Over the years, the Yakuza series has received remakes, and one of them, Yakuza Kiwami, is now available on Xbox Game Pass. Much as Final Fantasy VII Remake does for the original, this game makes huge improvements and significantly enriches the story. This Japanese drama and beat-’em-up combo provides hours of fun and is a change of pace if you’re looking for something new.
Yakuza is a long-running Sega series with six games total that began in the PlayStation 2 era. Yakuza Kiwami is technically the first game in the series, making it a good place to start if you haven’t played a Yakuza game before. Yakuza 0 is a prequel, but it didn’t come around until after the fifth game, so don’t worry too much about playing out of order. The series was also previously only released for PlayStation consoles in the West, but in recent years, Sega has expanded to PC and Xbox.
The series follows a Yakuza named Kazuma Kiryu. In Kiwami, Kiryu must discover who stole 10 billion yen from the Tojo Clan, which Kiryu was part of before going to prison for a murder committed by his sworn brother. At the same time, Kiryu must also search for his missing friend, Yumi. The story plays out as a Japanese drama, but it's not all so serious. There are plenty of entertaining sub-quests and mini games to be completed, and not everything has to do with the main plot either.
The fighting system is full of different fighting styles to master. You haven’t really played a Yakuza game until Kiryu’s body slammed some poor thug with a bicycle or seen a Yakuza tear off the entire top half of their suit in one motion to reveal their tattoos. It’s an anything goes brawler when it comes to combat.
Kiwami does an excellent job fixing many of the original’s problems while adding new content. The original story contained plot holes which have been filled in the remake, along with some help from Yakuza 0. It also uses the same engine as Yakuza 0, and most of the mechanics and combat systems are identical, a huge upgrade from the 2005 game.
One great improvement from the original is the loading times. While the original (like other games of its time) contained long loading screens and sectioned areas which made the game feel less sprawling, the remake is completely open world. It's set in an invented area of Japan called Kamurocho, which is heavily based on Tokyo’s Kabukicho district. The soundtrack and graphics are, of course, upgraded too. The remake also adds many sub-quests and minigames, with some borrowed or continued from Yakuza 0.
Majima Everywhere in particular is a new system that adds an extra layer of challenge and hilarity to the game. Majima is a recurring character in the Yazuka series who received a bigger role in Yakuza 0 and returns in Kiwami as a tough challenger for Kiryu. He hides everywhere waiting to a chance to fight including under traffic cones, in garbage cans and even disguised as different people. Yakuza Kiwami is a different kind of JRPG with a little bit of everything and hours of game play. It’s well worth the Game Pass subscription to give it a try.