Yakuza Kiwami 2
PC, PS3, PS4 | $79.95 | WWW.YAKUZA.SEGA.COM Ki wa me in for a second serving.
Kazuma Kiryu’s trademark back dragon tattoo has been re-inked with the vibrant shades of Yakuza 6’s Dragon engine in this complete remake..
The story has its roots in the massacre of the Korean Jingweon mob in the 1980s, dealing with ramifications from the perspectives of the police and Tokyo’s Tojo family. This interferes with a proposed alliance between the Tojo and Osaka’s reigning Omi family.
Kiryu is obliged to help broker the alliance himself, only to butt heads with the Omi’s very own dragontattooed badass, Ryuji Goda, son of the Omi’s patriarch. After things hit the fan, Kiryu is forced to team up with Kansai policewoman Kaoru Sayama, known as the “yakuza huntress”. Hounded at every turn as they try to unpick the complex web of events, , they move back and forth between the neon streets of Tokyo’s Kamurocho red light district, and the distinct riverside takoyaki-filled streets of Sotenbori, Osaka.
This remake comes at a good time, following on from the first game’s remake, Yakuza Kiwami. It sets a high bar for remakes everywhere.
Connections to Yakuza 0 and Kiwami come in the form of some of the extra content added to this release. Both the cabaret club management and the clan creator return, but more spruced up, with their own stories to play through.
As usual, the world is packed with the sort of other diversions you’d expect: arcade versions of Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtual-On, a driving range, a batting cage, karaoke, darts, and mahjongg. There’s no shortage of distractions, but the cabaret club GP and clan creator really take the idea of Yakuza minigames to the next level. And, of course, there are plenty of sub-stories — side-quests where Kiryu helps the residents of Japan with their often ludicrous problems.
Some of the mission structures can get a bit tiresome, but, as far as remakes go, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an absurdly detailed effort, moving one of the best stories in the Yakuza saga forward.
Oscar Taylor-Kent