It’s quite impressive how much the Yakuza series has managed to stay relevant after all these years. The franchise began it’s story back in the PS2 era, and staying popular enough to work it’s way up to the current generation of consoles. Yakuza 6 was the first game to be released on the PS4, taking advantage of the brand-new Dragon Engine. Yakuza 6 looks to be the last main story of protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. Now, developer SEGA is using the Dragon Engine to essentially remake the series, which began with last year’s Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, which translates to Yakuza Ultimate. Now this brings us to Yakuza Kiwami 2, the remake of Playstation 2’s Yakuza 2. Returning fans will surely be excited to see the continuation of these remakes, but like Yakuza Kiwami, the second entry is very accessible to newcomers.
Now for anyone who hasn’t played a Yakuza game yet, one thing to keep in mind is that series is filled with many characters that feature multiple branching storylines, even more since the remakes start to give other side characters more scenes and dialogue to flesh them out. At times, this can seem convoluted, but Yakuza’s pacing keeps this from feeling too complex. Yakuza Kiwami 2 once again follows Kazuma Kiryu, who is still reeling from the events of the last entry. Kiwami 2 does offer a thorough, and lengthy, recap of Yakuza Kiwami. As the last entry was more of a heist storyline, Kiwami 2 is more straight to the point in it’s narrative as the Tojo clan is now at war with the rival Omi Alliance. Kiryu, as the Fifth Chairman of the Tojo clan, is tasked with trying to find peace between the rival clans. For spoilers sake, that’s about all one would need to know going in. I can say that Kiwami 2’s is another gripping adventure of corrupt cops, seedy criminal underworlds, and heartbreaking betrayals, which kept me engaged throughout. This is due, in part, to the wonderfully directed cutscenes. The Dragon Engine renders these scenes with such detail that many of the character’s non-verbals said much more than their actual words. Now, one the of the reasons Yakuza’s narratives are fun to experience is due to it’s pulpy nature, which manages to create these random but yet cathartic moments. Kiryu is once again a charismatic protagonist, even if he has a no nonsense approach to his conflicts.
Kiwami 2’s mini open-world is by far it’s best improvement of the series. The environments are extremely realized, which is something the series has been getting better at in past entries. The streets are flooded with NPCs going about their day. They tend to always notice Kiryu as he is running around, and sometimes can get rude if Kiryu ends up bumping into them. While the NPCs may not be the most intelligent, the sheer amount of them make this world feel as alive as possible. One staple of the series is the constant brawling that occurs. Kiryu can be minding his own business, but then a bunch of thugs will see Kiryu and want to fight him for some inexplicable reason. At first, this is quite comedic and random, but soon becomes an annoyance as I found myself running away from these encounters out of inconvenience. Kiryu can seamlessly explore the world as he pleases, with multiple shops and restaurants not requiring any loading screens to enter. There are plenty of items and side missions to partake in, but never once felt overwhelming.
While the main story-line is a brutal crime epic, the game’s abundance of side missions are where the series has always earned it’s charm. The world of Yakuza has an odd sense of humor to say the least. Kiryu will run into a large assortment of colorful characters. I emphasize the word “colorful” as these characters are all over the spectrum. In one sub-story, I stopped a popular politician from getting scammed. In another sub-story, I ended up brawling with grown-men wearing diapers. At first, this may seem jarring to newcomers, but after one invests multiple hours into this world, it’s comical tone soon becomes the norm. There is plenty of side content to indulge in with Kiwami 2. Not only do these sub-stories offer a break from the overly serious main story-line, but there is an incentive to take part in them with the chance of getting new items and a hefty amount of XP. On top of the sub-stories, Kiryu can take part in multiple mini games which include visiting casinos to gamble some cash. There’s also the return of arcades, which offer some old school video games to bring back that nostalgia. The Cabaret Club and Clan Creators also make a return in Yakuza 2. Not much has changed in each of these mini-games, but they can offer a nice change of pace from the relatively simple gameplay.
Not much has changed when it comes to combat unfortunately. Combat still consists of building up combos to unleash more devastating attacks. That being said, Kiwami 2’s combat offers the most polished experience of all the past entries. With Kiwami 2, Kiryu must build up his Heat Gauge in order to perform a powerful attack, which will always be prompted to the player. The game’s physics make the player feel each hard-hitting blow as Kiryu and his enemies feel very weighty this time around. When engaging in combat, Kiryu can take full advantage of the area around him, from grabbing multiple objects such as a potted plant, to kicking an enemy straight through a glass window. As Kiryu gets more XP, he’s able to unlock additional stats and skills. These stats are going to be needed due to the game’s increased difficulty when taking on the many bosses. While the combat is quite simple to learn, I couldn’t help but feel a hard difficulty curve. Majority of brawls are relatively easy, but then the game throws in an extremely difficult and spongy boss that I was not at all prepared for. As I said before, Kiwami 2’s combat doesn’t offer much in terms of innovation, but it’s by far the most responsive and refined in the series.
The biggest recommendation I have for Yakuza newcomers is to let this game marinate. Yakuza’s silly sense of humor may not be everyone, but it’s complex narrative plays out like an HBO style crime thriller, so it’s worth experiencing for that alone. Fans of the series will, no doubt, have a blast with Yakuza Kiwami 2. It’s a completely refined and revamped version of the game’s they’ve grown to love. I’ll be honest and say I’m new to the series as I started with last year’s Yakuza Kiwami. Over time, I had grown to appreciate it’s weird characters. Is it an acquired taste? Most definitely, but it’s a series that I believe most gamers should experience as many games have taken inspiration from this series. Kiwami 2 absolutely achieves what it sets out to do, and I’m looking forward to what the future titles may have to offer.
