The Yakuza games always centered on the (now) legendary ass kicker, Kazuma Kiryu. But, since he's hanging out in Okinawa, and this game takes place in Kamurocho (which is actually just a video game version of one of Tokyo's biggest organized crime hot spots, Shinjuku), we have to play as some other characters for a while. These new faces include: Shun Akiyama, a hostess bar owning money-lender who sticks his hands in just about everyone's business; Taiga Saejima, an ex-Yakuza who was sent to jail for killing 18 members of an affiliated Yakuza group in broad daylight; and finally Masayoshi Tanimura, a young cop with a gambling problem and a less-than-ethical outlook on how to deal out the law. The game begins with you playing as Akiyama (the money lender), and for the first six hours or so (and maybe more), you don't even see or hear a peep out of the previous games' main protagonist. Then again, Akiyama so far is so charming and brutal, that you soon forget there even is a "Kazuma Kiryu." Much like the other Yakuza games, the story is extremely engaging, the characters human and believable, and you find yourself constantly wanting to jump into the next story element.
And just like the other Yakuza games, you also find yourself wanting to just sit in the arcade playing crane games for an hour. Yes, mini games and side quests are in full effect in Yakuza 4. This time the developers have added a full on golf game to the ever-growing roster of distractions. Alas, as someone who actually likes golf games, I found the controls unresponsive ("I pressed Circle, dammit!") and the game in general really just boring. Besides, why do I want to go out golfing, when I could be learning more about this awesome and intricate crime mystery?
I have to say, even though I'm still early on in the game, I'm quite hooked. Just reading the character bios in the instruction manual as reference for this article made me want to go back so I could see what happens next. It?s not every day you find a game with characters as interesting as these. For those not wanting to wait on the next Sega e-mail campaign, the game is extremely text heavy, so importers beware. Though, you might not have much of a choice in the end. Yakuza 4 currently has not been announced for release anywhere outside of Japan, but if Yakuza 3 sells, well, you never know! Check out some more videos in the meantime.
Release Date: TBA
Platforms: ps3
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Gamesite: Click here
Genres: Adventure
ESRB: NA
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