Yakuza Kiwami 2 mini review

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a comprehensive remake of Yakuza 2 for the PlayStation 2, and to be honest it was sorely needed. The first two games were really starting to show their age but the story in each of them was still worth experiencing, so Sega took the new Dragon engine that they built for Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 6 and used it to build these remakes.  The director of these games has gone on record to say that if Yakuza 0 hadn't performed so well in the west then these games wouldn't exist at all, but the series has experienced an well deserved increase in popularity outside of Japan since the prequel game was released.  Being able to experience the entire Kiryu saga on one single console is fantastic.

As usual for this series, the main protagonist of Yakuza Kiwami 2 is is Kazuya Kiryu, an ex Yakuza with a heart of gold who always manages to get mixed up in their clan squabbles and whatever schemes are going down.  This time a group has split off from the Omi Alliance in Kansai, led by the intimidating Ryuji Goda and are aiming to wage war with the Tojo Clan (the group that Kiryu is aligned with).  They have joined forces with the Jingweon Mafia from Korea, whose survivors are out for revenge after the Tojo patriarch tried to have them wiped out in the 80's.

The Yakuza games always manage to tell an interesting and believable (for the most part anyway) story with a compelling mystery at the centre of each one, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 is no different.  The production values are always extremely high too, with lengthy cut scenes, full voice work and attention to detail like no other series. I am always impressed with the foley work in these games, with even the smallest thing getting its own realistic sound effect.

Outside of the main plot is where the series takes the opportunity to get a bit wacky.  There are dozens of side quests to be found dotted around the districts of Kamurocho and Osaka.  These include one mission where you meet a bunch of burly Yakuza who like to dress up like babies and be nursed.  When Kiryu refuses to take part the inevitable fist fight ensues.  That's my one main criticism with all of the Yakuza games actually - nearly every quest will result in a fight at the end, which can make them a tad predictable. I do wish they would get a bit more creative sometimes.

On top of all of the side missions there are tons of other mini games and distractions, like the arcade games that you can find in Club Sega, gambling in the casino and a full underground fighting tournament.  For this remake, Sega have brought back two mini games from other games - the Cabaret Club Grand Prix from Yakuza 0, and the Clan Creator from Yakuza 6.  The Cabaret Club mode is really addictive and a ton of fun to play through, but I found the Clan Creator to be less so.  It's a kind of tower defence style game and I've never really found that genre to be very fun anyway.  Both of these modes do have a fairly lengthy campaign for you to get stuck into though complete with stories and cut scenes, so there's plenty to get stuck into if you do enjoy them.

All in all, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is another solid entry in the series.  I don't think it's my favourite - so far that would have to go to Yakuza 0 for the brilliant way it tells Goro Majma's backstory, or Yakuza 5 for the way it offers you five different characters to play as, each with their own city to explore and unique mini game to play.  For fans of the series, it's a bit of a no brainer that you would play this game.  For newcomers, start with Yakuza 0 instead and work up to this one if you enjoyed the games before it.