlock experience as you fight these battles or complete objectives.

During these battles you will begin to fill a special meter that will allow you to perform finishing moves or special attacks on your opponent once the meter has been filled. You can unlock new moves that will allow you to use your special meter with your opponent in different situations. When you execute these special moves the camera will pan and tilt the view to get the best look at the move you have just executed. Some of these special attacks will also have quick time events that will allow you to continue damaging and inflict more pain.

Everything in these brawls is over the top and they don't take themselves seriously at all. These brawls really won’t test you once you get some of the standard upgrades that you will unlock when you gain a new level. However, you will find that some of the boss battles are a lot more difficult. These enemies will be able to block attacks and will even do combos against you. In the game, the combat seems to go from extremely easy to quite difficult, but don't worry if you are struggling as the game will temporarily lower the difficulty so you can keep moving forward.

There is also a weapon maker which you will find on the map and will ask you to collect certain objects to unlock special weapons you can use in the fights. However considering the time it takes for you to find all the objects, it really doesn't give you the rewards that it should do. Most of the weapons still have the durability rate of normal weapons, unfortunately some weapons don't give you the range of attacks that your normal punches and kicks do.

In a break from brawling, you can embark on a chase or evade event. These are pretty much the same however, in one you are chasing someone to try and stop them. You have to tackle them or pick up objects such as bottles and throw them to slow them down. You will soon notice as well that most people will run in circles while you are chasing them, so you can spot a pattern to take the person out quickly. An evade event is where you are running away from the cops or other people that basically want your blood. Within the evade events your character is constantly running and you have to direct them on the correct path using quick steps to get around tight corner or over jumps. If you do slow down and get caught you will find that you will be involved in more quick time events to evade capture and be on the run again.

While these break up the brawling, I really don't like the evading events as you don't really have any control over your character and you can quickly find yourself in a mess if you miss a turn or run into a wall. Thankfully both of these events don't come up that often and don't require too much time to finish.

There is a lot more to do other than just brawling in this game and there is plenty of modes to keep you occupied. From karaoke to arcade games, there are lots of things to do around the bustling city of Kamurocho. With the neon glow of the more seedier areas on the map to the “Club Sega” club, the realistic nature of the city at least looks the part.

I must make a note here that if you do go out and get Yakuza 4, you must try the karaoke at least once. There is nothing more funny than watching the man that you have just seen beat people to death with his bare hands giving a very enthusiastic performance which then gets put into a music video.

Every street seems to have some sub storyline which you can follow and new events that you can play. There are some pretty funny stories here that will keep you going long into the game and will allow you to see some strange characters that inhabit this city.

However the problem with the city itself is the people that populate it. There is an unrealistic way in which you hear whispers of voices as you approach crowds, but you will soon notice that most whispers will continue even though you are nowhere near them. This shows maybe some dated feature within the game.

On the whole the city in which you are in looks great but there are a few features of the game that make this feel dated. From blocked paths to the lack of any waypoint system that can be used to help find paths. The dialog feels like it drags on, and this may put gamers off. Even though the the voice acting is well done, unless you know Japanese, I feel that this will be lost on Western gamers. I also feel with games like GTA 4 doing things which we thought were never possible in a sandbox game, Yakuza feels like it is playing catch up which I hate saying because the game is good - just not as fantastic as it was playing GTA 4 for the first time.