Yakuza 4 Remastered (Xbox One)
Prior to Yakuza 4, the Yakuza series has primarily been the story of the morally upstanding but emotionally stoic Kazuma Kiryu, but as the former gangster kept trying to divorce his life from the activities of the Yakuza, it felt like him constantly getting roped back in was straining some believability. Yakuza 4 makes the rather wise decision then of not having it just be Kiryu’s story, having the player progress through four playable protagonists all in one interconnected story that Kiryu could have probably sat out if not for the deeper connections the plot has to the previous three games in the franchise.
Yakuza 4 Remastered starts you off as Shun Akiyama, and of the three new characters introduced to share the spotlight with Kiryu, he might be the most compelling. Akiyama runs Sky Finance where he hands out loans to people not out of a desire for repayment, but to watch and see if people down on their luck can turn their lives around like he did after luck provided him an incredible payday many years ago. Akiyama is aloof but charismatic, not taking much seriously but still willing to help others to a fault, and that predilection ends up with him roped into the broader story as he puts his trust in a member of the Tojo Clan of Yakuza only for that man to kill a member of the rival Ueno Seiwa Clan. While this personal connection to the killer and other players in the plot help Akiyama feel like someone with a stake in the affair despite being outside the Yakuza world, some of Akiyama’s more compelling moments in this action role-playing game come from his sidestories.
Every character in Yakuza 4 Remastered has their own set of distinct substories to engage with when walking around the neon-lit Kamurocho district of Tokyo. Akiyama’s work at Sky Finance puts him in contact with members of the main story, but the substories give the player a chance to see how he normally operates, the way he tests people to see if they’re deserving of his condition-free loans, and how his behavior shifts based on who he’s interacting with. You run into people trying to scam him, people who need more than a nudge from money to get their lives back in order, and some sweet or sobering tales that match the kind of desperate situations you’d expect from people seeking out a loan shark with offers that sound too good to be true. Akiyama’s concept could sustain the game on its own and he has a compelling personality to match, but the other protagonists are certainly distinct and able to approach the same small slice of Tokyo in new and intriguing ways.
Most of what unfolds with the drama between the Ueno Seiwa Clan and Tojo Clan seems to have deeper ties to a set of shocking murders committed 25 years ago when Tojo Clan member Taiga Saejima attacks 20 of Ueno Seiwa’s men in a ramen shop. Since the leader survives though, Saejima is sent to jail and tensions after the killings remain tense, but as old wounds resurface in the present, Saejima seems just about to be executed when he manages to escape from jail. Saejima is a large tough customer who certainly looks deserving of his reputation, and his time in Kamurocho requires him to lay low, often needing to take the underground or weave through the homeless communities in town to avoid detection by the law. Saejima definitely provides an interesting perspective in a series that usually is reticent to allow its protagonists to ever kill even though in a fight they’ll run someone through with a sword. Seeing how that single awful act has weighed so heavily on him and impacted his life so greatly is a nice contrast to the more casual and amicable Akiyama of the game’s first quarter, and Saejima’s need to stay out of sight leads to him also interacting with people in his substories who are also down on their luck or almost about to head down a dark path. While he is perhaps the most reserved and sometimes hard to manage due to his escapee status requiring some sneaking around when playing as him, it doesn’t feel like Yakuza 4 Remastered is dipping in quality when he takes center stage because of his compelling angle.
Our last of the new blood you’ll play as is Masayoshi Tanimura, a Community Safety detective whose father perished when he tried to investigate the Ueno Seiwa murders twenty five years ago. Rather than being an upstanding cop who is slotted in just for the narrative convenience it would allow, it’s clear Tanimura is as troubled as the Yakuza groups he investigates. Prone to following his emotions and gambling even when on the clock, his heart seems to lie more with the people of Little Asia, even abusing his badge to earn better conditions for the illegal immigrants found there. His substories tend to tie to Little Asia or police work, and with him even having a scanner to alert you to small crimes around the city, you can sometimes have him do more typical beat cop activities that can sometimes show he does actually care for protecting the well-being of the common man. Tanimura doesn’t quite sink to the lows that would need deep reflection in the same way Saejima’s do so he does feel a bit like he might have the weaker emotional moments during his personal arc, especially since the game pulls some of its cheaper narrative fake-outs with him to the point it might be a touch confusing when it does so, but he does bring together important pieces for some of the most important and interesting reveals.
Kiryu actually feels like he’s mostly here to wrap things up when he takes the stage for the game’s final quarter, but it seems to be trying to tie a bow on some of his Yakuza involvement while also only bringing him in once the plot can reasonably connect him to it. Rather than the Tojo Clan’s constant savior coming to dirty his fists once again, Kiryu’s dealing with the events of previous games all connecting in a way that would make someone with a close tie to the Tojo Clan feel warranted stepping in, and perhaps appropriately, many of Kiryu’s substories have connections to characters and situations he encountered in the previous Yakuza games. His personal journey here does seem to rest more on what’s been established before rather than him taking a new step or having his resolve tested, but his presence does pay off without shoving him back into his old life just to get another game out of the series.
All four protagonists in Yakuza 4 Remastered fight in different ways, so whether its street punks accosting you as you explore or Yakuza goons looking to kill you to keep you from the narrative’s deeper secrets, it will matter who you’re playing as when it’s fight time. Akiyama is a speedy fighter who uses his legs a lot, his fighting style not too hard to get to grips with since he will be the first hero you play as. Standard attacks and strong attacks can be unleashed in different ways based on how you combo them together, but the much burlier Saejima unsurprisingly focuses much more on his strong hits. In fact, rather than a combo focus, Saejima leans more towards charge attacks, the player able to hold the strong attack button to build up energy before unleashing now empowered attacks, the delay able to throw off enemy guard attempts even. He won’t be able to move around a battle so easily, but he does start getting moves like a charge that can shift into an overhead throw and even a spin attack to overcome his difficulty when surrounded. Tanimura is closer to the standard Akiyama established despite having his own attacks, but his Parry sets him apart as you start slinging enemies around in a fight and set them up for a painful follow-up. Kiryu doesn’t feel like he brings anything too unique to the table before you start getting into his incredible range of unlockable finishing moves and counters, but he also feels like he fits in the middle as someone who can hit fast and hard but has no strong gimmick like the parry or charge attacks.
The basics of battle are applicable across all four but some adjustment is needed when you transition to a new character, so it does feel like you’re at least dipping into a new way to fight when the next character steps up. There is a good amount shared across all four protagonists though, all of them able to grab people, use weapons in a similar manner, build up Heat by hitting enemies and avoiding damage to do flashy and powerful finishers, and grab items around them when fighting so they can do things like swing sofas and bikes around for quick damage. Some fights can definitely feel rough when it feels like Saejima doesn’t get room to charge his attacks or Tanimura’s parry doesn’t work on enemy weapons, but only the prison guard Saito feels like it ever pushes things too far since he’s too competent at dodging, defending, and countering you and he’s often faced when you have few upgrades. Fighting, doing activities like the substories, or even just eating food will build up experience that can be cashed in for unlockable upgrades, each of the four having their own abilities to earn and some do start to patch up their failings or even give them impressive new options like Saejima’s earlier mentioned charging attack.
Between dramatic story beats and battles though, Kamurocho has a lot to offer beyond even it’s already compelling substories. Plenty of minigames like a batting cage, bowling, various types of gambling, and karaoke can be dabbled in and there are some truly absurd situations to be found in the Revelations, each character able to learn moves from strange scenes they witness like a hostage situation being defused by wind blowing up a lady detective’s skirt. While there’s plenty to do and see and even a checklist that encourages you to try out every meal rather than just treating restaurants as places for easy heals, the main plot doesn’t intersect with them too much beyond some situations like optional mahjong play or a moment where you manage a hostess club. There is a type of action that sees a bit more play in the substories though, the player sometimes getting into dedicated chase segments where you need to keep up with and gradually wear down someone you’re trying to catch. Unsurprisingly the cop gets more of these than the others, but while they never get too deep or demanding, much like the minigames it can be a nice break from the typical combat since random encounters in the city and some shorter substories have a habit of throwing you at fights you barely need to think about to win.
THE VERDICT: Yakuza 4 Remastered intelligently splits its story into four effective segments, the four protagonists all having reasonable connections to the central narrative but approaching it in unique ways that help build it up through a new perspective. Their portion of the story not only has them fighting in different ways that set them apart, but their side activities are catered towards their life and attitude, only Kiryu perhaps feeling underserved since he’s mostly here tie to the heavy legacy that the new characters’ current plights are attached to. The complicated narrative becomes more grounded as it winds through the lives of the four leads and the small entertainment district of Kamurocho feels richer thanks to each one approaching it differently.
And so, I give Yakuza 4 Remastered for Xbox One…
A GREAT rating. Yakuza 4 Remastered has a solid fighting system and a good range of optional activities, but if this was just another trip to the familiar Yakuza stomping grounds of Kamurocho, it would certainly feel underwhelming. The four protagonist approach elevates the game beyond its reliable action and minigames though, especially since Kiryu was kept in the back so more time could be spent building up intriguing new characters like Akiyama. Cutting the game into four distinct chunks also ends up benefiting most every part of the experience, substories able to feel more personal since they try to cater to a character’s specific predilections or backstory rather than one character having to balance all the odd or meaningful situations. An aloof character like Akiyama can still have emotional tales in his side content and the imposing Saejima can end up in strange scenarios, but Yakuza 4 Remastered handles its split narrative quite well even though it necessitates leaving behind a character you might become attached as you move through each character’s piece of the plot. Natural connections between major players and new compelling concepts like Saejima’s prison break help ease the shifts and Kamurocho’s familiar streets are giving some breathing room by characters choosing to frequent different parts of it. The story could use a few more compelling boss battles but still manages to put together some demanding fights even with regular goons thanks to things like the weapon system and how intelligent they are in avoiding damage, and while the simplicity of Akiyama and Kiryu are likely to be preferred, it is still entertaining to find ways each character can pull off impressive Heat actions or utilize their unique attacks to handle situations.
Yakuza 4 Remastered is a definite step up from Yakuza 3, it better able to build a narrative since it didn’t feel doggedly committed to having this tale be a personal one for Kazuma Kiryu. The crime drama can sometimes be strained a bit, but not so much by the narrative split so much as common Yakuza series tropes like how it handles fake-outs or expects you to keep track of a lot of characters. The four leads are all easily remembered though because their portion of the game devotes itself to emphasizing what is unique about them, strong themes of redemption running through many of their stories to even better tie the plots together into one strong package.