The Backlog EX: Yakuza Kiwami

Over the last few reviews, I've (hopefully) established the purpose of The Backlog. The “Big Question” that these reviews and videos hopes to ask.

“Can these classic games stand the tests of time and competition?”

My general conclusion is that if certain games can be preserved via review or fully remade, that these classics can still be relevant in the modern gaming age. It's about opening the time capsule that contains some of our most cherished gaming memories. It's about letting the rose-colored lenses, the scales of nostalgia, fall away from our eyes for long enough to examine these games from a fresh perspective. There's no more immediate answer to the “Big Question” than Yakuza Kiwami.

A special thanks goes our to Sega of America for providing the Metro City Boys a review code for this game so that I was fortunate enough to get in at least a week and a half worth of game time in preparation for this review. With that said, Let's Rumble!

Sights and Sounds

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. This is a full remake of the original sleeper hit Ryu Ga Gotoku, aka Yakuza, initially released on the PlayStation 2 in the US in December of 2005. The major and immediate difference between this and the original classic is that the game was realized and rebuilt using the same framework that powered the stellar prequel that was released earlier this year, Yakuza Zero. As this is a direct follow-up to Yakuza Zero, those that played the previous game will immediately recognize our man-of-the-hour, Kazuma Kiryu.

Not only will Kiryu be looking absolutely dapper in his iconic gray suit and deep crimson dress shirt, but players will also be treated to the familiar and always hopping red-light district, Kamurocho. Since the game is utilizing the same engine as Yakuza Zero, everything in this entry in the franchise looks absolutely stunning. Vibrant colors and bright neon lights pulse with the heartbeat of the district, the people milling about and going about their daily lives add a great sense of reality to the setting and the major characters look incredible!

Not only does Kiwami look absolutely stellar, but the game SOUNDS so much better, too! Gone are the English dubs, for better or worse (so long Michael Madsen and Mark Hamill), in exchange for re-recorded Japanese audio dialogue. The voice talent from Yakuza Zero, as expected, returns reprise their roles in this follow-up. Kiryu has that rock-solid, almost pensive air about him while in contrast, rival gangster Goro Majima sounds manic, frantic and downright nutty! Even during the times where I had to look away from the screen for any given reason, simply listening to the characters as they spoke was a treat.

Not to be forgotten, the remixed soundtrack of Yakuza Kiwami is just as much an improvement over the original as the visuals. Kiryu's furious blows and brutal slams land with a visceral impact. You can hear the metal twisting every time you bludgeon an enemy with a nearby bicycle or motorcycle! The musical score is enough to bring just that much more hype to every encounter and never gets dull. When we're talking the incredible sights or the hard-hitting sounds of Kamurocho, the best response I can relay to you is that good ol' reaction macro of Pacha from the Emperor's New Groove. YOU KNOW THE ONE!

Going Hands-On

This will be said a lot over the course of this review, but those that have played Yakuza Zero will feel right at home with Kiwami. Those that have played any of the Yakuza games will feel right at home with this one. Much like with the visuals and the sounds, the gameplay has also been preserved from Yakuza Zero for use with Kiwami. Of course, since you're only controlling one hero this time, as opposed to two, one might think that this sequel actually takes away from the plethora of mechanics offered in the previous title. I can assure you that this isn't the case.

The standard character progression trees (Body, Soul and Technique) are still present, this time requiring levels of experience to build upon and upgrade as opposed to using the thematically ludicrous amounts of yen you earn in the previous game to “invest in yourself.” While Body is used to increase your overall health and offensive capability and Soul increases your Heat, allowing for more devastating special attacks, Technique will be where you find the upgrades to Kiryu's Brawler, Rush and Beast combat styles.

Speaking of which, Kiryu will have access to all of those styles and even his ultimate “Dragon of Dojima” style right from the start of the game! A true carryover from Zero! Although, a particular story event right at the start of the game will be used as the explanation of why you have to start from scratch in terms of leveling Kiryu up. To be honest, it's actually a clever and even reasonable explanation that offers plenty of motivation to commit to the grind. Additional abilities that allow you to cancel and switch between the different styles mid-action make the combat even more fluid than before.

On the topic of the Dragon of Dojima style, that has its own separate skill tree and is tied to the newly introduced (unique to this remake) “Majima Everywhere” system. Put simply, since Majima is such a beloved character, the game was rebuilt to include segments where you can encounter Majima at any point and any location in the game outside of the established story encounter. After each victory over the Mad Dog of Shimano, you receive an upgrade to the DoD style, adding new abilities which even include attacks and weapon masteries taken right from Majima himself!

Now, no Yakuza game is complete without the usual distractions, sidequests and miscellaneous tidbits that come with it. Yakuza Kiwami has that in spades. You've got the return of the slot car racing from Zero and even the classic karaoke and crane minigames. There's even casino gambling, darts, and billiards! You know, the real classy adult-type stuff. However... I need to take a moment to talk about the minigame that supposedly FOR KIDS. That is none other than “MesuKing.” Seriously, can we talk about this?

It's like insect battling (a classic hobby among Japanese youth in the 90s), mixed with Rumble Roses and it plays like the Rock/Paper/Scissors catfight minigame from Yakuza Zero. It's probably one of the craziest things I've seen in this series and it's the part of the game that gets the most consistent laughter out of me. Now, keep in mind: these are scantily-clad women cosplaying as various insects and engaging in some pretty serious wrestling and humiliation/submission combat. THIS GAME IS SAID TO BE FOR KIDS!!! The kids in the Club Sega arcade actually PLAY THIS GAME. LEGIT COMPETITION!

Suffice it to say, Yakuza Kiwami is no slouch in the “wild-and-wacky” department.

Compare and Contrast

This time around, asking the Big Question is a bit of a tricky proposition. The reason being that this game is actually the ANSWER to said question. The Yakuza series is incredibly beloved in Japan and Yakuza Zero really catapulted the series into the gaming zeitgeist in the West. So, we can readily see just how well it stacks up against its competition. Considering the state of the beat-em-up, action RPG genre and open-world adventure genres, there are very few games that could be considered direct competitors.

There was one point where a large majority of the casual gaming public looked at Yakuza as a derivative Rockstar's GTA series. However, over the course of the franchise the Yakuza games have proven to be far more than and far beyond being a mere derivative work. Similarities in the expansive living world and the numerous amounts of side-story content can be made between Yakuza and GTA, to be sure. However, that's where those similarities end.

Long Story Short

In the past, I've referred to this game as the distilled essence of what a good friend of mine dubbed “casual insanity.” The Yakuza series seamlessly blends together gritty crime drama with off-the-wall moments that one would think would break the immersion in a game dealing with subject matter such as this. How one manages to take things like Shun Akiyama's “magazine suppository” in Yakuza 4 or the outrageously adult but still tasteful “MesuKing” and intertwine them with the gripping samurai-esque story of Kazuma Kiryu is a feat seemingly known only to the developers of this awesome franchise.

To be quite frank, the very existence of Yakuza Kiwami is the answer to whether the original can stand the test of time. As to how it stacks up against its competition, the fact that there was enough demand for this game to be made let alone localized and brought to the West should be evidence enough of how that could be answered. If this wasn't clear enough, Sega is making another statement with the announcement of a Kiwami remake for Yakuza 2, utilizing the Dragon Engine that powers Yakuza 6.

Kiwami is a love letter to fans of the series that have stuck with it since the beginning. It also serves as a killer continuation for those who had their first taste of Kamurocho with Yakuza Zero. At $30, this game is a STEAL for the amount of content you receive right out of the box. With all that said, get out there and Get. This. Game. You won't be disappointed. So, until next time:

Stay Good Neighborhood.

*** Ace's Note: This is a Backlog review that I, unfortunately, never got around to making a video for. However, I still wanted to write this up as a way to keep fresh in my mind what these reviews are all about as well as the format I've established. Enjoy!