A much needed improvement, but not quite enough.
A Ryu ga Gotoku game without Kiryu at center stage? Some might say it's sacrilegious, but I say it's about time. The strongest part of the RgG series has always been it's characters, and oddly enough, Kiryu has always been one of the weaker ones. The jump from 1 main character to 4 is a pretty odd choice for a series that evolves as slowly as this one, but it's one of the best things about RgG4.
Of the new characters Tanimura is by far my favorite. Both his fighting style and character storyline are the most interesting of the 3 new additions. Though Saejima's accent is a welcome addition (but living in Kansai I might be biased) and Akiyama's kicks make combat a breeze (though not a big change from Kiryu). After the demo I thought Akiyama was a shoo-in for best of show, but his side stories were so dull and his storyline and behavior are so odd and perplexing that I found him a lot harder to relate to.
The new areas go a long way to making Kamurocho tolerable for a 4th visit. It's still pretty disappointing that there's no new Okinawa/Osaka-esque area, but rooftops and sewers are a bit more interesting than I would have expected. It's not all roses and sunshine though. The graphics are a pretty big let down. It's the same engine that was already outdated when it was first featured in 2008's Kenzan and yet there is little to no improvement 3 games later. I guess the rain effects were nice (the 1 day it rained). But the city is colorful and if you can ignore the random PS1-caliber NPC character model it's not a deal breaker.
There are extremely minor cosmetic upgrades to most of the returning mini-games. The hostess clubs have changed a bit in the way they work, though are fundamentally the same. The reduction in number of girls is a welcome change though, and spreading them out between the protagonists makes the experience seem like less of a grind. The new onsen/ping pong "minigames" are a let down though.
The ancient Japanese gameplay conventions are what really puts a damper on things. Menus abound. Everything you do needs confirmation and often reconfirmation. The lack of voiced dialog wasn't as glaring in RgG3 but for whatever reason it REALLY stands out in 4. Maybe it's because I actually care about the story in 4. Or maybe it's just because when there is the rare voiced exchanged, its done so well that when the inevitable shift to unvoiced text occurs it's really jarring. The shift to unvoiced seems to also inexplicably occur during the climax of most conversations. So some of the most passionate dialog is delivered with pi-pi-pi-pi beeping text. With the sheer amount of dialog and development time frame most of these choices are somewhat understandable, but I'd much prefer having to wait longer for a more current-gen game. Even if it means less (shoehorned in content).
That's not to say I'm not enjoying the game. Lowered expectations after RgG3 have made the weaker aspects easier to accept. And the compelling story combined with the admittedly small gameplay changes seem positively revolutionary for a series that has until now, has evolved at a snail's pace.
