Yakuza Kiwami 2

Yakuza Kiwami 2 joins Zero in the greatness of the Yakuza license, thanks to a phenomenal reworking, coupled with a whole bunch of additions drawn from the best ideas of the series. Still as zany and chubby as ever in its sidelines, Kiwami 2, like Kiwami 1, is also an excellent detective novel, with a scenario full of great twists and turns. A good surprise and a new Japanese game essential on PC.

PC users can now enjoy another fantastic entry in the Yakuza series. This is one of our favorites, and the PC version lives up to the expectations.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a great remake and the Dragon Engine does an amazing work recreating Tokyo and giving life to the punchy combat system we loved. Drawbacks are still the same : the game feels a bit repetitive and QTE-focused, and the subtitles are only in english.

A very high-quality remake.

The way you can tell a critic liked a game is whether or not they’ll go back to it on their own accord when their review is finished. That is exactly what I’m doing with Yakuza Kiwami 2. It fixes some of the most glaring problems the first Kiwami had and that gives us one of the best Yakuza games on PC. There’s plenty of games to play, dudes to fight and people to help, and it almost never feels wasteful. If you crave an honest-to-god open world without the obnoxious filler of similar games, Kiwami 2 is wonderful for any sandbox aficionado.

Sega’s original sequel has received the remake it’s due. The story fumbles in places, but its high points allow it to sit next to Yakuza 0 as the best the series has to offer.

Strong plot, thoughtful characters, rich content, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is undoubtedly one of the games you should play.

A triumphant remake of Yakuza 2, full of fun diversions and featuring one of the series' best stories.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 has a funny magnetism that I haven’t experienced in a long time. It’s not a game that I felt pressured to make progress in or play, because I enjoyed every second. For me, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a fantastic standalone game since I had no prior experience with the series. I think it says a lot for a game to be able to hold its own without relying on nostalgia of previous titles, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 can definitely stand on its own two feet.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a fantastic sequel and a game worthy of the Yakuza title. It improves on almost every aspect of the original, creating a much more immersive version of Kamurocho and deepening the already compelling relationships between the recurring characters. It also has a better villain and more engaging side quests. Yes, there are annoyances, bugs, and some pacing issues with the overall plot, but on the whole, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a wonderful addition to the Yakuza franchise. I'm already looking forward to my next visit to Kamurocho!

Yakuza Kiwami 2 delivers some gorgeous graphics on PC thanks to higher resolution, smoother frame rate and better effects.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 delivers a slick fresh coat of paint onto this Japanese epic tale, while keeping the same engaging and complex story that fans know and love. A memorable narrative, and some excellent dialogue and delivery make this a story that is worth playing, even for new entrants to the franchise. Meanwhile, while there are a few blotches on the graphical presentation of this remake, Tokyo has never looked so authentic in a game before, and the atmosphere built is second to none. There are some niggles with the camera, and the slightly outdated UI, however, the combat and mini-games are of a high standard, and keep things incredibly enjoyable throughout this extensive adventure.

Kiwami 2 is best thought of as a remake masquerading as an encore. More separation may have allowed it to better stand out and ease Yakuza’s encroaching sense of repetition. It’s impossible to deny the charm of its weird idiosyncrasies and the power of its serpentine drama. Kiwami 2 hits the modern Yakuza standard and, with any reasonable hope, breaks it for good. It also, for better or for worse, will finally allow people to cherish Yakuza 2 outside of its legendary tiger battle.

The tale of Tokyo and Osaka, Kiryu and Sayama's partnership, and Kiryu and Goda's rivalry remains one of the Yakuza's best stories, and Kiwami 2's minor missteps don't affect the heart of that experience.

It’s a smooth, modern-feeling experience—more even than 0 and Kiwami, which already felt eminently playable, especially given the latter was a remake of a decade-old game.

A good remake of the best Yakuza episode in terms of storytelling.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 offers a unique blend that is needed in an industry where the norm otherwise follows a specific template. It does not copy other successful concepts but is instead a fusion of elements that made us love Sega classics like Shenmue, Virtua Fighter and Streets of Rage. And what other game lets you go directly from an arcade, make a stop at a karaoke bar and then on to the top of a skyscraper to fight a yakuza boss and his pet Bengali tigers?

An excellent remake that manages to overcome the flaws of the original and offer a glimpse at what a next gen Yakuza game might look like.