GAME CLEAR No. 5 -- Yakuza Kiwami

Yakuza Kiwami (2016, Multiplatform)

Remake of: Yakuza (2005, PS2)
Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: SEGA
Clear Date: 11/19/2020
Clear Platform: PS4

Yakuza 0 was the last game I beat before starting this blog. According my Backloggery, that means it was somewhere in the mid 400s in terms of all-time clears. I doubt I’ll ever go back and make posts on those, but it is perhaps worth noting nevertheless.

Anyway, Kiwami is a very good remake of the first Yakuza game (which, to be clear, I have not played), which follows Kazuma Kiryu as he returns from a 10 year stint in jail after taking the fall for a murder his sworn brother committed. It plays a lot like Yakuza 0, which ain’t a bad thing. I look forward to playing Kiwami 2, which is on a newer engine and was developed solely for the PS4 generation instead of being held back a bit by a simultaneous PS3 release. In any case, this post is about Kiwami.

It’s good. I’m pretty sold on the gameplay loop at this point, and I think I’ve finally reached the point of being good at the game. I understand the systems and what I should be doing to kick ass and avoid getting my ass kicked. That feels nice.

I want to say I like Kiwami more than Yakuza 0, but I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I appreciate and connect with the characters in Kiwami better by virtue of having played the prequel. In fact, I think the prequel makes it way easier to give a shit about the main villain, which Kiwami already attempts to do by giving him even more backstory. It seems like he had a breathtaking dearth of development in the original game, if all the additions I’m aware of were indeed not there. So that’s one way this remake and its prequel absolutely make the experience considerably better. And again, I was better at combat this time by virtue of having my practice in Yakuza 0. That also couldn’t have hurt my subjective experience of the game.

The story was maybe a little weaker, but I like the direction it’s headed. I also like its shorter length. Not too short, but also didn’t overstay its welcome.

Having said that, I think I may have played this game longer or almost as long as Yakuza 0 because I fully maxed out protagonist Kiryu’s abilities, including finishing the “Majima Everywhere” system (in which Kiryu’s rival Goro Majima constantly ambushes and fights him throughout town by various contrived and amusing means). Said system rules and was extremely compelling to me. Majima offers a good challenge and I think is part of the reason I got so much better at the game. It doesn’t hurt that fighting him over and over is what unlocks Kiryu’s “Dragon of Dojima” fighting style, which is by far his best when fully upgraded. Really takes him up a notch in terms of offense and defense and is well worth the grind.

Overall, I had a great time. I think I may take a short break from Yakuza to squeeze something else in, but I’m loving the series so far.