So did this game like...work well?

#1 Posted by Ventilaator (1498 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

I just finished Yakuza 3 and liked it enough to immediately start looking at the fourth one, but I'm a little worried.

I have no doubt about the gameplay being just as solid and the story just as compelling, but the 4 different characters thing makes it kinda weird to me. I assume the game isn't 4 times longer just like that, so is there enough time for you to care about any of them? I finished Yakuza 3 in 18 hours. I'm not sure that if you'd divide that time by 4 for each character there's enough time left for them to grow in any meaningful way.

So, fans of this series, how jarring was 4?

#2 Posted by Ivos (79 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

It took you only 18 hours? Did you not do any side quests or something?

Either way, speedrun and skip all cinematics for Yakuza 4 takes roughly 10 hours. I had no issue connecting with all 4 characters, they are brilliant, but I took my time and didn't just run from story mission to story mission and finished my first run in 80 hours. Yakuza 3 took me roughly as long to finish.

#3 Posted by Ventilaator (1498 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

@Ivos said:

" It took you only 18 hours? Did you not do any side quests or something?Either way, speedrun and skip all cinematics for Yakuza 4 takes roughly 10 hours. I had no issue connecting with all 4 characters, they are brilliant, but I took my time and didn't just run from story mission to story mission and finished my first run in 80 hours. Yakuza 3 took me roughly as long to finish. "

I did as many sidequests as I stumbled across, sang every karaoke song there was, played every game in the casino and specifically took the time to get the marathron runner achievement. I don't know what happened.

I'm completely NOT done with the game though. It gave me the option to continue playing with all my stuff, and I didn't have the chance to check out the hitman missions, so I'm totally gonna do that. Get back to me in a month or so and my playtime has probably tripled.

#4 Edited by mutha3 (4963 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

@Ventilaator said:

" I just finished Yakuza 3 and liked it enough to immediately start looking at the fourth one, but I'm a little worried. I have no doubt about the gameplay being just as solid and the story just as compelling, but the 4 different characters thing makes it kinda weird to me. I assume the game isn't 4 times longer just like that, so is there enough time for you to care about any of them? I finished Yakuza 3 in 18 hours. I'm not sure that if you'd divide that time by 4 for each character there's enough time left for them to grow in any meaningful way.So, fans of this series, how jarring was 4? "

4 is a much better game than 3.

Is 3 the first one you've played? if it isn't -- Yakuza fans have played as Kazuma Kiriyu for 3 games now. His character had already developed quite a bit by the time you reached the third game. To the point where it was pointless to pull the man back in, the way they did was by pretty much "restarting" the character and derail him.

The 4 MC's was a very welcome change to this series. All 4 characters(with exception of Kiriyu) felt like they got their chance to shine and by the end of each arc you got more to know about 'em. The 4 playstyles also keep the gameplay from getting stale, all 4 characters feel unique for each other and has you changing the way you approach them.

....also, if you finished in 18 hours you must have missed quite a few substories. there are 114 of those if I remember correctly. Personally, I think those are some of the best moments in a Yakuza game.

#5 Posted by Underachiever007 (2460 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

@mutha3: I finished playing Yakuza 4 just a couple of weeks back, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's the only Yakuza game I've ever played. Think I should check out 3?

#6 Posted by mutha3 (4963 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

@Underachiever007 said:

" @mutha3: I finished playing Yakuza 4 just a couple of weeks back, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's the only Yakuza game I've ever played. Think I should check out 3? "

3 is a fine enough game that is well worth playing. But if you can handle ps2 graphics, I'd say Yakuza 2 is probably the high point of the series(especially in the story department).

Yakuza 3 is also slooowwwww asss h...ee...llllllll. The first 5-10 hours of that game is spent wiping the butts of orphans. 2 has far better pacing and is gameplay wise almost identical.

#7 Posted by Ventilaator (1498 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

@mutha3 said:

" @Underachiever007 said:
" @mutha3: I finished playing Yakuza 4 just a couple of weeks back, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's the only Yakuza game I've ever played. Think I should check out 3? "
3 is a fine enough game that is well worth playing. But if you can handle ps2 graphics, I'd say Yakuza 2 is probably the high point of the series(especially in the story department).Yakuza 3 is also slooowwwww asss h...ee...llllllll. The first 5-10 hours of that game is spent wiping the butts of orphans. 2 has far better pacing and is gameplay wise almost identical. "

The first hours didn't bother me at allllllll. I must have amazing patience.

#8 Posted by Underachiever007 (2460 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

@mutha3 said:

" @Underachiever007 said:
" @mutha3: I finished playing Yakuza 4 just a couple of weeks back, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's the only Yakuza game I've ever played. Think I should check out 3? "
3 is a fine enough game that is well worth playing. But if you can handle ps2 graphics, I'd say Yakuza 2 is probably the high point of the series(especially in the story department).Yakuza 3 is also slooowwwww asss h...ee...llllllll. The first 5-10 hours of that game is spent wiping the butts of orphans. 2 has far better pacing and is gameplay wise almost identical. "

I think I'll check out 2, then. I got no problems with PS2 graphics. I've been playing a fair number of PS2 games this year, actually.

I'll probably end up playing 3 as well, but probably not until sometime later this year.

#9 Posted by kingzetta (4307 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

yes it did

#10 Posted by MikkaQ (9704 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

Does the game throw you the 4 characters in sequence, one after the other upon completing their arc, or do you keep alternating between them?

#11 Posted by mutha3 (4963 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

@XII_Sniper said:

" Does the game throw you the 4 characters in sequence, one after the other upon completing their arc, or do you keep alternating between them? "

It does this, until the finale. At the end you can alternate whenever you feel like it. Until then, its 4 parts each with their own character.
@Ventilaator said:

" @mutha3 said:
" @Underachiever007 said:
" @mutha3: I finished playing Yakuza 4 just a couple of weeks back, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's the only Yakuza game I've ever played. Think I should check out 3? "
3 is a fine enough game that is well worth playing. But if you can handle ps2 graphics, I'd say Yakuza 2 is probably the high point of the series(especially in the story department).Yakuza 3 is also slooowwwww asss h...ee...llllllll. The first 5-10 hours of that game is spent wiping the butts of orphans. 2 has far better pacing and is gameplay wise almost identical. "
The first hours didn't bother me at allllllll. I must have amazing patience. "

Well, this might also be partly because of expectations a fan of Y1/2 has. I wasn't used to that slow-ass pace from Yakuza games at all. I'm actually a very patient person and can handle dense or slowly paced works of fiction.....Y3 just didn't click, though.

#12 Posted by WatanabeKazuma (989 posts) - 2 years, 14 days ago

The first two games are still completely playable, contrary to what I said only a couple of weeks ago. There may be something of an adjustment period if you are jumping backwards through the series, the targeting system as you know it is almost non-existent in the first game. Also the English localization is fairly spotty, the game really does not lend itself well to an English voice cast, especially when they do a bad job to begin with.

Yakuza 2 is great, it seems to strike the balance between game-play and story the best out of the entire series. Osaka is a great location, looking back now it really freshens things up. The lack of a new locale is a complaint I'd use against 4.

Yakuza 3 has an odd pace to it as mentioned, its mainly because very little game-play takes place for an hour or two after the initial tutorials. Things definitely pick up, but in the grand scheme of things the story you could really placed on the fringes in comparison to the others. Still if you liked it, that's a good indicator you will definitely like what's to follow in regards to the other games.

Yakuza 4 is great, not all the characters were a hit for me (Saejima) but they really helped to change what had been a well-worn formula at this point, both in story as well as gameplay. The variety is its key strength, doing everything that is on offer will take a long time (coming from someone who has the platinum trophy). Also the storyline and side-quests have numerous nods littered throughout to the earlier games. The length of the main game is definitely comparative to 3.

The only warning I would give is that the games could become something of a grind if you play them so close together, especially if you are set to complete as much as you can. Going back in the series should be a nice experience if you an interest in the overall lore, the series has always had an interest in its overarching continuity.

#13 Posted by Lelcar (538 posts) - 2 years, 13 days ago

@mutha3 said:

"All 4 characters(with exception of Kiriyu) felt like they got their chance to shine and by the end of each arc you got more to know about 'em. The 4 playstyles also keep the gameplay from getting stale, all 4 characters feel unique for each other and has you changing the way you approach them "

This.

Also, just doing the main story in Yakuza 4, I'd say that its much longer than 18 hours. However, not doing a single side story, quest, or mini-game is absolutely ludicrous. Yakuza 4 is amazing, so don't be hesitant to play it!

#14 Posted by Ventilaator (1498 posts) - 2 years, 13 days ago

@WatanabeKazuma said:

"

The only warning I would give is that the games could become something of a grind if you play them so close together, especially if you are set to complete as much as you can. Going back in the series should be a nice experience if you an interest in the overall lore, the series has always had an interest in its overarching continuity.
"

This was one of my worries as well. I'm 20 hours in now with about a 10% completion, and that's just not right. If I get that percentage to anywhere respectable (75 onwards) I might be completely sick of it.

I'll just throw in some completely untouched Dead Space 2 and unfinished Arkham Asylum and Fallout 3 in there and I'm good to go with number 4

#15 Posted by CL60 (16906 posts) - 2 years, 13 days ago

I'm thinking of picking up Yakuza 4, I've never played a Yakuza game before.

#16 Posted by m1k3 (1285 posts) - 2 years, 13 days ago

Y4 has plenty of stuff. i beat the game without doing a lot of side stuff and am only at 10% complete.

#17 Edited by fraser (455 posts) - 2 years, 13 days ago

I love the Yakuza franchise, and I'd really advise getting 4.

3 was great, but it was great for kinda weird reasons. I thought the story was the weakest of the whole franchise but the crazy orphanage moments helped keep interest.

Yakuza 4 has a much, much better story than 3 and they tie the four playable characters together quite impressively. Plenty of "OH SHIT HOW DID YOU KNOW....WHUT?" moments to keep you interested.

That being said, your fears about jumping from character to character and not having enough time to fully engage with any one of them are justified. It can be a little annoying having to level 4 different people up, and each one is fairly different so the sections begin with small tutorials.

That said, the combat's the best it's been and the story really is great. It's also pretty cheap now so go buy it!

#18 Posted by Ventilaator (1498 posts) - 2 years, 12 days ago

@fraser:

Okay, enough people have said it already so please clarify.

What exactly is the difference between the 4 characters combat-wise?

#19 Edited by fraser (455 posts) - 2 years, 12 days ago

@Ventilaator: A lot of it is minor differences like different punches and kicks which lead to different combo possibilities. But they go a bit deeper than that.

Akiyama plays a lot like Kazuma has done throughout the series, just aesthetic differences really, and possibly a bit quicker/more fancy move set.

But Saejima is slower and has the ability to charge punches and kicks mid-combo, leading to more strategic fights than the others.

Tanimura has some awesome dodge and parry systems that the other characters can't do. He also has a bunch of wrestling style grapples that differ quite dramatically from the others.

I'd really reccommend getting it, but like some others have said, because of the fact that it's mostly in the same locations as Yakuza 1 and 3, I'd advise waiting a bit before jumping in.

#20 Edited by Yummylee (18138 posts) - 2 years, 12 days ago

@fraser said:

" @Ventilaator: A lot of it is minor differences like different punches and kicks which lead to different combo possibilities. But they go a bit deeper than that.Akiyama plays a lot like Kazuma has done throughout the series, just aesthetic differences really, and possibly a bit quicker/more fancy move set.But Saejima is slower and has the ability to charge punches and kicks mid-combo, leading to more strategic fights than the others.Tanimura has some awesome dodge and parry systems that the other characters can't do. He also has a bunch of wrestling style grapples that differ quite dramatically from the others.I'd really reccommend getting it, but like some others have said, because of the fact that it's mostly in the same locations as Yakuza 1 and 3, I'd advise waiting a bit before jumping in. "

Tanimura was so bloody overpowered as well. He had so many HEAT moves, and most of them would trigger just by pressing the triangle button after a combo. No complaints mind you :P

#21 Posted by fraser (455 posts) - 2 years, 12 days ago

@Abyssfull: Haha, yes!

I loved that. Ended up running round pressing traingle, failing to begin a heat move, and just poorly killing everyone with bland kicks.

Still, when those heat moves work, they're insane. I love Tanimura's between-the-legs-heat-throw thing. Pure genius.

Yakuza 4

Yakuza 4 is the fourth game in Sega's crime drama series, known as 'Ryu ga Gotoku' in Japan. As a first for the series, the story is split between the viewpoints of four different protagonists.

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