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Yakuza 4

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Yakuza 4 (龍が如く4 伝説を継ぐもの, Ryū Ga Gotoku 4: Densetsu wo Tsugumono, lit. "Like a Dragon 4: Heirs to the Legend") is an open-world action-adventure video game developed and published by SEGA exclusively for the PlayStation 3.

A remaster for the PlayStation 4 console was launched on January 17, 2019, in Japan. It was released worldwide on October 29, 2019, as a free unlock for the existing Yakuza Remastered trilogy download. It was also available in the limited-edition Day One physical release of the trilogy, which was released on February 11, 2020. The remastered version runs at 1080p (cropped to 1850x1040 on the standard PS4) and 60 frames per second. It was later ported to the PC and Xbox One in early 2021.

Yakuza 4 is the only game in the main series (other than Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami) that does not feature any explorable cities besides Kamurocho. It is also the first game in the series to feature multiple playable characters. There are four: these include the newly introduced Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima and Masayoshi Tanimura, and series staple Kazuma Kiryu.

Synopsis[]

Setting[]

Yakuza 4 is the first and only game in the main Yakuza series since the original Yakuza (and its remake) not to feature an open-world playable city district outside of Kamurocho. However, extra depth has been added to Kamurocho. Besides the usual streets, newly-accessible locations include back alleys, rooftops, and underground areas e.g. Car parks, sewers, and tunnels.

Story Summary[]

There are 17 chapters in this game, divided into 5 parts:

Part I - Shun Akiyama[]

Chapter 1: The Infamous Loanshark[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 1 Chapter 1

March 2010. A string of murders has taken take place in Kamurocho. Shun Akiyama, the owner of moneylending company Sky Finance, goes to help out his longtime friend, Kanemura Enterprises captain Arai, in solving a turf dispute. The offending Ueno Seiwa Clan has tense relations with the Tojo Clan, and Akiyama's intervention is to mitigate any escalation, but any and all effort goes down the gutter when Arai kills the offending Ueno Seiwa officer.

Chapter 2: The One[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 1 Chapter 2

Hearing of Sky Finance's special loaning policy, a mysterious woman calling herself "Lily" approaches Akiyama for a loan of ¥100,000,000. He agrees, but she must pass the test his loan-seekers undergo. While Lily makes preparations, Akiyama meets with Kanemura Enterprises' Kido for updates. Kido states Arai has been in hiding since killing the officer, and his recently-murdered Patriarch has signs of being seduced on his corpse.

Chapter 3: Trouble in the Tojo Clan[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 1 Chapter 3

Tojo Clan Sixth Chairman Daigo Dojima meets Ueno Seiwa Clan Captain Isao Katsuragi to avert a war, but Katsuragi's demands - Arai's head or Lieutenant Majima's holdings - prove to be too steep. Meanwhile, Lily is made to work at Akiyama's hostess Club, Elise, and make ¥3,000,000 in three days to pass his test. After the first day, Akiyama and Lily go on a date ending at Yasuko's old home in the Champion District.

Chapter 4: The Promise[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 1 Chapter 4

Lily passes her test, and Akiyama offers her an option to not pay him back, under a condition that she tell him why she has killed Shibata Family officers, as he had deduced that she was behind the recent murders. She turns down the offer, and takes the money. Trouble continues to rear its head as Akiyama learns Patriarch Shibata is looking for Lily, and so is the Majima Family. Majima wants to protect Lily to make up for his failure 25 years prior, back when she was known by her real name: Yasuko Saejima.

Part II - Taiga Saejima[]

Chapter 1: To the Truth[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 2 Chapter 1

In 1985, Taiga Saejima was sentenced to death for assassinating 18 members of the Ueno Seiwa Clan. 25 years later, he is transferred to Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2, leading to an encounter with Goh Hamazaki. Hamazaki requests Saejima's help for a prison break. He initially refuses, but changes his mind upon hearing that the hit caused his family to fall apart, and that Majima - with whom he was supposed to carry out the hit - purposefully betrayed him. The prison break ends with both men in the ocean.

Chapter 2: Tiger and Dragon[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 2 Chapter 2

Saejima washes up on the Morning Glory Beach - just next to the residence of Kazuma Kiryu, whom Hamazaki said to seek out. Kiryu is unwilling to help Saejima in his quest for revenge, but after a fight and learning more of the kind of person Saejima is, Kiryu gives him money and clothes to travel to Kamurocho.

Chapter 3: The 25 Year Vacuum[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 2 Chapter 3

Arriving in Tokyo, Saejima searches for leads on his old boss. He encounters Kido, who directs him to the Florist of Sai in Purgatory. The Florist agrees to provide answers, but only if Saejima wins a deathmatch in the Coliseum. Saejima wins, but refuses to kill his opponent, passing the Florist's secret test of character. The Florist states that Sasai was forced into hiding after the Ueno Seiwa ordered his death. By the present, he has become catatonic, but Sasai briefly regains his faculties and recognizes Saejima.

Chapter 4: Oath of Brotherhood[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 2 Chapter 4

In the Yoshida Batting Center, Saejima engages in a prolonged battle against Majima for answers, which culminates with Saejima victorious. Majima tells Saejima that on the day of the hit, Shibata had called Majima to stop him from participating in the hit, and when Majima refused, had his eye gouged out as punishment. After the hit, Shibata convinced the Tojo higher-ups that Sasai organized the hit to spark war between the Tojo and the Ueno Seiwa for personal gain, leading to the Sasai Family's dissolution and Sasai's exile.

Part III - Masayoshi Tanimura[]

Chapter 1: The Kamurocho Parasite[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 3 Chapter 1

Detective Masayoshi Tanimura of the Tokyo Police's Community Safety division receives a tip from one of the businesses he extorts: Yasuko Saejima, the woman he's been trying to track down for years, has been sighted in Kamurocho. His father had been in charge of investigating the Ueno Seiwa hit, but was murdered, with the intention to meet her written in his log book. He learns that Arai murdering an Ueno Seiwa officer was arranged by Katsuragi and Shibata for their personal gain, but Shibata is killed for outliving his usefulness.

Chapter 2: The Perpetrator[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 3 Chapter 2

Yasuko had killed Shibata's men as part of a deal Katsuragi made with her: proving her brother Taiga was innocent. She was given the choice of either killing a man, or paying ¥100,000,000, but Katsuragi kept making her kill more. Tanimura, wanting the truth behind the Ueno Seiwa incident, offers to take the money and meet Katsuragi in her place. In their meeting, Katsuragi reveals Tanimura's father learned the hit was a setup to make Katsuragi and Shibata climb the ranks, and he was the true killer of the 18. The meeting was a trap, but detective Sugiuchi saves Tanimura.

Chapter 3: Door to the Truth[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 3 Chapter 3

The police were also involved in the Ueno Seiwa plot. To dig deeper into the mystery, Tanimura looks through police archives for the Ueno Seiwa incident's case file. Tanimura learns that his father's partner in the investigation was Sugiuchi; a fact never made known to him. Deciding to return the money Yasuko borrowed, Tanimura learns from the moneylender Akiyama that the other offending Ueno Seiwa member, Mishima, will testify against Katsuragi if given police protection, which he takes as an opportunity to sniff out Katsuragi's police mole.

Chapter 4: A Detective's Honor[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 3 Chapter 4

Mishima claims Katsuragi instructed him to cause trouble that night when he is shot dead by Sugiuchi, who reveals himself to be Katsuragi's mole. Tanimura chases after the fleeing Sugiuchi, and after a violent fist fight, Sugiuchi confesses that he is the murderer of Tanimura's father. Their plan was found out by now-Deputy Commissioner Seishiro Munakata through finding the inconsistencies in Sugiuchi's Ueno Seiwa report, and taking control of them via blackmail to advance his career. Just as Sugiuchi agrees to testify against Munakata, he is assassinated.

Part IV - Kazuma Kiryu[]

Chapter 1: Reunion[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 4 Chapter 1

Hamazaki, having also washed up in front of Morning Glory Orphanage, shows Kiryu a ledger with proof of Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2 being funded by TMPD-laundered money as part of a scheme to bring about police-run crime. Upon seeing the life Kiryu now has, Hamazaki decided to let go of his plan and turn himself back in. On the way, they encounter Yasuko, wanting to meet her brother. The three share information before being interrupted by guards from the Penitentiary. Hamazaki is critically injured helping the other two escape with the ledger.

Chapter 2: To Kamurocho[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 4 Chapter 2

The District Attorney is carrying out a search of Sky Finance when Kiryu and Yasuko arrive in Kamurocho. To catch up on events surrounding the Tojo Clan, Kiryu pays a visit to Majima. When he arrives, he sees that Majima is being arrested, which Majima says is due to a deal Daigo made with Munakata. Elsewhere, Munakata is telling Daigo that he will use anti-yakuza laws to crack down on the Tojo should they not follow his orders. He demands Daigo make Arai a Clan Captain with his own family so he can be a police representative in the Tojo.

Chapter 3: Encounter[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 4 Chapter 3

Yasuko had fled after recognizing the "district attorney" as one of Katsuragi's men and came into contact with Akiyama and Tanimura. As they head towards Purgatory to reunite her with Saejima, they hear a voice and have her go on ahead. Kiryu had been pursuing Yasuko and a critical communication failure causes him to fight the duo, but he easily wins. In Purgatory, the Florist reveals Kido joined forces with Katsuragi and stole Akiyama's money, and that the Saejimas have both been captured.

Chapter 4: Chain of Betrayal[]
Main article: Yakuza 4/Part 4 Chapter 4

To get the Saejimas back, Kiryu arranges a meeting with Katsuragi where he will hand over the ledger. Atop Kamurocho Hills, Kiryu gives the ledger to Kido, but Katsuragi orders him to kill Kiryu. Kido betrays Katsuragi in favor of Arai, only for Arai to shoot Kido as well. Once the Saejimas are freed and Katsuragi's act of playing dead is revealed, Katsuragi shoots to leave no witnesses, but Yasuko takes the bullet for Saejima and kills Katsuragi. As she dies, Yasuko says she was happy to have saved her brother.

Part V: Requiem[]

Main article: Yakuza 4/Finale

After having lost his purpose, Saejima is spurred back into action by news of Hamazaki's death. The quartet of Akiyama, Saejima, Tanimura, and Kiryu goes to the Millennium Tower to defeat their adversaries using Akiyama's reclaimed money as bait. Akiyama halts Arai's ambition, Saejima tests Kido, Kiryu corrects Daigo's course of action, and Tanimura serves justice to Munakata. With Date having exposed Munakata's corruption, the Deputy Commissioner commits suicide. Afterward, Daigo, a freed Majima, and Kiryu bear witness to the inauguration of the Saejima Family.

Gameplay[]

Battle[]

Yakuza 4 is the first game in the main Yakuza series to feature multiple player characters, and each one has a different fighting style. Akiyama relies almost entirely on his legs for attacking. Tanimura uses Taiho-jutsu, a martial art style developed for the Japanese police. Saejima utilizes his large build for brute-force and professional wrestling style moves. Finally, Kiryu returns with his familiar "Dragon of Dojima" style, although he is able to embellish it with abilities picked up from the other three player characters.
Also introduced to Yakuza 4 is character-specific weapon compatibility; some weapons can only be bought and used by specific characters. However, all characters can pick up any weapon on the ground and use them until broken.
  • There are no restrictions on umbrellas, one-handed weapons, daggers, golf clubs, bats, or sprays.
  • Akiyama can purchase and use kali sticks and nunchaku.
  • Saejima can purchase and use swords, hammers, knuckles, and guns.
  • Tanimura can purchase and use poles and tonfa.
  • Kiryu can purchase guns, and use all weapons.

Minigames[]

As with other games in the series, Yakuza 4 has many minigames to choose from, ranging from Darts to the new BOXCELIOS 2 in Club SEGA.

Cabaret Girls

A minigame involving seven cabaret characters, it is possible to date the cabaret characters, as well as clear several events leading to their sub-story.

Billiards

Darts

Bowling

Karaoke

New songs are added to the Karaoke list, these include:

Batting Center

A new course has been added to the Batting Center.

Massage Parlor

Game Center

The AnswerxAnswer quiz game returns, and with an addition of topic modes and content. The familiar UFO Catcher also returns. The popular arcade shooter BOXCELIOS returns, along with a sequel, BOXCELIOS 2.

Golfing

New stages are added, and A 'Golf-Date' is also possible here.

Fishing

A new fishing spot in the Tokyo Bay has been added, including day & night scenarios.

List of shops[]

Kamurocho's Choice (for dates)

Usual shops

Trivia[]

  • Yakuza 4 is the first mainline game to use a subtitle in the original Japanese version.
  • Yakuza 4 is the only game where Kiryu is playable and he does not fight the final battle, gameplay-wise.
  • This would be the last game in the mainline series to feature the Love-in-Heart Massage Parlor as a playable mini-game.
  • The Remastered version of Yakuza 4 uses Yakuza Kiwami cutscenes for flashbacks rather than the original Yakuza.
  • In Yakuza 4, protagonists represent the 4 Eastern Gods:
    • Tanimura represents the Black Tortoise (or Genbu), as he focuses the most on defense (parrying) out of the four player characters and is the most down-to-earth.
    • Taiga Saejima is the White Tiger (or Byakko), as he is the most cynical of the four, and possesses the most brute strength.
    • Shun Akiyama represents the Vermilion Bird (or Suzaku), as he has the most elegance (speed and flow) out of the 4 protagonists and is the most idealistic.
    • Kazuma Kiryu represents the Azure Dragon (or Seiryu), as he is the most balanced of the characters and also the most experienced and wise
  • The House of Extras was cut from the Remastered version having to see one Bob Utsunomiya giving you the completion rewards.

Gallery[]

Alternate Boxart[]

Logos[]

Official Art[]

Screenshots[]

Videos[]

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