9/12/2023 0 Comments Yakuza 4 coverHowever, multiple people that supposedly know the truth about the events that transpired around Saejima’s hit begin being murdered, suggesting that there’s more to Saejima’s hit than our initial glimpse of it may suggest. While the hit takes place in 1985, most of Yakuza 4’s story takes place in 2010, when Saejima’s execution date in prison is finally coming up. Despite his sworn brother and series veteran Goro Majima not showing up to assist him in the hit, Saejima continues with the hit by himself, killing eighteen men and getting arrested shortly thereafter. Saejima is a man that is loyal to a fault, willing to put his entire life on the line for the sake of his yakuza family. The story of Yakuza 4 primarily centers around Taiga Saejima’s attack on the Ueno Seiwa Clan - an act that we see is one filled with both loyalty and betrayal. Like previous entries, we focus on an event that brings about a struggle between multiple yakuza families, resulting in a war between families and clans that inevitably catches our protagonists in the crossfire. 4 manages to improve upon nearly all aspects of its predecessor, resulting in a game that needs to be commended for how much it pushes the series forward.ĭespite having a decisively unique story structure compared to previous games in the series, Yakuza 4 still tells a story that’s befitting of the excellent character drama that the series has become known for. While Yakuza 3 was indicative of growing pains of a new engine, Yakuza 4 is the fully-grown realization of what Yakuza 3 aspired to be. Yakuza 4 distinguishes itself from the rest of the series immediately due to its structure of being told in five parts, with the first four parts focusing on different characters that play different narrative and gameplay roles. As such, Yakuza 4’s focus on new characters throughout the majority of its narrative feels not only refreshing, but justified. Thus far in the Yakuza saga, players have been primarily overseeing the story of the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, who, after the events of Yakuza 3, seems to finally be free of the influence of his past in the yakuza. Indeed, 4 immediately makes itself distinct from all prior entries in the series with its focus on telling a story with four playable characters, all of which have different perspectives and roles to play in a story that inevitably connects all four protagonists. While 3 took some missteps with its gameplay, it laid out a strong foundation for later entries to build upon - and that’s exactly what RGG Studio did with the release of Yakuza 4. The end result was an experience that, while being ostensibly flawed, manages to stick with you in thanks to some inspired ideas and ambition - both of which have ultimately kept me thinking about the game over four months since the conclusion of my playthrough.ģ was an ambitious step forward for the series, and its stumbles are representative of the developers learning new hardware with the PlayStation 3, in addition to no longer being confined to the fixed camera angles of Yakuza 1 and 2. Despite those shortcomings, though, Yakuza 3’s engaging, if at times awkwardly paced story was enough to convince me to see the game through to the end. Fighting was clunky and unintuitive, minigames weren’t too enjoyable due the game’s physics not feeling quite right, and the game overall had a rough-around-the-edges feel to it - as if the developers at RGG Studio were still figuring out how to best take advantage of a new engine and presentation with their gameplay and narrative. In my piece reflecting on my time with Yakuza 3, I recalled having a mixed and relatively frustrating time with the gameplay of Yakuza 3.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |