Ranking the Yakuza Series: ‘Yakuza 4’

by Flora Merigold · Published April 2, 2021 · Updated April 1, 2021

Yakuza 4 is where the series starts to go off the rails – but in a risk-reward manner that I think pays off by the end. The fourth game in the series is practically a bait-and-switch from what the previous Yakuza games promised: the storied life of Kazuma Kiryu. Yakuza 4 is, in actuality, the tale of four protagonists; Kiryu just happens to be along for the ride. Reading about the development history of this game, it turns out that Yakuza 4 was initially pitched as a spin-off from the mainline series of Yakuza games, but the director believed strongly enough in this vision to expand the concept of the Yakuza games to other characters in its world that the proposed spin-off became a mainline entry. Coming off the low point in the series with Yakuza 3, I was initially a little put off by the fact that you don’t play as Kiryu for a majority of the game’s runtime. But by the end of the experience, I ended up appreciating the lateral move that Yakuza 4 made for the series.

The first playable character in Yakuza 4 is Shu Akiyama, an eccentric man who runs a business called Sky Finance, which is a quirky place to apply for a loan. Akiyama grants many of the loan requests that he receives and doesn’t even charge interest, but there’s a catch. Akiyama requires his loan recipients to pass a series of idiosyncratic tests, some of which lead to surprisingly deep interactions throughout his storyline. I found Akiyama to be a very loveable character despite his many faults, especially by the end. The game also features playable characters Taiga Saijima and Masayoshi Tanimura, neither of which are as charming or fun to play as Akiyama. Saijima’s storyline suffers from its initial prison setting, which drags on with nothing interesting to say about the criminal justice system. Tanimura’s storyline is more interesting than Saijima’s for the large part, but fighting as Tanimura is awkward due to his minimal health and unreliable dodge mechanic.

Though I was initially put off by Kiryu’s absence throughout much of Yakuza 4, I found myself admittedly engrossed in the individual stories of the three other playable protagonists, which is a testament to the writing (and localization) team behind each character. When I finally got to Kiryu’s part of the story, it felt like an old friend was visiting for the holidays. As I marched towards the finale of Yakuza 4, I found that the interactions between each of these protagonists provided for some moments that made me beam with joy and excitement. Somehow all the disparate threads were tied together surprisingly well in the finale, leading to one of the more memorable and satisfying conclusions of all the games in the series.

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Fun

Is the Game Fun?

I love that this game features four characters all with different combat styles. Since the story only lingers with each character for four chapters, the action was consistently engaging.

Performance

Does the Game Perform Well?

Yakuza 4 takes a lot of assets from the third game and repackages them in a way that never gives a performance hitch or buggy situation.

Art

Does the Game Have a Fitting Art Style?

Since much of this game is borrowed from the previous title, there is little to remark upon here. The design of the four protagonists, however, is superb, as each are visually distinct and memorable.

Story

Does the Game Have a Unique Story or Premise?

The story is probably the strongest asset of Yakuza 4. On paper, it’s a daunting task to interrupt the middle of a series and take away its core protagonist. In practice, however, this is one of the most rewarding executions on a premise in games that I’ve played this year.

Lasting Power

Does the Game Have Replayability or Lasting Power?

Unfortunately, as with most other Yakuza games, the linear story and optional side content don’t lead to much in the way of replayability or lasting power.

Verdict

While the prospect of multiple characters and interweaving storylines might appear daunting, I found the mixed-up Yakuza formula to be refreshing. Each character, even Saejima, grew on me. By the end of the game, I was completely sold on the decision to direct Yakuza 4 this way.