Yakuza Kiwami

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 673 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 512 out of 673
  2. Mixed: 95 out of 673
  3. Negative: 66 out of 673
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  1. JERupp
    Dec 10, 2018
    1
    This is by far one of the most overrated games I have ever had the displeasure of pushing myself to grind through. The only redeemable part of this game is the story, and it's really just a somehow white-washed, weeabu attempt at being a Japanese interpretation of the Count of Monte Cristo.

    The side games are all extremely heavy on re-showing the same animations, the graphics are barely    This is by far one of the most overrated games I have ever had the displeasure of pushing myself to grind through. The only redeemable part of this game is the story, and it's really just a somehow white-washed, weeabu attempt at being a Japanese interpretation of the Count of Monte Cristo.

    The side games are all extremely heavy on re-showing the same animations, the graphics are barely passable for a game made in this decade, and the fighting is really just an orgy of men slapping each other until the main character stands on top after drinking about a dozen energy drinks. Everything about this game is inflated "game hours" with grindy, endlessly boring and unrewarding RPG aspects that somehow overstay their welcome before you even start learning how to unlock the "Dragon of Dojima" skills--a feat that is absolutely useless as you basically need to be endgame before you can finish learning said fighting style (and rush is the best fighting style by far).

    If this is what the series is all about, I'll be taking a hard pass on the future iterations.    … Expand
  2. jackjackson4206
    Apr 5, 2020
    0
    At first glance Yakuza Kiwami looks like a great game. Decent story, as far as video games go, and a big city to explore. Unfortunately it is soon apparent that all the minigames used to pad the game are all poorly designed, with sluggish menus, unskippable dialogue which you must sit through everytime you wish to retry a challenge, and no retry option. Furthermore, roaming the city toAt first glance Yakuza Kiwami looks like a great game. Decent story, as far as video games go, and a big city to explore. Unfortunately it is soon apparent that all the minigames used to pad the game are all poorly designed, with sluggish menus, unskippable dialogue which you must sit through everytime you wish to retry a challenge, and no retry option. Furthermore, roaming the city to knock out the challenges will be constantly interrupted by the unavoidable, easy but long Majima fights. Clearly this is a game aimed at people with no jobs or life outside of the game, because even the simplest tasks require crazy amounts of time. This kind of game design would not be acceptable in a PS2 game, let alone a PS4 game. I can only hope that the flaws in this series are seen and addressed, because it has a lot of potential, but constantly suffers from poor design choices.… Expand
  3. AfroThundah
    Oct 3, 2017
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Everyone says it's been rebuilt from the ground up but, well, it still plays like a PS2/3 era game, with the same stupid camera and all, don't get me wrong, swinging a reception lounge chair (yes, a 3 seater chair) is stupid and hilarious, but the camera does nothing to help you in fights (I'm dwelling on the terrible camera). And those climax battles, that **** can just leave, seriously. The story is the only reason this doesn't get a 0, it looks a little bit prettier than the original but not enough was done to modernise this to make it a "remake", it has to be remade, not given another lick of paint.

    **** stupid seamed to be the word of the day I started playing..........and it owes me a new controller and headset (Shimano you cheap ass sack of **** and button mashing X can **** off back to 2005)    … Expand
  4. DUKEofNY
    Jan 10, 2019
    0
    This is just cut scene's, this game (if you can call this a game) is why sega has gone down in flames. Boring, janky controls, feels like your playing ps2. If you want a story, watch a movie
  5. Max552
    Dec 31, 2022
    0
    Can't say I was a fan. Played and found it too easy and quite boring. I really don't see the fuss about these games.
  6. toysjoe
    Feb 19, 2021
    3
    I'm about 40 hours in to this game, and at the final save before the end of the game. I've unlocked every purchasable skill, and I got to say, this game is absolutely awful.

    See it's not actually a third person action adventure game. This is actually a pinball game. Kiryu is the ball and the enemies are the bumpers, because in every battle, you just get pinballed and bounced around    I'm about 40 hours in to this game, and at the final save before the end of the game. I've unlocked every purchasable skill, and I got to say, this game is absolutely awful.

    See it's not actually a third person action adventure game. This is actually a pinball game. Kiryu is the ball and the enemies are the bumpers, because in every battle, you just get pinballed and bounced around infinitely.

    Imagine the fun of playing a fighting game where everything knocks you down, everything interrupts your attacks, Except the enemies are much more resistant to knockdowns, are immune to interrupts, and can teleport behind you.

    The only redeeming factor this game has is the main story, and the side stories. The combat is garbage, the minigames are garbage. It should have either been a pinball game, or a visual novel - not a third person beat 'em up game.    … Expand
  7. jaco955a
    Feb 1, 2021
    3
    The combat sucks. The controls are janky and it feels like it came out in 2005
  8. Avey123Avey
    Apr 16, 2023
    4
    Significantly worse than Yakuza 0 despite ripping most of its assets from it. The story, despite being maybe half as long as 0 is somehow more padded out with totally unnecessary tangents. The game has practically no new mini games from 0 but also omits some of the better ones from 0 as well. The side stories here are all variations of "man tries to rip off Kiryu, Kiryu beats him up, manSignificantly worse than Yakuza 0 despite ripping most of its assets from it. The story, despite being maybe half as long as 0 is somehow more padded out with totally unnecessary tangents. The game has practically no new mini games from 0 but also omits some of the better ones from 0 as well. The side stories here are all variations of "man tries to rip off Kiryu, Kiryu beats him up, man runs and apologizes". And the combat system here is the exact same with a couple of minor additions, Dragon Style restructuring and changes to certain attack properties. Overall the combat system is on par but missing the extra variety Majima added to the game. The true problem with the combat is that there are very few new enemy types from Yakuza 0 and more offensively the bosses here are a huge step down most of the time. There are a handful of really good bosses in this game, but many of the bosses have poorly fleshed out move sets which are embarrassingly easy to exploit one on one. To make up for this the game spams a massive amount minor enemies into every bad boss fight to distract from how half baked the boss is. This makes many bosses a repetitive slog on higher difficulties because you must pick off distant foes one by one before you can begin fighting the actual boss. This becomes ludicrous with the second to last boss who is perhaps the worst boss design I've seen in a game. Many will try to defend this by recommending exploitable strategies, but the fact that a large expressive move set has to be boiled down to only the most cheap and exploitable tactics for this boss fight is only more evidence of its astonishingly poor design. All that being said I don't hate this game but I find it very disappointing. It is both a sequel to 0 and a remake of the original Yakuza game. Maybe it is more commendable as a remake but as a follow up to 0 it feels like a massive step down. I only recommend picking it up if you are a major Yakuza fan, this is not the ideal introductory title… Expand
  9. Vlad001
    Aug 6, 2023
    0
    My second favourite yakuza game,I loved everything,something that i miss now is the boost of kiryu that was nerfed in other games but it was perfect after all

Awards & Rankings

59
#59 Best PS4 Game of 2017
42
#42 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
84
#84 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 70 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 70
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 70
  3. Negative: 0 out of 70
  1. PLAY! Zine
    Apr 27, 2018
    85
    Yakuza Kiwami is a fine example of how a remaster should be done. Graphical changes and fixing some story plot holes are pretty well done. Majima everywhere is sometimes a nuisance, but all in all, it's a solid addition for an already great game.
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  2. GameCritics
    Nov 17, 2017
    65
    Overall, Yakuza Kiwami isn’t a bad game despite several issues that drag it down. No, its real problem is that Yakuza Zero is a significantly superior product in every way that matters. Fans of the original release will likely dig the modernization, but for any newcomers thinking of jumping in, I’d recommend starting with the infinitely better prequel.
    Read full review
  3. CD-Action
    Nov 16, 2017
    75
    Yakuza Kiwami is so much more than just a remake of the first game in the series. Sega rebuilt the original from scratch using a much more powerful engine, with the help of completely new artists, and enriched the script with tons of references to subsequent Yakuza releases. It’s not a perfect game but it does a great job at tying up loose ends from Yakuza Zero. [11/2017, p.50]
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