Your mileage may vary when it comes to Yakuza Kiwami, and that all depends on where you start. It being a remake of the first game released in the series makes it a logical starting point. But with a prequel available in the form of Yakuza 0 – or now, Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut – your viewpoint on certain characters may vary wildly. Including one character’s arc that has had a complete 180 if jumping into Yakuza Kiwami after playing the prequel…
Set primarily in 2006, Yakuza Kiwami sees series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu recently released after taking the fall for a murder he didn’t commit. To cover for his lifelong friend Akira Nishkiyama, Kiryu spends ten years in prison. We play as him in the events leading up to the murder, but mainly our time with him is just after he is released. Just in time to be thrust once again into the limelight.
It isn’t too long before Kiryu bumps into a young girl out on the street on her own. Her name is Haruka, and if this is your first foray into the series, you better get used to seeing her. Reluctantly, Kiryu takes her under his wing, but as the game progresses, so does their relationship. But is Kiryu keeping her close because he thinks she knows more than she is letting on?
A Dated Remake
Returning to Yakuza Kiwami for the first time since when I reviewed it on Xbox back in 2020, one thing surprised me. This is the last Yakuza/Like a Dragon game to release on the previous engine, and as such, shares the same look and feel as Yakuza 0. Having been so used to the more modern looking games, I had maybe assumed that this one had been given the same treatment when first released, but that isn’t the case.
As such, it feels a bit slow and sluggish, even for a full remake. There are loading screens every time you enter a shop, and you can’t engage in combat without some sort of short cutscene to bridge those gaps either.
Sticking with the combat, it is similar to Yakuza 0, with Kiryu able to quickly switch between a number of different styles. In the game, the story goes that Kiryu has lost all his strength since being in prison, and it shows. Combat feels weak compared to the prequel and it takes a while for them to feel powerful again.
But as a reminder, this version of Yakuza Kiwami is a straight port to the Xbox Series X|S from the Xbox One version. Aside from some new text languages and autosaving now enabled, this is the same game as before.
Highlights The Improvements The Series Has Made Over Time
That can be seen as both good and bad, because there are some excellent moments in Yakuza Kiwami, like the Majima Everywhere system and meeting Haruka for the first time. But there are also some less good moments, like the first few hours of the game.
It definitely highlights the step up in writing and design of the more modern Like a Dragon games. Whilst they’re still story heavy in the opening few hours, the way things are introduced such as the bounty of minigames and side activities help keep the pace going. There is none of that in Yakuza Kiwami, and boy does it show.
Not Making The Best First Impression
In the opening chapter set in 1995 before Kiryu’s imprisonment, he needs to buy a birthday present for an old childhood friend. In those initial moments we see him buy said present, have it stolen from him, told it has been sold to a pawn shop, go to the pawn shop but lacking the funds, borrow money from another friend, return to the pawn shop only to be told the price has gone up, borrow more money, return again to the pawn shop to be then given the ring for free. And at this point, only a few streets of Kamurocho are accessible, so it isn’t as if you can explore the rest of the city and return to the story when you wish.
And unfortunately, it doesn’t get better once Kiryu is released from prison. A section where he has to go undercover at a funeral may be the worst gameplay section in the entire Yakuza and Like a Dragon franchise. It’s a stealth section, which is bad enough, but this is next-level frustration. If I didn’t know this game got good, that would be the end of my Yakuza journey there and then.
Kiwami Means Extreme
But when you do get full access to Kamurocho, it gets very good. New features for this remake include the Majima Everywhere system, which sees series favourite Majima pop-up every now and again for a quick fight. The only downside to this is that Kiryu’s best fighting style is locked behind this system, and is pretty much useless until you have progressed it somewhat. But the more you progress this, the more random the places are that Majima appears.
Nishikiyama’s story is also expanded on with some new details giving him some backstory, that also helps fill the gaps somewhat between Yakuza 0 and Kiwami.
And there are a plethora of side activities to enjoy too. One in particular sums up the series pretty well: MesuKing. Based on the real-life SEGA card game Mushiking, Kiryu can collect cards based on insects, and use them to battle other players. The other players being small children. However, in true Yakuza fashion, the insects are actually women dressed in bikinis, barely resembling the insect they are supposed to be. The kids don’t seem bothered by this; they just want to battle and collect them.
If beating kids at kids’ games is your thing when wearing Kiryu’s shoes, you’ll be pleased to also know that Pocket Circuit Racing makes a return from Yakuza 0.
A Ten-Year-Old Remake of a Twenty-Year-Old Legend
At times, it will be blindingly obvious that Yakuza Kiwami is now a ten-year-old remake of a 20-year-old game. It isn’t the best-looking game in the series by a long way, and suffers badly from some early pacing issues. Get through those moments though and once Kamurocho opens up fully, there is a very good Yakuza game within.
Very good, but not quite reaching the same heights as some of the other titles.
Important Links
The Dragon of Dojima Rises – Yakuza’s Origin Saga Lands in Definitive Editions! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-dragon-of-dojima-rises-yakuzas-origin-saga-lands-in-definitive-editions/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/yakuza-kiwami/9PGTT1QZLXDD/0010/B2XBZ3Z7GC4C
Enjoy the Yakuza Kiwami & Yakuza Kiwami 2 Bundle – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/yakuza-kiwami-yakuza-kiwami-2-bundle/9NK03PZ4RQ1Z/0010
Go big with the Complete Series – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/yakuza-complete-series/9MXVSHL8GBHH/0010/B267WM43HNMG
