Excellent Story Backed Up By Tight Gameplay
Yakuza 3 Remastered wasn’t a bad game by any means but it did feel like something was missing and it’s flaws did hold it back. While Yakuza 4 Remastered isn’t perfect nor a huge step up, it’s improvements and tightening up of some elements means this is a vastly improved experience overall.
Visually, this game feels more vibrant than Yakuza 3 Remastered. Everything looks sharper and with a bit more detail or vibrant. There’s still the matter of some NPCs and non-important characters having gonk like faces or derpy expressions and there is still pop-up, but seeing restaurants and shops with people inside, and vending machine products with 3D objects inside, as just two examples, goes a long to to show that overall, the game is more graphically impressive.
The story has really increased, helped by the fact that we’re not only not just playing as Kiryu but not even starting as him! As you get to explore three new characters stories and activities (don’t worry, Kiryu is also playable). But there is more emphasis on the story as their seems to be more scenes (in game and CG).
Of course, this wouldn’t be a Ryu ga Gotoku game with weird design choices and for some reason item sharing isn’t available until end game. This is compounded by the fact that Akiyama can pick up most of the locker keys in the early game! It’s not a huge deal breaker, it’s just an odd quirk
The UI is vastly improved. It looks slicker and provides better information (with shops now telling you how much of an item you already have!), showing what materials you need for modding up front and visually and just giving you more info while looking more attractive. It can feel a bit stiff use.
Combat has gone through a slight overhaul. The way you unlock abilities mean you can tailor each character to a degree; Do you hold off and get the more expensive abilities earlier at the cost of being gimped for the early portion of each characters story or do you get what you can afford at each level-up, but make gaining those powerful abilities take a lot longer? Do you go for offensive, defensive moves or just mix-and-match? It’s not super deep but there is some options and flexibility to make it feel far less restrictive and gated like Yakuza 3 Remastered did.
Then there is actually playing the fighting part of Yakuza 4 Remastered. It feels more snappy and you feel like you have more heat options this time around. Random encounters seem to happen less frequently compared to Yakuza 3 Remastered. It can sometimes feel your enemies have unfair advantages or that they’ve been buffed to a degree, some of their attacks still have that annoying “homing” property where it seems like you’ve dodged an attack, only for it to do a curve and whack you on the back and it can be hard to get certain heat actions to activate, depending on the situation. Overall though, the combat does feel much better.
The minigames are back and some are changed for the better (examples include Coliseum isn’t as much of a drag and is more rewarding, hostess maker, while still a drag, is now just down to training three), some are the same (whether that’s good or bad depends on your skill level, patience and the ability to find strategies for games like Darts, Pool and the multitude of gambling games) and a few are worse (Fishing being the highlight). Table Tennis, a new addition, is pretty neat. Alas, no Pachinko in the Remastered version, though again that’s might be a good thing for many.
Modding is somewhat better, only held back by the lack of item sharing until the final chapter as well as the chapters being short. As such, there isn’t really much advantage to be taken unless you go out of your way (or do some obsessive planning on who gets certain locker keys). Another peculiar issue a few of the vendors are on different rooftops. Which means going to them can be a bit of a pain when you need something in particular.
Ah yes rooftops. We’re back to just exploring Kamurocho but this time we get to go to rooftops, an underground car park, an underground mini mall, a homeless shelter and even sewers. The “new” locations are small and as hinted at earlier, it’s more of a novel concept, only really being used to its fullest when doing sub-stories, modding or finding locker keys. The exception is the homeless shelter, which at least has a few additional reasons for going back to. It’d also have been nice if the rooftops were connected together. Still it is different and visually they are well designed, especially the underground car park with lovely lighting and ambient echo sounds.
Other notable gameplay elements are that chase sequences are improved and QTE’s seem a bit more forgiving.
Of course, one of the strongest elements of the Ryu ga Gotoku games is the story and here it’s fantastic. Joining Kiryu is Akiyama, the charming money lender with a huge heart of gold, Saejima a hulking figure with a legendary reputation and Tanimura, an aloof but talented cop who seeks to find the truth about his father’s murder. Joining them is an ensemble with their own motives, schemes and worldly viewpoints that bring an inevitable clash.
In regards to how these characters are; Kiryu is Kiryu, Akiyama is charismatic as hell with excellent story, Saejima has an excellent back story but overall his main story is probably the weakest and Tanimura arguably has the worst personality but has a great story. The latter is argued as the weakest link but overall this is a fine main assemble of protagonists and the rest of the cast is well done.
And it’s helped by the main story. The plot is fantastic with many awesome moments and the twists and turns are just finely done. The fact it references past games, tying up loose ends is icing on the cake. Once again, the Ryu ga Gotoku franchise is no stranger to excellent storytelling but this maybe the first game where you scream “Holy S***!” (or whatever your “OMG” cry is) at what goes down. It’s actually amazing the Yakuza 4 Remastered pulls this off as the chapters feel shorter than before. And yet the pack so much in without feeling rushed or bloated.
The excellent storytelling even goes down to the sub-stories, which have always been another strong point and now feel far more expansive. With many now having their own in-depth arc.
Yakuza 4 Remastered is highly recommended. It carries some flaws from Yakuza 3 Remastered and has still has some anachronistic Yakuza game design but the gameplay feels tighter, the plot execution is just perfect and the presentation is on point making this a very strong entry.
Rating: 8/10
Yakuza 3 Remastered wasn’t a bad game by any means but it did feel like something was missing and it’s flaws did hold it back. While Yakuza 4 Remastered isn’t perfect nor a huge step up, it’s improvements and tightening up of some elements means this is a vastly improved experience overall.
Visually, this game feels more vibrant than Yakuza 3 Remastered. Everything looks sharper and with a bit more detail or vibrant. There’s still the matter of some NPCs and non-important characters having gonk like faces or derpy expressions and there is still pop-up, but seeing restaurants and shops with people inside, and vending machine products with 3D objects inside, as just two examples, goes a long to to show that overall, the game is more graphically impressive.
The story has really increased, helped by the fact that we’re not only not just playing as Kiryu but not even starting as him! As you get to explore three new characters stories and activities (don’t worry, Kiryu is also playable). But there is more emphasis on the story as their seems to be more scenes (in game and CG).
Of course, this wouldn’t be a Ryu ga Gotoku game with weird design choices and for some reason item sharing isn’t available until end game. This is compounded by the fact that Akiyama can pick up most of the locker keys in the early game! It’s not a huge deal breaker, it’s just an odd quirk
The UI is vastly improved. It looks slicker and provides better information (with shops now telling you how much of an item you already have!), showing what materials you need for modding up front and visually and just giving you more info while looking more attractive. It can feel a bit stiff use.
Combat has gone through a slight overhaul. The way you unlock abilities mean you can tailor each character to a degree; Do you hold off and get the more expensive abilities earlier at the cost of being gimped for the early portion of each characters story or do you get what you can afford at each level-up, but make gaining those powerful abilities take a lot longer? Do you go for offensive, defensive moves or just mix-and-match? It’s not super deep but there is some options and flexibility to make it feel far less restrictive and gated like Yakuza 3 Remastered did.
Then there is actually playing the fighting part of Yakuza 4 Remastered. It feels more snappy and you feel like you have more heat options this time around. Random encounters seem to happen less frequently compared to Yakuza 3 Remastered. It can sometimes feel your enemies have unfair advantages or that they’ve been buffed to a degree, some of their attacks still have that annoying “homing” property where it seems like you’ve dodged an attack, only for it to do a curve and whack you on the back and it can be hard to get certain heat actions to activate, depending on the situation. Overall though, the combat does feel much better.
The minigames are back and some are changed for the better (examples include Coliseum isn’t as much of a drag and is more rewarding, hostess maker, while still a drag, is now just down to training three), some are the same (whether that’s good or bad depends on your skill level, patience and the ability to find strategies for games like Darts, Pool and the multitude of gambling games) and a few are worse (Fishing being the highlight). Table Tennis, a new addition, is pretty neat. Alas, no Pachinko in the Remastered version, though again that’s might be a good thing for many.
Modding is somewhat better, only held back by the lack of item sharing until the final chapter as well as the chapters being short. As such, there isn’t really much advantage to be taken unless you go out of your way (or do some obsessive planning on who gets certain locker keys). Another peculiar issue a few of the vendors are on different rooftops. Which means going to them can be a bit of a pain when you need something in particular.
Ah yes rooftops. We’re back to just exploring Kamurocho but this time we get to go to rooftops, an underground car park, an underground mini mall, a homeless shelter and even sewers. The “new” locations are small and as hinted at earlier, it’s more of a novel concept, only really being used to its fullest when doing sub-stories, modding or finding locker keys. The exception is the homeless shelter, which at least has a few additional reasons for going back to. It’d also have been nice if the rooftops were connected together. Still it is different and visually they are well designed, especially the underground car park with lovely lighting and ambient echo sounds.
Other notable gameplay elements are that chase sequences are improved and QTE’s seem a bit more forgiving.
Of course, one of the strongest elements of the Ryu ga Gotoku games is the story and here it’s fantastic. Joining Kiryu is Akiyama, the charming money lender with a huge heart of gold, Saejima a hulking figure with a legendary reputation and Tanimura, an aloof but talented cop who seeks to find the truth about his father’s murder. Joining them is an ensemble with their own motives, schemes and worldly viewpoints that bring an inevitable clash.
In regards to how these characters are; Kiryu is Kiryu, Akiyama is charismatic as hell with excellent story, Saejima has an excellent back story but overall his main story is probably the weakest and Tanimura arguably has the worst personality but has a great story. The latter is argued as the weakest link but overall this is a fine main assemble of protagonists and the rest of the cast is well done.
And it’s helped by the main story. The plot is fantastic with many awesome moments and the twists and turns are just finely done. The fact it references past games, tying up loose ends is icing on the cake. Once again, the Ryu ga Gotoku franchise is no stranger to excellent storytelling but this maybe the first game where you scream “Holy S***!” (or whatever your “OMG” cry is) at what goes down. It’s actually amazing the Yakuza 4 Remastered pulls this off as the chapters feel shorter than before. And yet the pack so much in without feeling rushed or bloated.
The excellent storytelling even goes down to the sub-stories, which have always been another strong point and now feel far more expansive. With many now having their own in-depth arc.
Yakuza 4 Remastered is highly recommended. It carries some flaws from Yakuza 3 Remastered and has still has some anachronistic Yakuza game design but the gameplay feels tighter, the plot execution is just perfect and the presentation is on point making this a very strong entry.
Rating: 8/10