James Skemp's StrivingLife

This is a very rough guide for the hostesses for Tanimura for Yakuza 4. This only includes the questions/answers I needed to complete his hostesses.

Chihiro (Jewel)

Italian Scarf +.25 - never wore

Orange Juice +1

Fruit Platter +1

When I was twenty?

I wasn't interested in love yet. +1

I see.

It's nothing, really. +1

What do you think of a girl who can't drink?

It's cute. +1

Something interesting? Well...

Ameba Pigg. +1

I had acting lessons (email)

You could try looking at other performances.

Spa (8 hearts): Chest +1

Hang out > Karaoke

===10 hearts to 15

Yeah...

Well, at least it was a good experience. +1

He would never do that kind of thing!

I'm sorry. Being a cop makes me suspicious. +1

 

Most attractive feature (14 hearts): Eyes +? (at least .25)

 

Do you know any good ways to get rid of stress?

There's nothing better than karaoke.

Green tea (email)

"I'm kind of picky about Chinese tea."

 

(date)

 

===15 hears to 20

 

Something interesting? Well...

777 Town.

Hmm...

I know this is your big chance, but... +1

It's all thanks to your advice. I really appreciate it.

It's a too bad, though. +1

If you keep talking like that, I'm gonna get all choked up.

Call me any time you feel lonely. +? (at least .25)

 

Karaoke (email)

"Let's have a sing off."

Himeka (Shine)

Popularity Bracelet +.5

Mini Skirt Dress (Pink) +.5 (worn after 2nd date)

Orange Juice -.5

Chicken Basket +1

 

This is my pet, Mr. Meowy! Pretty cute, huh?

I'm more of a dog person. +2

Sure it does. I'd do anything to be taller!

I could give you a ride on my shoulders. +1

Seriously?! I had no idea! I'd love to go! You really know a lot about this city, eh?

Have fun. +1

 

8 hearts+: Massage > Legs +1

 

He ended up dumping me... He said he couldn't stand eating with me anymore.

He was being a jerk. +? (at least .75)

You think someone like me could ever get married?

You just have to find a man who can cook.

Yeah, I just love a man who can make me laugh.

(Try telling a joke.)

 

Snowboarding (email)

I'm good at snowboarding, too. +.25

 

(date) > Hot Springs

I can't stand those people, either.

 

===10 to 15

He comes in almost every day now. It makes me depressed to think about tomorrow.

Why don't you just wait and see what happens? +1

Maybe I should quit blogging altogether.

That's just running away form the problem. +1

You okay with me asking you for advice? I don't know if I can keep working here without your support.

Maybe you should quit being a hostess. +1

 

14+: Wash > Face +? (at least .25)

 

Drink responsibly! (email)

That's because you beg for drinks so much. +.25

 

(date) > Karoake

 

===15 to 20

Something interesting? Well...

The footbaths at Yunosono Hot Springs. +1

(Phone calls) Hmm...

Leave this to me. +1

What do you think I should do?

Wouldn't you regret it if you left now? +1

But where should I go?

If you've never been, I'd go to Korea. +? (at least .75)

Um... Do you think I could ever be your wife?

Let's just worry about Kashiwabara for now. +?

So jealous! (email)

Do you want to go on a trip with me sometime?

Nanami (Elise)

***intro***

Really? You're a policeman?! Are you one of the higher ups, by any chance?

Unfortunately, no.

All right. My fee is that you request me whenever you come here.

You don't beat around the bush, do you?

 

Fruit Platter +1

Charismatic Ring +.5

Popularity Bracelet +.5

 

Yes. Can you guess what it was?

You're looking for an eligible man? +1

I could never do that. You should really try to apply yourself to your work or you'll never be anything but a loser.

Ouch... +1

Do you have any plans for your future?

I'd like to walk a beat in a small town. +1

 

Thank you for choosing me (email)

"You're a really interesting girl." +.25

 

You didn't think I was writing to you personally, did you?

You shouldn't play that kind of trick on a cop. +1

Do you think you measure up in that department?

I've always been good at solving puzzles. +1

 

8+ hearts - what do you first notice? > Hands +.5

Think of it as a chance to talk and drink with girls. Otherwise, you're probably just wasting your money.

No, I'm going to find a girlfriend this way. +1

Customers like that are more common than you might think. I don't care how much they pay, I can't stand them.

So what kind of things are okay to talk about? +? (at least .25)

Yep! How much money do you have saved?

A good amount. +?

What kind of things do you like to talk about?

I'm interested in social issues. +?

 

This... (email)

"I look forward to seeing you again." +.25

(date)

Watami > Iron Skillet Potstickers +0

===10 to 15 hearts

Am I wrong?

You can be happy without money, you know. +1

I've been thinking about chaning my hairstyle. What do you think?

Sounds like a good idea to me.

No that's no the case. He would never do that to me.

You almost sound like his mother. +1

 

14+ hearts - What do you think I should learn? > Mouth +? (at least .75)

 

It would be inspired by the latest trends in Kamurocho hostess clubs and make them available nationwide. I think it could be really popular.

Sounds like a good idea. +?

 

High price to pay (email)

"I hate it when people cancel on me suddenly." +.5

(date)

Watami > Sashimi Platter +?

===15 to 20 hearts

Something interesting, eh? Well...

777 Town. +.5

Yes... Apparently my brother was so intent on making money for the club that he forced some customers to order things they couldn't afford.

Sounds familiar. +1

Anyway, I've been thinking about quitting my job at the cosmetics company so I can focus on my business.

What about your job at the club? +1

But you wouldn't be my customer anymore. It would be a little strange.

Maybe it's our chance for love. +1

Stressed out (email)

"Champagne is asking a little too much..."

It's interesting how badly this game is generally rated, yet I didn't find the approximately 12 hours I put into the game all that horrible.

Sure the graphics don't push the limits of the PlayStation 3, and the game could certainly have been released for the PlayStation 2, but given the current pricing of the game I'd argue it's worth a purchase.

The story isn't all that bad. There's a couple parts where it seems we're missing something, and the ending isn't all that satisfying, but the story is certainly passable.

The game has an interesting aspect where you need to know what order to attack enemies body parts. Each enemy has a different number of these, and a different order, with some battles resulting in the order changing (but otherwise all instances of an enemy can be attacked with the same order). There's a number of guides online that have already mapped this ordering out for you, if you choose to go that route, but it adds a certain flair if you try to determine these yourself. But getting the order right consistently results in more experience per battle, which means you level that much faster.

This is especially important because combat is otherwise fairly easy once you determine the order, and once you surpass enemy levels you get almost no experience at all. On the other hand, you can 'seal' (defeat) the enemies immediately at this point, instead of having to knock them down to 0 HP first. But, for the most part I found myself just attacking enemies, and very rarely needing to buff, until the optional, secret enemies.

If you like RPGs and you can get it for around $20, I'd say it's worth it for the approximately 12+ hours of play and 19 fairly easy trophies. For these reasons I give Last Rebellion 3 of 5 stars.

Around the time Yakuza 4 was being released I began hearing about the game, although after further research I do remember hearing about those who had asked actual Yakuza to play a Yakuza game (the 3rd specifically). Either way, everything I had heard about 4 suggested I would like it, especially when I heard it had a great story.

So I picked up Yakuza 4 and after less than an hour of play decided I liked what I had seen and played. Since the series is basically one big story I decided to hunt down another game in the series, which was this one, Yakuza 3.

Over the course of about a week I put almost 33 hours into the game and finished it on the normal difficulty. Having done so I promptly went out a picked up a copy of Yakuza 2 and ordered a copy of the first Yakuza. Obviously, that means I'm giving this game a high rating, and here's why.

While I have not yet played the first two games in the series I was able to get some idea of what happened thanks to the inclusion of story overviews, presented in video format, in both the main menu as well as when the game begins. This allowed me to get some idea of what happened, despite not having as close a relationship with the characters as someone who played the previous games in the series.

The story itself is rather robust, and ties together rather nicely in the end (although I'm on the fence about how the ending worked out). The main character doesn't always tie things together as quickly as I'd expect, but I suppose he does have to play dumb a little so the slower players can catch on. I'd argue that the story is on par with Metal Gear Solid 4 (although not so difficult to understand, especially if you didn't play the other games in the series like I) and Lost Odyssey.

The characters within the game are all very life-like, making it extremely easy to like, or at least understand, them.

The audio is almost entirely Japanese, save when an American speaks in English, and the entire game (with the exception of bits spoken during battles) is subtitled. I like watching movies in their original language with subtitles, so I liked this presentation.

While I've only put 33 hours into the game I only touched upon the amount of content within. From what I can tell I did less than 40% of the optional substories and played only a handful of the games within.

The game also features a rather robust new game plus system where you can start a new game with some amount of stuff, but with substories and other completion lists reset. You can also continue playing after the game has ended to complete items beforehand, as you can create new clear saves in this extended play as well. This is actually the first game I've played where you can do that (normally clear saves are created only when you finish the last boss, if at all).

One might argue that combat is repetitive, but it was only near the very end of the game, when I was tracking down locker keys and unlocking secret menu items, that I started running away from fights. At least on the normal difficulty the majority of the fights are not that difficult. In fact, I had to continue more during segments that required I chase someone down or escape than during fights. You can use normal or strong attacks, block and dodge, or use a variety of special attacks, as well as use items within the environment. As you walk around you'll be challenged by various people. One could argue that this is what gets repetitive, but, again, I had no difficulty making this enjoyable by changing up what I did to defeat these enemies. Defeating enemies also allows you level up your character's abilities, which makes for more variety.

As already noted above Yakuza 4 is actually why I picked up this game, and I've purchased the first two in the series, so I'll undoubtedly be playing this game again. For these reasons I give Yakuza 3 a 5 of 5 stars.