Yakuza 4 will be Available in the West

Yakuza 4 is set to be released at the estimated time of February 2011 in New Zealand. This is almost a year after its release in Japan. When Yakuza 3 was released in the West, a few oddities were left out. Things such as hostess clubs, Japanese trivia quiz as well as a few conventional side-missions were edited out. Sega have promised this time around that all local Japanese content will be retained with the exception of the quiz to ensure an authentic Japanese experience for those that are still bitter about the Westernisation Yakuza 3.

This PS3 exclusive title centres around four main protagonists within the shady Tokyo underworld. Each will provide their own perspective on the scenario at hand with each also bringing their own unique set of skills, in particular their weapon specialisation.

The depiction of the Yakuzas (the Japanese Mafia) within the Yakuza game series is considered to be relativity accurate. This was reiterated by the Yakuzas themselves. Earlier this year, author and reporter Jake Adelstein gave a few real life Yakuzas the opportunity to play the game. One of them, under the pseudonym "Kuroishi" could relate to some of the plot lines in Yakuza 3. In relation to a the game character Kazuma running an orphanage, Kuroishi says “Sure it was a tax shelter but he ran it like a legitimate thing. You know." referring to a fellow Yakuza that did a similar thing to Kazuma.