Yakuza 4 Remastered

First to 11. Do not try to win a rally — even the easiest opponent almost never misses.

• Hold L2 every time the ball is heading away from you — the action slows, Kiryu stares at the opponent's chest, and Heat builds. That is where points actually come from.
• With a full Heat bar, press triangle as the ball comes back for the cutscene smash, which usually takes the point outright.
• As you near 11 the opponent starts returning smashes — usually the first one only, but on Hard you may need three in a rally.
• The flash as the ball arrives is your timing cue — until that feels natural, prioritise returning the ball over holding L2.

A shooter about destroying each enemy's glowing core. The sequel runs in full 3D and refunds time on a quick kill.

• Aim at the core and fire in bursts — holding the button down slows the ship and costs you more time than it saves.
• Fast kills give time back, so closing on the core and finishing quickly beats plinking safely from range.
• Play Boxcelios 2 three times and the Club SEGA manager installs the original cabinets — that is the only way to unlock Boxcelios 1.

Unlike the sequel the ship only faces right, quick kills do not refund time, and the space is pseudo-2D rather than true 3D.

• The laser hits the first part of the enemy it passes, even the bits that look like background — you need a line with nothing in front of the core.
• Enemies bob up and down; line the ship up level with the core and it dies in one shot, so move to where the core is about to be.
• You still get the two seconds at the start, but after that the clock only runs down — mistakes cost more than in the sequel.

Beyond ordinary play there is a tournament per character — Akiyama has the Suzaku Cup, Saejima the Byakko Cup, and so on, each climbed separately.

• The ¥50,000 entry is a one-off; after that you play as much as you like. First place climbs two ranks, second one, third holds, fourth drops one.
• Quitting a bad game costs nothing — rank only updates when a game finishes, so bail and restart when you fall behind.
• Rank prizes: 25 Italian Cologne, 20 Silver Plate, 15 Lucky Bracelet, 10 Caviar Skin Bag, 5 Gold Plate, 3 Swiss Watch, 1 the Tournament Cup — which Ebisu Pawn buys for ¥500,000.

A competition and a Near-Pin contest, the latter played entirely on Hole 2 — and you can find better clubs and balls to change the feel.

• Hole 2 only needs the pitching wedge — full power with the impact point lowered so it does not run on, and less than full only into a real headwind.
• Near-Pin prizes come at 300 (9-Iron), 400 (Wooden Driver), 550 (Titanium Driver), 750 (Swiss Watch) and 1,000 (Antique Chain Mail).
• The club sets are in lockers: Red Shark (power and impact up, control down) in Underground J1, Blue Fox (control and impact up, power down) in H1, Titanium Core Ball (power up, control down) in H5. Gold Hawk comes from Bob at Naomi's Palace in Premium Adventure.

Eighteen species, decided by time of day and cast distance. Bait type does not matter so long as the fish is inside its range.

• Hold R1 and pull the stick the way the fish is swimming. Keep the tension meter off both ends — if it climbs, hold L1 and keep pulling the same way, or just release R1, to drain it.
• The big catches need distance and time: Coelacanth 140-150 m (day/sunset), Tuna 130-150 m (any), Marlin 120-150 m (sunset/night), Giant Oarfish 130-140 m (sunset/night), Giant Crab 100-150 m.
• The close range has its own list: Prawn 0-10 m (night), Conger Eel 0-20 m (sunset), Flounder 30-60 m (sunset), Goby 30-60 m (day/night), Great White Shark 50-60 m (day).

Keep the bar on the right-hand meter off both ends. Four courses, each a different length.

• A pink pulse means the bar is about to rise, a blue pulse that it is about to fall — react to the pulse colour, not to the bar moving.
• Course lengths are 50 seconds for Standard, 90 for Deluxe, 90 for VIP Oil and about 105 for Super VIP — the Super VIP target is understood to be around 30,000 points.
• The higher the bar the faster you score, so ride high early and drift to the middle once it speeds up.
• On Super VIP the very first blue pulse shoves the bar hard upward instead of down — do not trust it on the first signal.

Two machines, Virtua Fighter and Aladdin Destiny. Realistically the row needs a cheat item.

• The Get-Rich-Quick Charm forces a jackpot on your very first spin, and a chain of jackpots from there is enough — five was reportedly all it took.
• The Virtua Fighter machine is the more controllable of the two — back-to-back fights build a rhythm, whereas Aladdin Destiny gives you little say.
• On Aladdin Destiny, stop the ball flow with circle once four spins are stocked — anything beyond that is simply wasted.

Train Nanami, Hiyori and Kyoko to No.1 — each substantial enough to have its own chapter in the guide.

• Making all three No.1 is what unlocks the last three hostess cards — if you are after Card Hunter, this side has to come first.
• Training runs on conversation choices and instructions during service — read what the customer wants and answer to it; wrong calls cost affection.
• Nanami belongs to Tanimura, Hiyori and Kyoko to Kiryu — you cannot progress a girl while playing the wrong character.

You score by hitting panels, and each course runs a fixed pitch script.

• Line the cursor up, then swing at the moment the shrinking cursor matches the ball — that is the sweet spot.
• Speeds differ by pitch — fastballs quickest, curves slowest — and not rushing the curves is what protects the score.
• Higher courses unlock by scoring on the lower ones, and prizes are banded by score — check the band you need before grinding.

A normal game and a Split Game — reliable strikes are the basis of every row.

• Strikes come from the pocket beside the head pin, hit hard with a little spin — a very slight left-stick nudge during the approach.
• Up and down pick the ball: light steers easier, heavy hits harder — take heavy when hunting strikes.
• Split Game wants a given combination down in one throw — clear the easy ones first rather than burning balls on the hard splits.

Alongside nine-ball and the rest, specific shot types are what the list asks for.

• A carom is cue to object ball then on to another ball which drops; a combination is the object ball doing the hitting.
• Play Alone on nine-ball, nudge the balls into shape, then scratch on purpose to place the cue ball where you want it.
• Waiting for these to happen in a real match wastes time — building the setup and taking a guaranteed shot is far quicker.

Three modes — 01, Cricket and Count-Up — with the list asking for feats such as hat-tricks.

• A hat-trick is three bulls in a round; a solo 01 game gives the most rounds to keep trying.
• Singles score the sector, doubles double, triples treble, bull is 50 — in 01 the bull is steadier than treble 20.
• Cricket claims a number on three hits, with doubles counting two and triples three — one triple claims it outright.

Completion is about winning without a take-back.

• Pick the weakest opponent and never take a move back — one use disqualifies the game.
• If shogi is new, the set-position problems teach it faster than full ranked games.

A button-timing rhythm game. Who sings depends on the song, and bringing a companion turns it into a duet.

• Judge on the note overlapping the cursor, not reaching the lane. Hold means hold to the end; Rapid means mash.
• On backing songs pick Lively rather than Simple — Simple cannot reach the top scores.
• Each of the four protagonists has his own song list, so check the menu whenever you switch character.

The crane game. Completion counts distinct prizes, so duplicates of the same plush do nothing.

• If the plush you need is not in the cabinet, ask the attendant to restock — the line-up is randomised and eventually comes round.
• How you grab depends on shape: hook a thin part, wrap the widest part, or take it at its tallest so it cannot tip out.
• Watch how a prize slips out of the claw and avoid that grip next attempt — that is the practical way to improve.