izigame.me

In 2019, I played and finished Yakuza 0, after hearing it was a good game and solid PC port, and it was. However, I did not really pay attention to the franchise at any point afterwards, and was still largely unfamiliar with it. This year I happened to hear Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth was coming out, and I resolved to play it, thinking it was their most recent release after 0. I was unaware that a previous Like A Dragon game had come out in 2020, and I was roundly mocked by my fellow goons for jumping straight from the first game in the franchise (chronologically, in the overall narrative) to the last one, without playing anything in between.

I then decided I should at least try the 2010s remake of the first Yakuza (known as Yakuza Kiwami on Steam), which had originally been released on the PS2 all the way back in 2005, to see if it was worth playing through the entire series. It turned out to be an entertaining game, albeit with notable issues such as a relatively limited open world compared to Yakuza 0, and a clunky-feeling engine. Regardless, it was good enough to convince me to move on to Yakuza Kiwami 2 afterwards.

I am pleased to report that Yakuza Kiwami 2 is superior to Yakuza Kiwami in virtually every way. It looks better and controls more smoothly due to the new engine, the boss fights are less frustrating and unforgiving, the story and characters are more engaging, and there is just more to do, including two elaborate minigames (the term almost feels inappropriate) that you can optionally engage with; the clan creator battles and cabaret club management (which makes a return from Yakuza 0).

The Yakuza formula is executed very well here, with the main story consisting of a high-stakes, emotionally charged crime drama, alternating with side content that is usually off-beat and bizarre. I often laughed out loud after finishing an absurd side quest or minigame, or upon reading one of the many funny lines of dialogue. The main protagonist, Kiryu, is generally taciturn and nearly always has the same stoic expression on his face, but still regularly offers pearls of wisdom or makes witty remarks, making him suited in either context.
The game is set in the fictional Kamurocho and Sotenbori areas of Tokyo and Osaka, respectively, and I am told it is a fairly realistic depiction of the actual entertainment districts of these cities. If you've played Yakuza 0 (set in 1988) and Yakuza Kiwami (2005) before this, you will be familiar with these streets, and it is interesting to see how the area has evolved over time. There are subtle indications of the time period (2006) everywhere, such as everyone using flip phones, or frequent references to things like mp3 players.

The main drawbacks of the game are, unfortunately, also typical to the franchise. Kiryu cannot walk down the street for 5 seconds without being assaulted by random thugs, despite being the strongest man in Japan (or perhaps that is precisely why he is the strongest). Many of these encounters can be avoided by running away or taking a detour, but it still gets annoying after a while. The side stories, while entertaining as previously noted, are often also very short and limited in scope, and in many cases are immediately resolved by a single combat encounter, which is the game's preferred method of moving things along. The xp system is interesting in that there are five types of xp, and you will get some from at least one category for just about anything you do, but it is set up in a way that it is basically impossible to max out most of your skills without farming experience at restaurants. You get a hefty amount of xp for eating at a restaurant while hungry, and there is a certain consumable that makes you hungry, so the best strategy is to buy a bunch of this hunger-inducing medicine and then eat absurd amounts of food at a restaurant that gives you the type(s) of xp you want. While this is kind of funny, it does not make for particularly engaging gameplay.

Overall, this was the best out of the three Yakuza games I've played so far, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in playing a combat-oriented RPG set in modern Japan's underworld. However, since the narrative and characters are so important in this franchise, I would still recommend playing Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami first. Fortunately, these are decent games in their own right, although Yakuza Kiwami does suffer from its somewhat outdated engine. I myself intend to finish the entire series eventually, even if Yakuza 3, the game after this chronologically, is apparently one of the weakest entries. I cannot wait to see what Kiryu gets up to next.