Yakuza Kiwami 2 — Like Mad Dragons

Yakuza 3 was the first game in Sega’s well-received Yakuza series that I played through, which I had a good time with despite its glaring pacing issues in its first one-third. But Yakuza 0 really showed me how good the series could be, an enjoyable game with a similarly enjoyable story and hilarious side quests, all draped with a 1980s Japan aesthetic. It was also the first game newer fans experienced thanks to being the first title released in western territories for the current generation of consoles, and a title that didn’t require knowledge of previous titles. They started with a superlative one.

In fact, it was so good that it’s been tough not to compare it to the franchise’s progeny, something that hasn’t worked in their favor. Yakuza Kiwami, the remake of the first game which I played months after 0, felt more like an expansion to 0 instead of a full-on sequel. It wasn’t that game’s fault that it was a recreated version of a PlayStation 2 title instead of a brand-new title like 0, but it was tough not to feel disappointed with it. It’s been over a year since I’ve played and reviewed both of them, but I couldn’t help but think about whether Yakuza Kiwami 2 would measure up while playing it. This particular game, at least, stands up to the game better than Kiwami.

Kiwami 2 occurs only one year after the previous game, with protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and his close friends and family still lamenting the deaths of characters from the first game. It was a title with a high death count thanks to the writers not being sure if it would become a long-running franchise when it was first released in 2004. Following those deaths, Kiryu is appointed as a key chairman of the Tojo Clan, but runs out after realizing he wants nothing more to do with the yakuza. Regardless of whether he thought he was out, he gets pulled right back into the yakuza drama when Tojo chairman Yukio Terada is assassinated right in front of him. There’s a reason why he’s the protagonist of a game called “Yakuza Kiwami 2” for good reason.

The key opposing force here is the Omi Alliance, which wants to capitalize on the Tojo Clan’s weakened state following the semi-civil war in the previous game. They intend to take over their territory of Kamurocho (the Yakuza universe’s version of Tokyo’s Kabuki-cho district), though the question is whether the Tojo Clan has the resources to stop them.

Kiwami 2 has the best story I’ve experienced in the series, thanks to its good writing, character development, and pacing. The biggest villain in the game, Ryuji Goda, is intriguing and atypical enough for a crime drama of this type, and while there are several twists along the way, they don’t feel as if they’ve come from nowhere. They’re the kind that you feel like you should have figured out hours ago — though I admittedly did realize one of them moments before it happened. Kiryu’s partner in the game, Kaoru Sayama, is also well presented and fun to watch whenever she’s on screen. After experiencing it, I now realize why several fans were disappointed with the quality of Yakuza 3’s story afterward.

The other aspects of the game are good, too. This is the second Yakuza game Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has made with their current-generation Dragon Engine (the first was Yakuza 6), but it’s the first one I’ve played that utilizes it, and it’s a looker in terms of presentation. Both Kamurocho and Sotenbori (the latter Yakuza’s version of Dotonbori in Osaka) districts of the cities that can be explored here, look good.

Kamurocho returns from previous titles with many of the same locations, but it looks livelier than ever thanks to the new graphics system allowing for more NPCs on the screen at a time. Sotenbori is slightly smaller than its 0 counterpart and isn’t quite as large as Kamurocho, but it contains just as many activities. Both districts are a joy to explore; there’s a reason why they reuse the same locations across several games, outside saving on development time and costs.

I also appreciated the sheer number of quality of life improvements Kiwami 2 included. Instead of each indoor and outdoor area needing to load when the player enters or exits them, Kiryu can seamlessly walk between most of them to massively cut down on the time looking at a black screen. There’s also an easily-unlockable option to display the locations of side quests on the map screen, instead of needing to bump into them in random locations to trigger them like in previous games. Battles also occur more seamlessly, with reduced loading times and unnecessary banter from enemies. I wouldn’t exactly say the older games wasted time, but I appreciate how this one wastes less of it.

The battle system has been completely changed from those designed on the previous graphics engine, inheriting the system introduced in Yakuza 6. They’re still fun, a necessary thing considering Kiryu gets into them frequently; and as mentioned above, they’re over quicker this time. But I missed having the option of choosing from three different fighting styles, as Kiryu is back to using only one here. Unlockable upgrades are still present, but the fighting options are fewer in number compared to 0 and Kiwami.

Like previous Yakuza games, Kiwami 2 is loaded with hilarious side quests and minigames — and two of the latter are large enough to be released as their own games. I had a good time playing karaoke and darts, but the cabaret club (a successor to the one from 0 — a game I feel like I’m mentioning more than Kiwami 2 here) and the Majima Construction offerings feel like games within a game. The cabaret club game is a strategy one that involves assigning the right hostesses to the right customers as quickly as possible, while the Majima Construction one is a real-time strategy one where Majima and the construction crew (including characters you can recruit) have to fend off rival construction groups trying to take land in Kamurocho for their own means. It’s possible to spend hours playing and leveling up characters in both.

They also feel more like games within a game than the actual arcade games, namely Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtual On in the Club Sega arcades, two timeless titles.

Also like its predecessors, some features didn’t make the cut for Kiwami 2. I was disappointed to discover that the pool/billiards game is gone here, along with the option for Kiryu to go into cabaret clubs and chat it up with a hostess. But there are so many other options that I didn’t mind this too much.

Kiwami 2 isn’t one of the more voluminous installments in the series; it’s not on par with 0 in terms of the story content and minigames. The overall length of the campaign minus the side stuff is only slightly longer than the first Kiwami’s, in fact. But it’s the total number of features that make this feel more fulfilling in comparison to the first Kiwami, and the great presentation thanks to the Dragon Engine. Not to mention the story was good enough that it’s the kind I’ll be thinking about for a little while. That also applies to the rest of the game. Folks, it’s a good series.