Keeping up with the Yakuza series and its numerous releases over the past year can seem daunting to outsiders, but, if you wade into those waters you’ll be rewarded with one of the richest, densest narrative and gameplay experiences in all of video games.
Yakuza 2, originally released on the PlayStation 2, marked the beginning of the series hitting its stride in terms of content, fun factor, and accessibility. It makes sense then that Kiwami 2, its remake, is easily one of the high-points of this new wave of interest in the series. Standing neck and neck with Yakuza 0, Kiwami 2 is a game that simply must be played by new and old fans alike.
At this point in the long-running Yakuza lore, Kiryu finds himself teamed up with a detective as he struggles to survive after witnessing an assassination that could trigger all-out war in the Japanese underworld. The plot may not be as complex or intricate as others in the series, but what it allows for is a broad stage that allows for several over-the-top story and gameplay moments that aren’t topped across the rest of the series, save for perhaps a handful of moments in Yakuza 0. Make no mistake, in chronological terms this is where Yakuza really came into its own by blending humor, drama, and action in such a way that is still largely unique to this franchise.
Kiwami 2 runs on the dragon engine, introduced in Yakuza 6, and with it comes a whole host of improved visuals and animations that top even the stellar work done on Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 1. This game looks as well as it plays, and it plays fantastic. The multi-tier character progression system is back, along with a better incorporation of food vendors, each dish offering different boosts and stat buffs. With each upgrade Kiryu invests in comes more powerful and devastating attacks which take the form of the series’ infamous canned animations. These powerful attacks help to break up the button-mashing beat-em-up repetition that can sometimes set in with extended play sessions.
At this point, it almost goes without saying, but the sound design and voice acting in Kiwami 2, as with most Yakuza titles, is top notch. The streets feel alive with ambient noise from bustling businesses and random pedestrians and the performances from all the characters- major and minor alike- are power, moving, and sometimes hilarious. The music is always on-point, setting the stage during both extended cutscenes and tension-filled street fights.
There are gripes, to be sure, like the removal of a small third map to explore, and a more restrictive, limited mode that involves series antagonist Majima. These are minor issues, however, and the return of the hostess club and other features more than make up for them.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 continues the current-gen remastering of the series, and in the process introduces a whole new fan base to one of the strongest titles in the franchise. This is one of the great ones, and you should definitely give it a shot.
