My first interaction with the Yakuza series was with the more recent, turn-based “Like a Dragon” entry and to say I enjoyed it would be the understatement of 2022. It’s an amazing series with intriguing storylines, gripping twists and turns, and fantastic gameplay, so when Yakuza Kiwami was announced at the most recent Nintendo Direct, I must admit, I was very excited to see how the series began, and also for the hopes of the rest of the franchise making its way over to the Nintendo family of consoles. What’s it Like? Get on your best suit, crack your knuckles, and watch your back as we review Yakuza Kiwami on Nintendo Switch.
Yakuza Kiwami takes us back to where it all began for the Yakuza franchise as it is a remake of the original PS2 game and follows Kazuma Kiryu, a Yakuza who is about to start his own family under his boss. Due to the nature of the story, I won’t go into many details because if you’re like me and are new to the series, the well-written narrative and gripping progression of the story will shock and surprise you. Yakuza Kiwami does deviate from the original game in many ways, further fleshing out a lot of the internal strife the clans are facing, as well as modifying the story to match Yakuza Zero’s story, which was a prequel released long after the original game. The narrative starts out as a slow burn, and slowly escalates with each chapter, raising the stakes and carefully revealing its hand at the most impactful moment. It’s violent and often brutal, yet also humorous and endearing, and plays these cards in just the right way to nail the tone in all the right places.
Yakuza Kiwami plays like an RPG beat ’em up game, with visceral and brutal hand-to-hand combat that never really wears thin as it’s both raw and stylish, allowing Kiryu to flick between fighting styles to suit how you want to play. There are speed and technique options that allow for smart combos and rapid-fire hits, or brawler combos where you viciously swing haymakers and clotheslines to control the crowd, and for those undecided on which to choose, there’s also a middle ground. Combos build up your heat meter, which allows you to execute huge, punishing moves like a tombstone, or smashing an enemy face into the ground. These moves never fail to entertain, and combat is always evolving as you spec points into new moves and abilities by levelling up your tech tree. The combat is refined down to an art form and adds a lot of depth for those looking to master it.
When you feel like taking a break, the game’s fictional setting of Kamarucho has plenty to do despite being set in a smaller game world than more modern titles. You can attend gentleman’s clubs, visit restaurants that offer different buffs and stat’s with meals, play at the Sega Arcade, play mahjong, and also partake in Kiryu’s favourite past time of Pocket Circuit, which sees you collect parts for your slot racer to dominate the local race scene. While many may dismiss these side quests and activities in favour of punching through the main story, they offer a glimpse into Kiryu’s emotions and backstory. Seeing Kiryu light up when he finds out his local Pocket Circuit is still running is shown in a surprisingly emotional and nostalgic moment that explores the less brutal side of Kiryu. This is largely because the game manages to demonstrate that the world has moved on from Kiryu, yet finding something safe and familiar in such a dangerous world gives Kiryu an anchor to ground himself. The game manages to use its narrative to charm the player and another great example of this is frequent encounters with Goro Majima, a Yakuza who wants to fight you in order to return your ability to your glory days. These initial encounters made me hate the character, but as our often humorous interactions grew, I started to enjoy running into Majima and even took to actively hunting him down to fight and level up my skills by defeating him.
The world of Yakuza Kiwami is also a prime example of stellar game design by packing a few blocks with so much to do that exploring it is a truly immersive experience. It’s chock full of detail, with pedestrians going about their business in the busy Kumarucho district, bikes and deliveries littering the sidewalls, and stores you can enter are often detailed and interactive. It looks amazing no matter where you are, and with the exception of a minor framerate drop in one particular street, runs smoothly. Characters look great and are animated to have their own mannerisms, style, and even dialect differences mainly demonstrated between the Tokyo-based Kiryu and Osaka-originating Goro Majima. It’s an impressively detail-oriented world that does a lot with what it’s got, and one of the best-looking game worlds on the Nintendo Switch.
My only complaint with Yakuza Kiwami would be that it’s a product of its time and sometimes has a stilted mission structure when it comes to side missions and world events. One particular mission is right at the start of the game which is an arbitrary fetch quest to purchase a ring that gets stolen. So begins a 20-minute quest to find the ring, go to buy the ring, get more money for the ring, twice over, then when all is said and done, you get the ring for free making the entire mission pointless. It was needlessly frustrating and I did come across a few quests like this that managed to test my patience when all I wanted to do was jump back into the intriguing story. Thankfully, these side missions did little to dampen my enthusiasm to uncover the rest of the events unfolding in the world of Yakuza, and some can even be skipped although I recommend you stick with them.
For Yakuza initiates looking into accessibility options, unfortunately, there are no dedicated settings. The game is spoken in Japanese and is subtitled which may be harder to read in handheld mode. As always, I recommend further research into finding out if Yakuza Kiwami suits your needs. Outside of accessibility, I did find that there were subtle quality-of-life additions to help make the game more immersive like a dedicated follow button and slow walk allowing for a more immersive experience when skulking the streets
At only $30 AUD, Yakuza Kiwami is an exceptionally valued title that will last you around 20 hours to power through the main story, and completionists most likely invest another 100 hours in seeing everything the game has to offer. Yakuza Kiwami is an unapologetically brutal game with visceral combat, a gripping narrative, and exceptional gameplay making it easy to recommend for gamers looking at a AAA-quality title with plenty of meat on its bones.
So What’s It Like? Yakuza Kiwami is like Fighting Force with a dash of Final Fantasy.
