![]() And, for once, they regularly come with satisfactory answers.īecause in the main, having set the stage with such care and attention, Yakuza 4 manages to deliver an absorbing story upon it. Who might be behind this door? What adventure lurks at the end of that alleyway? Persuasive questions. We're still some way from being allowed to enter every building in the city, but around 35 per cent of Kamurocho's establishments have doors that open and bellies that can be explored, a fact that moves this video game city away from the dolls house façade of Liberty City and contributes to a new sense of depth. Beggars scratch sleepily in shop doorways, while salarymen march purposefully towards their next appointment.įor anyone familiar with contemporary Tokyo, the sights and sounds are pitch-perfect, the main difference being that, dressed as a virtual native Japanese, you now have access to many of the establishments that, as a real-life gaijin, are usually off limits. Kamurocho has a weighty sense of verisimilitude, not only in its architecture – which can be viewed on high from the rooftops, or at the roots level from underground malls and carparks – but also in its people. The furious rattle of ball bearings can be heard muffled behind the sliding doors of a pachinko parlour, while schoolgirls squeal as their teen suitors try to win them a cuddly toy at the Club SEGA arcade. Young men in medium-priced suits hover at the shoulders of pretty girls, inviting them to sign up to become hostesses at nearby establishments, while professionals loiter with impatient tuts and foot taps awaiting their tardy dates. Red neon Ka-Ra-O-Ke signs try to out-glare the dreamy eyes of mousse-haired idols on billboards opposite, while every shopfront screams for attention with blasts of bold lettering, and the irrepressible shouts of a staff member, loudspeaker pressed to lips, boasting of its wares.Īt night the distant clanging of a construction site gives way to the Babylonian jangling of a city seeking thrills. Buildings hunch shoulder-to-shoulder next to one another, one tall, another squat, their almost-embrace forming tight alleyways all around - narrow tributaries darting off from the main street inviting snug exploration. Tangles of overhead electrical wires bunch like bird nests in a forest of neon and concrete. In the daytime, the higgledy-piggledy mess of a Tokyo district is in plain view. And it's in the details that Kamurocho – a semi-fictional location based closely on Kabukicho, Japan's notorious red light district – beguiles. The geography may be more limited than in Rockstar's city, but its ambition is no shorter. ![]() It's a sprawling virtual capital with distinct districts, diverse architectural influences and landmarks that imprint the memory.īut if you want authenticity and depth, Yakuza 4's grimy Kamurocho is the go-to destination. For the video game sightseer drawn to urban breadth and spectacle, nothing yet beats Grand Theft Auto's Liberty City.
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