Yakuza 4

Critic reviews

• GRGames Radar+

  David Wolinsky · Jun 25, 2012

  8.0

  That's not to say this story is boring - just predictable - and falls into repetitive holding patterns. Funnily enough, though, in a game this massive the main story is the least of what you'll spend your time on. There are innumerable detours that crop up even when you think you're going where you should be. The more memorable ones include seeking out some jerk who sends you spam e-mail, finding milk for a sick kitty a group of homeless guys are caring for, and getting the perfect rubdown at massage parlors.

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• GBGiant Bomb

  Matt Kessler · Aug 01, 2011

  6.0

  It often seems like Yakuza 4 is conspiring against itself, holding its own cool features back behind technology and game design. It’s not that Yakuza 4 is a bad game, but rather that too many of the game’s eccentricities don’t work in its favor. Still, If you love the idea of watching Japanese men rip their shirts off, flash their elaborate back tattoos, and charge at each other while shouting like a wounded bobcat, then I can’t recommend Yakuza 4 enough; if you're that sort of person, this is exactly the kind of ridiculous Japanese drama you’ve been looking for.

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• GTGame Trailers

  Game Trailers · Mar 31, 2011

  8.3

  Yakuza 4 builds on its history and its strengths, using four well-differentiated playable characters to multiply the value of its character-driven drama and exhilarating fights. The game sometimes feels dated and a bit too stodgily conventional, but its virtual tour of a bizarrely attractive, crime-soaked, hyperbolic slice of Japan as seen through the eyes of its underworld nobility is certainly worth taking.
• PSPush Square

  Sammy Barker · Mar 30, 2011

  9.0

  Yakuza 4 is technically flawed but utterly captivating. Its melodramatic tale is supported by a believable cast of interesting and likable characters. Despite its evolutions being slight, Yakuza 4 is potentially the best game in the series — even if its narrative does take one twist too many.

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• PUPlayStation Universe

  Steven Williamson · Mar 29, 2011

  8.5

  Playing the mini-games alone, you could idle away the days and totally forget what your last objective was, but if you did you'd miss out on the enjoyable storyline, the interesting characters that you meet along the way and some funny interactions with the crazy folk of Kamurochô. Nonetheless, we are already fans of the series and with our objective hats on, it's obvious that Yakuza has and always will be an acquired taste - a game for the patient player who likes to listen and throw themselves totally into a game and its world.

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• IGInside Gaming

  Miguel Concepcion · Mar 29, 2011

  8.5

  Not only is there much to appreciate in Yakuza from a Shenmue fan’s point of view, the series also feels like the last remnant of a time when Sega’s creativity was at its peak

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