Yakuza Kiwami review

    The original Yakuza (in "Like a Dragon") game was for the P2, so you can safely say that this is a late review. Well, technically not since Yakuza Kiwami is a remake rather than a remastering and is a fairly recent import. The Yakuza games are a PS exclusive series that is pretty much the most Japanese game you can make due to the fact crime is both a universal thing as well as something that is deeply specific to local cultures.

    The Russian mobs, Italian mobs, Chinese mobs, and Japanese mobs are all incredibly distinct from one another. America also adds its own unique flavor to its crime games that I tend to think of the Grand Theft Auto series as kind of, "the thing that could only be made in America." Which is of course hilarious if you know it was made by a bunch of Scottish college kids who knew America primarily from its cinema.

Kiyru is both a good protagonist as well as straight man.

    Yakuza, by contrast, was made by the Japanese for the Japanese. Its creator, Toshihiro Nagoshi, risked his career to create a open world game set in a district of Tokyo about a rogue with a heart. Sega didn't believe Americans would want to play the game and they didn't for a long time but thats since changed. The real-life Yakuza are a controversial organization that at their height were something like 200,000 members and infinitely more powerful than even the American mafia at its height.

    They're a group involved in gambling (their name basically meaning a losing dice roll ala "Snake Eyes"), human trafficking, prostitution, strike busting, extortion, and right wing politics. They delivered disaster relief and were instrumental in the assassinations that created the Imperial Japanese (employing, I kid you not, ninja to kill the Queen of Korea). They're gangsters but a colorful bunch every bit as romanticized and vilified by Japanese media as the criminals of America.

    The premise of the game pretty much tells you this is going to be a darker, grittier, and Tarantino-esque storyline than we're used to from most mainstream games. Kazuma Kiryu is a Yakuza lieutenant about to be promoted to being father of his own crime family. He's ambivalent about this promotion as he's comfortable as a soldier and unambitious. He's also more interested in romancing childhood friend Yumi. Well, events turn to manure when his best friend, Akira Nishikiyama, murders the patriarch of his Yakuza clan because he was about to rape Yumi.

A great but inconsistent character.

    Yeah, it's not a pretty story. Kiryu takes the rap for Nishikiyama and spends ten years in prison, emerging in a modern Tokyo he doesn't recognize. Kiryu finds that his long stent in the joint didn't do anyone any favors because Nishikiyama is now a hated crime boss who resents him for complicated reasons and Yumi is missing. There's also been a heist of 100 billion yen from the Yakuza (about $10,000,000 at the time of the game).

    The complicated interpersonal relationships and exaggerated emotional torment makes the game's storyline its best element. Written by Japanese crime novelist Hase Seishū, it is an overwrought but entertaining story about the bonds of friendship falling apart, respect, and personal relationships. Kiryu isn't really a Yakuza anymore but is haunted by his past as well as the fact everyone can tell he's a (former) member just by looking at him. It takes the somewhat obvious route of giving Kiryu a little girl to protect like Wolverine but it's a major part of the story and surprisingly well integrated.

Beast Mode is my favorite fighting style.

    If I'm speaking a lot about the story, it's because it occupies a huge bunch of time versus gameplay that isn't so hot (but isn't bad either). You'll be watching hundreds of cutscenes that include many additional ones to the original. These are primarily devoted to developing the villain, who actually has a fairly interesting backstory. Even so, expect up to ten minutes of cutscenes at a time. It gets a bit ridiculous at times when some of this could have been in gameplay (and there's plenty of that as well).

    The gameplay is okay and apparently based on the Yakuza 0 game. You punch a lot of things, you switch between four styles, and you have dozens of encounters with thugs while doing sidequests. It's a beat-em-up brawler with RPG elements and that's fine. The fighting gets a bit repetitive but what are you going to do. It's an update of a PS2 game and a fantastic one at that.

    The humor of the sidequests are great as Kiryu, while a serious character in the main story, is an amazing straight man for the majority of the story. One character who shows up a lot in the remake is Majima, who becomes your personal Team Rocket and attacks you hundreds of time throughout the game. Very often wearing ridiculous costumes and in ridiculous places. Sadly, you need to fight him to learn the "Dragon of Dojima" style so it becomes all but useless since you won't have mastered it until the end of the game.

Lots and lots of fighting. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

    Is it flawless? No, there's some inconsistencies in the storytelling with Majima being a psychopathic Joker-like character in some scenes and a heroic defender in others (due to the fact his character changed in the sequels that are before the remake's new scenes--if that makes sense). Also, the number of cutscenes in the game goes from being impressive to being overwhelming. Finally, the gameplay is a bit repetitive due to the sheer number of trash mobs that will be attacking you on the streets.

    In conclusion, Yakuza Kiwami is one of the best games I've played in a decade. Its story and graphics are incredible. The characters and storyline are some of the best I've played. There's a few problems to the game but they don't diminish the overall experience. I think Yakuza Kiwami is a great game. If you have a PS4 you need to buy this (and you probably have).

9/10