Yakuza Kiwami 2 - XB1 Review

Yakuza Kiwami 2 by developer and publisher SEGA—Microsoft Xbox One review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Picking up one year after the original, Yakuza Kiwami 2 resumes the story of Kazuma Kiryu as trouble once again erupts in the fictional city of Kamurocho. Again not having the choice but to sharpen his skills, Kiryu dusts himself off from recently being a father to his ward to once again get down and dirty with everyone that lays in the way.

Having gone straight through Yakuza Kiwami and right onto Yakuza Kiwami 2, there's a lot that was obviously fresh. For those that haven't though, or like me who were only starting the series off, I was impressed with the four part summary of the original with enough details that anyone starting off would not be lost. Actually, there was part of the flashback that must have been a side story that I hadn't seen because I watched it and wondered huh, that's a neat addition that I wish I had seen. The only thing it was missing was more Majima craziness.

If there was perhaps one issue that was apparent from the beginning it was the performance on the Xbox One. While the very beginning fight within a cemetery is smooth and the graphic enhancements are clear to see, the performance of these new visuals really chugged at the system once you get the chance to once again walk the streets of Kamurocho. As you work your way through some of the main streets to find the son of the previous Patriarch, the visuals just couldn’t seem to keep up and it was rather straining on the eyes. This chugging doesn’t last too long thankfully as once you leave Kamurocho for other parts of Japan everything smooths and it just becomes a delight to play.

For the most part, Yakuza Kiwami 2 follows the same structure of the first. With hefty cutscenes mostly at the beginning and ends of the chapters, there’s a sprinkle of smaller ones in between to move the plotline along between the various bouts that Kiryu will be having as he’s charged by thugs of various natures. Perhaps my favorite part this time around is that because of the new graphical style that was implemented for Kiwami 2, foes will be walking around in large groups or run out of shops in order to get all up in your face as they have no idea of who they are dealing with.

I would have to say between Zero, Kiwami 1 and Kiwami 2, Kiwami 2’s fighting system simply felt more natural as it did away with “styles” such as Brawler, Beast and Rush and instead had one all encompassing style that didn’t need to be changed out of. Now, you are simply levelling the abilities that you want to use and using them when you want to. This was great for me as I spent most of my time in Kiwami with the Brawler until there was something on the ground to use like a bicycle or a store sign for loads of extra damage in Beast mode. Either that or one of your enemies to use against the others that just brings its own satisfaction. It’s not the most “realistic”, but it’s damned satisfying.

Unlike the original’s concept of having experience levels that can be used to purchase skills, this time around Kiryu will be receiving "stat" specific experience points that can be used in various combinations with one another to unlock new abilities. Strong Charge attack for example will cost six body and six endurance while getting a Token of Appreciation costs six across four stats and 34 of another. Completing side quests, fighting with thugs in the streets or moving the main storyline ahead, each will net you a decent amount of experience which can only be amplified with food. Eating it back and on top of healing you up, it’ll also grant you loads of experience as long as you don’t overdo it and overfill Kiryu’s stomach.

Along with the skills, experience is also used to increase strength, health and defense which once level capped, a new cap can be unlocked for a hefty sum. So doing the sidequests, fighting the thugs that simply don’t know what they are getting into or stopping those that are bullying people? You’ll want to do all of the above as it generally doesn’t take that much time and it also has the satisfaction of knowing that the place is just a little bit safer for everyone in the meantime.

While playing through both Zero and Kiwaki 1, I kept thinking to myself that the series is old enough to have spawned certain other ideas into place but it wasn’t until loading Kiwami 2 and going through the tutorial that I knew that I may have been right. Akiba’s Trip was NUTS as you brawled your way through the streets of Akihabara hunting down vampires and using whatever was available as a weapon. This time around, and I appreciated it from the first, is that on top of using bikes, and motorcycles and street signs as weapons to do hefty amounts of damage, Kiryu can now stock up on certain types of weapons to use them later down the line.

Bokken (Wooden Katana), Metal Katanas, metal or wooden baseball bats or knives and guns. Each of these can be stashed away for later use and up to three of these can be slotted in for quick use. This makes certain badass bosses a little more manageable at lower levels but at the same time I think it’s assumed that you do have this inventory because while it’s perfectly acceptable and possible to duke it out with fists, dodging and blocking? Having a sword or a golf club makes quite a difference especially when the situation is life or death.

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Now unlike Yakuza Kiwami, and more in line with Yakuza 0, the second has a few side stories that are entirely possible to sink too much time into. Introduced into play during chapters four and five, Kiryu becomes both the manager of a Hostess Club and a Foreman of Majima Construction, yes, Majima Construction. Majima has gone "straight" and has decided to build the Kamurocho Hills where the homeless den of Purgatory once stood in the top right of the city map while running all of the businesses below after the Flourist left. Both are massive time sinks and while you are pretty much forced to do the intros, if either or both are not your thing, don’t worry about it as the main story can be advanced.

Between the two, the Hostess Club wasn’t really my thing, but it’s interesting enough to spend some time on between beating people up as the main story escalates. Acting as the manager, Kiryu will be greeting people at the door and deciding based on personal takes which hostess will be greeting which guest. With the end goal to make loads of money and win a Grand Prix tournament, you’ve got your work cut out for you starting with only three hostesses. Each session goes by quickly enough and in that time between seating and picking up the checks, you’ll also be asked to step in and help from getting glasses to emptying ashtrays or bringing towels all based off of hand gestures from the hostess that asked for help.

In a clear contrast from the hostess scene, the clan creator mode where you are made foreman for Majima Construction was much more up my alley. Threatened by construction tycoons wanting Kamurocho Hills, you’ll have to manage the staff and Majima in a top town real time strategy. Each unit is controlled independently and the main goal is to defend the construction equipment being targeted. It’s fast enough paced as the stages move on and often you’ll find yourself needing to redo some stages in order to level up your units because the bosses that you’ll encounter are just ridiculous.

Summary

Yakuza Kiwami 2 wasn’t just a continuation to the first, but a proper successor to the first. Continuing the storyline from where the first left off to implementing a ton of new features and quality of life improvements, and I look forward to seeing The Yakuza Collection (3-4-5) and Yakuza 6 release on the XB1 to continue Kiryu’s tale.

Score: 8 / 10

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Yakuza Kiwami - XB1 Review

Yakuza Kiwami by developer and publisher SEGA—Microsoft Xbox One review written by Pierre-Yves with a Microsoft Xbox GamePass Subscription (GamePass provided by PR).

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Earlier this year I had the immense pleasure of taking my first actual spin on the Yakuza side of things in SEGA's fictional city of Kamurocho with its release of Yakuza 0 for the Xbox One that acts as a prequel to the original. Having just released Yakuza Kiwami 2, and getting to cover it, I figured what better way to review it than by reviewing the original Yakuza Kiwami first.

Going back to the beginning of a series isn't always the easiest even on a revamp because you can see how certain aspects may not have aged as well as others. While not looking as refined as Yakuza 0, it's still damned pretty to look at with the revamps through the Kiwami label. That, and it's just as much damned fun to play for the thirty ish hours that it takes to complete.

Starting off in 1995, you'll solely be taking control of Kazuma Kiryu in the above named fictional city of Kamurocho. Unlike 0's double protagonists, the original only had you need to worry about one person's problems and in this case, Goro Majima has let freaking loose and is a whirlwind of pain that you'll be glad for later. Taking the fall for murder though, Kiryu will spend the next decade behind bars where his martial prowess will disappear until he's forced to relearn everything and fast as not only two days out and things have gone to hell in multiple hand baskets.

One may think that going to jail wouldn't soften one up as much as everyone may be gunning for Kiryu, however after basically the first few days everyone else learns to not mess with him and the ensuing peace and quiet is what makes Kiryu a bit softer around the edges as well as get parole only after ten years behind bars. This was perhaps one of the better ways that I've seen in how to remove a character's skills or toughness. It was a natural decline over time, not some magic or gimmick. Being thrown back into the wild though, it won't take long to start getting into fights and seeing first hand just how bad it's gotten.

While not technically an RPG, Kiryu gains experience from fighting… well anyone. Thugs, drunks, punks, Yakuza or gang members, rich boys or people picking on men and women alike for money, dates or just because they can. All of this experience goes into a pool where you can use units in order to unlock what has been lost. Extra health, attack, moves and additions to combos. Brawler, Rush and Beast modes are all available to start off with but until you go through the various trees each won't be doing much for a little while.

Compared to the three above, the last of your styles is going to be the tougher one to get back as you'll need to actually fight for it as you can't buy the moves of the Dragon back with experience points. You can only buy it back by force and it's a good thing Majima is around because you'll have to take him to the cleaners. Repeatedly. I loved how integrated they made this into the story as well. Majima is the first person encountered once you're out and he kicks, your, ass. Hard. So taking it upon himself he tells Kiryu that he'll still be watching everything and attacks at a moment's notice.

Like the guy that constantly shakes you down in 0, Majima is EVERYWHERE just looking for a fight. Hell, hearing the Metal Gear Solid "!" Gave me a start and then I just knew, it was go time. Prank Zombie Apocalypses, behind you ordering food because your health was low. From below a manhole cover or jumping from an above balcony. Inside a bar pouring your drinks. Acting as a police officer and frisking you for weapons. Or, just simply walking around looking for you with no pretense. He. Is. Everywhere. And because of this, nowhere is safe so you'll always want to be stocked up just in case you need to fight him. It's not a bad thing either as it helps you personally as he gets tougher and tougher and if you're not leveling up you'll want to be starting.

All of this, story segments or just plain downtown fight sequences all help to prepare yourself against your once best friend who went from a soft hearted Playboy of sorts into a cold and cruel head of his own family while you were gone. Nishikiyama, Nishiki for short, was actually rather unrecognizable at first both from the cold stare and the slick backed hair. What I truly appreciated was that at the beginning of every chapter, you are shown his descent into madness while Kiryu was imprisoned instead of getting a two hour monologue at the end right before the final fight.

Alongside the main storyline and all of the fighting against Majima there are loads of side stories that make Kamurocho feel alive with the people that you encounter. Dine and dashers, finding a replacement as The Fighter announcer for car racing, someone who’s out of toilet paper, lover’s spat gone wrong which turns into a multi partitioned romp through the city with a Judo Master or finding 2000 Dollar Yen bills for someone. Some are damned random and will just happen while you’re walking by while others you can see coming just by how someone is standing in a crowd. That said, all of these are worth doing for the boosts in experience as well as the money which you’ll need to buy expensive gear and healing supplies.

Now while I wouldn’t say that Yakuza Kiwami is a perfect experience, it’s damned fun and I can see where other brawlers got their inspiration over the years. With a solid story, great mechanics and characters that you actually care about, I regret having taken this long to get into the craziness of Kamurocho with Kazuma Kiryu.

Score: 8.25 / 10

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Yakuza 0 - XB1 Review

Yakuza 0 by developer Ryu ga Gotoku Studio and publisher SEGA—Microsoft Xbox One review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

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What better way than to start off playing a series than from the “beginning”? Taking place before the original Yakuza, Yakuza 0 acts as a prequel to the already established series and having only played Sega's Judgment, there was no better way to start the series before jumping into the Kiwami remakes of the first, second and the revamps of 3-4-5 before the current 6.

Prior to sitting down to Judgment over the summer, I had been under the impression that while the Yakuza series entries were some very highly recommended brawlers / beat ‘em ups, that that was all that they were. From that point and seeing the depth of story and storytelling with plenty of characters, and believable characters at that, I had set out to collect the revamped versions of one through six. Having beaten me to the punch of starting, Yakuza 0 fell into my lap as it launched for the Xbox One and I can fully attest that this is a well worthy time sink. Just the opening four chapters for both protagonists will bring you anywhere close to 8-12 hours depending on the side quests taken. There are a total of seventeen chapters...

Taking two different paths in different parts of 1988 Japan, both of your protagonists Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima will be fighting for reasons similar enough, yet so different, that it requires actual recaps as you switch between them. Kiryu who has just recently been framed for murder, tries to leave the Yakuza so that it will not affect someone who he holds in high regard even if it means that it could cost him his life. Leaving the Yakuza and becoming an “ordinary citizen”, it isn’t long before he joins up with a real estate firm that seems to be much more than it publically lets on to find out who’s really behind everything.

In contrast to Kiryu, Majima finds himself running a high end hostess club and is revered by those that offer patronage to the establishment. Smooth as silk with his words and his dealings with even the most unsavory of customers, Majima only exudes a calm demeanor in which the customer is king and that’s all there is to it regardless of how they behave. Being nothing more than an excellent mask, Majima too has been put outside of the Yakuza’s walls from having disobeyed an order from his superiors and running the club is his punishment. Like Kiryu though, it doesn’t take long for real trouble to find him and while Majima will have cool moves inside of the club, outside, he’ll willingly put anyone down that gets in his way.

Now because this is my first in the series, I can’t compare to how the systems and the narratives differ or mesh together with two protagonists and three separate fighting styles each. What I can offer however is that what is present is almost mind blowingly good at how well its written and how well the gameplay flows for hours upon hours of play. Often it felt like you’ve been playing for fifteen or twenty minutes only to find out that you’ve been brawling for half an hour and going through the story for hours once you’ve checked the time on the clock. The blending of the two is fantastic and the voice acting is spot on for just about every character. While there are no English voice overs, I was perfectly fine with it because of where the events are occuring. I honestly need to go back to Judgment to experience it in the same way.

While their stories offer very different perspectives, the executions of these stories, the dialog and the combat follow the same patterns. When things become very serious, the story is told through high end rendered cutscenes. When things aren’t as serious, the camera will still pan around but it’ll be within the gameplay engines’ graphics and you can often hit a button to move the dialog along faster if you would rather read than allow the characters to fully voice their lines. Finally, you have the basics that are almost stills of the characters in which you absolutely have to hit a button in order for the dialog to move along. The last of these doesn’t happen much after the first hour or so, but the blending of walking around and then chatting up the various peoples? It works.

While not talking to people or possibly punching their faces in, you get to walk around either of the cities that Kiryu or Majima find themselves in. Large boulevards, small back alleys or shopping arcades with restaurants and corner stores. You can move at your own pace and often it’s really dependant on you. You can walk slowly and barely nudge a person if they come close. You can move at a decent pace that will bump a person in a fairly rude fashion, and then you can all out sprint for a little bit which will almost knock someone on their ass. Some people won’t like any of these, some will obviously not like the last one and then there are those just spoiling for a fight so what’s a person to do? Give it to them!

Men in black suits, other Yakuza members, biker gangs and just general wannabe punks, they’ll all want a piece of you and often they’ll come in a groups of three. They tend to be fairly easy to dispatch, but, as time goes on and even as you level up your abilities with the hard earned Yen taken off of these foes of yours, there can feel like there’s a gap that isn’t quite being crossed and it wasn’t until I just bought some stuff in a corner store that I realized that, you can have equipment. This equipment? It raises your attack, your defense to fists, gunshots and blades. Having only noticed this AFTER the first MAJOR boss, I realized that I had been playing on hardmode. Once you find this out? Between leveling up your abilities for hundreds of thousands and millions of Yen, you’ll be on the best of terms for almost anything that can be thrown at you short of the big guys that exist only to take your money and make you literal millions if you can actually take them out.

While all six fighting styles are different from heavy punches, to flurries of blows or using items in the environment or break dancing, the core of each is the same. You have your normal attacks, you have a heavier attack that can lead into what is called a Heat Blow if you have enough Heat charged up, and then you can either kick with the style or grab hold of someone to punch them or throw them. The system is fluid. Either Kiryu or Majima can switch between these styles and it’s just as efficient if you’re fighting against a boss, three street goons or a horde of Yakuza on the way over to their boss. The only issue to look out for is that it’s easy to fall into a groove with one style but you have to be willing to change it up as there’s no one solution and often, switching from heavy blows with a stick to break dancing was all you needed to tackle a downward battle with some well trained enemies.

Once you’ve survived all of this, it’s a rinse and repeat but because of the dialog only ever moving forward with new trials and challenges, it doesn’t feel repetitive. Only helping to alleviate this are the side quests that are some of the most random things that I’m not even sure I could make up if I tried. Some are normal enough like pretending to be someone’s boyfriend to get their dad off of their back. Others? Helping a Dominatrix become more dominant so that she doesn’t lose her job. Meeting somewhere in the middle are teaching a bunch of nerds how to be tougher because of the music style they chose or taking over a director’s role because the director didn’t show up. Only a bonus, these events can take up twenty or thirty minutes at times so they are their own little side stories only adding to the crazy adventures that these two protagonists are already on.

Overall, Yakuza 0 is fantastic. Two protagonists. Two engaging storylines. Six combat styles that just make this beat ‘em up style worth continuing on for hours at a time without feeling boring. Between all of the elements, my only regret is that it’s taken this long to get into this series and I’m very much looking forward to my upcoming journey’s through the current six titles while everyone waits for Ryu ga Gotoku Studio’s Yakuza 7 to get localized.

 

Score: 8.75 / 10

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The Yakuza Remastered Collection - PS4 Review

The Yakuza Remastered Collection by developer Ryu ga Gotoku Studios and publisher SEGA—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

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Admittedly, the Yakuza games are not necessarily the first ones I would have thought of for a current generation remaster. That being said, this collection does bring episodes 3, 4 and 5 together rather nicely and serve up a large helping of quality gameplay that is absolutely worth playing – especially if you missed these titles the first time around.

All three of these titles were PlayStation 3 ones, which is why I opened with the statement I did. Generally speaking, I still have a fairly robust PlayStation 3 collection, with many titles such as these games already apart of it. So those looking for a complete remake where a ton of things are changed? Well, you’re not going to find that here. Instead what you will get is a packaging of three games at a really good price, that install separately on your machine and offer a visual update (1080p resolution and a smooth 60 fps), which mostly pays off during the combat which definitely feels better as a result.

Being the oldest game in the series, Yakuza 3 in some ways benefits the most from this remaster while still showing its age the most as well. The improvements are not as notable as the prior Yakuza Kiwami updates, but those titles came from the generation prior, so I would say that is to be expected.

Yakuza 3 follows the exploits of Kazuma Kiryu as he has tried to move on from his prior life and seems content to try and live out his days at the Sunshine Orphanage. However, as is the case with these games, it is only a matter of time until events pull him back into the fray. In many ways, the story of Yakuza 3 is one of my favorites in the series. The combat is a lot less satisfying than some of the later games, and like Yakuza 4 is not quite as expansive of an open-world experience as the last couple of games.

The next game in the series, Yakuza 4, made multiple improvements to the game’s systems. Combat becomes much more robust, and instead of simply following a single protagonist (Kazuma), the story flips between several characters. The concept is neat, but feels a bit rough around the edges at times. It presents different perspectives throughout the narrative, but it also tends to feel somewhat unfocused as a result. The Yakuza series has become rather well-known for its mini-games that provide plenty of ‘things to do’ outside of the central story, and Yakuza 4 certainly did this really well. One item of note for people who were familiar with this release in the series is that the character of Tanimura was recast for a handful of reasons. I found some of the four protagonists more engaging than others, but the story just did not hook me the way that Yakuza 3 did. This was never my favorite in the series, and this remaster did not change my opinion of that.

Yakuza 5 however, is where the series really hit its stride, in my opinion. It learned multiple lessons from Yakuza 4. Again we see the multiple protagonists (some returning, some new) and despite adding one more to the mix (upping the total to five), the story feels far tighter than the prior release. Part of this is due to how much larger this game is, giving each of the playable protagonists a little more time to breathe and develop. Of the three games, Yakuza 5 is the newest in the collection and as such feels the most modern and polished in this remaster. The other games took me a few dozen hours to play through everything that they had to offer, but Yakuza 5 can easily break the one hundred hour mark if you are interested in the numerous side quests. One quality of life improvement in this release is a better map that shows side quests right off of the bat. That makes it far easier to get lost in the extra content, which is where Yakuza 5 really shine.

It is also worth noting that all three games were touched up on the localization front. Some content that was originally cut out of the games has been put back in (not a significant amount, but it’s still a nice touch). Nothing dramatic or altering to the central narrative, but for such large, sprawling titles it is nice to have a little extra context. Obviously I did not get a chance to work through all three of these titles this time around before writing this review – there is just entirely too much content here for that unless I post the review in April. That being said, I spent a decent chunk of time with all three games and did not find anything to indicate they are anything other than a more polished version of what I had already thoroughly played on the PlayStation 3.

The Yakuza Remastered Collection does an excellent job of bringing three games from last generation to the current gaming systems. We are nearing the end of the PlayStation 4, it seems appropriate for this trio of games to arrive now. We are not looking at a complete reworking of the original titles, but a few quality of life improvements and an improved coat of paint on the visuals is certainly appreciated. Fans of the series won’t find much new here, but they will probably enjoy the newfound polish. Newcomers will want to play these versions, as they are the definitive take on these three games. Packing the three titles together at an attractive price is also a win. These are massive games – cancel any plans you might have for the next few weeks as you undertake these titles, but they are certainly worth it.

 

Score: 8.5 / 10

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Judgment - PS4 Review

Sega are known for a lot of titles in the past few years with one of the bigger ones being their Yakuza series. Taking things in a bit of a different direction, or so I’m told as I have yet to play any entry into the series, Judgement sees a lawyer turned private eye Takayuki Yagami and his partner works cases in Kamurocho where the Yakuza series takes place. Essentially being the perfect marriage of Shenmue’s exploration and combat mixed in with Heavy Rain’s sleuthing, and I’ve got myself one of the best titles that I’ve sat down to all year.

From the get go, it was clear that Judgement was going to be a hell of a title. The graphics, the sound, the gameplay and the audio. Wow. Able to play in either Japanese or in English which has a stellar voice cast, you’ll be searching for clues, tailing people, interrogating or beating up punks while eating burgers and instant ramen bowls between fights. It’s this mix of martial arts combat and sleuthing that made me think of Shenmue. The open areas for exploration mixed in with plenty of little shops and arcades, I won’t deny that I stepped off the path a few times to get in some Viruta Fighter 5 time with my favorite character Sarah.

Integrating modern technology beautifully, your in game cellphone is part of the experience and not just a convenience for storytelling. Acting as your GPS, you’ll have your cellphone’s screen in the bottom right corner telling you were to go and if you should be watching your back while looking for where to go next. It’ll highlight stores, buildings that you can go into, the above mentioned gaming locations like the batting cage or the above mentioned arcade. You’ll see it all. If you want to see more of the map, you can “flip your phone horizontal” to move around it yourself and zoom in and out.

Side to using the GPS functions, you can also use your phone as the main menu. Inventory management, quest information, the map if you take the long way around, the actual games settings or saving. It’s all present and feels like it belongs as Yagami will always be looking at the device while you are on it. Other elements also come into play making it feel like a part of the overall when your partner sends you a drone’s feed or when he face time’s you.

This seemingly small detail allows for the rest to simply glide forward and in certain cases literally. Yagami is a martial artist who can develop new skills as you get skill points by either finding clues, successfully interrogating someone or by kicking the crap out of thugs either in story or just on the street Akiba’s Trip style. Basically meaning that you can use anything that you can get your hands on.

Starting off with both a Tiger and Crane moveset, you can easily switch between for one on one or one against many. The combat system is slick too which I’ve heard is based off of Yakuza 0. Yagami can block attacks, grapple and throw / punch / kick any opponent that he gets his hands on, dodge around, run up a wall and come back down for a haymaker, and so on. As you get comfortable with combat, you’ll want to start experimenting a bit more which is where your phone comes back into play as you open up the skill app and check in on what’s up for grabs.

Instead of just following a skill tree, abilities are split into three categories. The first are modifications like “”. The second has things like “” while the last has “”. Each of these are not mandatory to obtain but they do make your life easier.

And it’s all of these elements that come together that make for a fantastic experience as they are all present but none of them feel out of place. Judgement does a great job at allowing you to perform each of these styles of gameplay as you move forward so that none of them ever feel like it’s been too long.

Side to all of the beat ‘em up and the cellphone inclusion, it's sleuthing and the dialog that really takes the throne. Because of the well crafted dialog, listening to characters talk and interact is often better than sitting down to an amazing book. During these times however, it happens that questions pop up that you can ask in order to find out more details. Keeping things interesting in this regard, is that if you ask “the right” questions in order, you’ll be rewarded with bonus skill points that you can use to upgrade Yagami. If you don’t get the order right, you’ll still get all of the information, just none of the bonuses.

From there, finding out clues in either a full or a quick investigation is pretty cool. Moving into a first person mode, you can scan your current surroundings, or a picture in your hands, for clue or items that stick out to you. Blood splatters, lack of blood splatters, items in the vicinity that could give you a hint as to what you are looking for like a security camera, all of these help move you forward and uncover clues to what you are looking for. Sometimes these clues lead to easier times interrogating while other times, information from people will make scanning for clues easier because you know where to look.

Judgement is definitely on my game of the year list. The dialog, the gameplay and the visual representation are simply stellar. While it hasn’t been that long with something this heavy in narrative with plenty of gameplay, Judgement just feels like the whole package from the get go and holds on to what makes it so great even hours down the line.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
SEGA
Publisher(s):
SEGA
Genre(s):
Action
Adventure
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Yakuza Kiwami 2 - PS4 Review

No Problem This Dragon Can't Punch

I consider myself a stupidly fortunate guy. I was born to affectionate, selfless, and well-meaning parents; I've been able to retain close relationships with childhood friends throughout an adulthood that can shift between meaningful and inconsequential; and more relevantly, I've had the honor of brawling, laughing, and weeping through every installment of the Yakuza series, during each titles' respective release, from 2006 all the way to just a few moments ago.

I must dare to proclaim to you, current and prospective Yakuza die-hards: brawling, laughing, and weeping through Yakuza Kiwami 2, a brass-balls-to-the-face remake of 2008's Yakuza 2, may have upgraded my status from “stupidly fortunate” to “spoiled-beyond-belief”; notwithstanding a combat moveset that isn't as varied or plentiful as previous installments, YK2's takes what is considered one of the best stories in the series and infuses it with a visual and mechanical overhaul, placing it near the nape of Shadow of the Colossus as one of the most impressive remakes on PS4.  

It's the dirty summer of 2006. Kamurocho is one of the most beautiful districts in Japan. It's also the most dangerous. To enter its jurisdiction is to invite the fist of every mobster, racketeer, and hostess club personality to a Timeshare seminar on your jaw and ribs. A hailstorm of dishonor and greed brews between two rival crime organizations, The Tojo Clan and The Omi Alliance. Fearing the superior finances and manpower of the latter, the former recruits the unwavering nobility of Kazuma Kiryu, the series' protagonist, the embodiment of dragon fire in a perpetual state of flex, to negotiate peace. Lucky for us, as virtual brawling enthusiasts, Ryoji Goda, son of the Patriarch of The Omi Alliance, will do anything to guarantee an all-out war.

By “war,” I mean the painful yet hilarious dazzlement of kicks, elbows, and bicycles-to-the-thorax that only characters in the Yakuza universe can suffer without requiring face-replacement surgery. While YK2's main narrative retains the story, structure, and cinematic choreography of the 2008 original, the visuals and game mechanics have adopted the detail and fluidness of Yakuza 6's Dragon Engine, meaning you can bear witness to every particle of Kiryu's blue dragon aura as it swirls from his cannonball shoulders to the high pugilist heavens. (In other words, it's the best looking game in the series.)

This isn't merely a copy-paste job of Y6's Dragon Engine, which often endured plentiful screen tearing and the occasional framerate dip; this is a revision that renders most of those issues nearly insubstantial (on the regular PS4). Rather than occurring during manic, dozen-men fight sequences, as they did in Y6, these problems crept up only a few times, within cramped hallways and alleyways, of all places. Other than that, for the vast majority of the adventure, the game thrives at an unencumbered 30 fists-per-second.

The combat system, too, feels like an revision of the one utilized in Y6, which granted fluidness to stringing combos, unloading heat actions, and bouncing blows between foes. It denoted a sensation of wielding Kiryu in his athletic prime, despite his “old” age, at a stage in his life where he had removed all impurities from his martial arts technique. However, as a consequence of this purification, Kiryu felt robbed at shotgun-point of the various fighting styles that granted him such a surplus of versatility in Yakuza 0. Even though YK2 can't match that installment in terms of the burliness of its movesets, it definitely succeeds in supplementing the Dragon Engine with variation, while fine-tuning everything that already worked.

On top of Kiryu's acrobatics, blocks, and swings being more perceptually accurate and responsive, as well as rib-crunching charge moves being added to his light and heavy attacks, weapons make a comeback as a cornerstone of self defense and punishment. Any weapon that you pick up can now be stored in your inventory, and can be brandished with a simple touch of the D-pad. Knives, batons, stun guns, legendary-yet-brittle samurai swords: these and many more tools of righteous carnage can stack the odds even more in your favor, as most weapon types possess their own career-ending Heat Move. It sucks that weapons have the durability of overcooked tofu, causing them to break, forcing you to constantly swap them in and out of your equipment slots. But they're so damn plentiful and useful in a pinch that the inconvenience of item management is actually easier to deal with than it is to complain about.

As per Yakuza's tradition of thematic diversity, when you're not shaming every hitman, underling, or street punk with poetic ferocity, you'll be engaging with all the fine restaurants and recreation that Kamuracho -- arguably one of the best and liveliest locations in the gaming sphere, at the most glamorous it's ever looked -- is proud to offer. The Yakuza series has become renowned for having more quality mini-games and surprisingly deep side quests than most games would ever consider, and YK2 is no exception. You can fearlessly engage in everything from golf to karaoke to managing a struggling Cabaret Club, and be surprised at how each activity is as fully fleshed out as it needs to be. The modes added to this remake, such as the Cabaret Club and Clan Creator, are especially worth experiencing for the artistic ridiculousness of their lengthy and uproarious substories.

It's nearly impossible to play Yakuza Kiwami 2 without feeling spoiled. This remake doesn't just transform an old game's visuals into something more visually palatable. It actually adds all the elements you'd expect from a modern day Yakuza title and wraps them around the bones of the most polished version of the developer's most modern game engine. Fuse these assets together with fan-favorite story and a plethora of side activities, and you have yourself not only one of the best remakes on the market, but also one of the best Yakuza titles to date.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Sega
Publisher(s):
Sega
Genre(s):
Action
Adventure
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
N/A

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Jedediah

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