Review of Yakuza 4
Assembling the Yakuza 4
Reader,
Take your mind back to 2010, in the offices of SEGA Japan and RGG Studios.
Your previous entry in the popular Yakuza series, Yakuza 3 didn’t do so well, especially in western markets. The series is turning five years very soon, nearly half a decade of telling stories of underworld crime.
With the expectations in place, there’s obviously a bit of an issue when it comes to where this series would continue. But how could they get around it?
I’ll get into what they eventually did in just a little bit but to ask a question quickly, now that the training wheels were officially off with the end of Yakuza 3’s development, did it’s successor build off and even surpass the bar that was set just two years prior?
The answer to both, is yes.
But to understand this, we have to discuss the development of this particular game.
Pre Production: Rise of the Yakuza 4
Alright this is getting ridiculous.
I researched online to see if there was any information regarding this game’s development. But there’s none. Literally none.
On both the main article for Yakuza 4 on Wikipedia as well as on the official fan wikia for the title, there is barely any development history for this game. But as mentioned above, I can make a few rough guesstimates as to what the devs were going for.
First announced in 2009 at the Tokyo Game Show, Yakuza 4 was set to do something unprecedented for the series.
Up until this point in the franchise’s history, from 2005 up until 2010, every game was played exclusively from the perspective of one character, Kazama Kiryu.
In Yakuza 4 however, that would change. As Kiryu would now be joining alongside three other new protagonists each with their own fighting styles and perspectives on the underworld of Kamurcho.
Not to mention, with the series turning 5 years old when the game first released in Japan by 2010, it was a perfect opportunity for the series to reflect on itself and inject new blood now that the training wheels from Yakuza Kenzan and 3 were well and truly off.
Though in North America and Europe, while we did eventually get a physical and digital release of the title, it came an entire year later in 2011. Considering that the series still wasn’t that popular at the time, it’s no surprise as to why that was the case.
So with that general knowledge of the game in mind, how did these multiple stories and new gameplay shifts work together? Let’s start by discussing the main adventure.
Story: Vengeance of the Yakuza 4
Our narrative begins not with then series lead Kazama Kiryu if you can believe it, or with his kids at Morning Glory orphanage village in Okinawa. Instead, we begin in the familiar but rainy sites of Kamurcho.
In an office just above the New Serana bar is Shun Akiyama, taking a nap on his couch while purposely ignoring calls.
Akiyama is a money lender (yep, we’re still going with that segway, can’t break some traditions here). And despite only being in business for around five years, he’s seen a lot before and since then.
Back in 2005, Akiyama was a top employee working for a bank, when he was called by his bosses. Apparently, one of the accounts he was supposed to manage lost 10 billion Yen overnight, with his advisors asking him to quietly resign from the company so as to avoid a stink.
While Akiyama did just that, he eventually went back on his word, trying and eventually failing to prove his innocence. By December, he was a bum on the streets of Kamurcho. And that’s when the Millenium Tower explosion from Yakuza 1 happened.
As money fell gently like snow across the city, Akiyama gathered as much as he could and, with the help of an old coworker from his former bank named Hana, founded Sky Finance.
Just a quick question to my readers from Japan though, do companies there like to have companies with English titles? Is it kind of like restaurants in English speaking countries having Italian or French names to appear fancy? I’m not judging, I’m genuinely curious.
And just briefly on Akiyama, I actually went back to the final cutscenes of Yakuza Kiwami hoping they added him in as a background character but from what I could see, no such luck. Would have been a nice moment of continuity if you ask me.
Either way, Sky Finance is very unique compared to other money lenders. When a client meets Akiyama in his office, they name their amount and then Akiyama will put forward a challenge to them. Do it and they get the money, no taxes or strings attached.
This little system has made Akiyama pretty popular to the locals but also despised by other money lenders. And with a nickname like “The Lifeline of Kamurocho”, it’s easy to see why.
In any case, Akiyama, despite being a money lender, is very laxed about his collections, as his assistant Hana likes to remind him. With her demanding that his boss visit the local Kamura Enterprises, a Yakuza family.
At the Kamura office, Akiyama overhears a talk by one of the members, Takeshi Kido that members from the rival Shibata Family and Ueno Sewno Clan are kicking back at one of Kamura’s hostess clubs.
Akiyama eventually pops in and casually offers to help out, but only so he could get the collection money he was forced to get, knowing that if the Kamura retaliate, a war between the two families will likely occur.
At the club, Akiyama comes across the pair of Shibata goons and beats some sense into them, just as another old friend of Akiyama visits, Hiroki Arai, captain of the Kamura’s.
See back around the time Akiyama got his little windfall of cash in 2005, he nearly lost it all thanks to a gang of homeless hunters, until Arai, a fresh faced Yakuza at the time, chased them off, with the pair becoming close friends. To the point that Akiyama is planning on investing into Arai as the eventual successor to the Kamura name.
Back at the club though, Arai steps in to try and dissolve the situation but gets shot in the gut. He and Kido run off to try and catch the Shibata goons as they make a break for it.
Akiyama, after getting an angry call from Hana that is midnight and he still didn’t get the collection money, ends up heading back to the office, especially since there’s a fight going on nearby.
Though he gets back on time, he hears a gunshot echo nearby. Behind Sky Finance’s office, Akiyama sees one of the Shibata goons dead. Ari standing over him with a gun in his hand. He apologies for disappointing Akiyama and runs off,
The police arrive soon after and take Akiyama into custody. While a pretty boy in a blue jacket taunts him that Detective Sugiuchi is going to have fun with the money lender. We’ll get back to that guy later.
Good news is that Akiyama, with the aid of Hana’s testimony is let out the following day but the bad news, as Sugiuchi informs him before he leaves, is that Hiroshi Kamura, Ari’s boss and the head of Kamura Enterprises was murdered in his office.
Sugichi warns Akiyama to stay out of the murder, believing the debt collectors’ lenient money lending policies to be dangerous.
Back at the office, Akiyama unfortunately doesn’t have much of a chance for a reprieve as not even an hour in, he gets a new customer at the door. Her name is Lily and came to Akiyama’s office for a loan of 10 million Yen.
Akiyama is obviously slightly confused by the high demand but sticking to his test policy, he decides to give Lily a test. And partly because Lily has a striking similarity to Akiyama’s old girlfriend, Eri.
Later on, Akiyama meets with Kido where they discuss what to do with Kamura’s murder, especially now that it’s been confirmed that the person who did the deed is likely a woman, if the lipstick marks on Kamura’s neck is anything to go by.
Before they can draw any thoughts, Shibata’s goons show up to stir up trouble. With Akiyama staying behind to fend them off while telling Kido to rush back to Sky Finance in case any other of them make an attack on Hana.
Akiyama eventually heads back to the office but is stopped briefly when he sees Hana take out three Yakuza grunts by herself. If she could have defended herself, I honestly don’t see why she didn’t fight back against Arai during the murder or even why Kido was needed.
Just going to jump around a little however, in the Tojo Clan office, things are unfortunately not doing so well.
Isoi Katsuragi, the captain of the Ueno Sewoni Clan, is visiting the sixth chairman of the Tojo, Daigo Dojima.
Dojima offers Katsuragi a generous sum of money as an apology for the recent murder of his subordinates and the head of the Shibata Family offering up his chopped off middle finger as well. But that’s not enough for a shit-eating-grinning Isoi.
The captain explains that coincidentally, the day Ihara was shot by Arai, he was actually made clan lieutenant. And with him dead, Katusragi is looking for further compensation. And he has three ideas, chewing his clan’s supposed vulnerability for all its worth.
One, find Arai and kill him. Two, hand over a man of a similar worth to Ari, like say, Goro Majima. Or option three, hand over the deed to the still in production Kamurocho Hills. And he leaves grinning to himself still.
Now I’ve got a lot of things to say on Katsuragi but best to save it for now. Thankfully, the perspective doesn’t jump around so jarring in this chapter. Note when I say, “in this chapter”.
Back with Akiyama, after another interrogation by Sugicihi the following day, and another warning by him to stay out of the investigation, he immediately goes back on the hunt. Beginning with the place Lili used to work, a hostess club named Elise.
And unfortunately, it’s a dead end. Pun not really intended.
In the club’s office, Akiyama finds the owner dead, rotting and stinking. He must have been dead for the past few days if the flies around his body mean anything.
Not long after, Akiyama gets back in touch with Lili and organises her task. Work as an employee in his hostess club for at least three days and earn 3 million Yen in total.
Oh yeah, Akiyama runs a hostess club as a hobby. As you do.
In between however, Sky Finance gets raided by the Hatsushiba Clan, one of the associates of the Shibata Family. They beat up Hana, steal away the company’s ledger book and also kidnapped Kido for good measure.
I’m guessing those self defence lessons Hana had earlier were just part of a free trial, or maybe she had a free one time coupon for plot armour during the earlier raid on Sky Fiance but who can say.
Either way, Akiyama heads to the Clan office and rescues Kido and the ledger book, which was being searched to see if the Shibata’s could find any information on Lily.
As for Lily herself, she eventually passes the test with Akiyama meeting her at the top of the Millenium Tower. Where he reveals he knows about Lily’s murder of her boss and Kamura.
Lily is obviously shocked by the accusation, but she doesn’t deny it. And for his part, Akiyama doesn’t try to do anything to stop her.
Instead, he keeps his word, gives Lily her 10 million Yen in a briefcase and despite asking Lily to disclose why she did the deeds, she promises to pay him back so long as he doesn’t get his answer. She leaves soon after.
Back in Sky Finance, Akiyama tells Hana about the exchange and that they shouldn’t expect to get their loan money back anytime soon. Hana, enraged by his nerves, runs out accusing Akiyama of only doing it just because he resembles his old girlfriend.
Even though they eventually make up in the park, Hana however is still conflicted about her boss’ decision and resigns, wanting to find more about herself and strike out a bit on her own.
If things couldn’t get any worse however, Akiyama then gets a call from his hostess club, which has its own Yakuza thugs wrecking the joint.
Those Yakuza are led by Daisaku Minami and his men from the Majima Family. They’ve come crashing the club because, much like the Shibata’s, they want to know who Lily is, under order from Goro Majima himself.
When Akiyama tells them that he can’t disclose info from a client, even a past one that’s jumped ship, Minami causes a stir and a fight breaks off. Akiyama wins, naturally, and while Minami is preparing to go again, the Mad Dog Majima himself enters.
Akiymaa and Majima chat it up with the money lender asking why the Yakuza boss wants Lily. Majima’s reason? To make up for a mistake he made with his sworn brother, Taiga Sajima.
Whose Taiga Sajima? To understand that, we need to jump characters again, to his perspective.
Part two of the narrative begins in the summer of 1985, with Taiga Saejima and his sister getting a visit from a young Goro Majima.
Sajima is a Yakuza. One of the enforcers of the Sasai Family, he originally wanted to be a teacher to help struggling kids.
But when his younger step sister, Yasuko, needed a kidney transplant from her birth father, Sajeima turned to a life of street thugs in order to scrape as much cash to convince her old man.
It was around then that a local Yakuza, Hideak Sasai, met and bested him in a fight, who then offered to pay for Yasuko’s surgery and in exchange, Sajiema would join Sasai’s outfit. Further plunging him into the criminal world and meeting his soon to be oath brother, Majima.
Back in 1985 however, when Yasuko goes out to run some errands, Sajima and Majima catch up.
For those who remember my Yakuza 0 review, this is where Majima’s story technically begins.
As it turns out, the head of the Ueno Seiwa clan, Yoshiharu Ueno, is getting out of prison very soon and plans to visit a small noodle shop with his men as his first meal free from jail.
Sajima and Majima plan to raid the noodle joint the day he gets out and shoot him and his men with six revolvers, kindly provided by the Shibata family and endorsed by them, the Shimano, Sasai and Kazama families.
The next day however, when the hit is expected to begin, Sajima turns up but Majima is not there. With the Ueno’s showing up across the street however, Sajima has no choice.
From the trunk of his car, Sajima takes the six revolvers he was bestowed with and barges into the noodle shop.
With 36 bullets to use, he spends no time wasting and immediately starts blasting the Ueno’s, hitting their boss, his subordinates and a young Katsuragi in the process, before leaving the shop like it’s nothing and turning himself into the police.
25 years later, back in 2010, Sajema, has just recently been transferred into a new prison, Okinawa Penitentiary №2.
An internment facility that, as the name implies, is just off of the coast of Yakuza 3’s Okinawa, but even then that’s being generous, as the prison is practically on a island connected by one bridge, and the reason Sajeima is only transferred there as they await to give him a formal execution.
Quick question though, what exactly were the prisons using Sajima for in all that time? It’s no surprise that the man would refuse to rat out on his boss or Majima but still. Maybe they were busy collecting evidence for the case all that time, but that makes even less sense given he was the only man involved in the Ueno assassination.
Either way, between being attacked by former Ueno loyalists behind bars and the local guards that are all too keen on watching him bleed, Sajima gets a special visit from one of the inmates. None other than Hamazaki, one of the main leaders of the Tojo also back in Yakuza 3.
It’s never said or confirmed out right if I recall but it’s fair to say that, after attempting to murder Kiryu with a knife during the last game’s ending, he was promptly thrown behind bars as a result. And unfortunately for Sajemia, Hamazaki comes to give the infamous shooter a brief catch up on the real world.
In the more than two decades Sajima has been in lock up, the Tojo and a still recovering Ueno clan managed to form a special pact together, brought about by the Ueno Boss, who managed to survive Sajima’s assassination.
To make matters worse, Sajima’s old mentor, Sasai, took the fall for the attack personally and disbanded his family shortly after. And in between all of that, guess what kind of man with a eyepatch and a pension for knives happened to rise up the Tojo hierarchy?
Though Sajima doesn’t believe that his oath brother would leave him to rot in a cell, he does agree with Hamazaki that they need to break out, so that the infamous gun man can find the truth of what happened.
The plan set, the duo stage an escape from the internment facility, but Hamazaki is shot when trying to flee. He tackles the guard who fired on him, asking that Sajima find a man named “Kazama Kiryu” if he ever reaches shore. Hamazaki and his attacker both crash into the ocean below, with Sajima diving in after them.
The next morning however, Sajima wakes up alone, just outside of Morning Glory orphanage, conveniently right on the doorstep of Mr. Kiryu himself and his adopted daughter, Haruka.
Sajima tries to explain that he needs to get to Kamurcho while keeping the reason as to why as vague as possible. But when Haruka disappears, Kiryu sees through his disguise instantly. He doesn’t automatically disapprove of Sajima’s actions but needs to see that the man can take care of himself and prove how badly he wants to go.
The pair fight, and though Sajima eventually passes out from his wounds during the breakout, Kiryu is convinced. When he awakes, Kiryu has left Sajima a fresh set of bulky clothes alone with enough money to get him to Kamurocho. The old yakuza breaks down into tears, then leaves shortly afterwards.
In Kamurocho, Sajima tries to retrace his steps by visiting the old Sasai office but finds it closed, unsurprisingly. Thankfully though, a nearby Kido, initially frightened by the yakuza’s height and strength, gets to talk to him and suggests that he visits an information broker, The Florist of Sai.
Once they are acquainted, Sai requests that if he wants to know more of what happened to Majima or Sasai, he needs to prove his worth yet again. Best and kill one of his Sai’s champions in the ring. Sajima does just that but refuses to kill him, reflecting on the grief and weight of his past murders over his head.
Back at the office, Sai actually keeps his promise, as he wanted to test the prison escapee’s morality before he can be given the info.
Sai then eventually brings old man Sasai in, in worn out clothing and barely able to speak after years of living on the streets. But he’s barely able to croak out Sajima’s name. Reducing the former yakuza to tears once again.
With half of his answers obtained, Sajima reunites with Kido only to be greeted by Minami. On behalf of his boss Majima, Minami challenges Sajima to another proving match to make sure that he is as tough as he once was in the Millenium Tower.
Sajima does just that, just as Majima shows up and takes his old bro to the batting centre across town where they used to play. Whereupon Majima challenges Sajima to duel to obtain all the remaining info of his 25 year absence.
Good lord, even Christ’s apostles didn’t need to “prove” they were worthy. But I’ll moan about that later.
Sajima of course wins the fight and his old oath brother comes clean about what happened to him the day of the Ueno assassination.
This reveal is slightly spoiled again by what happened during Yakuza 0 but just in case anyone needs a reminder, Majma was called to meet Shibata the day of the hit and told it was called off.
Realising his oath brother was still there waiting to strike, Majima attempted to head back out, got stopped by the Shibata, narrowly beaten and lost an eye. Which is the exact point where Sajima’s story ends.
For part 3 of the story, we must now move on to arguably the most unorthodox character in Yakuza 4 for a few reasons, as he’s also a character that players met very briefly at the start of the game.
That man is Masayoshi Tanimura, who at the start of his section, is seen being given a stern lecture by worn out detective Suigchi for his general tomfoolery.
Tanimura is a police officer. Technically a fellow detective in the Kamurocho Police Safety Division, he joined the pigs to follow the life of his adopted father who was presumably killed while looking into Sajima’s arrest and by trying to talk to his sister, Yasuko.
Unlike his dad however, Tanimura is a morally grey cop.
On the one hand he will happily take bribe money from local businesses and isn’t afraid to start a fight, but on the other, only takes bribes if they promise to pay their illegal immigrant workers fairly and gives said money back to the Little Asia community; much to their distaste and gratitude.
Recently however, Tanimura is given some info on the ageing Yasuko, who visited a nail salon near one of the places that he collects bribe money from.
The young detective tries to talk to her but before he can, members of the Shibata family keep him distracted and drag her off to the boatyard.
At the office in the docks, Tanimura overhears a conversation with Shibata Sr. and Arai (Akiyama’s old friend in case you forgot, happens sometimes) planning to use Yasuko as ransom to secure part of the Tojo’s still in development Kamurocho Hills deal for the Uneo’s.
Which is precisely the moment when Aria shoots Shibata from behind, as Arai was working closely with Katsurgai and believes that they no longer require him. Tanimura meanwhile, as punctual as ever for his job, bursts in, trying and failing to stop Arai from escaping or Shibata from bleeding to death.
Back in Little Asia, Tanimura and Yasuko finally have a sit down chat. There, Yasuko explains how she knew of Tanimura’s dad.
Apparently, his father was meant to interview her shortly after Sajima’s imprisonment but called it off at the last minute, asking that she hide away, with him presumably being killed shortly after.
As for Yasuko, just a few weeks ago, she got a call from a man, none other than Ueno’s Captain Katsuragi.
Given that Sajima’s execution was still being scheduled, the captain asks that Yasuko collect 100 million yen to stave off his brother’s death. If not, the alternative would be to kill a list of men the caller sends to her.
Yasuko originally took the latter option but as more requests came in and the caller kept raising how much money she needed, she eventually chose to go for the former choice later down the road, which eventually led to her getting in touch with Akiyama.
With her jig now up, Yasuko plans to travel to Okinawa the following day to see her brother before his execution. Meanwhile, Tanimura takes the remaining 10 billion she took from Akiyama and personally arranges a meeting with Katsuragi.
The pair meet soon after where Katsuragi explains he used Sajima’s assassination attempt to allow him to rise the ranks of the Ueno’s, as part of a secret deal he had with the now dead Shibata. And when Tanimura’s father found out about this plot, he was killed soon after.
Tanimura attempts to back out but Katsuragi’s Ueno men corner him. Until Sugichi of all people arrives with a police squad, giving the young detective ample time to run back to Little Asia and stop an onslaught of the Ueno’s from destroying his home.
With little time left to catch Katsuragi, Tanimura heads to the police archives to learn more about the Sajima case, discovering that both his dad and Sugi were the main heads of the investigation.
He doesn’t have much time to read further however because, after returning Akiyama’s loaned 10 billion (which he politely declines), Tanimura then gets a call from one of the other Uneo goons who was there the day Arai shot his comrade.
Tanimura goes to the docks to gain more info but the underling is shot. By who? Detective Sugi himself. But coincidentally the rest of Tokyo PD (lead by returning Junichi Sudo) break in and attempt to surround Sugi. He escapes, with Tanimura chasing after him.
When he’s cornered and after getting a couple of well deserved kicks to the face, Sugi eventually comes clean about everything, partly thanks to Tanimura putting the pieces together himself.
Sugi admits that he was one of the lead detectives in Sajima’s assassination attempt, but why precisely because he is a mole to a Yakuza oath brother. To Captain Katsuragi. Which is where we talk about the most controversial aspect of this game’s story.
25 years ago, Sugi let Katsuragi borrow some experimental rubber bullets as part of Katusragi’s plan to rocket up to the big leagues. With some planning thanks to the Shibata’s, the 36 rounds that Sajima was given were all in fact non-lethal bullets, designed to knock out everyone.
When Sajima leaves, Katsuragi slowly stands up, and while his boss is unconscious, goes around the rest of the noodle joint, shooting his comrades while they’re out cold. With Sugi promising to make up a story that Sajima and him alone was the one who killed them.
However, when the case is brought forward to the head of Tokyo PD, Seisho Munakata, he sees through the Sugi’s coverup instantly, asking how a untamed brute like Sajima could manage to score consistent headshots in a tight noodle shop with little experience in using firearms.
Munakata however decides to give Sugi an option. If he is introduced to Katsuragi, he’ll agree to let Sugi’s report stand. And the rest was history.
25 years later however, Sugi, now reflecting on the decisions that got him there, is tired. He hasn’t got a single promotion in his decades working in the police and realises how much both Munakata and his oath brother used him to get their own way.
Sugi then asks that Tanimura arrest him as any good cop would, but he refuses. And then Sugi is shot by an unknown assailant, and Sugi bleeds out, happy that he is now relieved of duty.
Alright people, nearly there, let’s have a look at the fourth part now, and return to another collection of familiar faces.
Back in Okinawa, the returning Hamazaki can be seen straggling up to Morning Glory orphanage, with both a shocked Haruka and Kazama Kiryu waiting outside.
Kiryu is a Yakuza. The former Dragon of Dojima, who despite officially living the life behind five years ago, is once again brought back to it when Hamazaki appears at his doorstep.
Later that night, once Kiryu has attended to his injuries, Hamazaki reveals some info he got from the warden’s office while he was escaping from prison.
It turns out, thanks to another lodger’s book that the prison warden owned, that Munakata is planning to use the 10 billion yen to lock up men like Sajima who could potentially destabilise his secret connections to the Yakuza.
More importantly for Kiryu however, the 10 billion yen that’s being fought over once belonged to none other than Jingo from Yakuza 1, who, in conjunction with Munakata, wanted to use said money to control the Tojo clan from the shadows. And with Sajima now heading to Kamurcho, the pair don’t have much time to waste.
Kiryu takes Hamazaki to the bus stop the following day but coincidentally finds Yasuko in town, looking for any info he can find on her brother. Kiryu and Hamazaki agree that they need to get her to Kamurcho as soon as they can, with Hamazaki staying behind to take care of prison guards searching for Sajima.
In Kamurocho, Kiryu gets back in touch with his old friend Makoto Date, who is now running a small part time gig as the bartender of New Serena, while the usual hostess is on a holiday break.
Kiryu asks Date to look after her, while he goes into town to see if he can gather more info on Sajima’s whereabouts.
I’m not entirely sure if leaving the former detective behind to stay on guard duty was a smart play but Kiryu’s usual bullheaded approach only gets people killed 70% of the time.
When Kiryu passes by the Millenium Tower however, he sees a squadron of police cars outside, with them arresting Goro Majma. The old frenemies have no time to catch up as Majima reveals that Diago sold him out to stop the war with the Uneo’s from escalating.
Kiryu runs back to New Serena but finds Date unconscious, likely from Yasuko drugging him and escaping through the front door.
With barely any time to waste, Kiryu chases after Yasuko but finds her being accompanied by a smug looking loan shark and a pretty boy in a police jacket. Who are of course the returning Akiyama and Tanimura, whom Kiryu haven’t met yet.
Kiryu is eventually stopped by them when they try to get Yasuko to Purgatory and while he’s eventually able to subdue both, it’s too late.
At Purgatory, Kiryu finds the Florist hurt but alive with Tanimura and Akiyama catching up soon after. Katsuragi, just a few minutes prior, had ordered a raid on the underground dome looking for Sajima and was able to find him and Yasuko thanks to another mole he had on hand. Kido.
Back at New Serena, Kiryu, Tanimura and Akiyama catch up and apologise for the confusion, with Akiyama being the most relaxed given that Kiryu was basically one of the people who helped get him back on his feet during the 2005 explosion.
Kiryu then gets the idea to use Tanimura’s cell to get in touch with Katsuragi. Kiryu, who still holds the money book of Sajima’s prison warden, offers to hand it over to him, provided that Yasuko and her brother are let go. Katsuragi agrees but on one condition.
To save both, Kiryu must travel alone to the still in development Kamurocho Hills and face off against the entirety of the Ueno clan single handedly. Katsruagi wants it so that by the time the pair eventually meet, Kiryu will be so worn out that there won’t be any changes of last minute saves.
Reluctantly, Kiryu agrees and after doing just that, keeps his word. Katsuragi lets Yasuko and Sajima free while Kiryu hands Kido the ledge book. Kido is then ordered to shoot all three but he turns right around shooting Katsuragi instead.
Just then, Arai once again reveals his face and happily takes the loan book, shooting Kido for his troubles.
Sajima meanwhile isn’t stupid and soon discovers that Katsuragi is alive thanks to him having a bulletproof vest under his coat. Sajima narrowly avoids killing the smug manipulator but for some reason while all of their backs are turned, Katsuragi fires at Sajima, with Yasuko taking the bullet instead.
Slowly bleeding, Yasuko asks that she be allowed to repay Sajima’s kindness and shoots and finally kills a quivering Katsuragi, after all of his plans have gone to waste. Yasuko shortly dies in her brother’s arms.
Okay. Alright. Last segment. Let’s rush through this.
Back at New Serena, Sajima is obviously still heartbroken over the loss of his sister, but is even more hurt when Kiryu gets a phone call from Haruka.
While they were away, Hamazaki eventually had to be rushed to a hospital due to the wounds he sustained while in prison. Haruka, despite her previous judgement on the man for stabbing Kiryu, stayed by his side in hospital, until he passed away.
With his last words, Hamazaki asked Haruka to pass a message. That Kiryu, and by extension Sajima, do their damndest to protect the Tojo from men like Munakata. As it’s the only way lowlife like him will ever be remembered.
While reflecting on the rooftop of New Serena, Kiryu and Sajima agree that they need to stop Munakata and whoever else is behind the money incident. With both Akiyama and Tanimura agreeing to help, as they have some scores to settle as well.
Back at the bar, Akiyama comes up with a plan. Using the remaining 10 billion in his personal safe (which also happens to be the same money the Tojo once had), they’ll leave all of it alone on the Millennium Tower roof. And whoever is in charge of the labyrinth conspiracy will show up to claim it all.
After a small funeral held in Yasuko’s honour, they get to work and watch from a helicopter provided and piloted by Date. And it just so happens that four different men come to claim the money, Diago, Arai, Kido and Munakata.
Diago wants the money to help save an overinflated Tojo clan, still struggling since 2005. Arai wants it to ensure justice as an undercover policeman. Kido wants it to prove worthy of taking over the Yakuza. And Munakata wants it to continue his reign from behind the scenes.
Shortly after, Date lands the helicopter on the roof, causing the 10 billion to scatter to the winds. And the Yakuza 4 all step out, picking their targets.
It’s a gruelling and lengthy series of boss fights one after the other as Akiyama shuts down Arai for his betrayal of trust, Sajima knocks out Kido for being too arrogant to make it to the top, Kiryu once again shuts down Diago for underestimating being the head of the Tojo and Tanimura finally gets vengeance for his dad by shutting down Munakata’s ambitions.
With all the men subdued, with some assistance thanks to a reformed Arai, Munakata tries to make one last play by saying no one will believe the stories of Yakuza and thugs against the testimony of a police chief.
And Akiyama counters back by getting Date to drop a series of flyers across the city. As the old detective managed to copy the lodge back that Kiryu had before he gave it away, and is now using it as a front page story.
Enraged, Munakata tries one last bullet in his gun by shooting Akiayma who is conveniently saved thanks to a big stack of cash that was left in breast pocket. Either that or Munakata accidently shot another rubber bullet.
Finally defeated, the boys plan to send everyone except Dojima into the police with Arai’s consent. Until Munakata makes one last jump for his gun, shooting himself.
A few weeks pass. Tanimura is back in the police force, Akiyama is back to running Sky Finance with the help of Hana coming back and Kiryu and Date chat it up again, as the police detective plans to return to the force very soon. With them saying goodbye as Kiryu heads home to Okinawa.
Before then however, in a post credits scene, Kiryu has one more stop to make.
Outside of the Tojo Clan HQ, he, Haruka, Diago and a released Majima have just finished making preparations for a new recruit into the Tojo hierarchy.
That man? Taiga Saejima. Founder and patriarch of the newly formed Sajima family. Which concludes Yakuza 4.
Yeah. This was a lot to summarise.
I’m not kidding when I say that out of all the games in this series I’ve had the pleasure/displeasure of reviewing, 4’s story was arguably the hardest to break down so far.
Between its four interspersed narratives, the various time jumps and characters that cross over between the different acts as well as the numerous directions and purposes each act has, Yakuza 4 was at the time, the most experimental in the series history, and it shows.
Because once again, like in previous reviews, I’ve had to do a lot of trimming down to make sure I can fit Yakuza 4’s narrative into as short of a blog post as possible.
One such example comes in the form of characters that almost exist exclusively to one specific act, such as the chief of the Kamurco Community Police, Hisai.
Hisai is Tanimura’s superior during his part of the narrative and mainly serves there to remind him not to goof and waste money while on the job and later to highlight the level of control Munkata has, when he orders Hisai to execute the owners of Little Asia. He rejects, shooting himself instead.
Characters like Hisai are by no means a issue, as they give each section of the narrative a different flavour but it still comes across as cumbersome for guys like me, who need to highlight and pick and choose what elements to leave behind in the grand summary.
Even then, I still think there’s a lot of mismanaging in the plot as a whole, since each of the four main acts between Akiyama, Sajima, Tanimura and Kiryu all have four chapters tied with them. And they sometimes struggle to keep an even balance or good narrative throughout.
In Sajima’s story for example, as I mentioned earlier, four of his biggest fights between Kiryu, the Sai’s coliseum, Minami and Majima are all designed to prove himself and his devotion to finding the truth about his unjust imprisonment.
But even so, this man has to face the personal assistant of the Majima’s before he can reach Majima himself, and even then has to do it all over again once he reunites with his sworn brother.
What was seriously wrong with Majima just telling him everything he needed? Sajima broke out of prison, nearly bested Kiryu, bent the rules of a coliseum fight and even won against Majima’s underlyings, what more does he have to prove?!
In Tanimura’s act, he’s probably the least developed out of the four protagonists, As his third chapter is dedicated to going to the police archives, finding out who was involved in the Sajima case, and that’s it. No surprise ambushes by the Ueno clan or anything else of importance, nothing.
It’s pretty clear to me therefore that a lot of Yakuza 4’s narrative is at its worst when it comes to some of the smaller scale stories, the ones that are reserved exclusively within these acts. But that’s not it’s worst crime.
When I talked about Yakuza 3 in my previous review, I mentioned how I was severely disappointed with how certain characters like Sayama were being built up in one game and then are promptly abandoned in the next. 4 does that but even worse.
Out of all of the new faces introduced, Tanimura, the people of Little Asia, Minime and in some small Hana, are all gone in the next game.
Hana does have some small lines of dialogue from a telephone and Tanimura gets referenced once or twice but Minime in particular, Majima’s right hand man being built up during a good chunk of the story, never returns.
You could say that this makes 4 all the more unique, having characters and perspectives that are exclusively found in this game but personally, I find it to be a waste of potential. With Tanimura especially being a character I’d love to see more of some other time.
However, the biggest draw towards 4’s story, how each character links back together is arguably its best quality.
Part of the reason why later games like Yakuza 0 are remembered so fondly is because the different perspectives of its two leads, Kiryu and Majima, work together separately as their unique stories eventually bounce off of and clash together. With 4 more or less doing just that, five years earlier.
Maybe it has something to do with the pacing or once again, the fact that every character has an act dedicated to itself and four chapters within it but it’s still really cool seeing story threads from one act connect to a later one, rewarding those who can keep track of everything.
Elements like the Sajima case being important to both himself and Tanimura or Akiyama and Kiryu being linked because of their different perspectives on the 2005 tower bomb, means that each protagonist has a reason to exist. And it further widens out the type of stories that can be told, compared to if it just stuck to Kiryu exclusively once again.
So all in all, Yakuza 4’s narrative is by no means perfect, but on a sheer design and structure standpoint, is the most fascinating to talk about. Which I was hoping I could say the same for its gameplay.
Gameplay: Breaking in the Yakuza 4
Now as I’ve made very clear by now, 4’s biggest revolution for the series was the introduction of multiple playable characters, with their own gameplay styles and views on the world.
Out of the four however, Kiryu is arguably the least original.
Not because he’s bad by no means, still able to mix quick strikes, heavy throws and use bulky background items to do more damage, most of his move set is borrowed directly from Yakuza 3. To the point that even a few of his moves are already unlocked once you start playing, like having faster attack speed and combo enders.
That’s by no means a bad thing, especially as it makes Kiryu the “all-rounder” of the cast, but as the last character in the playing order, there’s a bit more I feel like they could have changed.
As for the new faces however, let’s dig in first with the man players start with. Akiyama.
Though he may be a simple money lender with an irresistible smile, Akiyama is in fact a well skilled fighter in his own right, explained away in some background dialogue that he knows how to defend himself. And in his line of work, can you really blame him?
In any case, Akiyama is the quickest of the four characters, with a big emphasis on using his triangle combo finishers to repeatedly kick at his foes. Much like his personality, he’s quick on his feet, gains special taunts to help build up his heat gauge and uses them combined to put pressure against his opponents.
Helping that is some of the most universally versatile heat moves in the game (next to Kiryu at least), such as one that requires you to charge at three opponents to knock them out instantly, or shoving one foe into a railing or wall and then kicking them like he’s practising football.
Personally he was the most straightforward of the new cast and it made me enjoy his quick strikes all the more. Especially in contrast to Taiga Sajima and his moveset.
When players are forced to swap to the wrongly convicted gunmen, Sajima is in clear opposition to Akiyama. Using his time in prison as well as his past running shakedowns, Taiga is a beast in every sense of the word.
Though he is the slowest out of the cast, Sajima gains access to two unique traits, a charged up super punch as his combo ender (that also makes him immune to most attacks) and increased damage when using item pickups.
As such, Sajima is undoubtedly the powerhouse of the title. With several of his unlockable heat moves usually triggered after his opponent has been knocked to the ground, like grabbing an opponent that’s next to a wall, hoisting them up on their shoulders then slamming it into them like their a battering ram.
I was planning on making a mini Toy Story 2 reference there, something about “using your head”, but I don’t know how that could be conveyed in a simple blog post. If you know you know.
Compared to Akiyama I think Taiga’s an alright fighter. A lot of his boss fights are made to counter his armour when using his combo finisher but I still think him being able to absolutely devastate most of his foes, even being able to grab opponents in mid air makes him the easiest character to just shut your brain off to.
Lastly there’s Tanimura. And much like his presence in the story, his gameplay is… how should we describe it… half baked to be honest.
Compared to the rest of the cast, Tanimura is all about grabs. With him being the only one of the main characters to have two different holds with access to their own square, triangle and heat action moves respectfully.
Plus, instead of having a block button like every other fighter in the game, Tanimura instead has a parry button that‘s only usable on the opening frames of the animation (signified by a blue glow on his body).
And since Tanimura is a police detective, a lot of his strongest moves are meant to solve situations by exploiting opponents, using certain heat moves during a grab or having the rare chance of beating an enemy out all together by using a pair of handcuffs once they’re knocked to the ground.
In my opinion, while I found Tanimura to be the most interesting of all the protagonists, he was undoubtedly the least fun to actually play.
Compared to every other fighter, all of whom ask the player to be aggressive and create opportunities by understanding their environment and foe, Tanimura has to wait to trigger those moments. And it flies directly in the face of what the player is expected to do in most combat encounters.
Tanimura is still as versatile as the rest of the cast, with his basic square attacks being able once again, setting up his grabs and strong heat moves once you put the work in but the game still expects you to play aggressive like you’re using Sajima, Akiyama or Kiryu. Which just isn’t Tanimura’s style.
I still like his unique moveset but in this style of game, he simply doesn’t gel with what the game expects from you.
But you know what does work well? The soundtrack.
I may have dropped my discussion on this game’s presentation of time convenience (the plot summary itself took like 15 pages alone) but I will not waste a chance to talk about how fantastic this soundtrack is.
Probably the standout for me has to be the game’s main theme, and according to Spotify, my most played song of 2023, For Faith. I know I could have made a joke by having it be my most played song of 2024 if I wanted to but whatever.
Though For Faith is perhaps the most incomprehensible song of most of the series titles, using a mixture of broken English lyrics to talk about how personal greed won’t forgive bad actions, it’s still my favourite just in terms of the instrumentation.
The Yakuza series as a whole has a practice of blending tones together, and 4’s main theme, as I mentioned briefly on my student radio show, does that, with a hard rocking electric guitar solo mixed with a drum set and sombre piano to capture both the excitement and drama that’s about to unfold.
Alongside that, 4 introduced two great karaoke songs in the game’s popular minigame. That being Pure Love in Kamurocho and Machine Gun Kiss.
Both are united by the fact that their extremely great love songs, but capture two different moods.
Pure Love being a romantic ballad that Hana and Akiyama or Kiryu and one of the hostesses can sing together. The acoustic guitar and story of two lovers, one a client and the other a hostess, likely mirroring Akiyama and Lily aka Yasuko and their complicated romance.
Meanwhile the more popular Machine Gun Kiss is, as I described in my Yakuza: Like a Dragon review, an edge of your seat love song with the singer putting their all into how much they want to rock their lover’s world.
The soundtrack overall is just great. And if I stop my gameplay summary to talk about it, should say as much. And I’m desperately holding back talking about variations of For Faith being played during the game’s final boss fights. Seriously, I love that song.
Back to gameplay however, Kamurcho has various new locations opened for the first time, helped by the new characters. Such as Akiyama having access to the rooftops for shortcuts or Tanimura being able to enter the Little Asia district.
By the time you get to play as Kiryu, all of the cast can access the various districts, except Sajima, who can do all of that, while needing to contend with police officers roaming the street looking for him. Getting spotted means triggering a chase sequence but other than that, not much else.
Each of the cast has substories or jobs dedicated to their careers or legacy. Akiyama managing new clients for Sky Finance, Sajima helping to train students at a dojo, Tanimura working with police detectives and using a scanner to solve random crimes and Kiryu meeting some old nemesis from past side activities.
These missions obviously are used to gain more items and gear as well as EXP, now replaced with Soul Orbs to purchase new abilities, but all around, are still very fun across the board.
As for other side activities, there’s unfortunately not much that is new compared to previous games. And with how long I’ve been talking for, I really don’t think I have the time to go into that much detail.
That said, arguably my favourite mode from Yakuza 3, Revelations, returns here, with each character getting to unlock special moves from watching the environment.
Kiryu and Akiyama filming scenes on their phones, Tanimura using his notebook to chart notes and Sajima using a freaking chisel and slap of wood to carve out statues based on his environments. The first time that happened made me burst out laughing, seeing Sajima pull out oak wood like he waited his whole life to do that.
Suggestions for photos are given by the returning Mack (or via a few bystanders in Sajima’s case) but overall, still as silly and great of a feature as it was in 3.
So with all that said, and my fingers really starting to hurt because of how much I’m typing, let’s wrap this up.
Conclusion: Remembering the Yakuza 4
Overall, at a time when the series was showing forms of stagnation, Yakuza 4 was by all accounts, the perfect remedy to truly bring the series to new heights. And even today you can still get some enjoyment from it.
While I wasn’t that happy with how it handled its plot structure, characters that are axed in Yakuza 5, underwhelming side content and Tanimura being the most interesting but disappointingly developed character in the whole franchise; the overall story, new faces and soundtrack deliver a sublime slice of new and fresh action to the series.
If you feel daunted by Yakuza 4’s ambition, I say give it a shot. You’ll find a great game underneath.
Which is something I wish I could say for the next title I’m soon to explore…
First drafted 15 January 2023
Last edited 28 May 2024
