Loading ...Demo Impressions: Yakuza 4
March 6th, 2010 | 
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Yakuza, Yakuza, Yakuza…it is the SEGA series that has so much potential but may never see success in the West. To be honest, SEGA hasn’t helped the title a whole lot when it comes to timely localization and marketing but fans seem pretty short sighted when it comes to playing one of their favorite franchises.
Is it better to receive an edited version of a game versus none at all? I dunno. I finally understand what Australia goes through all the time. It sucks. Playing the demo of the fourth installment of the franchise made me pretty sad. Why? We will likely never get it in the West from our current vantage point.
The demo is approximately 1.8 Gb in size and is available for download with a Japanese PSN account. The game play footage above runs just under 9 minutes.
There are different playable characters in the demo and there is an option to try out all their battling systems. The action feels refined over the third entry in the series and it feels easier to take on multiple enemies. There are definitely some brutal scenes in the action that made me cringe.
There are very long cinematic sequences and while the voice acting is great – not understanding anything made them a chore. Also, the set-up for the demo is a lot like Yakuza 3 where pathways are blocked.
Loved:
- Refinements to the battle system
- Excellent facial animations, the art style is intact and there seem to be a general improvement in the graphics
- Four different characters with unique fighting styles and grapples
- Single button press QTE events – the multi-button events in Yakuza 3 can get tiresome
- The map displays story checkpoints! Having a clear navigation icon on the HUD made it easier to know where to go
- The menu system seems cleaned up as well with icons
- I actually won an AiAi plushy at Club SEGA
- The battle mode – you can just try all four characters without trying the cinematic sequences
- PS3 exclusive!
Meh:
- I was hoping for more graphical improvement however the level of detail is pretty incredible
- Boxcelios II is not as fun as the original in my opinion
- The opening story battle at a Hostess Club made me laugh in context to SEGA of America’s current issues
Hated:
- Not much to hate but I certainly got bored during long cut scenes without being able to skip them
- There seem to be odd times where punches and kicks do not connect and other times where the blows seem to go through characters. It pulls you out of the experience a little bit
Overall:
If you don’t speak Japanese there isn’t a whole lot that you can do in this demo outside the battle mode. If you are very interested in the series than it is worth checking it out for that reason at least.
If you don’t have Japanese PSN account you are better off just trying Yakuza 3. In fact, the demo feels very familiar to Yakuza 3 and while Yakuza 4 showcases some nice improvements but it did not astound me.
For now, you are better off trying Yakuza 3 and figuring out if that title is a good fit for you. If you understand the language – the demo comes much more highly recommended as nuance and story could not factor into this demo impression.
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