Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios·Released Jan 21, 2016·Single player
Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the 2005 open-world action-adventure game Yakuza.
Two Yakuza games within eight months? Maybe 2017 isn't so bad after all. Kiwami isn't a new game, however, but a remake…
This remaster gives the first game in the Japanese underworld series a quality makeover, but leaves a lot on the table.
Visiting the first entry, enhanced as it is, certainly gave me a greater appreciation for the strides that the series made later.
Yakuza Kiwami picks up where Yakuza Zero left off, upholding its dramatic storytelling, offbeat humor, and flashy yet frustrating combat.
This remake of the first Yakuza game has sparks of brilliance amid some major flaws
Yakuza Kiwami finds itself in a strange position. A remake that's technically a sequel to a much better game in Yakuza 0, it struggles to offer anything besides another engaging crime-drama storyline. Best described as a kind of expansion, Kiwami really shows its age in terms of narrative structure and gameplay design, but it's still worth playing through if you just can't get enough of Kaz. It goes without saying, however, that series newcomers are much better off starting with the far superior Yakuza 0.
