• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Yakuza KIWAMI |OT| Translator's Note: "KIWAMI" means "EXTREME"

Autoignition

Autoignition

Member
Sumio Mondo said:
Man just thinking about Kiwami 2 has me so excited. Just remembering bits of it even now, even though it's been like a decade since I last played the OG version of 2 on the PS2. So many villains! And that crazy plot! Don't think any of them since have really topped it except for 0, to be honest but with all of the refinements of both 0 (playing as Majima in Kiwami 2) and 6 (on the same engine, building off the gameplay in that) it's going to be really exciting to see how it plays.

Curious to see if it will actually tie up any tiny loose plot points from 2 like
what the heck happens to certain characters who disappear after the events of 2.
Click to expand...

I'm eager to see the reaction to Kiwami 2 here on GAF once it actually comes out. I feel like a lot of people have really rose-tinted glasses on about the game's story due to having played it back in the PS2 era when they were around middle/high school age, but boy does it not hold up when you revisit it as an adult.

I replayed it recently when I was in a long stint of being unemployed, and there were several times I found myself saying out loud, "This is the worst it's ever been. This is so stupid. This is schlock." I was able to suspend my disbelief with the crazy bullshit in 3 and 4 more than 2.

Kaoru is still the best side character possibly in the entire series, but yeesh the writing surrounding her character backstory, especially in the final act, is a clusterfuck.
 
S

Sumio Mondo

Member
Autoignition said:
I'm eager to see the reaction to Kiwami 2 here on GAF once it actually comes out. I feel like a lot of people have really rose-tinted glasses on about the game's story due to having played it back in the PS2 era when they were around middle/high school age, but boy does it not hold up when you revisit it as an adult.

I replayed it recently when I was in a long stint of being unemployed, and there were several times I found myself saying out loud, "This is the worst it's ever been. This is so stupid. This is schlock." I was able to suspend my disbelief with the crazy bullshit in 3 and 4 more than 2.

Kaoru is still the best side character possibly in the entire series, but yeesh the writing surrounding her character backstory, especially in the final act, is a clusterfuck.
Click to expand...

I don't really recall anything on the same level as some of the stuff that happened in 3
Kazama's evil twin brother? Or the whole clusterfuck with the CIA/evil Americans.
i mean, things go crazy in 2's plot but i thought it was handled well enough back then.

It's not like I think 2's plot is a masterpiece or anything but just recall it being the most enjoyable and things escalate really well that I think the rest of the series have been trying to top, hence why 3's end game was so messy and hearing about how insane 5 gets at times. I mean, at least with the series now having a soft reboot of sorts and with them tying in 0's plot as well (so will work as a sort of "sequel" from Majima's perspective) I think it still has the potential to still be the best in the series. Especially since going by the latest trailer it's not going to be a copy/paste job with the presentation that they did with 1's remake - it's starring new cast playing the old parts from 2 so the cutscenes are getting overhauled too. 2 does seem like a special game for the Yakuza Team so it seems like they're going all out with it to me.

And I think 2 has the best villains in the series.
 
T

tiebreaker

Member
Finally finished the game. What can I say, It's certainly not as good as 0.

Firstly, It feels pretty much like a continuation of 0 with added gimmick of Kiwami and Majima's everywhere, which for me, actually bogs down the game. The idea is good, but not the execution.
Kiwami moves are locked within skill progression. It isn't really a big deal until you need to unlock the dragon of dojima's skills.
You'll need to fight Majima a lot of times. It's a bad system, made worse by the slow progression.

Lack of mini games and mostly boring side stories also don't help the game either. Where is my dance club? No arcades?

That said, I love the added cutscenes for Nishikiyama.
 
Autoignition

Autoignition

Member
Sumio Mondo said:
I don't really recall anything on the same level as some of the stuff that happened in 3
Kazama's evil twin brother? Or the whole clusterfuck with the CIA/evil Americans.
i mean, things go crazy in 2's plot but i thought it was handled well enough back then.

It's not like I think 2's plot is a masterpiece or anything but just recall it being the most enjoyable and things escalate really well that I think the rest of the series have been trying to top, hence why 3's end game was so messy and hearing about how insane 5 gets at times. I mean, at least with the series now having a soft reboot of sorts and with them tying in 0's plot as well (so will work as a sort of "sequel" from Majima's perspective) I think it still has the potential to still be the best in the series. Especially since going by the latest trailer it's not going to be a copy/paste job with the presentation that they did with 1's remake - it's starring new cast playing the old parts from 2 so the cutscenes are getting overhauled too. 2 does seem like a special game for the Yakuza Team so it seems like they're going all out with it to me.

And I think 2 has the best villains in the series.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I'm talking about, though, lmao. 2's plot didn't progress naturally, and things were pulled out of thin air just for the sake of melodrama. Sure, it was less bombastic and far-reaching than the places that 3 took it to, but it was no less of convenient and lazy storytelling.
Oh, a 14-ish year old Kiryu just happened to be at the place where Kazama wiped out the Jingeweon mafia? Why? Because he just was. To create melodrama with Kaoru. And oh Kaoru is just conveniently Ryuji's half sister and is also related to basically every antagonist in the game? Why? Because melodrama.
2 pulls crap like that over and over again to the point where it just got exhausting. 3, 4, and 5 had big, ridiculous plot points, but it was just one or two major things as opposed to the bunch of little things that 2 does over and over again.
 
S

Shahadan

Member
This katana boss and his gang is bullshit

Edit: okay I'm tired of this garbage I'll watch the rest of the story on youtube and be done with it
 
J

jdstorm

Banned
Speaking of everything being linked together. It was kind of wierd that
Haruka's dad was Jingu and not Sohei Dojima. Seriously who the fuck is Jingu and why should we even care when his whole character is established in the final hour or 2 of the game. Its like the writers thought the Yumi twist was shocking rather then completely obvious.

Either way it was still a fun ride.
Although killing off Yumi at the end sucked. I understand why it had to happen. But it still sucked.
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
Autoignition said:
I'm eager to see the reaction to Kiwami 2 here on GAF once it actually comes out. I feel like a lot of people have really rose-tinted glasses on about the game's story due to having played it back in the PS2 era when they were around middle/high school age, but boy does it not hold up when you revisit it as an adult.

I replayed it recently when I was in a long stint of being unemployed, and there were several times I found myself saying out loud, "This is the worst it's ever been. This is so stupid. This is schlock." I was able to suspend my disbelief with the crazy bullshit in 3 and 4 more than 2.

Kaoru is still the best side character possibly in the entire series, but yeesh the writing surrounding her character backstory, especially in the final act, is a clusterfuck.
Click to expand...

Hah, yeah, I'll have to agree. I didn't look up many Yakuza threads until I started Y3 and I was suprised so many people held 2 as their absolute favorite... I mean I did enjoy it far more than 1 and feel like has some of the best moments in the series, but the story as a whole was kind of a roller-coaster.

I didn't like how
everyone and everything was connected to absolutely everything, and it's the worst case of "actually I was the bad guy all along... No! It was me actually!“ along with Y5. I swear the moment fucking Terada showed up again I had to suspend my disbelief and wish I could fight Ryuji already.

And yeah as if Kaoru and Ryuji being related wasn't bad enough, their interactions after realizing it were super out of character and cringey.

Game is good and with the proper care they could make something great with Kiwami 2, but as it stands, 0 is ridiculously superior. Now that's good story telling in a Yakuza game.
 
A

arturo2666

Banned
jdstorm said:
Speaking of everything being linked together. It was kind of wierd that
Haruka's dad was Jingu and not Sohei Dojima. Seriously who the fuck is Jingu and why should we even care when his whole character is established in the final hour or 2 of the game. Its like the writers thought the Yumi twist was shocking rather then completely obvious.

Either way it was still a fun ride.
Although killing off Yumi at the end sucked. I understand why it had to happen. But it still sucked.
Click to expand...

Welcome to anime.
 
Autoignition

Autoignition

Member
jdstorm said:
Speaking of everything being linked together. It was kind of wierd that
Haruka's dad was Jingu and not Sohei Dojima. Seriously who the fuck is Jingu and why should we even care when his whole character is established in the final hour or 2 of the game. Its like the writers thought the Yumi twist was shocking rather then completely obvious.

Either way it was still a fun ride.
Although killing off Yumi at the end sucked. I understand why it had to happen. But it still sucked.
Click to expand...

They were going for a different kind of emotional punch. The shot to the gut wasn't ever meant to be
oh my god Haruka's a rape baby!!
but rather
oh my god Yumi fell in love with another man once Kiryu was gone and then died before they had the chance to be together once he came back.
And since Kiryu's absurdly sentimental, it's really not something he ever gets over, even 6 games later. Dude develops some serious intimacy issues down the line, especially after Y2 after
the next woman he falls in love with leaves him, too. By her own choice.
There's also the whole "what-if" factor, considering that Kiryu could have, in another life, been Haruka's biological father, if only he hadn't stepped in and taken the heat for Nishiki.
 
S

SomewhatGroovy

Banned
Beat it.

I've got feels, people. Just incredible in it's own right. Getting to play both this and 0 over the summer has been a gift. So good. My only complaint here were the boss fights. Manageable just annoying.
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
SomewhatGroovy said:
Beat it.

I've got feels, people. Just incredible in it's own right. Getting to play both this and 0 over the summer has been a gift. So good. My only complaint here were the boss fights. Manageable just annoying.
Click to expand...

Congrats! Happy to read you enjoyed it so much. This series is so damn special, you're really in for a treat with the rest of the games.
 
R

robotzombie

Member
How in the world do you get Dragon's Slow Burn 1

I believe the message for it is the please be careful one, and majima interrupts battles and attacks you?
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
robotzombie said:
How in the world do you get Dragon's Slow Burn 1

I believe the message for it is the please be careful one, and majima interrupts battles and attacks you?
Click to expand...

You have to trigger a fight where Mad Dog Majima forces himself in (you have to win too, of course) . They happen close to the beef bowl place.
 
S

Squishy3

Member
Opa-Pa said:
You have to trigger a fight where Mad Dog Majima forces himself in (you have to win too, of course) . They happen close to the beef bowl place.
Click to expand...
You can also walk in and out of Mach Bowl and if there isn't a guy in a leather jacket wandering around the building to the left towards theater square go back in and reload and when he appears it'll trigger the encounter.
 
R

robotzombie

Member
Squishy3 said:
You can also walk in and out of Mach Bowl and if there isn't a guy in a leather jacket wandering around the building to the left towards theater square go back in and reload and when he appears it'll trigger the encounter.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Wow this worked instantly! Literally walked into mach bowl once, came out, and got the interruption and the skill
 
D

DataBased

Member
I just hit rank S with majima. Its quite a fun system and its a good way to encourage players to explore side activities. At this point I have all the upgrades and am just sitting on a ton of points.
 
J

jdstorm

Banned
Autoignition said:
They were going for a different kind of emotional punch. The shot to the gut wasn't ever meant to be
oh my god Haruka's a rape baby!!
but rather
oh my god Yumi fell in love with another man once Kiryu was gone and then died before they had the chance to be together once he came back.
And since Kiryu's absurdly sentimental, it's really not something he ever gets over, even 6 games later. Dude develops some serious intimacy issues down the line, especially after Y2 after
the next woman he falls in love with leaves him, too. By her own choice.
There's also the whole "what-if" factor, considering that Kiryu could have, in another life, been Haruka's biological father, if only he hadn't stepped in and taken the heat for Nishiki.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I get that, and i'm not trying to be overly critical. Its just a bit jarring comming from Zero which is so brilliantly written and almost where everything pays off really well to Kiwami 1 which is a bit rougher adound the edges due to its age.
 
F

Freezasaurus

Member
Ugh. Hunting down the last 5 Majima skills and wondering if it's even worth it. The Majima spawns are so random and never the ones I need anymore. Especially the two I need from the Idol version, who
I've never seen outside the club
.
 
D

DataBased

Member
Freezasaurus said:
Ugh. Hunting down the last 5 Majima skills and wondering if it's even worth it. The Majima spawns are so random and never the ones I need anymore. Especially the two I need from the Idol version, who
I've never seen outside the club
.
Click to expand...

I got him by running in and out of the convenience store near the north end of the map. Keep your heat low so you can see him on the map and cycle through till the right one spawns. I think you can pretty much do this anywhere.
 
B

bishopcruz

Member
Opa-Pa said:
So much More! Is GOAT song in the series though. I'll fight you all.

Bakamitai and Pure Love in Kamurocho are, but I still genuinely love this one lol
Click to expand...

Man all this talk about the songs in the series, an no one has mentioned Kamurocho Lullaby? To me that is the most quitessentially Yakuza song in the series. It's an Enka song about a fictional district in Japan. And it's awesome.

Also, if you're going to listen to the other best song, which is So Much More, you have to listen to the best version.

Opa-Pa said:
I find the original Y1 story extremely weak in places, namely giving you a reason to care about some characters and events. Kiwami adds new stuff but IMO it's still weak without 0 as context.
Click to expand...

I've always thought that Yakuza 1 had the worst story in the series. A lot of things happen, but you aren't given enough time to connect with the characters. It also throws you a curveball once
purgatory
gets involved. I remember when I first played it like a decade ago, I was expecting a hard core realistic crime drama. Yakuza is not that. I mean it's kinda that, but not really.

Still, there were a few great moments that got my blood pumping again when I went through Kiwami, and some story beats I had completely forgotten. It still has way too much of the story happen either off camera or told through exposition flashbacks.

Part of it I think has to do with how crazy the schedule was for the making of this game. If they had a couple of extra chapters where you could (endgame)
do stuff with Yumi and or Kazama before they die. All of the drama wouldn't have had to be in the last chapter.

I still give it a lot of credit for what works though. The (Final Chapter)
Nishiki fight is still incredibly hype, and set a great starting point for the shirtless battles in future games.
 
A

AuthenticM

Member
Beat it

Overall, not as strong as Zero, but still a great game. The story's presentation (cinematography, editing, music, etc.) is less elaborate and refined than Zero. I know they basically made a shot-for-shot remake of the original game, which explains it. Can someone tell me if Yakuza 2 was better in that regard? Because I do believe they are doing the same thing for Kiwami 2. If the original game had better storytelling than its predecessor, than Kiwami 2 should be better than Kiwami 1 in that regard as well.

Also, can someone tell me if Kiwami 2 will also feature the four combat stances that Zero introduces? Because man, Rush style maxed out is so fun. You're fucking gliding everywhere and behind enemies while you're wailing on fools. It's so satisfying. The final battle against
Nishiki
was damn impressive. I didn't have the Dragon style maxed out so I couldn't interrupt his health regen with a Kiwami Heat move, which made the fight longer and better. If Kiwami 2 doesn't have Rush style, that'll be a bummer.
 
Aenima

Aenima

Member
AuthenticM said:
If the original game had better storytelling than its predecessor, than Kiwami 2 should be better than Kiwami 1 in that regard as well.

Also, can someone tell me if Kiwami 2 will also feature the four combat stances that Zero introduces? Because man, Rush style maxed out is so fun. You're fucking gliding everywhere and behind enemies and wailing on them. It's so satisfying. The final battle against
Nishiki
was damn impressive. I didn't have the Dragon style maxed out so I couldn't interrupt his health regen with a Kiwami Heat move, which made the fight longer and better. If Kiwami 2 doesn't have Rush style, that'll be a bummer.
Click to expand...

I dont remember well how was Yakuza 2 story, only thing i remember was that i loved it much more than the 1st one. But most of the love came from alot of the side stuff that Yakuza 2 had alot more and better things to do.

Kiwami 2 will use Yakuza 6 engine, so it will most certain use Yakuza 6 fight mechanic that is not the same used in Y0 and Kiwami.
 
A

AuthenticM

Member
Aenima said:
I dont remember well how was Yakuza 2 story, only thing i remember was that i loved it much more than the 1st one. But most of the love came from alot of the side stuff that Yakuza 2 had alot more and better things to do.

Kiwami 2 will use Yakuza 6 engine, so it will most certain use Yakuza 6 fight mechanic that is not the same used in Y0 and Kiwami.
Click to expand...

Could you describe me the combat of Y6?
 
T

The Artisan

Member
i'm sad that i finished kiwami so fast.
i'm high as fuck so
i guess I can startup Persona 5 again since I haven't touched since it came out and kiwami put it in the backlog
 
Aenima

Aenima

Member
AuthenticM said:
Could you describe me the combat of Y6?
Click to expand...

Havent played Yakuza 6 yet, but you can watch some gameplay videos on youtube and just look for the fights. It looks focused on one fighting style, looks like Kiryu Dragon style + Brawler + new moves. I might be wrong though.
 
C

Charlouie Jonesman

Banned
The story in 1/Kiwami seems really just like an excuse to explore the criminal underworld of Kamurocho. Whenever you're on your way to investigate/find Haruka because she ran off/got kidnapped again and again you run into all these different criminal subgroups and places, barely related to the main plot and you punch them. You run into one boss after the other, but there's really nothing like a recurring villain. And sometimes there are short personal vignettes centered around the main characters, also unrelated to the central plot. That's what Kiwami's story is for the most part.

It's not a bad approach for the first game, but considering most people now played 0 before this, it's a bit weak.
 
M

MisterLuffy

Member
Finished the game just now. I really liked it. Out of all the fights,
Jingu and other gun wielders were really annoying to fight.

I think that in terms of story and soundtrack, Yakuza 0 is better than Kiwami imo. In terms of upgrading, Kiwami is much easier than 0. Other than, I had a lot of fun with this game and can't wait for Kiwami 2.
 
E

eyeball_kid

Member
Just did the fight with 20 dudes with pistols gunning for you. Why they would chose to lean on a mechanic that already doesn't work very well, I don't know. They need to turn guns into a QTE event or something where you have to dodge in time; the way it is now is just frustrating as hell.
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
Is there some trick to get Amon's substory to show up? My substories cleared is at 77/78. So, he should be the last one. I've seen some guides and he's supposed to be in
the Theater Square
but he's nowhere to be found. The Trouble Finder accessory isn't even picking up another "!" to show another substory.
 
sotojuan

sotojuan

Member
eyeball_kid said:
Just did the fight with 20 dudes with pistols gunning for you. Why they would chose to lean on a mechanic that already doesn't work very well, I don't know. They need to turn guns into a QTE event or something where you have to dodge in time; the way it is now is just frustrating as hell.
Click to expand...

Yeah in 0 it wasn't much of a problem but in this game you get knocked down from guns very often and seeing Kyriu fall and having to press X every time is annoying.
 
T

TheRazielim

Member
bishopcruz said:
I've always thought that Yakuza 1 had the worst story in the series. A lot of things happen, but you aren't given enough time to connect with the characters. It also throws you a curveball once
purgatory
gets involved. I remember when I first played it like a decade ago, I was expecting a hard core realistic crime drama. Yakuza is not that. I mean it's kinda that, but not really.

Still, there were a few great moments that got my blood pumping again when I went through Kiwami, and some story beats I had completely forgotten. It still has way too much of the story happen either off camera or told through exposition flashbacks.

Part of it I think has to do with how crazy the schedule was for the making of this game. If they had a couple of extra chapters where you could (endgame)
do stuff with Yumi and or Kazama before they die. All of the drama wouldn't have had to be in the last chapter.

I still give it a lot of credit for what works though. The (Final Chapter)
Nishiki fight is still incredibly hype, and set a great starting point for the shirtless battles in future games.
Click to expand...

Probably because the main writer had not written anything at all before this game, and hadn't even read books in his life.

Mind you, the guy also plots the games chapter by chapter. He doesn't decide on the main villain until the end of the game.
 
C

CannonFodder52

Member
SolidSnakex said:
Is there some trick to get Amon's substory to show up? My substories cleared is at 77/78. So, he should be the last one. I've seen some guides and he's supposed to be in
the Theater Square
but he's nowhere to be found. The Trouble Finder accessory isn't even picking up another "!" to show another substory.
Click to expand...

Do you have Haruka with you or something that's blocking it.
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
CannonFodder52 said:
Do you have Haruka with you or something that's blocking it.
Click to expand...

Nope. Haruka's still at
Stardust waiting for me to start the final mission.
I've actually restarted a save right at the beginning of the final chapter and completed the the final two submissions there several times and still nothing pops up.
 
C

Charlouie Jonesman

Banned
shaneo632 said:
How does the difficulty compare to Yakuza 0?
Click to expand...

It's a bit harder, mostly because enemies don't tend to wait their turn until they attack and the Beast style isn't the crowd control monster it used to be.

As soon as the game opens up you want to spend some time doing sidequests, earning EXP, fighting Majima etc. In your early stages you're way more useless than you were in 0.
 
T

tiebreaker

Member
SolidSnakex said:
Nope. Haruka's still at
Stardust waiting for me to start the final mission.
I've actually restarted a save right at the beginning of the final chapter and completed the the final two submissions there several times and still nothing pops up.
Click to expand...

I believe you have to unlock all the dragon of dojima's skills.
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
tiebreaker said:
I believe you have to unlock all the dragon of dojima's skills.
Click to expand...

If that's the case then that certainly explains why I can't get it to trigger. The guide I saw didn't mention it, but I guess it makes sense considering i've done all the other substories and it hasn't popped up.
 
M

Mupod

Member
shaneo632 said:
How does the difficulty compare to Yakuza 0?
Click to expand...

I played both on hard so I'm not sure if they just went super crazy with Kiwami's hard mode or not. But I found Y0 fairly easy after Kuze. Kiwami is absolutely brutal, fights are like playing 0 with the Charismatic Autobiography equipped and they like to put you up against 10+ armed guys at once. Kiryu also gets knocked over a lot easier in this one, seems like. I've tried taking upgrades and wearing equipment to help with that and none of it has done shit.

I did manage to fight my way through the Coliseum on hard, some of those fights took FOREVER but one of the later tournaments makes farming a breeze. So after fighting the four ultimate gigahobos and finishing my training I have the Tiger Drop now, the game got a lot easier and more fun. But it's not autopilot win every fight in 3 seconds like Y0 Beast style. I actually have to switch up styles constantly especially in boss fights, and you can't spam ground grabs forever.

I've definitely been frustrated a few times but I feel like I'd get bored of the game if I didn't have a challenge. Fighting Breaker Majima gets pretty annoying though, I've seen him stunlock me for 75% health.

All that said if I really did get stuck there's always weapon spam and chugging Staminan Royale.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Yakuza Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, is that long enough of a title for you (LTTP)
12
816
Humdinger replied
LTTP: Yakuza Kiwami
LTTP
34
2K
Thief1987 replied
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii | Preview Thread
Opinion
11
1K
Orbital2060 replied
Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Graphic Content Will Be Censored in Japan
2
58
3K
DeepEnigma replied
Racing Battle C1 Grand Prix English Translation Released
2
940
TintoConCasera replied
Top Bottom