The combat is a vast improvement over Yakuza 3, let's get that out of the way first. It's much more smooth, which brings a better experience. This is also the first game that introduced multiple playable characters, a great addition. The styles the developers created for the respective characters worked well (though Tanimura's could be adjusted a bit). You can't go wrong with a game that introduced both Akiyama and Saejima. Also, the developers added new areas to explore in Kamurocho, which is a nice addition. Where the game loses a lot of points is the story. It starts strong (and it certainly has a lot of potential), but it tried to do so much that it just doesn't pull off. It wanted to be complex, but it just ended up being confusing. If only there was this funny, eye-patch-wearing yakuza that just so happens to have major connections to a lot of the key pieces to the story that could've helped smooth things over if he was playable. That would absolutely be maddening, wouldn't it? This game also features some of the worst plot twists I've ever seen. You can tell the people writing this do not have that much experience handling guns because rubber bullets can kill people, especially at close range. If you're playing through the Yakuza series, don't skip this one, but don't waste too much time with it.