The best since Zero. This introduced some very enjoyable twists to the Yakuza formula that defined the Yakuza series for the next several entries. This feels like the pinnacle of the old style of Yakuza games.

I took a pretty big break between playing 3 and 4. I was very distracted with other series. Also, while I did very much enjoy Yakuza 3, it had some pretty serious pacing issues sometimes that may have slightly dampened my enthusiasm to start another Yakuza game right away.

Once I started playing, though, all my hesitation was blasted away. This game maintains excellent pacing throughout and kicks off in a super interesting way. It also felt really good to be back after so much time away. I love this silly, over-dramatic series so much.

The Review#↑

Audio & Visuals#↑

This is not a “new” looking game, by any means, but I found myself impressed with it more often than not. It looks great for a 2010 game, especially one made in a year. The remaster helped, certainly—but outside of a few cases where character designs were completely reimagined, it feels like it mostly sharpened everything up a bit and added some contrast. The overall art, cinematography, animations, facial expressions, and all the other “core” stuff was the same before the remaster.

The music is up to par with what I expect from the series at this point. There weren’t many specific songs I could pick out from the soundtrack that specifically jumped out at me as things I needed to share. I did really love a few though: battle themes. For example, Massive Fire, All My Pride, and Receive and Bite You stood out. I was never disappointed with the music. It always set a good tone for whatever was happening on screen. Good stuff.

What I really appreciated on the audio side for this game was that it felt like there was more voice acting than ever. Yakuza is a series that frequently switches between storytelling styles. You’ve got simple text cutscenes where the characters face each other and occasionally nod or do a canned animation. You’ve got the slightly more high budget voiced scenes. And then you’ve got the full quality, cinematic cutscenes. I don’t think any of these games had the frequency and quality of that last, best kind since Zero. A large portion of the time, it felt like I was watching a good crime drama with a game attached. Huge fan.

Story#↑

This was a massive improvement over the other games. I can see how a lot of the storytelling direction and quality this game took on would later become the backbone of Zero. Zero improved the formula even further, but it’s cool to see how it started here.

This game had several pacing advantages.

First, it was broken up into 4 protagonists’ stories that all intertwined. This was the most impactful part of Zero, and it’s cool to see it get its start here. Each character’s section had its own rise and fall, its own arc. It never felt like any of the stories were padding for time or stalling out, because they were all relatively short and self-contained.

Second, the ways each arc revealed things about the greater plot was very satisfying. It would drop just enough information to give you more questions than answers, and leave you reeling wondering what the implications are. Then it would drop you in an entirely different story another character was going through, making you wait in anticipation for that next hit of intrigue.

Third, the overall energy and tone of each arc followed the arc of the overall plot. The first arc is way more chill than the last arc, even if both have their high energy and low energy moments. While each arc “resets” to a low intensity state at the start, each of those resets starts at a more interesting point than the last. It’s just solid writing fundamentals, which sounds basic, but a lot of games from the time felt like they didn’t have even this.

The story is very good. I really enjoyed the characters, their individual arcs, and how it all comes together. This game also tied together a lot of story elements from the previous games in a satisfying way, improving my opinion of the Yakuza series storyline as a whole.

The story also sprinkles in some great fanservice moments without feeling like that’s the only thing it has to offer. For example, you sometimes get the opportunity to fight one of the other protagonists in a boss fight, before eventually teaming up against them. You get to see tons of iconic characters from the previous games in a new light. I also giggled with glee at the presentation of the ending with the 4 protagonists jumping out of a helicopter in matching black suits, each squaring up against the antagonist most poetic for them to face, and then starting a verbal duel with each before the fights begin . I can only call it (ironically) unironically peak fiction.

However, there were some flaws here and there. All tutorials in the game are explained in character. For the older Yakuza games, that is fine (maybe even good). The problem with that in this game is that the characters share a load of mechanics, and they all have different fictional justifications for doing so. So each one must go through a separate tutorial for mechanics the player is already familiar with. These are presented sorta like forced sidequests that interrupt the story and flatlining the pacing.

Gameplay#↑

Extremely solid. Would be my favorite so far if it weren’t for Zero. At the time this released, it was peak Yakuza gameplay.

Each of the 4 protagonists has a very different moveset. One is very technical and is strongest when taking initiative and chaining enemies in long, stagger-locked combos. Another is heavy and slow, knocking everyone else around with charged strikes while never falling over yourself. Another is agile and focused on strong defensive options like parries, counters, and grabs. And finally you’ve got the classic: Kiryu’s all-rounder brawler style. On top of the different base movesets, each has their own set of heat moves, upgrade paths, dodges, and so on. Each arc almost felt like playing a whole different game.

Each boss was tailored around being fun to fight as the matching playstyle, too. Sometimes that meant a great matchup in your favor, with the boss’s weaknesses aligning directly with your strengths. These happened often at the start of arcs. Later on, you’d face fights in which the strengths of the boss would challenge you to use each character’s toolkit in new ways. This progression made every boss satisfying.

I mentioned earlier that you face other protagonists as boss fights occasionally, and that’s really cool. What’s super cool about it from a gameplay perspective, is that you already know the boss’s moveset. You were playing as that boss for hours before, mastering each move as you unlocked it, and that was only a few hours ago now. These fights were my favorite. Not only were they often charged with a lot of emotion and/or served as fun fanservice content, they were uniquely interesting challenges that made me feel like I had truly mastered the combat system. There’s no feeling like stopping a combo at three hits and then dodging, because you know the other guy is about to super-armor through it, because that’s what you would do. It feels like mind-games in a fighting game. It’s also super thematic for the series, as Yakuza is full of moments where sworn brothers must fight, enemies bond and learn about each other over crossed blows, and so on. That’s what these moments are, and this gameplay made me feel that more than just knowing it from the story.

Additionally, the gameplay feels overall more polished than the earlier games. Movement is less stiff and has a bit more weight to it, but still feels precise and controllable. The balance between regular attacks and heat actions is pretty much perfect. Navigating the world is smoother and easier than ever before.

This game also added some interesting new areas to familiar old maps. Kamurocho is the staple city of the series, but Yakuza 4 expanded on it. Now you can take rooftop routes through the city, either as shortcuts or as ways to avoid some heat. You can go into an underground mall and sprawling underground parking lot. These extra layers change navigation through the world in a really clever way. The map is never expanded horizontally, you’re still navigating the same exact streets as always. There’s just added verticality and more options to traverse than ever. Knowing all these shortcuts makes me feel like I know these streets better than ever. They’re also used in the story very frequently, which helped me learn them and rely on them.

My one complaint for the gameplay is that random battles were extremely frequent. It felt like I couldn’t walk 30 feet without getting in a fight. I don’t mind some random encounters to keep the action going and ensure I’m never going too long only walking from story beat to story beat, but this was excessive.

Final Thoughts#↑

Rating: 8/10
Playtime: 17 hours

I really, really enjoyed this one. I’m impressed with how much they improved everything in only a year. The visuals are significantly cleaner and more cinematic. The writing is loads better. The gameplay is way more streamlined and fun, with loads more variety. This feels like the game where the series really takes off and sets its course for the future. Easily one of the best in the series so far!