Now Playing: Yakuza Kiwami

Yakuza Kiwami AKA Everyone You Like Dies is a remake of the original Yakuza game, first released on the PlayStation 2 in 2005. They’ve essentially rebuilt the entire game using the Yakuza Zero engine which I would say is both a good and a bad thing. Good, in the sense that Kiwami is instantly familiar to those who played Zero, but bad in the sense that it’s a little too familiar.

I didn’t play the original Yakuza, so I can’t compare it to this remake. I’m reviewing Kiwami as someone who has only played Zero, and compared to Zero . . . Don’t get me wrong, Kiwami is a good game, but jumping into it from Zero makes it a tricky one to judge. If you’ve played Zero then it’s important to lower your expectations because this is, let’s not forget – a remake of a game released in 2005.

 

Compared to Zero, Kiwami is far shorter and has far less content to explore. And what side content it does offer is almost entirely recycled from Zero. The main story is very enjoyable and the primary reason any fan of Zero will want to play through Kiwami. It continues the story of Kiryu as he finds himself at the heart of another power struggle within the Tojo Clan. Fans of Majima will be happy to know he also makes a return, although he isn’t playable in Kiwami and he doesn’t play much of a role within the core story.

Like Zero, Kiwami is structured into story chapters, each with its own main missions and side missions (substories) to unlock as you progress. The substories in Kiwami aren’t anywhere near as fun, varied or interesting as those in Zero, but there’s still some good stuff to find and they’re worth working your way through. In terms of other side content, Kiwami is far more limited than Zero with no ‘business’ type content to manage.

 

Visually, Kiwami looks great but once again, that’s because it mostly recycles everything from Zero. Combat is pretty much identical – only more limited because you’re now restricted to one character rather than two – the only new addition being a somewhat pointless ‘health regeneration’ state for certain ‘boss’ characters.

This can be interrupted by a heat attack, but it feels like an unnecessary addition that only serves to tediously prolong fights. The combat system also suffers from the same little issues that annoyed me in Zero – the wonky lock on and enemies who can stun lock you from behind.

One thing I’d say Kiwami does do better than Zero is how much easier it is to unlock your combat skills. Rather than cash, you unlock skills by spending experience you earn in battle and you can unlock the majority of your skills pretty early on. It was a smart move, because it would have been pretty irritating having to slowly relearn all of your moves from Zero.

 

Something I wasn’t overly fond of though was the ‘Majima Everywhere’ mechanic. The idea is that Majima will pop up as you explore to challenge you to a fight and defeating him will increase his ‘rank’, allowing you to unlock new skills.

It’s pretty funny during the early stages of the game as he pops up in strange and unexpected ways, but towards the end of the game I was getting kind of sick of him – as I was wrapping up some substories before beginning the final mission, Majima popped up three times in a row as I tried to travel from one location to another. It was pretty damn annoying.

I don’t really have much more to say about Kiwami. If I were to sum it up I’d say it’s good, but not as good as Zero. But considering it’s a remake of a game released in 2005, that’s not exactly a surprise. I’d recommend playing Zero first, and if you like the characters and story, then pick up Kiwami if you’re curious to see how the story continues.

7/10