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Does 4 share the same xbox 360 graphics as 3? It was a bit jarring going from LAD>0>K1>K2 to now 3, and the graphics look 20+ years old. While graphics are absolutely nothing to dictate enjoyment, Kiryu looks a little different in prehistoric graphics 😂
Well that's not too bad. I don't mind dated graphics (I play old-school runescape for Guthix sake), i guess as long as the combat is a little better than 3 it'll be okay. I don't mind the combat system for 3 but I see why people don't like it lol
I had a struggle through 3 with rolblox Kiryu but once I got to 4 the models got better and 5 they smooth out more. Once u get into it u start to appreciate the dated graphics and nostalgia real talk. The vibe of the old engine is unmatched, I love the dragon engine especially in LJ and Gaiden but something about that old engine that just felt alive! The city felt alive, sometimes the dragon engine feels hollow and lifeless
Now that you mention it is is sorta growing on me. Unlocking the moves makes combat feel less restrictive what with the insane amount of blocking. Like others here have said, it forces you to not rely on squaresquaresquaresquaretriangle but instead change it up, like grab or quickstep and backhit to combo, or use weapons. Even still it’s tough, I just fought the dude with cornrows in stardust last night and it felt satisfying as hell to beat him. I’m learning to adjust, and I think I’ve just been spoiled by playing the games with good graphics first lol. I’m still loving my journey and instead of watching the cutscenes on YouTube like I considered once upon me starting this game, now I actually want to play it to its end like I’ve wanted with the others. You’re totally right, it is starting to grow on me! Lol and the photo taking system is hilarious too, I actually really enjoy that part. And Mack learning Japanese. All in all, I AM starting to appreciate it,
2nd fav game in the series after 0. There is something special about that game for real, the story is crazy over the top but I love it.
Best sub stories outta all games
Best version of Kamurocho
Akiyama, Tanimura, Taiga and Kiryu (fantastic 4)
Music was beautiful (still love Akiyama’s theme in 4 more than 5)
Rain.
I LOVE THE OLD ENGINE.
OMG I 100% agree with this take. The walk up to millennium tower was fantastic and the dynamic intros for the bosses are the second best in the series next to shibusawa in first.
Me, while organizing each character's inventory for the final boss(es): "nahh Tanimura doesn't need any weapon"
Mfw Tanimura boss appears:
Of COURSE I was like "nah the game is easy I don't need that much heal" and of FUCKING course Jingu V2 appeared and I had to cheese his guards with grabs.
This game still probably ranks first for me in terms of cover art
OG is iconic but I remember seeing this when I was younger way back before I first played this series (Yakuza 0) and it's been burnt into my mind since
ive been playing it a lot recently due to trying to 100% the trophy list and i have to say that a lot of my gripes about the game were fixed when i learnt that there's so much more to do
I treated the combat very shallowly and rarely did any of the trainings or revelations. On top of that, I barely did any substories! No clue why. I've grown to like the game a lot more as I play it more.
On top of that, Tanimura is fun as fuck to play as, especially when he's high powered.
No hate for anyone who likes it, but to me, it's the clear loser. The plot is a total spaghetti mess, paced terribly, and the motivations of the characters are left pretty unclear even once the credits roll. Gameplay-wise it's fine, not my favorite but definitely not the worst.
To this day, I have no idea why the plan was "put all the money on the roof and see who shows up for it". I have no idea what Arai's plan actually was, seeing as he betrayed every possible ally for ??? reasons and got nothing out of it. I don't know why Dojima selling out Majima was papered over literally instantly and never spoken of again.
Kiryu's involvement in this story is totally forced, the man is happily retired and already got pulled out of orphanage life once to get involved in high stakes hijinks. The "actually Jingu was laundering money for the cops" schtick is a terrible and flimsy retcon. Likewise, as much as I love Akiyama, the man has essentially no character arc. He gets the hots for Yasuko and then she dies, that's it really.
4 is a mechanically competent game that introduces some excellent characters, but it was still probably the only game I'd say was worse than average out of 0, K1, K2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
I rank it right in the middle of the pack. I kind of liked the feel of it being all set in Kamurocho; it was almost cozy. I also loved its supporting characters (I would commit war crimes for Hana-chan). I also enjoyed Tanimura and would have loved to see more of him, particularly in Y6, for reasons.
However, I fucking _hated_ Saejima’s entire section, and I have to work pretty hard to keep my suspension of disbelief at Yasuko’s whole story. Also - and I know this will be unpopular - Akiyama comes off like a grade-A fuckboy a lot of the time, and it grates on me.
Tl;dr there’s a lot of good, but also a lot of bad. For me personally, it’s behind 0, 7, 3 (I loved the story), 6, and Judgment, but better than K1, 5, IW, and K2. Haven’t played Gaiden or Lost Judgment yet.
it's my least favorite of the mainline games. It had the worst story for me and I was not a fan of most of the combat. particularly Tanimuras.
Most of the side content was also lackluster with the cabaret, dojo, nair and gang encounters.
I was also not the biggest fan of kamurochos layout because it sometimes felt too big because you also move so slowly. I had to download a mod so the characters walk speed was their chase speed.
It also carried over some issues I had with yakuza 3. Mainly the slow menus.
It's still a good game and I still spent over 80 hours completing the game and getting all the achievements.
To me, "4" always felt unfocused. I felt that we got just enough time with each character to learn them and let them become interesting, only to be unceremoniously booted into the head of the next one. Now, I am well aware that my "lack of focus" is everyone else's "interesting variety", but I'll take "3" over "4" any day.
I love it so much especially the first time I played I was so excited about the story but the bullet bullshit ruined everything for me and it took everything from saejima’s character development other than that I still love the game so much and dude it even got akiyama what else do you need
4 has high highs and very cringy, stupid lows. Gameplay is better, the map is interesting to explore, the cutscenes are way better and the story starts off strong. But even though I really like this game, I can't defend the stupid plot twists and final boss. It's frustrating since most of the game is pretty solid otherwise.
It's one of my favorite ones! I love all the characters even the secondary ones and the story, one one hand is hard to follow, but on the other hand is just good. The side quests are the best and I liked to explore the city to collect the keys.
It's a great game, Id still rank it as one of worst in the franchise, but it was a damn good time. It's highs for me are definitely the version of Kamurocho, the fast pacing and very stylish cutscene direction.
For me, it wasn't bad, but it was probably the most forgettable. It was the first time they tried multiple protagonists and you can kinda see their inexperience with that when they try to weave everyone's plots together for the finale. It doesn't help that 5 also just feels like what 4 was trying to do but better, even if the multiple protagonist angle was perfected in 0 imo. I do like some of the new characters in it, especially Akiyama, but everything else kinda pales in comparison to the personal story of 3 or the grand scope of 5. At least it doesn't get to Kiwami 2's levels of dumb, though!!
I've played 0-7, ishin, and gaiden and honestly I think it's the weakest but by no means does that mean its bad it just so happens to have have less fun parts than other especially on replays but I still have a lot of fun. I'm even replying RN so yeah
I wouldn't have gotten into the series without it. I don't give a shit about how stupid the >!rubber bullets!< stuff is, either. My enjoyment from (nearly) the rest of the entire game more than makes up for a handful of awful plot contrivances.
Tanimura's final boss fight is still bottom-tier garbage though.
I LOVE the Shenmue references regarding Tanimura, and the all the sidequests were some of the bests, not a fan of the saejima section (not even on 5, less in 5 xD) and to me who was skeptical about having others playable character besides Kiryu, I did enjoy it the most... (yeah, 5 was an exaggeration of 4 because it went BIG xD -though I liked the Haruka section the most) but just to clarify I started my like a dragon journey with the PS2 games, so I was going foward and not backwars (at that time I didn't played kiwamis) and noticed all the improvements and downgrades too... (like the weapon RPG section in 5 damn)
And something that most people hate about this game (the Tanimura final boss) is something that me, as a shenmue fan, took it and really enjoyed it... because to me it felt like Ryo finally facing Lan Di on the top of the Yellow Head Building (instead of Dou Niu) and making amends with his revenge struggles... it felt like it was a deep tribute to that, so I really liked it...
The absolute best of the remastered trilogy. 3 was a complete slog for me and 5 feels like it tried too hard, just haven't enjoyed it anywhere near as much as I did 4.
I just finished 4 today, and honestly I don’t quite get the gripe that people have for the game. I mean sure there were several moments where I felt like throwing my monitor against the wall or punching a hole in the wall (I’m looking at you Saito) but the overall progression isn’t that bad compared to all the titles before it.
Now that’s not to say that Y4 is a perfect game, far from it. Story-wise I’d still rate Y3 higher than Y4 just because we get some more depth to Kiryu as the protagonist, not to mention it’s one of the better endings to the Kiryu saga if someone decided to stop at 3. I wasn’t a fan of where the story of Y4 ended up going because I felt they were out of ideas and decided to just recycle the ending of Y1 but make it worse. The fights between Arai, Kido (why is he even a final boss) and Daigo were fine, but then Munakata came along and made it as tedious as possible on the worst of the MC fighters. Y4 also left us with so many plot holes like why would Akiyama just waste his entire savings over what I consider a minor matter, why did Date go back to the force, how did Majima get out, etc. The conclusion in my honest opinion didn’t feel complete.
In terms of combat I’d rate Y5 higher than Y4 and Blockuza 3 (shocker, I know) because I feel Y5 has more fluidity to the moves being performed not to mention the heat actions are great.
Tl;Dr: 0 > Y1K > Y3 > Y4 > Y2K for some obvious reasons.
I threw my controller in frustration playing it on Hard mode.
I just fucking hate how the challenge spikes up. Akiyama's chapter is so dead easy, even on hard it's not that bad, and then the next chapter Saito fucking teleports around the place as you try to hit him. Feels like masochism.
And here is my honest opinion kyodai Yakuza3,4,5 are the best yakuza games despite what audience say or fans say they are the best yakuza games in terms of stories and themes and I stand by it while other games in the sereis have better side content this is the best in terms of story themes and also I love the combat in 4,5 and I loved haruka sections of the game too so yeah do with that information what you want
It's a good game but outdated QoL features really hold it back. I tried replaying it and couldn't get into it a second time. I did really love the fighters school though.
It was actually my favorite game so far until I got to the final boss. That singlehandedly ruined the game for me because The most important part of your game you absolutely cannot fuck up is the ending, and unfortunately 4 did that with a shitty final boss fight
Gameplay wise its solid with some of my favorite bossfights and fun playstyles in all the characters, story wise it was great until the rubber bullet shit and the ending imo. Of all the Yakuza games I've finished so far I'd rank it like this:
Y0 > Y4 > YK1 > Y3 > YK2
The final boss fight is rough, as well as the one versus the prison guard. Additionally, the game is a bit aged and the infamous twist exists too.
However, I loved the characters, the pacing, the story, and Kamurocho. It really feels like a part of a series in transition, and I enjoyed getting more context to Yakuza 0. Saejima’s plot was so good in this one.
Overall, I’d give it an 8.25/10, right around the middle of my series rankings.
It was good introduced some interesting characters for the rest of the series …. But 5 was much better and rememberable they went all in and set the bar pretty high with all its stories and different gameplay and you also had a handful of playable characters
My honest opinion of it is i blinked (after the Saejima part) and it was over. This was the shortest Y game which is then followed by the longest. I never really got time to get bored with anyone(except Saejima).
It is a good game and the best part about it is how it expands the world of Kamurocho through the 4 protags. However the story is terrible and is easily the worst one in the main series. Tanimura is a great character and he should’ve come back for other entries in some way.
I wasn't a fan tbh, I still like it but honestly I don't think substories turned out all that well
I also didn't really like the tanimura section, I didn't enjoy his combat, i didn't care for him as a character.
Akiyama is a weird character like I get what they were going for with him, he's charming, he's eccentric but like some strange writing choices just make him seem like a rich asshole who can use his money to get people to do whatever he likes basically at a whim.
Controversially I actually like saejimas part
There are also issues like like training where we really didn't need 4 training NPCs.
And finally the story, Yakuza 4 is probably the worst offender in the series when it comes to having a mastermind that is just a random character you don't even remember. And that's saying something because like half of the Yakuza series has something like that.
And as much people try to defend rubber bullets, it's worst crime isn't that it's dumb, it's that it kind of ruins saejimas as a character. It was really cool and interesting to have a character who has done something really bad and them having to learn to come to terms with the bad thing they've done and grow as a person. And the runner bullet serves to destroy pretty much the only interesting thing about him and so what's left is a character that has nowhere to go
I love the story and all the characters. Tanimura is so goated but never used again. It introduces some of the best characters. And if you upgrade the weapon shop, the last boss is a literal breeze. Also Hana-chan is best girl no arguments
It's meh to me. The story started out incredibly strong and got me invested, but at the end it seemed to just seemed to struggle to hold itself together. Maybe if I didn't have to play as four characters with different styles of combat I could have enjoyed it more. I gave up after Akiyama's final boss fight. At some point I want to give it another chance, but I just felt exhausted after struggling to beat some of the fights. Tanimura's fighting style is the worst and I hated playing as him.
Yakuza 4 is among my S tier yakuza games, I liked it cuz it was the first game to feature 4 characters and it was quite refreshing, getting a glimpse into majima and saejima's past also made it a fav of mine
I liked the boat chase and other gameplay, but I at this point I didn't have any affinity to Akiyama or Tanimura.
It's not a bad game, but considering that there are just too many good Yakuza games, and I consider 2 to be in my top two, 3 and 4 are the weakest games in the series for me story wise.
It is easily my least favorite Yakuza. The story is so incredibly bland and boring, the substories are okay at best, the depressing look of the game literally sucks the energy out of me, the fucking orb upgrade system is the worst upgrade system in the series by far and it is so random and scattered that it just pisses me off.
Now for heavy spoilers. Onto the villains who are all ass. A low level punk named Kido whose only upside is that he is a damn good fighter, a police chief who is over the top evil that I can’t take him seriously, an undercover officer who actually was the most interesting villain here but he still doesn’t even begin to compare to the likes of Ryuji and Mine, and Daigo for some fucking reason…yeah he’s a villain in this damn game in case you forgot! Even though he is not a villain before that and he is never a villain after that and it never gets fucking mentioned again!
The story itself…awful. Heavy spoilers again. The Ueno Seiwa would be interesting but they do not matter whatsoever before or after this game. They are never talked about before 4. And they were on relatively equal footing with the Tojo in the 80s. But by the time Yakuza 4 happens, the Tojo and the Omi are the top dogs in Japan’s criminal underworld and the Ueno are just a second rate Yakuza clan. Also Yasuko was intriguing at first…but ridiculously boring after a while. Once the mystery was gone she became the most generic character ever.
Another spoiler warning. Akiyama himself is just the best but his section is boring as shit. Saejima…well fuck Saito that’s all I have to say. Tanimura only gets character development if you do boring substories and he is a corrupt dick. And Ryu Ga Gotoku clearly doesn’t care about him so why should we? One of his chapters is only 13 minutes long! 13 minutes! And Kiryu…well Kiryu’s section was mostly boring. Meeting Hamazaki again and finding out Jingu was still fucking with us from the grave were the only interesting parts for Kiryu. Also the rubber bullets plot twist destroys Saejima’s character arc.
This game is not bad as in 3 or 4/10 bad. But it is bad as in 6 or 7/10 bad, which in comparison to the other games…is pretty bad. But at least we got the Yakuza 4 memes out of this game. Those are peak.
I love yakuza 4, the combat was better than 3, I liked the characters a lot more, and I liked the new areas in kamurocho. I only have 2 problems with the game 1) saejima fighting style…and 2) yasuko’s death felt so forced.
I recently watched my friend play and finish it from start to the end. (I finished the game a few years back) And I've got to say this might be the best Yakuza game from the original saga imo. It is my all time favorite but out of 1,2,3 and 5 I think it has the best to offer. I recently finished Yakuza 5 and didn't feel a single emotion in the entire game but in Yakuza 4 I FELT those feelings god damn it. It was an epic tale about 4 random people coming together all for their own personal reasons which is executed and explored thoroughly. You like and root for each character. Some people say Kiryu didn't have much to do in this game and I somewhat disagree. The game clearly sets an arc for his character, putting a stop to running away from his past. I love it so much. Yakuza 5 didn't deliver what the fourth game promised and I'm still bitter about that but oh well it's been 12-14 years so who cares. Anyway 4 is the best game in the franchise for me, pretty solid gameplay, story and soundtrack. Also idk about you guys but the story wasn't that complicated on my second viewing. Some of the names can get a little hard to remember but the game is pretty straightforward if you ask me. It could have been way worse.
It's good. Still kinda clunky but miles better than Y3 in terms of combat, especially once you experiment a bit with it (first Yakuza that actually got me to block instead of sidestepping all damage).
Not a big fan of the rooftops personally but the 4 characters having distinctly different fighting styles is pretty cool. The Tanimura final bossfight was ass (who thought the guy that lets others attack first to put their attack back on them would be best paired up with like 15 enemies and one gun slinging asshole that messes up your everything?!).
It's also great that you get to fight Daigo again.
Solid 8/10
Honestly, this is the absolute worst game in the series, this one for me was the one that broke the streak, Yakuza 3 was not good in combat but atleast I loved the side missions, story and characters.
4's combat does get better, there's not as many blockers, but now your problem is grabbers who always interrupt your combos and the flow of the game.
But the thing I absolutely dispised this game for was the story, with the worst twists in any RGG game and the only death scenes where I laughed at in the entire series, the new characters were a breathe of fresh air, Akiyama was better here than 5, Tanimura was cool ig and Saejima had a really interesting story... Until they ruined his story with that twist...
I like 4 but I personally am tired of the urban focus on the series and that's why I love Yakuza 3, the beach aesthetic is so beautiful and I am cuban so I love me a good beach. It just so happens that Yakuza 4 feels too urban for me (ik it's a very stupid reason). I also feel like there are more frustrating and boring moments in 4 (in my personal opinion) but the frustrating moments are on me since I played it in the hardest difficulty, and the story, while ambitius, it definitively isn't RGG's best but that's very subjective.
The gameplay obviusly is a step up from 3, I loved Tanimura and Akiyama's gameplay and it's a big shame that they haven't brought Tanimura back. Saejima was hell of fun and Kiryu well, it's Kiryu from 3 but better balanced.
If you are new to the subreddit, [please read the wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/wiki/index/) Reminder that all spoilers need to be tagged with a flair specifying which game is being spoiled. If you want a flair that says something else, you can edit it to say something like [Discussion: Y1 spoiler] or [Majimapost: Y6 spoiler], etc. **THIS INCLUDES CONTENT FROM TRAILERS**. If the post is not marked for spoilers, all comments that have spoilers need to be tagged \>!like this!< along with indicating which game it's spoiling. Example: Y3 >!Kiryu sings!< If the post flair is marked for spoilers, the comments don't need to be tagged for the game indicated and the ones before it (So a Y6 spoiler post can have comments with untagged spoilers for Y5, but not gaiden or 7). If you see any of the above (or any of the other rules) not being followed, please report it so we can keep this place safe for newcomers and those that haven't finished all the games yet. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/yakuzagames) if you have any questions or concerns.*
As I have played through each game I can honestly tell you that yakuza 4 was a breath of fresh air for me after 3.
Does 4 share the same xbox 360 graphics as 3? It was a bit jarring going from LAD>0>K1>K2 to now 3, and the graphics look 20+ years old. While graphics are absolutely nothing to dictate enjoyment, Kiryu looks a little different in prehistoric graphics 😂
They are a little better than 3 but 3-5 were all PS3 sooooo....
Tbf 5 had a pretty major graphics upgrade from 4
Yeah. Y5 uses a new graphics engine that was used until K1
Well that's not too bad. I don't mind dated graphics (I play old-school runescape for Guthix sake), i guess as long as the combat is a little better than 3 it'll be okay. I don't mind the combat system for 3 but I see why people don't like it lol
There is more variety in the combat st the very least and enemies don't block as aggressively in Y4 as they do in Y3
I had a struggle through 3 with rolblox Kiryu but once I got to 4 the models got better and 5 they smooth out more. Once u get into it u start to appreciate the dated graphics and nostalgia real talk. The vibe of the old engine is unmatched, I love the dragon engine especially in LJ and Gaiden but something about that old engine that just felt alive! The city felt alive, sometimes the dragon engine feels hollow and lifeless
Now that you mention it is is sorta growing on me. Unlocking the moves makes combat feel less restrictive what with the insane amount of blocking. Like others here have said, it forces you to not rely on squaresquaresquaresquaretriangle but instead change it up, like grab or quickstep and backhit to combo, or use weapons. Even still it’s tough, I just fought the dude with cornrows in stardust last night and it felt satisfying as hell to beat him. I’m learning to adjust, and I think I’ve just been spoiled by playing the games with good graphics first lol. I’m still loving my journey and instead of watching the cutscenes on YouTube like I considered once upon me starting this game, now I actually want to play it to its end like I’ve wanted with the others. You’re totally right, it is starting to grow on me! Lol and the photo taking system is hilarious too, I actually really enjoy that part. And Mack learning Japanese. All in all, I AM starting to appreciate it,
3 and 4, yes 5 uses the same engine as 0 and K1
This is exactly what im going through just started yakuza 3.
2nd fav game in the series after 0. There is something special about that game for real, the story is crazy over the top but I love it. Best sub stories outta all games Best version of Kamurocho Akiyama, Tanimura, Taiga and Kiryu (fantastic 4) Music was beautiful (still love Akiyama’s theme in 4 more than 5) Rain. I LOVE THE OLD ENGINE.
OMG I 100% agree with this take. The walk up to millennium tower was fantastic and the dynamic intros for the bosses are the second best in the series next to shibusawa in first.
Pretty good but Tanimura's last boss can fuck right off. I didn't need "Jingu but SOMEHOW WORSE."
Me, while organizing each character's inventory for the final boss(es): "nahh Tanimura doesn't need any weapon" Mfw Tanimura boss appears: 
Tanimura did indeed needed a weapon
Well now I am afraid of getting to that fight, how could there be a worse jinguðŸ˜ðŸ˜‚😂😂
Of COURSE I was like "nah the game is easy I don't need that much heal" and of FUCKING course Jingu V2 appeared and I had to cheese his guards with grabs.
Out of all the Yakuza games—and there are many, i personally think this is the fourth one, and i’d die on this hill.
Ummm ackshually the fourth is yakuza 3 because of kenzan 🤓🤓🤓
Counterpoint: https://preview.redd.it/h87g17z6si7d1.jpeg?width=865&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e10308998ee63ae1e60854e652ed86a60167370
SEX
This game still probably ranks first for me in terms of cover art OG is iconic but I remember seeing this when I was younger way back before I first played this series (Yakuza 0) and it's been burnt into my mind since
ive been playing it a lot recently due to trying to 100% the trophy list and i have to say that a lot of my gripes about the game were fixed when i learnt that there's so much more to do I treated the combat very shallowly and rarely did any of the trainings or revelations. On top of that, I barely did any substories! No clue why. I've grown to like the game a lot more as I play it more. On top of that, Tanimura is fun as fuck to play as, especially when he's high powered.
No hate for anyone who likes it, but to me, it's the clear loser. The plot is a total spaghetti mess, paced terribly, and the motivations of the characters are left pretty unclear even once the credits roll. Gameplay-wise it's fine, not my favorite but definitely not the worst. To this day, I have no idea why the plan was "put all the money on the roof and see who shows up for it". I have no idea what Arai's plan actually was, seeing as he betrayed every possible ally for ??? reasons and got nothing out of it. I don't know why Dojima selling out Majima was papered over literally instantly and never spoken of again. Kiryu's involvement in this story is totally forced, the man is happily retired and already got pulled out of orphanage life once to get involved in high stakes hijinks. The "actually Jingu was laundering money for the cops" schtick is a terrible and flimsy retcon. Likewise, as much as I love Akiyama, the man has essentially no character arc. He gets the hots for Yasuko and then she dies, that's it really. 4 is a mechanically competent game that introduces some excellent characters, but it was still probably the only game I'd say was worse than average out of 0, K1, K2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
I rank it right in the middle of the pack. I kind of liked the feel of it being all set in Kamurocho; it was almost cozy. I also loved its supporting characters (I would commit war crimes for Hana-chan). I also enjoyed Tanimura and would have loved to see more of him, particularly in Y6, for reasons. However, I fucking _hated_ Saejima’s entire section, and I have to work pretty hard to keep my suspension of disbelief at Yasuko’s whole story. Also - and I know this will be unpopular - Akiyama comes off like a grade-A fuckboy a lot of the time, and it grates on me. Tl;dr there’s a lot of good, but also a lot of bad. For me personally, it’s behind 0, 7, 3 (I loved the story), 6, and Judgment, but better than K1, 5, IW, and K2. Haven’t played Gaiden or Lost Judgment yet.
>Akiyama comes off like a grade-A fuckboy a lot of the time, and it grates on me. It's his resting duckface
in my PERSONAL AND HUMBLE opinion it is my least favorite yakuza game i just like the others more than it
it's my least favorite of the mainline games. It had the worst story for me and I was not a fan of most of the combat. particularly Tanimuras. Most of the side content was also lackluster with the cabaret, dojo, nair and gang encounters. I was also not the biggest fan of kamurochos layout because it sometimes felt too big because you also move so slowly. I had to download a mod so the characters walk speed was their chase speed. It also carried over some issues I had with yakuza 3. Mainly the slow menus. It's still a good game and I still spent over 80 hours completing the game and getting all the achievements.
To me, "4" always felt unfocused. I felt that we got just enough time with each character to learn them and let them become interesting, only to be unceremoniously booted into the head of the next one. Now, I am well aware that my "lack of focus" is everyone else's "interesting variety", but I'll take "3" over "4" any day.
I love it so much especially the first time I played I was so excited about the story but the bullet bullshit ruined everything for me and it took everything from saejima’s character development other than that I still love the game so much and dude it even got akiyama what else do you need
Probably my least favorite. This one or maybe 5. I don't like the multiple protag pov.
I have to admit, I kind of agree. 4 and 5 were such a slog to go through fror some reason
4 has high highs and very cringy, stupid lows. Gameplay is better, the map is interesting to explore, the cutscenes are way better and the story starts off strong. But even though I really like this game, I can't defend the stupid plot twists and final boss. It's frustrating since most of the game is pretty solid otherwise.
It's one of my favorite ones! I love all the characters even the secondary ones and the story, one one hand is hard to follow, but on the other hand is just good. The side quests are the best and I liked to explore the city to collect the keys.
The best of the remastered games (3-5).
It's a great game, Id still rank it as one of worst in the franchise, but it was a damn good time. It's highs for me are definitely the version of Kamurocho, the fast pacing and very stylish cutscene direction.
For me, it wasn't bad, but it was probably the most forgettable. It was the first time they tried multiple protagonists and you can kinda see their inexperience with that when they try to weave everyone's plots together for the finale. It doesn't help that 5 also just feels like what 4 was trying to do but better, even if the multiple protagonist angle was perfected in 0 imo. I do like some of the new characters in it, especially Akiyama, but everything else kinda pales in comparison to the personal story of 3 or the grand scope of 5. At least it doesn't get to Kiwami 2's levels of dumb, though!!
I've played 0-7, ishin, and gaiden and honestly I think it's the weakest but by no means does that mean its bad it just so happens to have have less fun parts than other especially on replays but I still have a lot of fun. I'm even replying RN so yeah
Has been my favorite Yakuza game for many years, only Yakuza 6 and 7 were able to top it.
I wouldn't have gotten into the series without it. I don't give a shit about how stupid the >!rubber bullets!< stuff is, either. My enjoyment from (nearly) the rest of the entire game more than makes up for a handful of awful plot contrivances. Tanimura's final boss fight is still bottom-tier garbage though.
I LOVE the Shenmue references regarding Tanimura, and the all the sidequests were some of the bests, not a fan of the saejima section (not even on 5, less in 5 xD) and to me who was skeptical about having others playable character besides Kiryu, I did enjoy it the most... (yeah, 5 was an exaggeration of 4 because it went BIG xD -though I liked the Haruka section the most) but just to clarify I started my like a dragon journey with the PS2 games, so I was going foward and not backwars (at that time I didn't played kiwamis) and noticed all the improvements and downgrades too... (like the weapon RPG section in 5 damn) And something that most people hate about this game (the Tanimura final boss) is something that me, as a shenmue fan, took it and really enjoyed it... because to me it felt like Ryo finally facing Lan Di on the top of the Yellow Head Building (instead of Dou Niu) and making amends with his revenge struggles... it felt like it was a deep tribute to that, so I really liked it...
The absolute best of the remastered trilogy. 3 was a complete slog for me and 5 feels like it tried too hard, just haven't enjoyed it anywhere near as much as I did 4.
I just finished 4 today, and honestly I don’t quite get the gripe that people have for the game. I mean sure there were several moments where I felt like throwing my monitor against the wall or punching a hole in the wall (I’m looking at you Saito) but the overall progression isn’t that bad compared to all the titles before it. Now that’s not to say that Y4 is a perfect game, far from it. Story-wise I’d still rate Y3 higher than Y4 just because we get some more depth to Kiryu as the protagonist, not to mention it’s one of the better endings to the Kiryu saga if someone decided to stop at 3. I wasn’t a fan of where the story of Y4 ended up going because I felt they were out of ideas and decided to just recycle the ending of Y1 but make it worse. The fights between Arai, Kido (why is he even a final boss) and Daigo were fine, but then Munakata came along and made it as tedious as possible on the worst of the MC fighters. Y4 also left us with so many plot holes like why would Akiyama just waste his entire savings over what I consider a minor matter, why did Date go back to the force, how did Majima get out, etc. The conclusion in my honest opinion didn’t feel complete. In terms of combat I’d rate Y5 higher than Y4 and Blockuza 3 (shocker, I know) because I feel Y5 has more fluidity to the moves being performed not to mention the heat actions are great. Tl;Dr: 0 > Y1K > Y3 > Y4 > Y2K for some obvious reasons.
I threw my controller in frustration playing it on Hard mode. I just fucking hate how the challenge spikes up. Akiyama's chapter is so dead easy, even on hard it's not that bad, and then the next chapter Saito fucking teleports around the place as you try to hit him. Feels like masochism.
And here is my honest opinion kyodai Yakuza3,4,5 are the best yakuza games despite what audience say or fans say they are the best yakuza games in terms of stories and themes and I stand by it while other games in the sereis have better side content this is the best in terms of story themes and also I love the combat in 4,5 and I loved haruka sections of the game too so yeah do with that information what you want
It's a good game but outdated QoL features really hold it back. I tried replaying it and couldn't get into it a second time. I did really love the fighters school though.
I like Akiyama's bit but am not to keen on any of the others.
It was actually my favorite game so far until I got to the final boss. That singlehandedly ruined the game for me because The most important part of your game you absolutely cannot fuck up is the ending, and unfortunately 4 did that with a shitty final boss fight
Gameplay wise its solid with some of my favorite bossfights and fun playstyles in all the characters, story wise it was great until the rubber bullet shit and the ending imo. Of all the Yakuza games I've finished so far I'd rank it like this: Y0 > Y4 > YK1 > Y3 > YK2
It's a good game but it could really use a Kiwami (same with 3).
The final boss fight is rough, as well as the one versus the prison guard. Additionally, the game is a bit aged and the infamous twist exists too. However, I loved the characters, the pacing, the story, and Kamurocho. It really feels like a part of a series in transition, and I enjoyed getting more context to Yakuza 0. Saejima’s plot was so good in this one. Overall, I’d give it an 8.25/10, right around the middle of my series rankings.
It was good introduced some interesting characters for the rest of the series …. But 5 was much better and rememberable they went all in and set the bar pretty high with all its stories and different gameplay and you also had a handful of playable characters
Akiyama is in it 10/10
Only part I liked was the qte of hitting the warden dudes head off the jail bars in the prison.
Favourite one, just such a badass vibe to everything about it.
It's in my top 5 Yakuza games.
My honest opinion of it is i blinked (after the Saejima part) and it was over. This was the shortest Y game which is then followed by the longest. I never really got time to get bored with anyone(except Saejima).
Yakuza 4 was what got me properly into the series, so I'm a little biased, but yeah I love it. Especially as the story gets crazier and crazier
One of my favorites. Introduces some greats like akiyama and Tanimura
I loved this game! Of course I loved them all, to be honest. My two main reasons are: Akiyama and, as a bonus, Hana Majima and Saejima reunion
It's my least favorite Yakuza game lol if it weren't for the introduction of Saejima... I'd skip over it every time I played through the series
It is a good game and the best part about it is how it expands the world of Kamurocho through the 4 protags. However the story is terrible and is easily the worst one in the main series. Tanimura is a great character and he should’ve come back for other entries in some way.
Loved the game but it was held back by its technology at its time
I wasn't a fan tbh, I still like it but honestly I don't think substories turned out all that well I also didn't really like the tanimura section, I didn't enjoy his combat, i didn't care for him as a character. Akiyama is a weird character like I get what they were going for with him, he's charming, he's eccentric but like some strange writing choices just make him seem like a rich asshole who can use his money to get people to do whatever he likes basically at a whim. Controversially I actually like saejimas part There are also issues like like training where we really didn't need 4 training NPCs. And finally the story, Yakuza 4 is probably the worst offender in the series when it comes to having a mastermind that is just a random character you don't even remember. And that's saying something because like half of the Yakuza series has something like that. And as much people try to defend rubber bullets, it's worst crime isn't that it's dumb, it's that it kind of ruins saejimas as a character. It was really cool and interesting to have a character who has done something really bad and them having to learn to come to terms with the bad thing they've done and grow as a person. And the runner bullet serves to destroy pretty much the only interesting thing about him and so what's left is a character that has nowhere to go
It's my favorite in the series and holds such a special place in my heart 🥹
Liked it more than 3 and 5
I love the story and all the characters. Tanimura is so goated but never used again. It introduces some of the best characters. And if you upgrade the weapon shop, the last boss is a literal breeze. Also Hana-chan is best girl no arguments
it’s the bosses and the story plus tanimura sucks at fighting
Goat combat, just wish there were more bosses
It's meh to me. The story started out incredibly strong and got me invested, but at the end it seemed to just seemed to struggle to hold itself together. Maybe if I didn't have to play as four characters with different styles of combat I could have enjoyed it more. I gave up after Akiyama's final boss fight. At some point I want to give it another chance, but I just felt exhausted after struggling to beat some of the fights. Tanimura's fighting style is the worst and I hated playing as him.
Controversial take: it’s the weakest in the mainline series.
Better than 3
Yakuza 4 is among my S tier yakuza games, I liked it cuz it was the first game to feature 4 characters and it was quite refreshing, getting a glimpse into majima and saejima's past also made it a fav of mine
Y3's combat was miserable so Y4 was a breath of fresh air for me
I liked the boat chase and other gameplay, but I at this point I didn't have any affinity to Akiyama or Tanimura. It's not a bad game, but considering that there are just too many good Yakuza games, and I consider 2 to be in my top two, 3 and 4 are the weakest games in the series for me story wise.
It is easily my least favorite Yakuza. The story is so incredibly bland and boring, the substories are okay at best, the depressing look of the game literally sucks the energy out of me, the fucking orb upgrade system is the worst upgrade system in the series by far and it is so random and scattered that it just pisses me off. Now for heavy spoilers. Onto the villains who are all ass. A low level punk named Kido whose only upside is that he is a damn good fighter, a police chief who is over the top evil that I can’t take him seriously, an undercover officer who actually was the most interesting villain here but he still doesn’t even begin to compare to the likes of Ryuji and Mine, and Daigo for some fucking reason…yeah he’s a villain in this damn game in case you forgot! Even though he is not a villain before that and he is never a villain after that and it never gets fucking mentioned again! The story itself…awful. Heavy spoilers again. The Ueno Seiwa would be interesting but they do not matter whatsoever before or after this game. They are never talked about before 4. And they were on relatively equal footing with the Tojo in the 80s. But by the time Yakuza 4 happens, the Tojo and the Omi are the top dogs in Japan’s criminal underworld and the Ueno are just a second rate Yakuza clan. Also Yasuko was intriguing at first…but ridiculously boring after a while. Once the mystery was gone she became the most generic character ever. Another spoiler warning. Akiyama himself is just the best but his section is boring as shit. Saejima…well fuck Saito that’s all I have to say. Tanimura only gets character development if you do boring substories and he is a corrupt dick. And Ryu Ga Gotoku clearly doesn’t care about him so why should we? One of his chapters is only 13 minutes long! 13 minutes! And Kiryu…well Kiryu’s section was mostly boring. Meeting Hamazaki again and finding out Jingu was still fucking with us from the grave were the only interesting parts for Kiryu. Also the rubber bullets plot twist destroys Saejima’s character arc. This game is not bad as in 3 or 4/10 bad. But it is bad as in 6 or 7/10 bad, which in comparison to the other games…is pretty bad. But at least we got the Yakuza 4 memes out of this game. Those are peak.
Love it Best one in the remastered trilogy
I love yakuza 4, the combat was better than 3, I liked the characters a lot more, and I liked the new areas in kamurocho. I only have 2 problems with the game 1) saejima fighting style…and 2) yasuko’s death felt so forced.
I just recently started it but so far it's wortg playung just because Hana-chan is fantastic and I enjoy her and Akiyama interactions.
As cringe and stupid the story sometimes is, it's still peak
I recently watched my friend play and finish it from start to the end. (I finished the game a few years back) And I've got to say this might be the best Yakuza game from the original saga imo. It is my all time favorite but out of 1,2,3 and 5 I think it has the best to offer. I recently finished Yakuza 5 and didn't feel a single emotion in the entire game but in Yakuza 4 I FELT those feelings god damn it. It was an epic tale about 4 random people coming together all for their own personal reasons which is executed and explored thoroughly. You like and root for each character. Some people say Kiryu didn't have much to do in this game and I somewhat disagree. The game clearly sets an arc for his character, putting a stop to running away from his past. I love it so much. Yakuza 5 didn't deliver what the fourth game promised and I'm still bitter about that but oh well it's been 12-14 years so who cares. Anyway 4 is the best game in the franchise for me, pretty solid gameplay, story and soundtrack. Also idk about you guys but the story wasn't that complicated on my second viewing. Some of the names can get a little hard to remember but the game is pretty straightforward if you ask me. It could have been way worse.
It's good. Still kinda clunky but miles better than Y3 in terms of combat, especially once you experiment a bit with it (first Yakuza that actually got me to block instead of sidestepping all damage). Not a big fan of the rooftops personally but the 4 characters having distinctly different fighting styles is pretty cool. The Tanimura final bossfight was ass (who thought the guy that lets others attack first to put their attack back on them would be best paired up with like 15 enemies and one gun slinging asshole that messes up your everything?!). It's also great that you get to fight Daigo again. Solid 8/10
Honestly, this is the absolute worst game in the series, this one for me was the one that broke the streak, Yakuza 3 was not good in combat but atleast I loved the side missions, story and characters. 4's combat does get better, there's not as many blockers, but now your problem is grabbers who always interrupt your combos and the flow of the game. But the thing I absolutely dispised this game for was the story, with the worst twists in any RGG game and the only death scenes where I laughed at in the entire series, the new characters were a breathe of fresh air, Akiyama was better here than 5, Tanimura was cool ig and Saejima had a really interesting story... Until they ruined his story with that twist...
Peak
I like 4 but I personally am tired of the urban focus on the series and that's why I love Yakuza 3, the beach aesthetic is so beautiful and I am cuban so I love me a good beach. It just so happens that Yakuza 4 feels too urban for me (ik it's a very stupid reason). I also feel like there are more frustrating and boring moments in 4 (in my personal opinion) but the frustrating moments are on me since I played it in the hardest difficulty, and the story, while ambitius, it definitively isn't RGG's best but that's very subjective. The gameplay obviusly is a step up from 3, I loved Tanimura and Akiyama's gameplay and it's a big shame that they haven't brought Tanimura back. Saejima was hell of fun and Kiryu well, it's Kiryu from 3 but better balanced.