The thinkings/opinions of a bizarre, quiet girl: 2021

Friday, 31 December 2021

BLOG -- Recap of December

I was super focused on finishing my resolutions this month. Christmas was uneventful as I spent most of that time just working on my resolutions (I opened up one gift though, which will be shown later). I can't believe the year is almost over...

I'll likely spend the rest of today watching shows or playing light video games to rest my wrists. And later on I'll tune into StephenGeorg's Twitch stream to count down to the new year. :)

"Outings" / Events in December:

- Had a LINE voice chat with my friends. It was fun.

- I created a text-based game using the Ren'Py visual novel engine. This took much longer to do than I had originally anticipated. Many days and fingers were sacrificed (I'm exaggerating about the fingers but my wrists and hands are quite achy right now). I would share the game here, but I use licensed music so I can't. It is one of my big accomplishments of this year (I might talk a bit more about it in my next blog). :)

- I tuned into StephenGeorg's Twitch stream on Christmas eve, and watched him and Mal build a gingerbread house. It was fun and funny. Stephen's gingerbread house reminded me of the gingerbread house I made a few years ago for a contest at work: one roof piece missing so you can see inside the gingerbread house! XD

- I accidentally subscribed to Amazon Prime while ordering something on Boxing Day. I assumed it was offering me the free 30-day trial like it did a couple months ago, so I just clicked "Ok" without reading. I'll end the subscription in January, but will make the most of it in the meantime.

- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news:
-My subscription's still expired.

Exposures:

- Nothing this month.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): Fantastic Planet -- I liked this a lot. The soundtrack is good, and it was thought-provoking. The pacing was very slow though.

- (Movie): Transporter 3 -- I thought this was the last Transporter movie, but it's not. This was just okay.

- (Movie): Leprechaun -- I heard this was bad and excessively gory (for its time). It was true for both, hahaha... My curiosity got the best of me.

- (Movie): Terminator: Dark Fate -- Not very good.

- (Movie): First Love -- This is a movie by Takashi Miike. Wild, bloody, entertaining, and strangely hilarious at times. I'd watch parts of it again. Julie (Yasu's girl) is such a bada**. Gondo is pretty cool, too.

Playing:

- Nothing this month.

Reading:

- (Novel) World War Z by Max Brooks -- I listened to the audio CDs I had. There were some interesting stories.

Currently...

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2

- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Yakuza 5 Remastered
- (PS4): Trine 2 (co-oping this only, lol)
- (PS4): Genius Minesweeper
- (PS3): Borderlands 2
- (PSP): Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure

- (3DS): Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
- (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition
- (Wii): Fortune Street
- (PC): UnEpic
- (PC): King's Bounty: The Legend
- (PC): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 7 - Episode 8)
- (TV Show): Criminal Minds (Season 15)
- (TV Show): The Strain (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The Office (Season 8)
- (TV Show): The Goldbergs (Season 4 - Episode 9)
- (TV Show): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10)
- (Anime): Log Horizon (Season 3)
- (Anime): Attack on Titan (Season 4)
- (Anime): Food Wars (Season 5)
- (Anime): Pyscho-Pass (Season 3)
- (Anime): Carole & Tuesday (Part 1 - Episode 5)

- (Anime): Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls (Episode 2)

- (Anime): Gintama (Episode 13)
- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 1042)

Reading:

- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1036)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)

That's it for December. Here are some pics / screenshots I took this month plus a YouTube video.

Some Christmas-themed macarons I ordered for myself.
It was also for the family but nobody else has eaten any, haha...

One of my favourite macarons from the box. Inside the chocolate shell are
the macaron biscuits plus soft marshmallow in between. It's such a unique texture.

A Christmas gift I got from a friend. They know me well. :)

Some games I got during the Black Friday sales. I thought these would be
the last physical games I'd buy for the year...

But nope! I got one more on Boxing Day.

A comment I wrote in one of the surveys for Genshin Impact. If you can't read it, it says:
"Thank you for creating such an interesting backstory and personality for Albedo. I ended up pulling for him more for his character than for his utility. He is a very cool character!! :D"
If Albedo were a real person, I'd want to be his friend.

A class I unlocked in SINoALICE. I really like the design and colour scheme
of dark blue and gold.

This screenshot is from a tale of epic proportions, haha... if you don't play SINoALICE, this may not be interesting for you:

I joined a random co-op for the current conquest event (Malphas). When we reached the boss, and the adds were destroyed at the boss' 2nd health bar, Malphas buffed itself and started debuffing everybody. It reached a point where all the DPS classes were doing just 1 damage to Malphas. None of the DPS classes were using the correct character except for me.

After a bit of time of just whacking Malphas and doing 1 damage (Malphas stopped debuffing at that point), I summoned Cecelia for some buffs, hoping it would help. After Cecelia came out, everybody was still doing 1 damage... except for me! XD I told the other DPS to save their SP. It took a long time of cycling through my weapons (I was really low on SP. And thank goodness some of my weapons had self-buffs), but I finally got Malphas to the last HP bar, and the other DPS joined in at that point. The healers did good to keep everybody alive.

There's currently a Black Butler collaboration. I'm so happy to get
Sebastian, even though he was free.

This collaboration made a HUGE dent in my wallet (well, huge for me)... I ended up
getting all the different classes and ALL their arcanas. Ciel (above) was the
only other class I HAD to get... but I knew I was going to get them all, no matter what... ;__;
I pray that if the Higurashi collaboration comes, it will come after many months
so I will have more time to replenish my funds.

"Goofy sings BAKA MITAI" by ProZD.

I just find this hilarious.

Thanks for reading!

As usual, if you have any questions / comments about anything, feel free.

Next week will be the super long blog I do every year to reflect on 2021 -- how I did with my resolutions, the top things I experienced, and whatnot.

Happy New Year's eve!! I wish you all joy and good health, despite all the craziness that is still going on.

Take care, stay safe, and until next time! :)

Sunday, 28 November 2021

BLOG -- Recap of November

Aside from one outing, November has been pretty busy for me in terms of trying to get my New Year's Resolutions done. On top of treating myself to some fancy sushi, there will be another reward for myself if I can get them alllll done this year (just four more left).

What is that reward? If I finish all my resolutions this year, I'll tell you ;)

"Outings" / Events in November:

- Had a LINE voice chat with my friends. It was nice and... insightful.

- I woke up around 5:30 AM on a specific day to catch a glimpse of the lunar eclipse. I didn't set any alarms -- I just happened to wake up around that time that day. The moon was very bright.

- I went karaoking with my sister, her hubby, and a friend when COVID cases weren't too bad in Toronto. It was really fun!

- A friend stopped talking to me -- after I spent about 10 months trying to help him get his finances together. There's a bit more to it... but I've just about had it -- I might be done helping others that selflessly for a long time. >_____<

- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news:
-My subscription's still expired.

Exposures:

- Nothing this month.

Finished...

Watching:

- Nothing this month (is this a first for this year??!).

Playing:

- (PS4): Secret of Mana -- This was very nostalgic for me -- keeping its strengths AND flaws, haha. I spent about 20 extra hours just making sure I could platinum this (it was a childhood game, after all). The re-arranged music was awful, though. If you ever play this for nostalgia's sake, play it with the original music.

Reading:

- Nothing this month.

Currently...

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2

- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Yakuza 5 Remastered
- (PS4): Trine 2 (co-oping this only, lol)
- (PS3): Borderlands 2

- (PSP): Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
- (3DS): Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
- (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition
- (Wii): Fortune Street
- (PC): UnEpic
- (PC): King's Bounty: The Legend
- (PC): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)

Watching:

- (Anime): Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls (Episode 2)

- (Anime): Gintama (Episode 13)
- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 1001) <-- I finally broke 1000!

Reading:

- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1030)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)

That's it for November. Here are some pics / screenshots / videos I took this month plus a YouTube video.

A poor quality shot of the lunar eclipse.

Shin Megami Tensei V! I thought this was going to be the last physical game
I buy for the year -- and then the Black Friday sales rolled around, hahaha. ^_^;

I like how this class in SINoALICE has a bunch of vegetables floating about.

The last Gran Colo for this guild in SINoALICE. The guild will be disbanding soon.
This was probably the best we ever did while I was part of the guild.
What a send off.

Me singing "Baka mitai" from Yakuza 0. They actually had the song!! <3
This is audio only (except for the last few seconds), so just hit "play" and do something else.
I was originally resigned to possibly singing this the next time I went to Japan,
so being able to sing it so much sooner was a really nice surprise.

Me and my sister singing "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot.
For some reason, the Stars From 54 version wouldn't queue so we settled
for the original version (which isn't bad -- I like the original version, too).
I really like our harmony. We messed up partway through,
but not that badly. This is audio only so just hit "play" and do something else.

"Mal Has Endometriosis ·10.28.21" by StephenVlog.

This is to raise awareness. It's awful how this could go for years without being
properly diagnosed. The video is an hour long, but the second half
covers their battle with their health insurance.
Since the video, Mal has had the surgery and it was successful.
Stephen and Mal are probably some of my favourite YouTubers, so I'm really glad.

Thanks for reading!

As usual, if you have any questions / comments about anything, feel free.

If you are going on shopping sprees due to Black Friday sales, have fun and keep an eye on your wallet! ;)

Take care, stay safe, and until next time! :)

Saturday, 6 November 2021

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Happy 10 Years... of Blogging!

So... today marks the 10th year I've been blogging. 10 years... where has the time gone??! >_>

When I started this blog, I just wanted a space to share my thoughts about... anything! And I did just that. This space became an online journal of sorts. It's nice (and sometimes embarrassing) to re-read old entries and take a peek at how I viewed the world those many years ago (spoiler: it's not that different from how I view the world now). It's also nice to have a record of some things I've experienced through the years.

It's reassuring to me that despite me still changing and evolving (hopefully for the better), most of my core values have stayed in-tact.

Everything below is more for me, so it may not be interesting for you. You could stop here if you like (and if you do stop here, thank you for reading!).

I've listed an entry from each year that I consider to be really well-written. I usually take care with my blogs, but I took extra care with these entries -- either because I enjoyed the topic or because it was about something close to me and I really wanted to make sure I expressed myself properly. Honorable mentions are other entries I wanted to list ('cuz I can't just list one).

I didn't really include any of my Japan blogs (except for one) nor any convention blogs, but I definitely enjoyed blogging most of them. It just seemed too easy to list so I didn't.

YEAR 1: Nov. 6, 2011 - Nov. 5, 2012
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [Movie] -- Battle Royale
This is probably one of my most proudest reviews. I like that I experienced everything to do with Battle Royale before writing it.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [Movie] -- The Mist

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [BOOKS] -- The Hunger Games Trilogy

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YEAR 2: Nov. 6, 2012 - Nov. 5, 2013
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Deepest Condolences to William Sleator
This still saddens me.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [MOVIE] -- Warm Bodies

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YEAR 3: Nov. 6, 2013 - Nov. 5, 2014
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [ANIME] -- Mushi-Shi (First Season)
This is one of my favourite anime series. Even now I think about to some of its messages and themes. And the beautiful music.

Honorable Mentions
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- A Few Blatherings About My Singledom

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YEAR 4: Nov. 6, 2014 - Nov. 5, 2015
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [MANGA] -- Kodocha: Sana's Stage
This is my all-time favourite manga series. It speaks to me on so many levels. Nothing past, present, or future will ever take its place. :)

Honorable Mentions
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Thank You / Good-Bye to Satoru Iwata

BLOG -- Some of My Favourite Quotes/Moments from Odin Sphere

BLOG -- The Top 5 Superpowers I Would Like to Have

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YEAR 5: Nov. 6, 2015 - Nov. 5, 2016
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Some of My Non-Negotiables
It's been 5 years since this entry and it's still true for me.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- Hatoful Boyfriend

BLOG -- Hatsune Miku Expo 2016 North America @ Sony Centre (May 20, 2016) + Miku Expo Short Film Festival (May 21, 2016)

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YEAR 6: Nov. 6, 2016 - Nov. 5, 2017
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [MOVIE] -- La La Land
In my heart, I will always be a hopeless romantic and a dreamer.

Honorable Mentions
BLOG -- Late Thoughts for HMV Canada's Closing

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YEAR 7: Nov. 6, 2017 - Nov. 5, 2018
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- 428: Shibuya Scramble
I still think this is one of the neatest visual novels I've played so far.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [ANIME] -- Yu Yu Hakusho (TV series)

BLOG -- My trip to Japan V.3 -- EXTRA -- My down time in the hotel

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YEAR 8: Nov. 6, 2018 - Nov. 5, 2019
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My PC Building Experience
I'm not really a tech-savvy person, so this was a big deal to me.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- UNDERTALE

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [ANIME] -- Your Name.

BLOG -- Man with a Mission: Chasing The Horizon World Tour @ Adelaide Hall (September 21, 2019)

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Why Time Is Very Important to Me

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YEAR 9: Nov. 6, 2019 - Nov. 5, 2020
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Anime Crushes
This was a fun entry. I haven't come across any new anime crushes since. I have met my ultimate video game crush, though :)

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [ANIME] -- Nodame Cantabile

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- Yakuza 0

BLOG -- My Good-Bye to Magia Record (ENGLISH version)

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YEAR 10: Nov. 6, 2020 - Nov. 5, 2021
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Idea of An Ideal Date
This was also a fun entry. This still holds true for me.

Honorable Mentions
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Small Words to My Former, Former Boss

Thanks for reading!

If anybody's been reading since the beginning or have read all my blog entries... thank youuuuuu so much for taking that time... I am deeply honoured, and I really appreciate it :)

Will I be able to keep this going for another 10 years...? Will I still be alive in 10 years? Hahaha... The future fills me with so much uncertainty. ^^;

Take care, stay safe, and until next time :)

Sunday, 31 October 2021

BLOG -- Recap of October

October was pretty eventful, as you can see below. I gotta stay focused on my resolutions or I won't get them done x_x

"Outings" / Events in October:

- Had a LINE voice chat with my friends. We had a lengthy conversation about vacuum cleaners, and a conversation about dreams within dreams within dreams. It was a good time.

- I "attended" an online concert for Genshin Impact. It was part of Genshin's one year anniversary. The concert is still available to watch on YouTube. The concert was very enjoyable!

- Met up with a friend and dined at a restaurant for the first time in over a year.

- Met up with another friend and watched some shows on Netflix.

- Met up with another another friend who came by to pick up stuff they claimed from my Minimalist Challenge blogs. We chatted for a couple hours.

- Played Among Us online with some friends. We used voice chat for the first time and it was pretty fun. I'm terrible at lying, so I always hoped to be a crewmate.

- I'm currently on a two-week vacation. It's been busy and a bit rough. I said some hurtful things to a friend recently because I felt ignored and undervalued for a while. Is something wrong with me? Am I turning into a person I don't like? :(

- I tuned into an Extra Life 2021 stream by Stephen Georg, Mal, and friends. It was really fun! It started at noon and went until around 9 AM the next day. I nodded off a few times, but I was at my chair for pretty much the whole time. I loved it when they played Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Rhythm Heaven Fever, Tetris Party Deluxe (while using the Wii board as the controller), and Wipeout The Game. I'm already looking forward to the next one. :)

- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news:
-My subscription's still expired.

Exposures:

- Nothing this month.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): The Holy Mountain -- This was very surreal and symbolic. I would not recommend unless you enjoy movies that are symbolic and don't mind seeing some nudity and sexual scenes. The message at the end of the movie was great. It also gave me a lot of things to think about. Despite what the movie says, I will always want somebody to love me for who I am, NOT what I appear to be... And I wish to do the same for somebody else.

- (Movie): Antiviral -- The premise is unnerving. I liked some of the ideas it tried to address.

- (Movie): Spiral -- This was pretty good. To be clear, this isn't Spiral: From the Book of Saw.

- (Movie): The Visit -- Aside from some not-smart decisions made halfway through the movie, this wasn't so bad for an M. Night movie.

- (TV Show): The IT Crowd -- This was hilarious, absurd, and surreal at times. I watched the special as well. Moss is probably my favourite character.

Playing:

- (PS4): Touhou Genso Rondo Bullet Battle -- This felt a bit clunky, but it was okay.

- (PS4): Trine -- I don't know why, but I didn't enjoy playing this. The only way I was able to progress was to do co-op. I'm not sure if I'll play the sequels, even though I already bought them digitally.

Reading:

- (Manga): Platinum End by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata -- This was okay. There were some interesting concepts, but I think Death Note is better. That ending, though... >_>

Currently...

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2

- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Secret of Mana
- (PS3): Borderlands 2

Watching:

- (Anime): Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls (Episode 2)

- (Anime): Gintama (Episode 13)
- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 954)

Reading:

- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1020)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)

That's it for October. Here are some pics / screenshots I took this month plus a couple YouTube videos.

The first restaurant-made dish I've had in over a year. It was a bit
too cheesy for my liking, but it was good overall.

One of the games played at Stephen's Extra Life 2021.
What the heck is happening here? Hahaha.
The game is Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Wheelie Breakers.

A funny prompt from Stephen's stream where they were playing Jackbox Party Pack 8.
I joined as an audience member and had a fun time.

A scene from The IT Crowd. I have that T-shirt! XD

I got Fina/Dark Fina from the FFBE collaboration in SINoALICE.
It was one of my anticipated collaborations and I overspent.

This doesn't help my main class at all, but I had to get it.

"Machine Gun Kiss but it's JAZZY!" by Claus.

This is such a fun rendition of Machine Gun Kiss -- it makes me want to dance! XD
"100 million, 200 million, 10 billion kisses"... it sounds excessive, but also sounds very nice.

Rex Incognito / Zhongli's Theme from Genshin Impact's online concert.
Zhongli is one of my favourite characters and this track
is pretty awesome with the visuals.

Thanks for reading!

As usual, if you have any questions / comments about anything, feel free.

To anybody celebrating Halloween today, Happy Halloween! I'll send some zombies your way ~~~ (f',,,')f

Take care, stay safe, and until next time! :)

Sunday, 17 October 2021

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- Yakuza 4 Remastered

Playthrough Status: Beat the main story on Normal, spent a ton of hours in Premium Adventure picking up remaining trophies I was willing to get
Approx. Length: 120+ hours
Language: English (Cutscenes are voiced in Japanese with English subtitles)
Played on: PS4
Also Available for: PC, Xbox One
Type of Game: Open-world Action Adventure, Mini-games, Skill-building
Overall Impression: The story feels shorter, but it's still good.

NOTE ON SPOILERS!!

Just like with my past reviews, I'll keep a non-spoiler section (the section you're at right now), and a "Spoiler Talk" section at the end to go into more detail on certain things and to let loose with any extra thoughts.

BUT... even though there won't be any spoilers for Yakuza 4 Remastered in this section, there could be spoilers for all the previous Yakuza games. In fact, this blog is structured as if you have already played those Yakuza games. If you haven't beaten those Yakuza games yet, I'd highly recommend you do before reading this review!!

For anybody who's missed them, below are the links to my reviews on the previous Yakuza games:

Yakuza 0
Yakuza Kiwami
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yakuza 3 Remastered

PRELUDE: STILL PLAYING CATCH-UP BUT IT'S CLOSER

As I mentioned in my Yakuza 3 Remastered review, before I started playing Yakuza 3 Remastered, I told myself over and over to keep my expectations realistic, as I was diving into a game made 18 years BEFORE the previous game (Yakuza 2 Kiwami).

If I were to compare Yakuza 4 Remastered to Yakuza 2 Kiwami, I'd say Yakuza 4 Remastered still has some catching up to do, BUT... if I were to compare Yakuza 4 Remastered to Yakuza 3 Remastered, I would start to see it -- I would start to see the progression and I would start to see how the Yakuza games evolved into what it is now ("now" being Yakuza 2 Kiwami since that's the newest released game I've played).

WHAT STAYED THE SAME (THAT I WAS GOOD WITH)

Here are some of the things that stayed the same between Yakuza 3 Remastered and Yakuza 4 Remastered:

Intriguing story: Unless the story actually disappoints me, I will always list this as a strong positive for a Yakuza game. Overall the story feels much shorter than the previous Yakuza games, but the intrigue and the emotions are still there -- as well as tons of twists (one questionable twist) and mystery. If the story was a bit longer to further develop some of the side characters, it would be golden.

Interesting substories: The substories are still a mix of heartfelt moments, generic just-get-it-done, and pure absurdity. I love it.

An amusing, ridiculous substory.

Graphics: Unless my eyes are deceiving me, I don't think the graphics changed very much between Yakuza 3 Remastered and Yakuza 4 Remastered, aside from updating the environment to show passage of time. Aesthetics rarely ever affect my opinion of a game (as long as I can tell what is what), so I was fine with this. If I'm wrong about the graphics being the same as Yakuza 3 Remastered, somebody correct me, hahaha.

A shot of Kamurocho in Yakuza 3 Remastered.

A shot of Kamurocho in Yakuza 4 Remastered. Maybe I am blind
but it doesn't seem that different to me.

The fun minigames: Like what I said in my Yakuza 3 Remastered review, as long as there is karaoke and the UFO catcher game, I'm happy. All the other games from Yakuza 3 Remastered are here as well.

I didn't record myself doing much of the karaoke, but I played allll the songs with allll the characters (the ones who would sing). My favourite songs are "Pure Love in Kamurocho" (I especially love that you can duet with another character), and "MachineGun Kiss".

A great win while doing the UFO catcher game.

If only I could do this well in the UFO catcher game in real life!

Modding weapons: I barely did any weapon modding in Yakuza 3 Remastered, but I did it in this one because of a trophy. When I saw some of the ridiculous weapons I could mod, I appreciated this feature.

A weapon I just had to mod and try out.

WHAT STAYED THE SAME (THAT I COULD DO WITHOUT)

Here are some things that stayed the same that I didn't enjoy very much..

Hostess Maker minigame: The only saving graces were that there were fewer hostesses to raise, and that the hostesses became actual NPC hostesses the main characters could have sessions with. Aside from those things, it was still very much a chore to do. Granted, this was optional, but those who know me know that I like to experience as much content as possible in games that I like / love.

The names I gave to the hostesses I raised. One is trying to make it big as a rockstar.
Another is looking to marry a RICH man. Another ran away from home
after a fight with her father. Can you guess which is which? :)

Chasing segments: I can see how this could be fun for others, but I didn't enjoy those segments at all.

The not-as-fun minigames (for me): This would be golf, hahaha. I guess I could put mahjong and billiards here, too, but I'm indifferent to those games. I just don't enjoy golf, hahahaha. It's probably because I'm really bad at it.

Too many girls to woo in the hostess clubs: It's the same amount of girls as in Yakuza 3 Remastered. Some of them were interesting to learn about, but others were... well...

THE PROGRESSION

And here are some of the new things in Yakuza 4 Remastered -- the start of the series getting reshaped.

Multiple main characters & fighting styles: I don't know if this carries forward to the future Yakuza games, but in Yakuza 4 Remastered, the story gets divided into separate parts and you get to control a new character in each part. Aside from playing as Kiryu from the previous games, there are three new characters, and each character has their own fighting style.

I'll say something about each of the new main characters in the "Spoilers" section, but overall, they are likeable and developed well enough. Another thing is that I liked how the story from each character tied together in the end to tell a larger story.

Multiple levels for world exploration: In Kiwami 2, you were able to explore some rooftops. In Yakuza 4 Remastered, you are able to do the same -- and explore the underground as well! I liked that they tried something new here.

Stat-building system: This is much closer to the stat-building system in Kiwami 2, but less complex. Some skills still require leveling other skills first, but I feel there is more flexibility here on how to upgrade your character. It's definitely a step in the right direction.

Ordering multiple foods in one sitting: Yes! Let the memes of eating 6-8+ food items in one sitting commence!!! *party sounds*

STANDALONE-FRIENDLY?

I would like to say no, but... if you've never played any Yakuza game before, starting with 4 might not be so bad. You would miss out on a lot of the emotional connection / context for Kiryu when you play his story, but 3/4 of the game involves new characters. If you'd like to dive into a fairly recent Yakuza game (story-wise), and play catch-up with Kiryu's story, 4 is where you'd want to start.

Warning, though: You would also miss out on A LOT of emotional connection / context for Majima if you started with Yakuza 4 Remastered, so I would still recommend you start with Yakuza 0 or Yakuza Kiwami! D:

THE DISCLAIMERS (IF ANY)

This is where I list any things that could make you think twice about trying the game out with family or friends (depends on what they are okay with, I guess). They're not exactly bad per se, but more for your own awareness of it (and so you don't blame me for not saying anything!).

I can experience these elements in a video game and get through more or less unscathed, but your mileage may vary, so I figure I should mention them.

Another note is that I did not thoroughly check out every heat action, so I may have missed some questionable ones, if any.

-Just like in all the previous Yakuza games, the fights can be pretty violent and bloody. I don't think there was an option to turn down the blood level.

-There is a table tennis minigame where you have the option to "power up" some special action by ogling the other player's chest area (the other player would be female and she would be clothed)... that is not subtle at all, hahahaha. Playing the minigame is completely OPTIONAL.

-There is a massage minigame that features a female making provocative poses while you're trying to keep some meter from falling to the bottom completely or shooting to the top completely. If you fail to last through the whole session, it almost feels like an allusion to "climaxing" too early. Aside from trying this several times to get a trophy and just to experience the final difficulty level, this is completely OPTIONAL.

-There is a club that you can visit to see a female dancing on a pole. This is completely OPTIONAL.

MY RATING

In essence, Yakuza 4 Remastered is another Yakuza game, but trying new things, while still keeping to its strengths. While some of the minigames could be long and tedious (Hostess Maker plus another one that I didn't even mention -- they are optional, though), the main story and certain substories would keep your emotions on your feet.

If you've played the previous Yakuza games -- keep at it! You're halfway through the series :)

Rating: 86 / 100

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions / comments about anything, leave a comment or send via the Contact Form. :)

I'm going to take a short break before diving in to Yakuza 5 Remastered, so it could be a long while before I get to review that one. There are a couple other games I'd like to finish first, but rest assured -- I can't wait to start the next Yakuza game. I want to keep seeing how the series evolves!

So I'll do the scrolly thing and the "Spoiler Talk" section will appear after that. Then I'll add some more scrolly things after the "Spoiler Talk" section in case anybody wants to comment, but not see the spoilers.

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SPOILER TALK

So this will be a little different from the "Spoilers" section in my other review blogs. I kinda want this section to be a place where I can unload any extra thoughts I had about Yakuza 4 Remastered, even if I didn't mention it at all in the non-spoiler section. I may have already talked about some of these in the non-spoiler section but I'll go into more detail here.

THOUGHTS ON THE STORY

So there are two things I want to talk about briefly here: The rubber bullets reveal, and the lead-up to the final bosses.

The rubber bullets reveal: While some could feel deflated by this reveal, I actually felt a lot of relief. It means Saejima was never a killer! It does make him going to jail for 25 years very tragic, though...

The lead-up to the final bosses: I felt this was a bit rushed. The final fight with the four bosses didn't feel earned. I wanted to feel super pumped for it, but I didn't.

To be fair, I'm not sure what could have been done to pump me up more for the final boss fights. If they were working their way to the top from the base of the Millennium Tower, then there could have been some mob fights leading to the top. They got up to the top via a helicopter though, and it was a surprise to the bosses. Hmmm... could something have been done??

Also, Daigo... it's sad that you lost your way in this one. But I can understand -- you got dropped into the chairman position wayy too young -- and you had all that pressure to keep everything afloat. I can understand... but don't have Majima get arrested ever again, okay? That's a BIG no-no... *tsk tsk*

GORO MAJIMA

I did not doubt Majima at all in this one. If I didn't play Yakuza 0 before, though... I could have. (Why you always gotta be testing my faith??!) ._.

I loved seeing so much of Majima in a part of Saejima's story. But same as in Yakuza 3 Remastered, he was mainly there to drive the plot forward. No matter, though. I'm still 510% loyal and will hope to see more of him in the next Yakuza game. :)

I do love that after all these years, Majima still considers Saejima his kyodai. Majima is... so darn loyal. <3

Hilarious words from Majima if you take them out of context.

AKIYAMA

I don't have too much to say, but this is one kicka** character, hahahaha. I liked how Akiyama operated Sky Finance and why he operated it. He has a really big heart and likes to help people. He's such a good guy...

I can also relate to him taking big gambles with his heart. I truly hope he will find his happiness one day (as I wish the same for myself, hahaha).

SAEJIMA

What a beautiful, gentle bear. I cried through his story the most:

-When Kiryu refused to help him get to Kamurocho, but then leaves him money and some clothes after all. Saejima's reaction plus the music -- just gets me everytime :')

-When Saejima was yelling in the colosseum about how he lived every day feeling guilt over taking those lives.

-When Saejima was reunited with Sasai and Sasai slowly uttered Saejima's name... thinking of that scene made me cry just now, hahaha.

Upon first glance, I don't think many would be anticipating his story to touch the heart so many times.

Another thing: I liked that even though Hamazaki casted doubt on Majima's intentions, Saejima still stayed on finding out the truth instead of outright thinking that Majima wronged him all those years ago. This one... is also so darn loyal *hug*

I like how his face looks so deadly as soon as he looks away from Haruka.

Another thing I really liked was seeing Saejima's thoughts / observations about the current world after being in jail for so long. It makes a lot of sense that he'd miss so many technological advancements and environmental changes. Below are some of those thoughts / observations.

I kinda wonder if many people these days would ask the same thing?
Since so much of media is going digital these days.

Hahahaha, I couldn't agree more.

Yup, I hear you for sure.

This makes me curious about how things were like for Saejima 25 years ago.

TANIMURA

My very first impression of Tanimura was: not paying attention while on the job? What a slacker! My opinion of him did get a lot better as I learned about his motivations, beliefs, and personality. He may not always follow the books, but he follows his own brand of justice -- and I agree with his brand of justice. :)

His fighting style was pretty amusing. I considered him the "heat move" machine -- I'm always triggering some heat move as a follow-up attack, even when I don't intend to.

A neat cutscene with Tanimura leading up to a fight.

I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU...

Decided to have a section just to honor those who passed... :(

Yasuko -- There is sadness in your passing. But the most saddest thing for me, is that... I don't particularly grieve for you... I grieve for Saejima's sake and Akiyama's sake. I saw your death a mile away, and I did not see enough of your character to feel the sadness I wanted to feel when you got shot... I'm sorry...

I acknowledge your determination to do anything in the world to help your brother. That speaks to your courage and strength. But I did not see much interactions with your brother to buy those strong motivations. A cutscene where you and Saejima exchanged words as brother and sister while being kidnapped would have helped connect the emotions to the motivations, making your loss much more tragic, at least for me.

So instead of grieving for you, I grieve for Saejima, who lost his only sister... and for Akiyama, who fell in love... only to lose her before anything could begin.

Anybody who's reading this who really liked Yasuko, please don't hate me! I wanted to feel more emotion for her... I just needed to see more development. :(

MISCELLANEOUS

Here are some miscellaneous thoughts that didn't fit into any of the above topics, and some more screenshots and videos I wanted to share.

-I enjoyed many of the Revelations. The very first one (the underwear thief) was so hilarious.

-I completely skipped doing the IF7-R. I didn't really enjoy it much in Yakuza 3 Remastered. I told myself to do it after reaching the final chapter... but by then I completely forgot about it. Maybe I'll try it the next time I revisit Yakuza 4 Remastered. :)

-I don't think I've mentioned it much lately, but the music is still great in the Yakuza games. Here's a track that I really like.

Sadness. It just evokes emotion in me.

-Just like in my previous Yakuza reviews, here are a couple funny Yakuza-related memes I saw on Reddit. Here is somebody else's name for that baby-naming substory.
https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/ot4mip/yakuza_4_is_amazing/

-Here's another meme. I find this amusing.

https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/nmn78r/yakuza_is_a_100_hour_game_90_of_those_hours/

And here are the screenshots and videos!

I was amused to see a poster for Shining Force Cross Exlesia.

My suggestion for a name in that baby substory.

Saejima's reaction to the name, hahaha.

Hahahahaha. And the legend continues.

Rebellia's business card. I guess this is how she should have looked like.

Goromi's business card. It's not too far off.

Goldigger's business card. I didn't really like her so
I did not give her the best makeover.

I think this shot is cool. Bada** guys in suits always make my head turn, hahaha.

I like what Akiyama says here.

A ridiculous substory. I would have posted this in the main review
but thought it would spoil it.

I just had to take a screenshot of this.

My final stats when I beat Yakuza 4 Remastered. The story was shorter,
but there were still tons of things to do in between.

A clip of Kiryu about to walk into MEB, some kind of information center for hostess clubs.
I did this just to get that extra dialogue / interaction with Haruka.

A clip of Kiryu having a session with a hostess. I thought Kiryu's response was amusing.

A fight with Akiyama that involved an ally's help.
I should have sought out more of these allies, hahaha.

If you read this section, thank for reading! Now to finish with more scrolly things. Feel free to comment if you wish :D

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Sunday, 17 October 2021

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- Yakuza 4 Remastered