Less than 2 years ago I’ve finally experienced Yakuza series for myself with Yakuza 0. And it was the best and the worst way to get introduced to the series, it seems. The best, because it was an absolutely amazing game. The worst, because neither the remake of the original, nor this remake of the Yakuza 2 get close to what was great about 0. That said, this game is still really great on its own.
If you’re unfamiliar with the series, Yakuza games are a rather unique take on an open world design, where the locations you explore aren’t particularly expansive, yet filled to the brim with stories and little cool details and things to do. The main gameplay usually consists of watching the story unfold in nicely directed cutscenes and melee fighting with enemies, hence why gameplay wise the series were usually considered brawlers/beat ’em ups. But it’s not always the case with each game (newest one is a jRPG at the core), nor it’s case with how every action scene in each game plays. There are occasional (and unfortunate) QTEs sprinkled in, though to a lesser degree than in 0 or Kiwami, tons of different fun and sometimes bizarre mini-games and activities and even some light puzzle solving in a few cases.
The core appeal of Yakuza Kiwami 2, just as it was with 0 and Kiwami (and the original versions), lies with the stories, both the main one and lots of “substories” (side-quests) that you can encounter in the game. They usually involve the main character helping someone in need, sometimes being led into a trap and very often finding himself in a very strange situation. With the main draw of the stories being that more often than not these stories have heartwarming endings where seeming villains reveal themselves as tragic heroes or people simply getting together after some misunderstanding. They’re unusually sweet, quirky, funny and often contrast with the more series main story that can occasionally get weird, but more often than not goes for straight and dramatic.
And as with Kiwami (and original versions of both Yakuza 1 and 2, one can assume), this main story isn’t really at the same level as it is in 0. It’s understandable, since those games were made years before 0 and the prequel was a clear example of experience that the teams lacked when making the original two games. Yet, it still felt disappointing to see the story in Kiwami 2 unfold, when constantly subconsciously comparing it to how moving 0 could be.
That said, Kiwami 2 is a huge improvement over the rather lackluster story of the original game. There are several chapters that feel rather boring and pointless, but the central characters, the conflict, the twists and turns are far better fleshed out and by the end the story becomes very engaging. Over the top in the stupidest ways, but engaging. Besides, even though the far more down to earth and “real” story of Yakuza 0 was absolutely amazing (when it finally got going), you didn’t get to see a castle grow out of the ground so you can go in and punch a tiger in the face in that game, now didn’t you?
The gameplay and visual improvements in Kiwami 2 (carried over from Yakuza 6, as I understand) are mostly welcome. Game looks great, it controls great, lots of elements that felt a bit overwhelming in Kiwami and 0 are streamlined. The combat is somewhat simplified, which is both great and somewhat disappointing. I’m glad the style switching is gone and that the character feels more agile in practice, yet throughout the whole game I felt like I didn’t have to strategise my fights as much as I did in other games. And also the fact that you often had a companion running with you meant that special finisher “heat moves” often triggered the more repetitive and weak moves, rather than the ones that you could pull off on your own.
Also, the music was surprisingly plain here. It felt like the best tracks were the ones that were reused throughout the series up until this point, while all the tunes that I’ve not heard before were just unmemorable and boring. Even when playing as Majima in his special little story mode, where I expected some reuses of the awesome fight themes from 0, I got really plain combat tracks. Oh and speaking of – that Majima story mode is very disappointing. It’s a sweet closure to one of the main storylines from 0, but otherwise, just a short simplified run through the locations you’ve seen before with the story not really telling you anything interesting or looking all that good. While the moveset for Majima himself is really limited and fighting as him is just not all that fun.
While I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Yakuza Kiwami 2 and spent with it far more than I expected it would take me, it still felt a bit disappointing. It has amazing moments and memorable characters, it’s a really cool update to the old formula, it’s streamlined in mostly good ways. But it’s still not Yakuza 0. Not like it should be, but I just wish they would’ve realized that simpler character dramas were far more interesting in the series than huge explosions and high tech information brokers. And besides, Yakuza Kiwami 2 might be a better way to start the series with than 0, since you will still have 0 to look forward to, yet you will be enjoying this game as it is as well.