Here come da boys
After going through Yakuza 3 and having my expectations dashed, I have emerged out of Yakuza 4 as a new man.
A man that has again experienced the greatness of the Yakuza franchise.
At first I found the dynamic of having 4 playable characters odd, but the way they structured it was pretty great.
Sure, each section was short, but Yakuza games usually are under 20 hours long so there wasn't much they could do with each character, unless of course you tried doing as much as possible - I didn't, I'm trying to get this franchise over with, not because it's bad, but because I really want to go back to the Dragon Engine and then be able to play the new games coming out later.
(The next section has spoilers for the ending)
To describe the ending is pretty simple:
All vilains and all protagonists show up at the top of the millenium tower, they kick each other's assess and then Makoto Date and Sudo show up to ruin the villain's plans once and for all on a helicopter.
It's honestly become quite funny how predictable the helicopter bit is, but I don't mind, it's cool af and it made 100 billion yen fly all around the place, making Munakata not very happy.
It's definite Yakuza 1 vibes all around here and I find that very cool.
What about the fights?
Arai's fight felt like a normal Akiyama fight but with a strong boss instead, but that's no real problem. They both fought like true warriors and the fight was very simple but fun enough.
Kido's fight was also really good, utilizing Saejima's moves on an actual strong boss felt great and it's awesome to see how Kido goes "all out" just like Saejima taught him to. It's a great battle and Kido is a great character.
Daigo's fight felt like a cookie cutter Kiryu boss fight - and that's awesome.
Using all the skills that Kiryu has developed throughout the franchise against someone who in 2 was so easy to beat is so satisfying.
Daigo was a legitimately great opponent and the fight really did feel like a feud between Yakuza big shots.
10/10 on this one... Very much unlike the next fight.
Munakata was a plain pain in the ass. He kept on calling reinforcements after reinforcements and hitting him was really annoying.
I could easily take down the bodyguards but the fight just lasted way too long for it to be remembered as "fun."
But oh well, he eventually goes down and everyone becomes friends in the end. Of course, Munakata tries to intervene but as I said before Date spoils his plans by dropping leaflets exposing Munakata's corruption into the streets of Kamurocho, essentially sealing his fate as a corrupt power hungry cop.
The movies after the ending are all pretty sweet.
Hana-chan loses tons of weight and becomes really really pretty, also gets her job back because Akiyama is just the nicest guy (and can't read a woman even if she were a book).
Of course there's that "one more thing" thing after the 10 minute-long credit sequence which I had to sit through to get my achievement, but I'm not spoiling what happens here. Wanna find out? Go play some Yakuza!
It's awesome.
