Yakuza 4

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Yakuza 4

I finally started playing this yesterday after picking it up from GameStop about 2 months ago.

Just watching the recaps for 1-3 was pretty engrossing, but man this game just weaves a lot of "simple" mechanics into one great big adventure. Despite the map only being about 3-4 blocks (so far) its more interactive than most open world games.

And the combat is awesome. Very simple and a little janky at times, but it feels great. The environmental attacks remind me of Sleeping Dogs and some of the finishers (particularly the object finishers) are hilariously gruesome.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Yakuza 4

Is the Pawn Shop the only place to cash out casino plates? I just wanted to make sure.

I think my favorite "weapon" finisher so far has been the milk crate. I almost died laughing the first time I used it.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Yakuza 4

I'm on Chapter 2 of Part 3 and the distinct feel of not only each character, but the vibe the city puts off while playing as the different characters is really fantastic. It aids immensely in the atmosphere of the city and building of each individual character. The fighting variations also add a nice layer of identity to each as brawling with each character is satisfying in different ways.

As simple as the brawling is it really never gets old. The heat actions are highly entertaining and I always get a good laugh or two out of each encounter. Saejima slamming people into each other, ramming their heads into walls, and tossing people up in the to clothesline them (later on finishing that by jumping in the air for a drop-elbow) is always brutally satisfying. The flashy character of Akiyama translate to a flashy style of combat with swift kicks that usually result in some devastating combos. In my limited time with Tanimura he seems to be pretty well rounded in close quarters combat relying on parries and some excellent combo finishers. Its pretty comical to slip the cuffs on a downed enemy in the middle of a brawl, but brutal when he decides to snap a guy's arm to subdue him.

The city itself, while nothing in size to typical open world fare, seems just as much, if not more so, a living, functioning city. Going through the city and seeing how all the various factions operate and interact with the city is awesome. The interaction with the citizens helps immerse you in this city and make it more life-like than the massive maps of GTA. The substories can be minimal, off-beat missions, but the longer connected ones rival the merits of the other games' main story lines.

I can understand why the adoption rate to this series is so low here in the the US. The text dialogue and dated graphics (still, the player models and facial animations were still fantastic to me) will rub typical gamers raw. Each piece of the gameplay, on its own, is nothing spectacular, but the whole comes together for something really awesome. I would still put the brawling aspect of gameplay far above most melee combat systems. The entertainment value of each encounter is matched by only a handful of games. Obviously, I'm really enjoying my time with this game and honestly I've only really scratched the surface as I've been doing mostly only the main story and substories. I haven't even touched the other mechanics of hostess clubs and training, the Dojo training, or Coliseum.

Its depressing to me that I have literally nobody other than OS to talk to about this jewel.