Cheats

This walkthrough assumes youre playing through for the first time on Normal difficulty Hard and above seem to be balanced around the assumption that youre on at least your second playthrough so unless you enjoy frustration this is probably the place to start

PART 1 SHUN AKIYAMA
Akiyama is the beginners character He has a lot of combos which are easy to land and he has a lot of range with his kicks but late in the game he feels somewhat limited compared to Tanimura or Kiryu

Akiyamas unique ability ingame is that he makes friends easily There are twelve NPCs throughout Kamurocho who you can befriend as Akiyama and if you do so theyll help you out if you get into a fight with one of them nearby To befriend an NPC either repeatedly use the service they provide or bring them the item they ask for

These NPCs are a homeless man by the large TOWER BATTLE billboard in Theater Square the clerk at the Poppo convenience store by Sky Finance the taxicab driver at the north end of the Hotel District the bartender at Earth Angel the clerk at Caf Alps the original manager of Kyushu No 1 Star the clerk at Kotobuki Drugs the homeless man in West Park the bartender at the Cuez Bar the clerk at the M Store the guy outside Asia on Pink Street and one of the arcade operators in the Club SEGA in Theater Square

Befriending all twelve NPCs as Akiyama completes the optional Challenge Friends You can now visit Bob A at Naomis Palace on Tenkaichi Street to receive a Rage Talisman

CHAPTER 1 THE MYSTERIOUS LOAN SHARK
This chapter has an obnoxious number of cutscenes so bring a snack Youll be here for a while and theres not a lot of opportunity to explore

Once Akiyama reaches the street head north Youll automatically stop and turn back if you try to go in any other direction but towards your designated location Theres an unavoidable fight with three street punks waiting for you in Theater Square Its a tutorial battle so do as youre told to win

A bit further north youll wind up watching a lengthy cutscene that introduces you to some of the major players in Yakuza 4 After that youll find out that somethings going down at the Club Elnard which is a little bit south Before you can get there though youll need to survive another tutorial fight

Inside the club you wind up fighting Ihara Unlike the relatively fragile thugs youve been pummeling so far Ihara can take a serious beating If you land a combo on him that doesnt end in a knockdown run away or hell floor you with a quick counterattack Be sure to grab the Staminan X off the floor if necessary and use the bar stools to inflict cheap damage whenever possible

After Ihara drops the only thing you can really do is head back to Sky Finance

CHAPTER 2 THE ONE

The next day after Akiyama spends some quality time with the local police youre on your own and free to explore the city Despite what Hana says time in Yakuza 4 stands perfectly still until you advance it so youre free to wander around search for locker keys get into random fights and play minigames all you like

When you want to get back to the main plot return to Sky Finance It now becomes your hideout where you can go to save the game stash items watch old cutscenes and regain health Once youve met Lily leave the office again to get a call from Kido whos waiting for you above Theater Square The stairs you need to reach his rooftop are at the end of the alley to the right of the movie theaters front door but before you go up make sure youve got a few healing items in your inventory

Youll wind up in the middle of a fight against a halfdozen yakuza two of whom are armed This is a pretty common occurrence for most of the rest of the game and the general approach is always the same dont let them surround you and take out the weakest enemies as quickly as possible

Once theyre all out of the picture youll have to outrun a few cops If they get close enough to grab you youll need to either use up some HEAT or mash the X button to get away in time If youre having trouble here sheer practice is more or less the key to success although this shouldnt take you more than a couple of tries After youve lost the cops head back to Sky Finance to end the chapter

CHAPTER 3 TROUBLE IN THE TOJO CLAN
After you win a fight with a couple of unremarkable thugs chase down Saigos student At a full run Akiyama corners like a cruise missile so your biggest problem is getting caught on obstacles On a straightaway youre much faster than Saigos student and can easily tackle him to the ground

Saigo now takes up a position on the rooftop above Theater Square and offers Akiyama courses in running shooting and dealing with gunwielding opponents Any health you lose over the course of Saigos challenges is still gone when youre done but if he inflicts a knockout blow against you you wont die While Saigos lessons are pretty brutal theres nothing in his rulebook about healing up during the fight so you can buy your way through them by shotgunning energy drinks

Clearing all six of Saigos battles unlocks more HEAT moves for Akiyama and completes the Saigos Training optional challenge Your reward is the Sacred Tree Armor part of an item set that renders you immune to enemy gunfire

After you meet Saigo youre on your own again Head back to Sky Finance for another lengthy cutscene then take Lily out shopping Milestone is in the Underground Mall accessible on Showa Street south of Sky Finance and Le Marche is on Showa at ground level Dress Lily up in the items you picked out for her

Afterward head to Theater Square and answer your phone when it rings She marks a location on the east side of town so head that way for a fight with five yakuza One of them has a pistol which makes him your priority target Hes got low health so when he drops grab his gun and empty it into the nearest couple of guys just to even the playing field Once thats been dealt with kick the other yakuza into submission

CHAPTER 4 THE PROMISE
After Kido leaves run over to Elise to check up on Lily Youll receive another 100000 yen in discretionary funds to further improve Lilys looks so dress her up as you see fit Do a lap around the clubs floor to get an idea of what the clients are looking for then head back to the dressing room The Mermaid Dress is particularly flattering as Lily works well with conservative fashions You have three attempts in which to get her a few clients

Once thats over with leave the club via the back room Your next stop is Marimba the bar in the Champion District Inspect the items on the clubs owners desk four times before you leave

Return to Sky Finance and Akiyama will automatically head to the roof As instructed take a photo of the girl across the street to achieve your first Revelation Push the three buttons in sequence during the ensuing action scene then pick The way he was leaping and bouncing was amazing to learn the Essence of Triple Strike

After you check on Lily head back out onto Tenkaichi Street and go south to speak with the two high school girls As they say go north to Theater Square in pursuit of Midorikawa where youll end up fighting six yakuza The new Essence of Triple Strike ability is amazing in this fight and using it as often as possible will end the battle in no time

You need to go to the Theater Underground but your most obvious way down there the tunnel underneath the Kamuro Theater is blocked Speak to some bums near the escalators then go to the north side of the Millennium Tower and use the blue door there to reach the Millennium Tower Underground

Turn west and take out the five yakuza in the Theater Undergrounds electrical substation then kick down the Destructible Door between you and the stairs With your new homeless buddy Sukegawa by your side take out everyone you see

While youre down here youll encounter the Professor whos working on a weird gadget on Theater Underground B1 You can come back in later chapters to invest in his project which is a homemade fighting simulator If you invest a total of 700000 yen to complete the IF7R you can use it to fight past bosses and upgrade your characters

When you reach the locked door take the Shape Memory Spring nearby then backtrack to find Kakuda the locksmith whos hiding among all the makeshift steel shelters Hes your ticket to get through a series of locked doors between you and Midorikawa whos in the theaters office

In phase one of the ensuing fight Midorikawas armed with his pistol An individual hit from a gun doesnt do that much damage because this is a Japanese game and guns are not endowed with sufficient manly spirit but theyll probably knock you over Once youre on the floor Midorikawa will just keep shooting and that adds up fast The best way to deal with this is to stay on top of him continually battering him with Akiyamas kick strings if you run away for long enough to pick up a chair or the desk Midorikawa will simply shoot you

After he drops take out the three goons who rush in to cover him The first one has another pistol so take it away from him and use it to dispose of the other two After theyre taken care of Midorikawa reappears waving a chainsaw

On higher difficulties this fight has very little margin for error On Normal or lower however this is apparently some kind of Nerf chainsaw and does surprisingly little damage You can grapple Midorikawa to set up an Essence of Finishing for big damage or just use the knockdown after a grab to buy time and bludgeon him with the office furniture The biggest threat he poses is that when hes attacking you cant block and any contact he makes with you will knock Akiyama over

After you beat Midorikawa stop at Sky Finance before heading to Elise Lilys outfit should still be just fine after your last game of NotPrincessMaker so train her conversation skills instead then let her rest to reduce her stress level Dont give her any tips on her appearance as it stresses her out

With that sorted go right back to Sky Finance then turn right around and head back to Millennium Tower Go through the doors on the buildings south face this time like a normal person then down the escalators and use the elevators in the back to reach the roof

After your chat with Lily go back to Sky Finance again for a chase sequence You cant actually catch Hana here but all you have to do is keep pace with her

Hanas absence from Sky Finance for the remainder of the game means that many of Akiyamas substories are temporarily offlimits If you want to complete one at this point go sit in Akiyamas office chair and opt to reminisce

Finally to complete the chapter and this part of the game go back to Elise The yakuza boss monopolizing your karaoke machine is Minami whos a lot tougher than he looks Initially hes not much to speak of and mostly soaks up punishment but he can land a stun out of nowhere and has a HEAT move where he sprays wine into your face The more damage he takes the faster he gets until you wont be able to keep up with him Until this point Akiyama could win most fights just by slamming kicks into an enemys block until he did something stupid against Minami you have to focus on defense and watch for an opening

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