Hostess Bars in Yakuza 4

Absent from Yakuza 3 was the inclusion of hostess bars, Sega's reason for this was that western audiences would not understand just what a hostess bar was. That they don't.

With the recent release of Yakuza 4 Sega has decided that the west are now old enough to take every bit of niche Japanese culture that's humanly possible (and we're allowed to use the big-boy scissors too). This includes the aforementioned hostesses and the fine line they draw between sordid pass time and care-free frivolity.

Now, if you are unclear of what exactly a hostess bar is I shall explain. Essentially you pay a woman you don't know (or do know if you frequent these bars) to pour you drinks, light your cigarettes and pretend to be interested in what you're saying. There's a mild sense of flirtation and you share drinks and exchange light-hearted conversation but that's where it ends. There is a possibility of a date outside of the bar but that's not really "work"- Like going dancing with your cleaner or doing spirograph with a hooker, you could be potentially paying for it but it's different.

Thus Yakuza 4 gives you all the dirty feeling of having done something sordid without any of the hassle of actually doing anything. Something that many a western mind can't quite apprehend. Though a perfectly innocent pass time there's overtones of something morally dubious in Yakuza's hostess clubs. It's a feeling not totally dissimilar to  placing your genitals into a jar of peanut butter, it's your peanut butter to do whatever you want with, but it doesn't mean it's right.

As the player you can choose to under-take the hostess mini-game and pay extortionate amounts of your hard earned yen on having someone pretend to take an interest in you for a short period of time. There's also the possibility of receiving e-mails from said hostesses asking you to return as soon as you can and repeat the process. Eventually this can lead to dates where your players awkwardly exchange dialogue over expensive meals or drinks. Essentially, you build a relationship, via your wallet. The whole process of Yakuza 4's hostesses and it's portrayal of buying a relationship is a bit hard to comprehend - almost like a PG brothel, or going somewhere innocent like Disney-land then paying goofy to sleep with you. There's this ever-present aura of a gritty criminal underworld in these places and it's hard to be rid of.

This is probably a cultural gap, mind you, as a Japanese audiences' view of the whole affair would no doubt be far different to my own. Plus, it's only a small part of the game and not breaking from Yakuza 4's overall atmosphere of crime and grit.