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[Fury451]

So while they definitely did make changes and improvements to things, they kept the general size of it and storyline more or less the same.

I like that a lot, I can see why that might not be as appealing to people now that the series has evolved substantially since then, but considering that this is supposed to be something of a remake, I wouldn't want it to be expanded in ways that would lose its original identity.

 

[Chesskid1]

damn, that was my worry, this would be a step back after yakuza 0, after all it's an "ps2" game.

still have it preordered and will play the instant it gets here, yakuza 0 was my first game (i beat it like 2 weeks ago) and i absolutely love it and want more.

will probably just play 3 afterwards if i feel i need more yakuza now, we'll see. yakuza 0 was amazing but you can i can see how older games could be terrible trying to figure out the correct formula.

 

[stargateheaven]

Amazing gif but what is happening with the woman legs ?

it's possible a side effect of sitting "japanese style". I've seen many japanese women walk like that.

Or its just bad motion capture i guess lmao.

 

[StereoVsn]

So while they definitely did make changes and improvements to things, they kept the general size of it and storyline more or less the same.

I like that a lot, I can see why that might not be as appealing to people now that the series has evolved substantially since then, but considering that this is supposed to be something of a remake, I wouldn't want it to be expanded in ways that would lose its original identity.

I think the game could have used a bit more side activities. However I even loved Yakuza 1 in its original state and when I played through Yakuza 1&2 HD. Kiwami makes it more awesome and frankly anyone who enjoyed the story in Zero will enjoy Kiwami very much.

 

[wamberz1]

SHIT I didn't realize this comes out at the same time as War of The Chosen

fuuuuuuuuuuuuu

 

[Opa-Pa]

IMO 0 > 3 > 5 > 2 > 4 > 1

Is Dead Souls actually worth playing? I've had it sitting on my shelf for like two years now.

Dead Souls is pretty good. Janky for sure, but once it clicks it's pretty enjoyable and has all the Yakuza charm.

 

[eyeball_kid]

Kiwami wasn't rewritten. It just had a couple of new scenes added to it and one scene extended (Majima's first appearance) alongside some really good new Nishiki story scenes in the beginning half of the game to explain his motivations more. The rest is basically a word for word reshoot of the original game. The voice acting I believe was re-recorded though? I remember a couple of people pointing out that Hanaya (Kage) actually didn't sound bored out of his skull this time!

So I take it you don't agree with Brandon F that "It was predictable, illogical, nonsensical, and is practically the worst example of terrible soap-opera plots seeping into game narratives" ?

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

I'm sad I had to cancel my pre-order, just can't really afford it, but glad it's getting great reviews.

 

[Shaowstrike]

I didn't see it in the thread already, but Polygon gave the game a 7.

https://www.polygon.com/2017/8/21/16177600/yakuza-kiwami-ps4-playstation-4-remake-review

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

All Yakuza games feature soap opera plots, of varying qualities. That's part of their appeal.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

My only disappointment is that the cabaret club mini game is not in here.

But if the most negative major review so far is "the game is great but zero is better" I wouldn't be surprised seeing how this is a remake but I don't think they'd add a lot of extras.

I'll still enjoy it. But maybe yakuza 6 will be where I have to go for more cabaret club management.

 

[Aki-at]

Always thought the storylines got weaker after Hase Seishu left the writing duties, wonder if he went back to doing novels after the second game.

Fun fact: The current scriptwriter from 3 onwards did the Jet Set Radio storylines haha.

5 is considered by many one of the worst?

It's the only one I've played and I loved it.

It's my favourite in the series. But for a series that is known for it's story and characters, it's the worst one with both (Sort of, I love Shinada and some of the other characters in 5) so yeah

This announcement of an announcement was what you were referring to, right...?

And Nagoshi-san's statement that one of the company's titles revealed will "includ[e] something expected" is expected to mean...what? Any guesses? Yakuza 7? A PS4 release of past Yakuza titles?

Ops, yeah fixed that up now, actually there's been an update saying the event will be live streamed so even more hype!

http://gematsu.com/2017/08/yakuza-studio-new-titles-presentation-live-streamed

IMO 0 > 3 > 5 > 2 > 4 > 1

I can get behind this, 3 is always underrated but it's got a soft spot for me with the orphanage kids.

 

[Poppy]

man i gotta finish the story of 0 stat, ive been doing so much time wasting stuff

 

[lucebuce12]

But maybe yakuza 6 will be where I have to go for more cabaret club management.

It doesn't have cabaret club management. There's baseball team management though!

Only Yakuza 0 has it. Well technically Yakuza 4 has it too but it is in no way as fun as Y0's.

 

[Sinh_Magnus]

Nostalgia is making the fact of replaying the first one a double-edge sword. I really liked it back then but I have reached the point where I enjoy less and less the soap opera stories.

This hasn't changed even with Zero, which I thought it had the strongest writing after 2/Kenzan. I fear my opinion of the first game will plummet because of that.

I suppose I will have to cross that bridge when the time comes.

 

[Dysun]

4 > 3 > 5 > Dead Souls

Haven't played any of the others, but Yakuza 0 is on the top of my backlog. Kiwami pre-ordered as well

 

[Shadowman16]

It doesn't have cabaret club management. There's baseball team management though!

Only Yakuza 0 has it. Well technically Yakuza 4 has it too but it is in no way as fun as Y0's.

2 and 3 had hostess management as well but both were more similar to 4 than 0. And of course that entire section was chopped out of the English version of 3 (sure made reaching Amon easier and less time consuming!

2 was really something else. It gave you a pretty extensive hostess club management side quest with a cool story attached, a set of side stories where Kiryu became a host for a short amount of time (which was pretty darn cool!) and then you had a ton of hostesses to date - I swear the number was around 8-10 odd since you had hostess clubs in both Osaka and Tokyo to hit.

Also worth noting the hostess dating is completely changed in 6. Its some weird pseudo card game now where you have to combo your dialogue choices. Its... different and I'm not sure if its better or not than past games. Certainly interesting though!

 

[Shift Breaker]

Fewer features than 0, huh? Does that mean that it might actually have a reasonable platinum trophy, or is it as absurd as ever in the series?

Not that it matters too much. Pre-ordered the moment it was announced.

 

[Rymuth]

Yes yes yes yes yes.

Lol, I approve as well.

The people have spoken

 

[Yu Narukami]

The original PS2 game was novel, but even then the story was just bad(very excellent introductory 30m though!) It was predictable, illogical, nonsensical, and is practically the worst example of terrible soap-opera plots seeping into game narratives. Motivations that are cringe-worthy and tangential padding that felt like it was just wasting the player's time. Unless you crave sappy melodrama and endless flashbacks to sequences you just watched, you will likely walk away a bit disappointed.

I would guess the PS4 game will fix up other issues like the derpy combat(mostly flailing at air) and the minigames/sidequests issues as many of them were somewhat hidden and/or a bit frustrating.

Wait...what? But I'm buying Kiwami only for the story. If the story isn't good should I even buy it?

 

[Rymuth]

Wait...what? But I'm buying Kiwami only for the story. If the story isn't good should I even buy it?

Naaah, don't listen to him. Y1 had the most 'grounded' story. It's still a fairly standard revenge story with a few twists and turns. Later Yakuza just went bonkers with the twists, adding foreign interests and secret siblings.

The craziness peaked with Y3...other games are also crazy but nothing will ever reach the insanity that was Y3.

tl;dr - Story in Y1 is fairly simple by Yakuza standard and has heart and soul. You won't be disappointed.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

Got the game pre-ordered, can't wait to have the steelbook and finally be playing it.

 

[Son Of Sparda]

Wait...what? But I'm buying Kiwami only for the story. If the story isn't good should I even buy it?

Yakuaz 1 has a very good story. If you have enjoyed 0, then you should definitely play Kiwami as well.

 

[Yu Narukami]

Thanks people. I really enjoyed 0's story and the voice acting.

 

[stargateheaven]

Pro support?

It's 1080p 60fps. Not much more i could want. Even if it does have minor slow down like 0 did, BOOST MODE will sort that right out

 

[MHWilliams]

This will be my first Yakuza game. Ready to see what it's all about.

This was my first Yakuza game. It was good enough that I went and bought Yakuza 0.

The veterans say start with 0, but I say start with this. It has enough features to be great, but it goes by quicker than 0 does. This feels like a more focused entry into the series.

 

[Raven117]

I will absolutely play this, but I just finished up Yakuza 0 last week, and man, that story was awesome.

Goro completely stole the show IMO with an excellent character arc.

I just cant see this entry topping that just yet, so Im going to give it some distance before I hop back in.

 

[Shadowman16]

Fewer features than 0, huh? Does that mean that it might actually have a reasonable platinum trophy, or is it as absurd as ever in the series?

Not that it matters too much. Pre-ordered the moment it was announced.

Define absurd. Is it hard? No. Then again only one trophy in 0 was hard (stupid cat fighting!) , the rest were just a time sink at worst and fairly easy at best (in my opinion).

Kiwami is technically easier as it has fewer activities so its both quicker and easier to clear on the whole. HOWEVER! Majima will do his best to slow you down, most of your time spent going for the completion list will involve fighting Majima in some shape or form. Also, I think it might be possible to screw yourself out of the weapon collection part of the completion list depending on the options you choose in certain side stories, as some weapons can only be collected from picking certain options in side stories. But I still just about scraped by on that one (but it was damn close!

Also, Haruka's Trust is back - where you have to hit SSS rank with her for one trophy. Its not too hard on the whole, but a couple of her requests can take a while (especially the gambling, so its really best to save any cheat items for that assuming you still get them in Kiwami, I forget!). Don't worry though, the batting center requirement is far less strict compared to the requirements in the original Yakuza 1 version of this trophy!

If this still seems a bit too absurd, then don't worry because Yakuza 6 is absurdly easy to plat! That game is hilariously easy to get all the trophies with as the completion list is mainly optional (you can just clear whatever you want from the list, as long as you clear 100 objectives your fine, and its incredibly hard not to do that just playing the game) and the rest of the trophies are just got from playing the side stuff a couple of times. Its undoubtedly the quickest and easiest platinum in the series.

 

[HeeHo]

So while they definitely did make changes and improvements to things, they kept the general size of it and storyline more or less the same.

I like that a lot, I can see why that might not be as appealing to people now that the series has evolved substantially since then, but considering that this is supposed to be something of a remake, I wouldn't want it to be expanded in ways that would lose its original identity.

I feel the same. After 0, I'm ready for something smaller.

 

[Meme Master Flux]

My review is up, gave it a 4/5.
http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/345655-yakuza-kiwami-review-a-return-to-great-beginnings

 

[Kaizer]

Nah bruh. This is now a list thread btw.

2 = 0 > 4 > 1 > 3 > 5

This is my order as well, but I'd still put Y2 slightly ahead of Y0 personally. It was my first Yakuza game and still has the best story & main antagonist of the series thus far. ANNNNND you punch tigers in the face!

 

[Rymuth]

This was my first Yakuza game. It was good enough that I went an bought Yakuza 0.

The veterans say start with 0, but I say start with this. It's has enough features to be great, but it goes by quicker than 0 does. This feels like a better, more focused entry into the series.

In a way, one could say you lucked out because you went from a leaner package to one of the most polished, content-laden Yakuza to date rather than go in the opposite direction.

 

[AuthenticM]

guys I seriously can't wait to play this game

 

[Peroroncino]

guys I seriously can't wait to play this game

guys, me too!

 

[MYeager]

This was my first Yakuza game. It was good enough that I went an bought Yakuza 0.

The veterans say start with 0, but I say start with this. It's has enough features to be great, but it goes by quicker than 0 does. This feels like a better, more focused entry into the series.

As someone who has been playing since the original release I kind of agree with this. It's more focused, gets many of the core concepts down which Zero feel like more of an expansion of than the other way around. Not to mention it's cheaper as well. And while Zero as a prequel is a natural starting point there's a lot of references that feel like they were designed for those who had pre-existing knowledge of things that happen in the series.

 

[AuthenticM]

Oh man, this sucks. From the Polygon review:

Unfortunately, that's true of a lot of the storytelling Kiwami does. Original story scenes are often recreated shot for shot, complete with some intensely mid-2000s camera movements and action shots that, much like a pair of those iconic loose socks, have not aged well.

These moments weren't exhilarating the way I had come to expect of Yakuza. Some of them were downright laughable, steeped in exactly the kind of utterly rote, try-hard attempts at action-hero coolness that are largely absent from the more recent entries in the series. The story itself suffers from similar issues, grasping at being a badass, gritty tour of Kamurocho's underbelly while leaving many of the actual details of its plot half-formed or tenuously connected.

That may not have been as noticeable if not for the inclusion of an entirely new facet to the plot that is absolutely up to the series' current dramatic standards. Flashbacks chronicling the downfall of Nishiki — Kiryu's longtime friend turned smirking Yakuza bigshot — punctuate every chapter. They're brand new to Kiwami, and they are without a doubt the soul of the game.

Man. I was fearing this. They didn't rechoreographed the cutscenes, which means they aren't up to the standard set by its successors. And then we have the new Nishiki cutscenes, which are up to that standard, which makes those original cutscenes stand out even more.

Oh well.

 

[Gen X]

damn, that was my worry, this would be a step back after yakuza 0, after all it's an "ps2" game.

For me this will be a nice change of pace. I've played nothing but Yakuza since the 20th June tying to get up to speed in time for Kiwami. Started about 20% through #4 then mid July finished that and immediately started #5 which took me 4 weeks to finish and am now up to Chapter 6 in Zero.

 

[Rellik]

4 > 3 > 5 > Dead Souls

Haven't played any of the others, but Yakuza 0 is on the top of my backlog. Kiwami pre-ordered as well

I like you.

 

[Mupod]

0 was my surprise GOTY and this coming out so soon at a budget price is a no-brainer. I liked Y0's combat a lot so if it's just more of that, cool.

I don't know if I'll continue on through the series or just wait for a remake of 2, hopefully we get some news on that soon.

 

[Shadowman16]

Oh man, this sucks. From the Polygon review:



Man. I was fearing this. They didn't rechoreographed the cutscenes, which means they aren't up to the standard set by its successors. And then we have the new Nishiki cutscenes, which are up to that standard, which makes those original cutscenes stand out even more.

Oh well.

Eh, I really didn't see the problem when I played through Kiwami. I'm easy to please though, but I really didn't think its as bad as Polygon is making it out to be...

 

[IrishNinja]

god tying up undertale & sonic mania before the GOAT series returns (after giving us 0 earlier, 2017's GOTY) bless up y'all

ign link leads to destructoid

this was thoughtful of the OP

Yakuza stays winning, news at 11.

The GOAT is back.

YASSS QUEEN SLAY

 

[oneida]

this was thoughtful of the OP

nawww Kemps is a good writer

Spoiler

and a long-time (like 20+years) virtua fighter player :^)

 

[MHWilliams]

In a way, one could say you lucked out because you went from a leaner package to one of the most polished, content-laden Yakuza to date rather than go in the opposite direction.

I would completely agree with this.

 

[Lindsay]

So many review blurbs saying Yakuza 0 is a hard act to follow. Was that literally these peoples first introduction to the series? As someone who's played 1 - 4 from pretty much the start I found 0 ta be on the not so great side of things. An not just because it was a retread but because of new things it introduced that I didn't enjoy. Its gonna be real weird seeing the pretty excellent original game/story of the series looked upon by many others as the lesser of the two games.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

didn't one of these games just come out

 

[robotrock]

This was my first Yakuza game. It was good enough that I went and bought Yakuza 0.

The veterans say start with 0, but I say start with this. It has enough features to be great, but it goes by quicker than 0 does. This feels like a more focused entry into the series.

Have you finished 0 yet?

 

[sotojuan]

didn't one of these games just come out

Yakuza 0 is a 2015 game that took 2 years to be released here (January 2017). Kiwami was released January 2016 but again it didn't get a Western release till now. While I would've liked a shorter wait, it was a smart move by Sega to release a prequel and a remake of the first game 7 months apart - not too soon.

Yakuza 6 came out in JP December 2016, but won't be here until March. Again, well spread out releases.

 

[Skulldead]

I've play yakuza 1 last october, i still think it's one of the best storyline of the bunch after Y2. I can't wait to see it again in a full remake.

 

[Gen X]

I hope that Kiwami sells well enough that I encourages other companies to consider actual remakes of classic games. Not just up res'd remasters but actual remakes.

 

[Spieler Eins]

I hope that Kiwami sells well enough that I encourages other companies to consider actual remakes of classic games. Not just up res'd remasters but actual remakes.

Crash took care of that.