Yakuza Kiwami Reviews

First Yakuza game I played and wow what an experience. The city simulation is really great. I'm really looking forward to other titles from RGG now. The biggest issue with this game is the late game bosses. They feel very frustrating and cheap and also soak up tons of damage.

Downgrade compared to yakuza 0. People claim that this remake is faithful to the original but I can't seem to understand how implementing anything from yakuza 0 would be bad. Some of the substories, bosses and, combat system would have benefited greatly from the features of yakuza 0. This isn't a bad game btw. It just feels very old and kind of shallow compared to yakuza 0.

My overall preferred version of Yakuza 1. While it loses some of the atmosphere of the original. I prefer the combat (even if it is largely just ported from Yakuza 0), and the new content added. Majima Everywhere may have its own problems, but its definitely fun.

wish it had more majima randomly popping on my screen with 8 full health bars stopping whatever quest i was going to do

combat in this game is awful story is filled with filler. to compensate for that the game throws you in a lot of fighting sequences. said fighting sequences either get you in a small room with an overwhelming amount of enemies that can stunlock you, or with bosses that ignore your hits and armor through them get ready for cheese strats

7/10 This game is good, not as good as Yakuza 0 but good. Fun beat em up action game with hilarious side content and very serious story. This game is really charming and I definitely will continue the series with 2 next. The story is entertaining even in it's filler moments and the combat is fun. The minigames are fun and well thought out.

Good game and a good follow up to Yakuza 0. Playing 0 beforehand really makes you more emotionally attached to the characters in this game and adds some more context/emotion to their actions and motives. Gameplay is still pretty much the same (Tiger Drop negates all damage), music is good, minigames are fun (fuck billiards though), and completion isn't too bad. A shorter game compared to 0, but that is not a bad thing as the pacing is good. Do recommend if you enjoyed 0 - though I highly recommend playing 0 first.

Absolute game , even when i finished this game i wanna back to play it more and more , over and over again , just walking on the map make you feel in japan , even when majima shows up makes you fight the best fight of your life , and even the substory makes you feel like your real life, Every npc has his own story and every strange, good or bad event that happens makes you engaged with the npcs. I remember when i saw npc named fighter in yakuza 0 and i saw him again in kiwami. he make me cry when i saw him getted old, In short. yakuza kiwami is the best game in ever and i'm gonna play this game again to beat majima over and over again. and can't forget the combos and the Switch style. it's better then yakuza 0 because in yakuza 0 the switching is slow and you can't switch when you fight you have to stop and switch and this is sucks. thank to yakuza kiwami to fix this problem and make the combos better then normal. and you can not say Absolute game without talking about dragon style. oh my god this is so so peak. i soo much love when i press R1 and Y at the same time and give majima a best heat that makes him on death i love dragon style i love yakuza kiwami. thank you sega thank you ryu ga gotoku studio. this game is the best game i play in my whole life. and thanks to read that all to the end.

Yakuza Kiwami é um otimo remake do primeiro jogo da franquia, que atualiza os gráficos, a jogabilidade e a narrativa. A história de Kiryu continua sendo o ponto forte, com personagens bem desenvolvidos e uma trama centrada em lealdade, sacrifício e poder. O combate é ágil e variado, com quatro estilos de luta que permitem adaptar a abordagem a diferentes inimigos e situações. Os minigames são variados e bem integrados à ambientação. Mesmo sem grandes novidades, oferecem boas distrações e reforçam a sensação de um mundo vivo e cheio de opções, fica aqui um destaque para o minigame MesuKing é uma das surpresas mais inusitadas e divertidas do jogo, apesar da premissa absurda, é bem executado, servindo como uma paródia criativa dos jogos de batalha de cartas e funcionando perfeitamente dentro do tom excêntrico da série.

Yakuza Kiwami is a weird one to review. On the one hand, it’s a remake of the very first Yakuza game from the PS2 era, rebuilt with the Yakuza 0 engine and mechanics. On the other, it’s coming after Yakuza 0 chronologically for most players, which creates a strange situation where nearly everything feels like a step down—even though it’s being faithful to the source material. Still, it’s worth playing, especially if you’re planning to go through the entire series. Let’s start with the combat. The core fighting styles from Yakuza 0 return—Brawler, Rush, Beast, and Dragon of Dojima—with a few adjustments. Rush feels noticeably better this time around, and Dragon of Dojima becomes accessible fairly early on (unlike 0, where it was locked until the endgame). However, upgrading it is a completely different story. Instead of progressing naturally, Dragon style is tied to the Majima Everywhere system, which starts off super fun but eventually turns into a repetitive grind as you’re forced to track down Majima over and over just to unlock basic moves. While Dragon was Kiryu’s main style in the original game, here it feels underwhelming for most of the game—limited in options and generally outclassed by the other styles (Specially early on). That said, one move—Komaki Tiger Drop—completely changes the game. It's a returning ability seen across multiple entries in the series, but in Kiwami, it’s arguably the strongest it has ever been. With proper timing, you can delete bosses in one or two hits. Once unlocked, it turns the Dragon style into a one-button win strategy, it's absolutely disguting how strong it is. That said, Tiger Drop spam is nothing new for Yakuza veterans—it’s just taken to the extreme here, since you need fewer inputs to get the same results (Also this is just my personal opinion but the window of execution for KTG also feels more forgiving in this game). The other fighting styles mostly carry over as expected, and switching between them is still as snappy and satisfying as it was in 0 (I'd argue that in Kiwami is even more fluid to switch from style to style mid-combo). Heat Actions are still fun, but noticeably weaker this time around. Enemies also feel tankier than before, which makes fights drag on longer, especially early game. It’s not unmanageable, and far from the worst offender in the series when it comes to health sponges, but it’s definitely noticeable. You’ll be doing more grinding and fewer cinematic takedowns overall. Exploration is more limited compared to Yakuza 0, since this time you’re only roaming Kamurocho. In terms of this aspect, none of the other classic entries come close to Yakuza 0—with the exception of Yakuza 5, which arguably has even more exploration, for better or worse. Minigames are more or less the same as in Yakuza 0, though some are a bit easier this time around. It’s worth noting that a few arcade games from 0 didn’t carry over, which is a bit disappointing. The side activities still offer some fun distractions, but you’ll definitely notice a drop in variety. Substories, in particular, are kind of bad this time around. Most of them recycle the same basic setup: Kiryu is about to get scammed or dragged into something dumb, he plays along for a bit, and then it ends in a quick fight. It gets repetitive fast and lacks the personality, variety, or clever writing that future games (and especially Yakuza 0) are known for. Again, it’s a result of being a faithful remake of Yakuza 1, which was the studio’s first real attempt at an RPG structure—but it definitely shows its age here. The Majima Everywhere system deserves its own mention. This is a new feature created specifically for Kiwami—it wasn’t in the original game at all. Majima can now pop up during exploration, side activities, or story beats to challenge you and keep you on your toes. Early on, it’s hilarious and genuinely fun. But as the game goes on, it becomes more of a chore, especially once you’re trying to grind for Dragon of Dojima upgrades. It turns into a game of "find Majima" rather than feeling like organic encounters, and it starts to clash with the pacing in the late game. By the end, you’re the one hunting Majima to progress, which kind of flips the premise on its head. You could argue that Mr. Shakedown works in a similar way—you usually avoid him early and then farm him later—but he’s not only faster to find and farm, he’s also completely optional. In contrast, the Majima Everywhere system is the only way to unlock moves for the Dragon style, and that makes it feel more restrictive. Meanwhile, Shakedown is just one of many ways to earn money in Yakuza 0, giving players more freedom in how they approach progression. Story-wise, this is where Kiwami can be a bit divisive. If you played Yakuza 0 first (like most people did), then Kiwami’s plot will probably feel like a major downgrade. It’s a much simpler, more melodramatic story with weaker villains and less emotional depth overall. There are some standout moments, and [spoiler]Nishikiyama’s arc hits harder if you’ve seen how close he and Kiryu were in 0[/spoiler] , but the game simply can’t compete with the tightly written and emotionally packed plot of its prequel. In a way, this is why many people suggest starting with Kiwami instead—it makes 0 feel like a proper step forward rather than everything suddenly feeling like a step back. [b]Major Spoilers Ahead[/b] The main issue is that Yakuza Kiwami tries to tell a high-stakes, emotional story, but doesn't have the groundwork or pacing to make it land effectively.[spoiler]Nishiki’s fall from grace is shown mostly through a handful of brief cutscenes that lack the nuance to make him truly compelling. The main villain, Jingu, is flat and cartoonishly evil with no real development or presence until the very end (Not to mention his fight at the end of the game has to be among the most annoying fights in the entire series). There are emotional beats that should hit—like Haruka’s connection to Kiryu, or Kiryu’s struggle with his yakuza identity—but they often feel rushed or underwritten. Characters come and go quickly, and the story leans too heavily on melodrama without building up the relationships or stakes to make it meaningful. Yumi has insanely little background considering how she's both the main trigger that set in motion the plot of the story (Dojima trying to r*pe her) and is a central plot device through the rest of the story too. It feels more like a framework that later games would build on, rather than something that fully stands on its own.[/spoiler] Still, Kiwami has value, especially if you're going through the series. It fills in key story beats for Kiryu and Nishiki, and while it’s rougher around the edges, it still offers solid gameplay, great music, and some memorable encounters. Just temper your expectations if you're coming straight from Yakuza 0. TLDR: Yakuza Kiwami is a solid remake of the original game, but it can feel like a downgrade if you play it right after Yakuza 0. The combat is familiar and fun, though the Dragon style upgrade system drags things down. The Komaki Tiger Drop is the most broken it’s ever been, and turns the Dragon style into a brain-dead win button. Story and side content are noticeably weaker than its prequel, but it’s still a must-play for fans going through the full series. Just don’t expect the same level of polish or depth as 0—you’ll enjoy it more if you treat it like the older game it really is, just with a fresh coat of paint.