Imagine retiring from your job because you didn’t think you did a good job. Then imagine some time later being asked to take your rightful place back to help rebuild your clan or family. This is the reality in Yakuza Kiwami 2, as you take on the role of Kiriyu to help rebuild Clan Tojo. You are faced by a man who opposes you and your alliances in every way. The plot thickens the further in you go. This is our review of Yakuza Kiwami 2.
From Developer and Publisher Sega comes a remake of a 2006 video game called Yakuza 2. This is the second remake in the series, and from what I have played, it is a very high-quality remake. As I was playing the game my wife looked and asked what movie I was watching. The graphics definitely look lifelike and that is just the tip of the scale for this game. For someone who plays a lot of games, I like to play in worlds that are open and non-restrictive. When you first step foot into the city of Osaka you see flashing lights, doors that open up everywhere. You can walk into places to shop and eat. It is a very well made game world worth spending time in. The game utilizes the new Yakuza 6 engine which is native to PlayStation 4 graphics.
PS2 – PS4/PC
Entering into this world of the Yakuza is intriguing, to say the least. You randomly encounter thugs and other enemies including the Yakuza, and after a quick scene showing everyone at the ready, you begin to fight. The group sizes vary when you encounter them. I have fought one man up to a group of seven or eight. The fighting system is based on light attacks, heavy attacks, and grabs. You have combos that you can use, and powerup moves by holding your attack button to make a more powerful attack. Speaking of weapons, literally anything in the map can become a weapon. I have used plates, knives, safety cones, chairs, and more. It is fun hitting people with weapons that you would see someone from the action movies using. The mechanics of the fighting are pretty zoned in, but I wish the blocking would be a little looser. You block and only can face one direction, the one you were looking at. You should be able to turn slowly while blocking to be more effective.
The story has progressed from 0 and Kiwami 1 also. In this game you are set a year after 1, you have renounced your place within your clan, and you are taking care of a little girl. This is when you are approached by one of the Clan Leaders to come back and help bring them back to glory. The great thing about this game is that even if you haven’t played the previous games they give you video to watch at the beginning of the game to get you a little bit more up to speed. Basically, your clan is destroying itself slowly and you need to come back to restore it to glory, as it were. You will quickly be brought into a war of sides as you fight against a rival Dragon to become the number one Dragon.
Moving through the storyline you will see a lot of action, some good cutscenes, and a fairly good story itself. My feelings on this game are pretty high considering some of the bad games we have gotten from developers lately. Sega has always had a high place for me because of the console back when I was younger, and the high quality of games they try to make. There have been big hits and big misses, but this one seems to be on the higher side of the spectrum.
Note: Our copy was reviewed on Steam with a code provided by PR.
