Yakuza 4

eyetrip · 20 Mar 2011 at 17:24

Hmm, what a strange game.

As far as Japanese games go, only ever briefly attempted a couple of the JRPG's, and found them not to my taste.

Not sure how I feel about this so far. I do seem to keep wanting to go just that little bit further, and perhaps if I was not so tired, I'd be quite into this right now.

Find it strange that you enter this kind of arena mode every time combat comes up.

As for the combat itself, so far seems like it could be a bit shallow, but I have not put in nearly enough time to make a final judgement on that.

Graphics are quite "Meh", and I find myself wishing there was audio for all conversations, even if it were all in Japanese.

blueshift · 20 Mar 2011 at 17:58

ffallic said:
Hmm, what a strange game.

As far as Japanese games go, only ever briefly attempted a couple of the JRPG's, and found them not to my taste.

Not sure how I feel about this so far. I do seem to keep wanting to go just that little bit further, and perhaps if I was not so tired, I'd be quite into this right now.

Find it strange that you enter this kind of arena mode every time combat comes up.

As for the combat itself, so far seems like it could be a bit shallow, but I have not put in nearly enough time to make a final judgement on that.

Graphics are quite "Meh", and I find myself wishing there was audio for all conversations, even if it were all in Japanese.

Yes they are an aquired taste, but i find the Yakuza games refreshing,the main story although a little over the top, is great, and its the total absurdity of some of the side games, that entertains me, jap culture is certainly a tad wierd.

blueshift · 22 Mar 2011 at 11:32

http://uk.gamespot.com/ps3/action/yakuza-4/review.html?tag=topslot;thumb;1

Great review, spot on.

maxilive · 22 Mar 2011 at 13:12

I'm up to part 4 now and the story has gotten amazing

I prefer the combat a bit now after learning how to lock-on/doge better and making the most out of finishers but it could be less repetitive. The graphics are great in places, the attention to detail and such but then some characters can look awesome and textures a bit bland.

There is loadsssss to do in the game I'm 17 hours in with the 4th part of the story to go and only 16% complete! :O

The game is very Japanese though, we all know the story is and such but most of the sub-missions don't have the flow we expect from western games it's very stop start.

will13 · 22 Mar 2011 at 16:07

I got my Yakuza 3 and 4 steelbook edition today, tried number 3 last year and liked it, just never bought it

Alexrose1uk · 22 Mar 2011 at 20:13

That review does sound pretty good. I've seen 3 Collectors pretty cheaply too, so will probably grab the pair after payday

maxilive · 23 Mar 2011 at 23:38

Just completed it

After 18-19 so hours of pretty much pure Story gameplay (odd sub-stories). Amazing story loved it! Great way how it ends too (story wise)

Logsi · 2 Apr 2011 at 17:37

Picked this up yesterday. Have been holding off for too long but i just love Japanese culture too much, watching a review tipped the scales!

8 hours in and love it. Lots of fun and very gripping. Yakuza 3 ordered!

eyetrip · 2 Apr 2011 at 19:40

Trying to sit and have a proper play of this today. 4 hours in and bored to tears....

Maxilive, you finished after 18 or so hours? Guess you ignored all hte extra little bits? Cause just had a look at my stats and after 4 hours it's saying 0.71/5 complete.

Just not sure I can stomach any more of it. I feel like that I am spending 90% of my time either clicking x to progress through conversation or watching cut-scenes.

Another 5% is running around and the final 5% is actually doing something in-game.

maxilive · 2 Apr 2011 at 21:16

It was actually 21 hours doing the story and some sub missions

Didn't do too much exploring. There is a lot of reading in that game but I found the story gets better later on so at least it's more exciting when you get to a cutscene. What Part are you on?

thedude23 · 2 Apr 2011 at 22:09

So guys is it worth buying?

Phatjayunoi · 2 Apr 2011 at 22:16

If you enjoyed the previous Yakuza games, or want to dive into a near accurate portrayal of the Japanese underworld with some over-the-top action and funny side-stuff, then go for it. Otherwise this probably isn't for you. I'm not going to lie, a lot of the cutscenes, text and dialogue parts can be very slow moving in these games, so it may put you off or to sleep. This game and the series overall is as Japanese as it can get.

eyetrip · 2 Apr 2011 at 22:16

maxilive said:
It was actually 21 hours doing the story and some sub missions Didn't do too much exploring. There is a lot of reading in that game but I found the story gets better later on so at least it's more exciting when you get to a cutscene. What Part are you on?

Just gotten past where take Lily on a date.

thedude23 · 2 Apr 2011 at 22:17

Phatjayunoi said:
If you enjoyed the previous Yakuza games, or want to dive into a near accurate portrayal of the Japanese underworld with some over-the-top action and funny side-stuff, then go for it. Otherwise this probably isn't for you. I'm not going to lie, a lot of the cutscenes, text and dialogue parts can be very slow moving in these games, so it may put you off or to sleep. This game is as Japanese as it can get.

Is it an open ended world?

Phatjayunoi · 2 Apr 2011 at 22:23

It's not as open-world compared to certain Western-made games, and since obviously the main story progression is linear, but you can still have the option of wondering around the city district any time and just faff about, finding side-story missions, playing mini-games, constantly battle, etc. It's all the side stuff that I tend to enjoy most.

thedude23 · 2 Apr 2011 at 22:36

Phatjayunoi said:
It's not as open-world compared to certain Western-made games, and since obviously the main story progression is linear, but you can still have the option of wondering around the city district any time and just faff about, finding side-story missions, playing mini-games, constantly battle, etc. It's all the side stuff that I tend to enjoy most.

excellent think I will get.

Phatjayunoi · 2 Apr 2011 at 22:47

I'm just glad that not only all the mini-games from Yakuza 3 are in this, but real Mahjong is also left intact in this game since it was cut previously. And now we also have the added bonus of Pachinko.

If only Club Sega had an emulated version of Virtua Fighter 1 or 2, now that would be ****ing awesome and make it even more worthwhile.

blueshift · 3 Apr 2011 at 06:27

i think the cutscenes although they do tend to drag on a tad sometimes are great, you can feel great empathy for the characters in the story,as they are fleshed out so well, and likeable, and thats a winner for me

mcwildcard · 27 Jun 2011 at 16:33

Finished this over the weekend, I really enjoyed it. I think they’ve done just enough with the stories to ensure you care about all the main protagonists by the end and I think the final showdown is outstanding. Kazuma is such a double-hard *******, I was looking forward to his chapter throughout and I’m glad his was the last individual one.
Here’s looking forward to the next one!