3.5/5 ★ – Lord_Hazenberg's review of Yakuza 4 Remastered.

Yakuza 4 is both an improvement and a step down compared to its predecessor. The combat has been improved to where enemies no longer constantly block everything, but the story is the weakest in the series up to this point. This was also the first game to feature multiple playable protagonists, and for the most part it works. Let’s get the weakest part out of the way first by discussing the story. The game is split into 4 parts, one for each character, and then a finale where you fight their respective final bosses. In part 1, we start the game as Shun Akiyama, a wealthy loan shark who lives by his own personal code by way of helping those he feels have proven themselves. Fantastic opening, Akiyama is the best new protagonist and the pacing is great. A drunken argument turned murder kickstarts a tense game of cat of mouse between the Tojo Clan & newcomer Ueno Seiwa Clan. Part 2 sees us play as Majima’s incarcerated sworn brother, Taiga Saejima. A hardened hitman who has spent the last 25 years in prison. We follow his path seeking answers & revenge for his imprisonment. A decent followup to part 1, and Saejima is a good addition. Part 3 is where things take a turn for the worse. We play as good cop who doesn’t play by the rules Masayoshi Tanimura. A bland character with a terrible fighting style. He yearns for answers surrounding his father’s mysterious death while he was working a case on the Ueno Seiwa Clan. Part 4 we’re finally back as Kiryu! Great to play as the Dragon again, but the story just gets more convoluted from here. Betrayals that don’t make sense, over reliance on one specific gimmick, & the world’s most unguarded safe in history gets robbed because we need to up the tension with cash! Then the finale sees characters thrown in because each protagonist needs a final boss. As for gameplay, Tanimura is the only style that really sucks. His whole gimmick is based on parrying except the animation is so long that the enemy recovers before you can take advantage of it. Rendering his arsenal useless, and he gets the hardest boss fights in the game. For the first time since Kiwami, Kamurocho is the sole city you can explore. They did expand the map slightly by adding underground & rooftop areas, but they’re very small & rarely utilized. In conclusion, Yakuza 4 is the most inconsistent entry I’ve played so far. It’s on par with 3 as for my overall enjoyment. That said, I still believe it is a good game and a worthwhile play nonetheless.