Fierce loyalty to a sworn brother can be twisted to justify unspeakable acts.
I was really split on Yakuza 4 for my whole playthrough. On one hand, playing as four different protagonists made for a more complex and compelling story than earlier entries in the series. On the other, resetting your player character after every quarter of the game felt like there was little point in investing in their abilities or side quests. It's a bit like how Samus always loses all her powerups at the beginning of a Metroid game, but it happens every 4-5 hours here.
The story really was good though! For as much as I would have preferred one protagonist to upgrade and focus on, the way everyone's story events come together at the end was satisfying and impressive. More than any of the other 4 RGG titles I've finished, this had a strong theme throughout the tale, concerning just how far people are willing to go for a partner; the sacrifices they're willing to make, the people they can justify harming, and if they'd betray that sacred trust to help themselves. It's great!
But uh what's up with the face models here?? The wackiest aspect of the story is that there are regular flashbacks to 25 years in the past, and everyone looks exactly the same! I know that when we look at pictures of teens from the 80s they all look older than their age, but not like this! Age is this weird, nebulous thing in Yakuza, punks have always called Kiryu "old man" despite looking the same age as him, but it's hilarious seeing both the Saejimas not change at all between their late teens and mid 40s. RGG is anything but ageist! 50 is the new 20!
I was really split on Yakuza 4 for my whole playthrough. On one hand, playing as four different protagonists made for a more complex and compelling story than earlier entries in the series. On the other, resetting your player character after every quarter of the game felt like there was little point in investing in their abilities or side quests. It's a bit like how Samus always loses all her powerups at the beginning of a Metroid game, but it happens every 4-5 hours here.
The story really was good though! For as much as I would have preferred one protagonist to upgrade and focus on, the way everyone's story events come together at the end was satisfying and impressive. More than any of the other 4 RGG titles I've finished, this had a strong theme throughout the tale, concerning just how far people are willing to go for a partner; the sacrifices they're willing to make, the people they can justify harming, and if they'd betray that sacred trust to help themselves. It's great!
But uh what's up with the face models here?? The wackiest aspect of the story is that there are regular flashbacks to 25 years in the past, and everyone looks exactly the same! I know that when we look at pictures of teens from the 80s they all look older than their age, but not like this! Age is this weird, nebulous thing in Yakuza, punks have always called Kiryu "old man" despite looking the same age as him, but it's hilarious seeing both the Saejimas not change at all between their late teens and mid 40s. RGG is anything but ageist! 50 is the new 20!