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. tomvs123
    Mar 30, 2018
    7
    Make no doubt about it, this is a good game for lovers of good stories, which have been rare from Japanese video games recently. If you're like crime dramas, then you'll probably like this game more than me.

    I don't like crime dramas at all, but I got some good enjoyment out of this one, primarily because of the Yakuza/Japanese setting, which is very different than what you get from the    Make no doubt about it, this is a good game for lovers of good stories, which have been rare from Japanese video games recently. If you're like crime dramas, then you'll probably like this game more than me.

    I don't like crime dramas at all, but I got some good enjoyment out of this one, primarily because of the Yakuza/Japanese setting, which is very different than what you get from the typical American crime drama.

    Your primary goal in the game is to find out what happened to your almost-girlfriend, who you lost touch with since you've been in jail for the past 10 years (partially because of said girlfriend). Along with that, you've working to protect a young girl from various Yakuza factions while trying to find out why they want to kill/kidnap her.

    There's no major issues with the characters or story, although there's a moderate amount of cliche-following going on. The story is no masterpiece, but it's mostly believable and entertaining. The biggest plot hole is the protagonist's fighting abilities. He's able to punch his way through hordes of armed attackers with no issue and that's the primary thing that moves the story forward: you just beat up people who get in your way.

    Also, I'm always annoyed by this, so I must mention that the bad guy reveals his master plan right before the final battle, which sort of took me out of the otherwise serious main story.

    The main story is dead serious and there are some major character deaths happening. But almost all of the side-story content is silly, so there's some good contrasting gong on. A great part of the experience is watching your serious protagonist deal with the silly side-missions, with a few of them (particularly the mini games) resulting in him acting quite child-like. With his old looks and deep voice, it's quite hilarious.

    Also, since I've also been annoyed by many recent Japanese games having walls of meaningless (filler) dialogue, I must mention that this game is mostly free of that. There's just a little of that going on, and it seems more related to the genre (crime drama) rather than this being Japanese.

    I don't care about gameplay or combat much (I'm a story guy). The combat is good enough, but the number of mini games and side content must be mentioned. For someone who normally skips all side-content, they managed to capture my attention and I ended up completing most of the mini games and side-missions. They were interesting and unique enough to keep me engaged and coming back for more.

    So overall, for being my first Yakuza game, this was a great 40-hour experience. Here's hoping that the story only gets better in future Yakuza games.    … Expand
  2. 613th
    Oct 28, 2019
    5
    It was my first game on PS4 and i have finished it just because of it, in other situation i will not play this one.
    The game is very specific, i'd say - for asian market only.
  3. Jollyolfun
    Nov 18, 2022
    6
    Rebuild of the original Yakuza, not bad whatsoever, very slow though, and the combat isn't quite there compared to other Yakuza games.
  4. DrSiko
    Dec 22, 2017
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gameplay gets so repetitive it's so boring. Go to point A, fight goons, go to point B, fight Yakuza gang, go to point C, fight more goons.

    I didn't have the chance to play it on PS2 so it's my first time living the story. The story didn't get climax until the end and I was quite disappointed at the ending which is cheesy and uncalled for. Yakuza 0 was far more refined. I felt every scene there like it's the final one. So much climax and deep feelings. This one is plain and even ridiculous.

    it's weird too how Yakuza peeps who are notorious for money laundry, drug and sex trafficking are burning 10Bil to prevent a gang leader to do so lol.    … Expand
  5. Zeydlitz
    Sep 8, 2017
    5
    This game could be almost perfect Yakuza game, but one piece of crap made it pretty mediocre -- it's Climax battles. This stuff SHOULD be removed from games .
  6. ElleryHQ
    Jun 21, 2019
    7
    Игра похожа на демо Yakuza Zero с одной локацией и одним персонажем. И кому пришло в голову, что восстанавливающие здоровье противники, это хорошая идея?
  7. egoBorder
    Jun 11, 2018
    7
    I'm not familiar with the Yakuza series outside this game, so maybe take this with a grain of salt, but Yakuza Kiwami did not make a good first impression. If, like me, you're new to the series and looking forward to a bit of role-playing in a Tokyo neighborhood, you might be disappointed to find a highly-controlled experience here that simply does not know the meaning of fun.

    If you    I'm not familiar with the Yakuza series outside this game, so maybe take this with a grain of salt, but Yakuza Kiwami did not make a good first impression. If, like me, you're new to the series and looking forward to a bit of role-playing in a Tokyo neighborhood, you might be disappointed to find a highly-controlled experience here that simply does not know the meaning of fun.

    If you are saintly patient, the game eventually opens up and gives you true freedom. And there IS a lot to do. Unfortunately by the time you have a lot of options the map is so familiar and you've been so worn down by scripted events that the charm is lost entirely.

    If you are patient and don't mind LENGTHY tutorials built into the story, you might enjoy this. Otherwise, it's a controller death sentence. And not because the gameplay is difficult or frustrating, but simply the amount of times you will want to JUST DO ______ but four things have been scripted to happen before ______ is available, even though ______ is right there in front of you    … Expand
  8. B-Bog
    Dec 19, 2022
    7
    Haven't played the original, but IMO they should have done more with this remake to modernize the game, since it is still veeeery clunky in a lot of ways (menus, item management, general movement etc. etc.), but the worst offender here is clearly the janky combat. Never have I felt so utterly ineffective in any video game combat system. The enemies are constantly blocking, dodging,Haven't played the original, but IMO they should have done more with this remake to modernize the game, since it is still veeeery clunky in a lot of ways (menus, item management, general movement etc. etc.), but the worst offender here is clearly the janky combat. Never have I felt so utterly ineffective in any video game combat system. The enemies are constantly blocking, dodging, swarming you and knocking you down, they have insanely long health bars, especially later in the game, and you do so little damage even after fully upgrading all skill trees that combat, even on easy difficulty, is just a tedious and drawn-out mess. To make it even worse, boss enemies can even REGAIN health, which can only be stopped if you have the right fighting style selected, your heat gauge is full, AND you have unlocked a specific skill in that specific style. Otherwise, no dice, enjoy your fight taking EVEN LONGER. Really, the only thing making fighting somewhat enjoyable in this game are the signature Heat moves, which, as always, are totally ridiculus and over-the-top.

    The city of Kamurocho, with all its (often very funny) substories and mini-games is as engaging as always; and the story-telling and writing is generally pretty good, although you can tell that this was the first entry in the series, since the narrative isn't quite as bold and the characters not quite as complex as in later titles.

    The Majima everywhere mechanic wasn't a totally bad idea, but its implementation is pretty uneven. I got through the main story without really encountering Majima all that much since I wasn't aware of how to progress the meter (you have to go to the information booth instead of just being able to walk into the "Shine" nightclub for some weird and contrived reason), then when I did finally do that in the post-game he became a giant nuisance since his health bar grows to gigantic lengths and you have to fight him an ABSURD number of times to get all your Dragon abilities back, which wasn't even worth it at that point for me.

    So, all in all, if you like Yakuza games in general, you're probably going to like this one, too, but the remake seems to have squandered the opportunity to really modernize this title, especially the combat, and bring it up to current standards.    … Expand
  9. Wweald
    Dec 16, 2020
    7
    Yakuza 0 my first game of the series and this the 2nd, I felt disappointed in this one coming from 0 but it's still a really good game. I think only playing as Kiryu made the game worse, using the same stances the whole game instead of swapping between characters with unique stances. Some of the level design choices made this a lot worse too. There are a lot of fights where you're fightingYakuza 0 my first game of the series and this the 2nd, I felt disappointed in this one coming from 0 but it's still a really good game. I think only playing as Kiryu made the game worse, using the same stances the whole game instead of swapping between characters with unique stances. Some of the level design choices made this a lot worse too. There are a lot of fights where you're fighting a ton of enemies and there's nothing to pick up for beast stance, rush isn't great for dealing with groups so 90% of the time I was just using brawler. The dragon stance was cool especially how it levels by fighting Majima but it felt underwhelming to me personally. The story is interesting but not nearly as compelling as 0s. The boss fights are obnoxious in this game, they're all so insanely mobile it's hard to land a hit on them. They take a long time to fight because there are less windows to attack.… Expand
  10. Jackthegamer
    Sep 15, 2022
    6
    It's ok. The fighting is fun, open world activities are cool and the atmosphere is good
  11. MrChickster
    Jul 28, 2020
    7
    Story - worse. Gameplay and engine - same. An uninspired sequel. Who would've known the prequels can be better huh? Rights Star Wars?
  12. ThePSButton
    May 6, 2020
    7
    Yakuza: Kiwami fue mi primer contacto real con la serie, y quedé encantado. El título es el ejemplo perfecto de un mundio abierto pequeño, pero lleno de contenido y actividades, que deja mal parado a todos esos juegos que se llenan la boca con hectáreas y hectáreas completas de mapas donde no hay mucho por hacer. Ah, sí, Kiwami también tiene un sistema de combate competente que lo hacen unYakuza: Kiwami fue mi primer contacto real con la serie, y quedé encantado. El título es el ejemplo perfecto de un mundio abierto pequeño, pero lleno de contenido y actividades, que deja mal parado a todos esos juegos que se llenan la boca con hectáreas y hectáreas completas de mapas donde no hay mucho por hacer. Ah, sí, Kiwami también tiene un sistema de combate competente que lo hacen un beat ‘em up respetable y tiene un tono extrañísimo que junta la seriedad y rareza japonesa en un solo paquete, entregando una experiencia muy única y disfrutable.… Expand
  13. Realnoobman
    Jul 19, 2020
    6
    Nice game, good atmosphere and very humorous, funny fight moves, but too repetitive.
  14. vvv123
    May 7, 2021
    7
    Finished in 14 hours. This is a good game on its own but compared to Y0 its not as good. It would have been better to play as both Nishki and Kiryu, so we can follow his story from the player perspective in a bit more depth. I guess we can assume Majima went mad from the end of Y0 but he wasn't needed in Kiwami at all, avoided him the whole game. The boss fights were harder/longer vs Y0 asFinished in 14 hours. This is a good game on its own but compared to Y0 its not as good. It would have been better to play as both Nishki and Kiryu, so we can follow his story from the player perspective in a bit more depth. I guess we can assume Majima went mad from the end of Y0 but he wasn't needed in Kiwami at all, avoided him the whole game. The boss fights were harder/longer vs Y0 as they were quicker on their feet. The story was an ok continuation from 0. But overall still a good game, the Yakuza series is enjoyable!… Expand
  15. nexus151196
    Sep 10, 2020
    6
    Играется тяжело конечно, без локализации тяжеловато. Но в целом прошел и доволен. На раз пойдет.
  16. InkPrince
    Dec 12, 2021
    7
    Cast is great. Main character is likable. Story is just decent but the voice acting, although is Japanese only, is very good and can make some of the scenes intense. The skill trees and styles are nice to diversify combat but enemies/fights are repetitive and don't fully make use of everything especially once the Dragon Style's counter is unlocked which is OP broken. The world looksCast is great. Main character is likable. Story is just decent but the voice acting, although is Japanese only, is very good and can make some of the scenes intense. The skill trees and styles are nice to diversify combat but enemies/fights are repetitive and don't fully make use of everything especially once the Dragon Style's counter is unlocked which is OP broken. The world looks lively, detailed and populated but feels purposeless once all the quests are done. There's a handful of fun minigames/activites in different buildings if punching gets repetitive and boring. Side quests can get hilarious, wacky and fun and trophy hunting wasn't too hard.… Expand
  17. fabgo
    Oct 11, 2022
    6
    It's OK. The main story is decent, if a little sappy and very unbelievable, although the cutscenes are endless. The side quests did not grab me. The game can be very annoying at times. Sometimes it gives you no (or very vague) pointers on where to go and what to do next.

    Combat is both simple and overwhelming, There are far too many skill choices and combos, most of which only trigger    It's OK. The main story is decent, if a little sappy and very unbelievable, although the cutscenes are endless. The side quests did not grab me. The game can be very annoying at times. Sometimes it gives you no (or very vague) pointers on where to go and what to do next.

    Combat is both simple and overwhelming, There are far too many skill choices and combos, most of which only trigger in special conditions and are hard to remember. I found it very confusing. In the end it doesn't matter, as the game is not hard, but many fights are very repetitive and drag on forever and ever.

    Fighting gunmen in particular is super annoying, as they constantly knock you down over and over. The combat would make a lot more sense if guns and blades were left out. But no, you, the lone ex-Yakuza, fight hordes of bad guys who slash and gun you down repeatedly - yet you take little damage. Even the Terminator was easier to kill.

    Also, the endless fights with Majima get old fast.

    I made it to the end, but was glad when it was over. This is the third Yakuza game I tried. I found them all flawed. I won't try to play another one,    … Expand
  18. dotdotdot1
    Jun 17, 2021
    6
    The background and story are interesting, but the combat is horrible.

    The protagonist has 4 modes, one of which is locked that you have to do a series of side quests to unlock them. Along with the story, most of the time you have only 3 modes available. Street fights are easy and semi-inevitable. Boss flight is a disaster. The boss follows different rules from you. They have super fast    The background and story are interesting, but the combat is horrible.

    The protagonist has 4 modes, one of which is locked that you have to do a series of side quests to unlock them. Along with the story, most of the time you have only 3 modes available. Street fights are easy and semi-inevitable. Boss flight is a disaster. The boss follows different rules from you. They have super fast speed and super armor 99% of the time. You hit the boss the first punch, and when you send the second punch, the boss has already hit you at back. It's a disaster.    … Expand
  19. Fraxxo
    Sep 9, 2023
    7
    Remake of the first title in the Like a Dragon series, Yakuza Kiwami is built on the same model as Yakuza 0 and it works as a direct sequel of it.
    This remake follows the story of the first game and tries to bring it up to date with how the series has evolved during the years prior, connecting various dots to the prequel 0 and adjusting Kiryu character to his new image, but it somehow    Remake of the first title in the Like a Dragon series, Yakuza Kiwami is built on the same model as Yakuza 0 and it works as a direct sequel of it.
    This remake follows the story of the first game and tries to bring it up to date with how the series has evolved during the years prior, connecting various dots to the prequel 0 and adjusting Kiryu character to his new image, but it somehow fails to totally reinvents itself and the result is a game which narrative and characters feel too outdated and totally different from their 0 counterparts.
    In particular the protagonist itself feels way too different from how we left him at the end of 0, basically scrapping all the character development he previously had: the result is a game which takes pace 17 years after but feels like it should actually be the first to be played. The same can be said for Majima which in this game is just a shell of its former self, to the point of being unrecognazible.
    The story isn't actually bad, it's just not that engaging and it shows its age (11 years), more so if played after 0 which had a phenomal storytelling and characters.
    The gameplay is a slightly better version of 0, focusing this time on only on character instead of two and four fighting styles from the beginning, altough the majority of them feels like they were nerfed from 0 while the Dragon of Dojima style is overpowered and the only style you'll actually need to destroy most of the enemies. I actually enjoyed the combat, despite missing Majima's crazy movesets, and I think Kiryu is way more enjoyable as a fighter in this title than 0, but I also did found the game extremely easy, to the point where the secret boss was just a walk in the park.
    What I did find bugging was how Kamurocho, despite being the only city available this time, had much less activities than 0 without a proper reason: RGG Studio removed the Disco and Arcades, which were some of the most beloved side activies in 0, but somehow felt like MesuKing was something necessary for the game despite being very time-consuming and, to some extent, annoying.
    That said, Kiwami's Kamurocho is basically a copy and paste of 0 one, just slightly changed to match its 2005 vibes, and that's something I loved about the game: to see the city I played in changed, but the same at heart, it made me feel like I was visiting an old friend.
    The soundtrack is spot on and it has some really good tracks (my favourites being Funk Goes On, Son of a Gun and For Who's Sake), nothing else to say.
    The game has also many side activities which are what really makes it shine: racing with little toy cars in Pocket Circuit, gambling in a hidden casino, taking out hostesses, playing cards or just walking around with Haruka really made the experience a memorable one.

    The graphics are good: the game clearly shows its PS3 nature, having lot of pop-in and technical limitations, but it's enjoyable and totally bug-free.
    The only thing I would have done differently were the cutscenes which reused directly the original Yakuza models base, resulting in the new models acting in clunchy ways.

    All in all, I enjoyed Yakuza Kiwami, despite being a remake clearly showing its dated story and characters. The new beginning of the Dragon of Dojima journey was a thrilling experience, and being a game shorter than other Yakuza titles, I actually had the chance to play it without getting to the point of redundance like I did in 0.
    So play this game, either before or after 0, if you are a Yakuza fan or just someone looking for a good Beat 'Em Up/Adventure game.    … Expand
  20. zach_grech
    May 15, 2022
    6
    Sometimes true remakes don't fix the original games flaws. Such is the case with Yakuza Kiwami. Not much has been changed from the original game outside of a few features. The story in this game feels rushed, as if they should have expanded the plot a lot more. There are some cool moments in the game and Kiryu and Haraka's relationship is excellent. And Nishikiyami gets a lot moreSometimes true remakes don't fix the original games flaws. Such is the case with Yakuza Kiwami. Not much has been changed from the original game outside of a few features. The story in this game feels rushed, as if they should have expanded the plot a lot more. There are some cool moments in the game and Kiryu and Haraka's relationship is excellent. And Nishikiyami gets a lot more development which makes him a more compelling and great antagonist. The combat has been improved from the original game but the bosses have not. The bosses in this game are extremely frustrating where they boil down to gank fights. The side quests are also pretty boring and uninteresting. The Majima everywhere feature is good but gets repetitive towards the end of the game. Overall this game is probably the weakest Yakuza game with a lot of flaws.… Expand
  21. chokorettoo
    Apr 4, 2023
    7
    story was okay, felt kind of rushed, finsihed the game in 20 hours or less,the story didnt really pull me in as 0 or 2 did, the controls made me rage alot , jingu was the worst
  22. Staarlik21
    Jun 17, 2023
    6
    El juego no llega al 6,5. Casi ningún personaje es memorable y los que lo son no aparecen lo suficiente. Además la historia se siente demasiado corta, a medio hacer. El gameplay, por su parte, se hace más tedioso que el de Yakuza 0.

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

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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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