80%PC

Not the most exciting story. Maybe even the most boring, but I haven't seen all of Yakuza series yet. Lots of dry characters, grim and stretched dialogues, barely anything to remember. Side activities are way more fun, especially cabaret. Gameplay is very simple and enjoyable.

70%PC

Wackiest main plot so far.
Pacing wasn't great and the amount of twists is ridiculous.
They underutilized Ryuji Goda. Would a loved a bigger focus on his conflict with Kyriu. Instead we get the most insane revenge plot with the korean mafia, the ridiculous origins plot with the lady cop, and the half baked romance plot between her and Kyriu.
Majima saga was quite nice. Really heartwarming wrap up to his Y0 story. Gives me hope that plot will continue to improve as I progress through the games.

Combat was the worse so far, but not too bad. Still fun to mash my way through.
Miss the different styles. Weapons did not make up for the fact the styles were removed.

It was fun revisiting the cabaret minigame.
The clan minigame was alright too.
The other stuff was same old same old. Not a bad thing, as it's cozy familiarity.
Karaoke songs weren't as good as Y0.

Anyway, I still find these games comforting and I am invested in the characters.
Actual score should probably be a 7. I think I am bumping it to an 8 simply because I missed this franchise.

100%PlayStation 4

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a 10/10 game. The graphics look fantastic, going for a stylized realism that makes the lights pop in the many nighttime sequences.
The combat feels incredible, smoother than any of the previous games and flowing directly into and out of the open world. The shops largely transition directly from the street to the store, too, allowing you to fight in some of them. There are plenty of brutal and comedic finishers in the game, from slamming an enemy into a wall to throwing him head-first into a microwave and telling the convenience store employee to turn it on.
The story is good, although kinda fell apart towards the end with how many twists show up. One other downside is that there are A LOT of cutscenes, which you'll notice as soon as you start the game. I like stories in games, so I didn't mind it too much.
They also brought back a bunch of minigames, including karaoke and the best one, Cabaret Club Grand Prix. Majima even has an RTS-style series of side-quests with its own subplot, like the Cabaret Club.
While Yakuza 0 is typically considered the best, and was my favorite, Yakuza Kiwami 2 may just edge it out for the top spot.

70%PlayStation 5

Full Review is here:

https://civilwarfare101.blogspot.com/2025/09/yakuza-kiwami-2-review.html

Overall, Kiwami 2 is a decent remake. There are those who are critical of Kiwami 2 itself but it's a fine enough of version if you want to experience the story of Yakuza 2 for the first time and has enough new ideas of it's own and are executed decently enough from a gameplay standpoint that it won't feel like you are going through the motions when wanting to revisit it after a while. Not the best remake you can ever play but definitely a middle ground one.

90%PlayStation 4

Great update to the combat and the story was fun. I liked when there was a big castle and I fought a tiger.

90%Xbox One

Les graphismes de Yakuza Kiwami 2 sont spectaculaires, utilisant le moteur graphique Dragon Engine pour donner vie aux quartiers de Kamurocho et Sotenbori avec un niveau de détail et de réalisme impressionnant, même si les visages des PNJ peuvent parfois manquer de vie. La bande-son est un point fort, mélangeant des thèmes jazzy pour l'exploration et des morceaux de rock intenses lors des combats, ce qui colle parfaitement à l'ambiance. Le gameplay, bien qu'un peu plus rigide que dans les précédents opus, est toujours aussi jouissif avec des combats de rue explosifs et une multitude de mini-jeux amusants à découvrir. L'histoire, un remake fidèle à l'original, est un récit passionnant de gangs, de trahisons et de loyauté, tout en apportant de nouvelles scènes et des éléments narratifs qui l'enrichissent. Au final, c'est un excellent remake qui parvient à moderniser un classique sans en trahir l'esprit, offrant une aventure intense et pleine de surprises.

80%PC

B+

50%PlayStation 4

Gameplay is much funner than kiwami. There are too many storylines, not enough time given to anything specific. Sidestories improved a lot from 1 but there still is a ton of filler. Sayama character arc is very hit or miss. Problem with kiwami games is that during the final stretch, I get really burned out on the brawler gameplay. The villains were very one note, didn't develop any of them. Ryuji Goda could have been so much more compelling. RGG have gotten so much better at characters and story in later games, so maybe I was expecting more than a 1:1 remake story wise. Overall a big improvement from Kiwami but not close to their best.

[Updated] Revisiting the original, I now see this as a much inferior game. A cheap remake of an expensive and lavish original. With worse gameplay to boot.

60%PC

С трудом замучил ее до конца. Потраченного времени жаль. Сюжет максимально неинтересный.

90%PlayStation 4

Much more consistent across the board with a strong story and great plot twists. Combat gets a little stale without the ability to switch styles and the weapons feeling a bit flat. Overall, really impressive

90%PC

Cabaret was really fun, but not enough Majima.

A bit weird that Kiryu recovered so fast from Yumi's death.

Ryuji was the best enemy so far. Why the f was Terada alive.

And I want to become a baby again.

85%PC

this was my first foray into the dragon engine, and the changes were pretty astounding. i wasn't nearly as disappointed as other people seemed to be by going from four styles (as in y0 and yk1) down to just one style in the dragon engine. i do however, have gripes with the new combat feel. it's still very fun, and the realism added is great (with ragdolls being fun, too), however i feel like it has lost its polish when it comes to combo fluidity and overall sense of consistency. kiryu's attacks feel too... sloppy? if that makes sense? it feels as though there's an overall weakness to his ability to track opponents, and it feels far less doable and far less satisfying to string set combos together. almost as if the combat system has been covered in oil. the tracking system as a whole is frustrating and not nearly as reliable as i'd have hoped, coming from previous games. i've yet to see if this is improved in later dragon engine games.

still though, it's quite fun. and while not reaching the highs of yakuza 0, the story is a big step up from yakuza kiwami 1's. ryuji is an absolutely fantastic antagonist, and i really enjoyed the simultaneous conspiracy regarding a certain mafia group. the writing felt stronger overall throughout the experience, with character motivations and development feeling more refined. everyone in this game was really memorable. the narrative really fell off at the end for me. i did actually enjoy all the ending twists, however the romance between kaoru and kiryu felt extremely forced and undeveloped, especially after the events of yakuza 1. kaoru is a fine character on her own, but one of the weaker ones in the main story in my opinion, and the romance completely feels undeserved and forced in. this culminates with the very ending of kiryu and kaoru making out next to the bomb that would spell certain death, while date and haruka plead for them to return. kiryu abandoning haruka in this way feels like a complete betrayal of his character, and so does the romance with kaoru in general. besides that, the story overall was really well done and felt like an improvement from the previous game.

this is a fun one. 8.6/10.

80%PlayStation 4

8,5

85%PC

Best game from the Yakuza series so far.

Story: The story was interesting from start to finish. I really liked the romance between Kiryu and Sayama and am excited to see how it continues in the future. I enjoyed the main enemy being the Jingweon mafia and the crazy twists that came with it.

Gameplay: The gameplay is very strong and very different from the 2 previous games. They removed style switching. The world felt way more alive than the 2 previous games. Instead of entering an area by loading in to it, Kiryu can just walk in (with a few exceptions like Four Shine). The side content was worse than the 2 previous ones tho. Cabaret Club was super fun but they removed my favourite mini game (pocket racing). Quite a few of the side stories were just simple one and done activites like being a bouncer for a second, or delivering small stuff. The bigger side stories were fun like the Cabaret Club and Majima Construction.

Progression: The mulitple different tokens that are used to upgrade different attributes was a strange decision. Compared to Y0 that has you using your money or Y1 which is just XP, the token system is way harder to keep track of. I had many instances where I was saving up for an upgrade but just kinda forgot about it cause it wasn't like "oh I need 50 xp points" but "oh I need 50 red tokens, 25 blue tokens, 99 purple tokens".

Overall, Kiwami 2 is the best Yakuza game I've played so far but I'm starting to see a pattern and with the next 3 games (3,4,5) being PS3 remasters, I'm not 100% sure if I wanna continue playing through all the games or jump straight to Like a Dragon (Y7).

70%PC

The story is ridiculous and ups the ante from the first one.

But I much prefer the PS2 version. The combat system is from Yakuza 6 and is extremely janky. The level up system is plain annoying. It's alright as a game overall, but there are way better Yakuza games(such as Zero)

90%PC

Yakuza Kiwami 2 continues the trend started by 0 and 1 of making me absolutely fall in love with this series. While the easiest of the three, the story delivered a fun adventure with fun twists and exciting moments. Sure, it can get bogged down near the middle, but I still enjoyed every moment and I can't wait to see what's next for the series.

Fun characters and gameplay mixed with humorous side stories and enough mini-games to keep you busy. The Cabaret Club was surprisingly fun and had nice connections to 0. The Majima Construction's gameplay was pretty mid, but the story made me want to finish it. I also enjoyed Darts and Karaoke, along with the ever engaging UFO machines. Majima's Story, while short, provided a nice connection to 0 and the final cutscene put a big smile on my face.

Overall, if you enjoyed the first two games, you'll enjoy this one. This series has quickly become one of my favorites and has yet to have a game that didn't deliver that Yakuza charm.

90%PC

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a stunningly crafted game that effortlessly blends intense action with heartfelt drama, and a healthy dose of delightful absurdity. Visually, it’s a beautiful game, with its upgraded Dragon Engine bringing Kamurocho and Sotenbori to life like never before.

The main story is unapologetically cheesy, but that's part of the charm. It leans fully into its melodrama, and I loved every minute of it. Whether it’s the over-the-top villains or the emotional monologues, the narrative had me hooked from beginning to end.

I’ve been playing the Yakuza series in story order, and with Kiwami 2 now complete, I’m excited to continue the journey with Yakuza 3.

Runs great on Steam Deck.

100%PC

Main Story

I played this one on the Steam Deck and had to make some adjustments to make it run mostly smoothly. The huge jump in graphics and details from Kiwami to Kiwami 2 just amazed me, especially just coming off of the Switch (LITE) version of Kiwami. I spent the first hour just walking around seeing what’s different in Kamurocho.

This time I did every single substory. The mini game substories were the ones that gave me the most trouble. God that baseball one had me infuriated. I generally love the Cabaret Club management sim, but not being able to button through the Platinum Girl Dinners was a drag. Still, I loved the callbacks to Majima’s time at Sunshine. The four Amon fights were kind of a cakewalk once I unlocked most combat upgrades.

Speaking of which, I really liked the combat and more RPG-like skill progression system. Sure sometimes attacking feels a little light compared to Zero/K1 and there’s some jank with the enemy pathing and ragdolling into buildings/the sky, but I really enjoyed how fast it feels. Though I miss having more than one combat style.

The story does a good job of building up and telling a natural sequel story from Kiwami 1. I was more invested in Daigo and Kaoru’s journeys over Yumi and Reina’s in K1. They get more time to be fleshed out and interesting in my opinion, something Nishiki in K1 got from context in Zero. And of course Ryuji is just a solid villain. K2’s story ends strong and gets pretty close to the emotional highs of Zero.

Played: 38.5 hours
5/19/2025

The Majima Saga

This was a fun side story that filled out what happened while Kiryu was out of the Tojo Clan, along with following up with some of Majima's Yakuza 0 story. I loved it as an epilogue to Zero, but I was a little disappointed in the actual gameplay and combat. There's not much to do except the story while the combat is limited and unsatisfying compared to Kiryu's in the main game or even Majima's from Zero. Still it wasn't too hard and this story was short enough it was not a bother.

Played: 1.5 hours
5/21/2025

Final Grade:

10/10 or A+
Steam Achievements: 46/59
Substories: 75/75
Completion Items: 240/303

70%PC

Story, characters, and music are a large step up from Kiwami 1, but the gameplay takes a massive hit. There's just not a lot of variety in the combat, literally hold down light punch, do the same combo and use a very limited set of heat moves - the difficulty (on normal) is a bit too easy. I did enjoy the extreme heat mode and the close-ups on combo finishers though. Since this uses the Dragon engine instead of the PS3 engine, this game looks much better. Substories are on average pretty good, with some highlights being the diaper guys and the one where Kiryu becomes a voice actor for a gay visual novel.

100%PlayStation 5

Зохиол: 10/10
Механик: 9/10
Зураглал: 10/10

90%PC

Наверное, одна из самых крутых частей серии.
Появился новый движок, который выглядит круто: ушли загрузки между локациями в городе, добавилась забавная физика — в общем, из-за него Камурочо стал каким-то более живым.
Музыка и караоке в этой части — тупо топ, добавил много треков в плейлист. Сайд-квесты, которые были в ремейке, вышли на супер-уровень.
Ещё стоит отметить кабаре, связь с прошлыми частями и DLC за Маджиму — оно прям залегло в сердечке.
Единственный, наверное, минус — не самый крутой геймплей в миниигре на стройке. Ну и общее для серии: игры практически одинаковые, но это не то чтобы сильно отталкивает.

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Квесты — ради этого стоило играть
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Отличие от прошлых частей
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Итоговая оценка: 89/100

80%PC

A Real Man... Oughtta Be A Little Stupid

PAUSE THE WAR I need to pick outfits for the girlies and win the Cabaret Club Grand Prix. As usual I am locked in for the substories and side content of Yakuza and this game was no different. I love how much there is to do from the arcades, eating food, to the full blown games with the cabaret club and clan creator. The series is a masterclass at making the city feel alive and full of things to do. There’s something really cozy about coming back to Kamurocho for the third time. Seeing the way the city changes, feeling the comfort of familiar places and faces, I love it and it’s one of my favorite worlds in gaming.

Always a fan of the games having a built in checklist for nearly everything, and it makes my little completionist heart happy. The two big mini games really shined here for me. I was skeptical on Clan Creator at first, but it’s actually a really fun and solid tower defense-esque game. I thought the story for it was pretty decent as well. Cabaret Club really sucked me in though. I barely bothered with it in Yakuza 0, but absolutely loved it here thanks to a few of the quality of life improvements I felt made it more enjoyable. Fantastic and addicting little management sim that was casual enough to not feel overwhelming, but still made me feel hyped up whenever I won a championship. Loved the storyline here too.

I expected the Majima Saga to be kind of mid tier filler but I really loved it. It helped bring closure to Yakuza 0, and it was nice to take on the role of Majima again. Super fun to play as and the animations for his moveset go hard.

I started off a bit meh on the main storyline, and it took longer to grip me than 0 and Kiwami 1. Eventually though, it started to pick up. A lot of the boss fights were actually so unserious and fun, I did not expect to see an intro for “fierce tigers” and be fighting literal fucking tigers. The feel the heat finishers were brilliant as well. I was lowkey getting giddy over some of these fights. I love that they lean into it to the point of it almost feeling campy with how heavy they go into the epic action movie sequences. Music was also killer throughout the whole thing for me. Obviously the main draw was everything happening between Kiryu, Sayama, and Ryuji. It was really giving battle of the sideburns. When you think about it, the whole plot is basically about two siblings being in love with Kiryu but in different ways. Regardless, I really enjoyed Sayama as a character AND we got a happy ending for Pochitaro the dog from Kiwami 1 so ultimately a win is a win.

85%PC

Increíblemente divertido, como todo Yakuza y con una historia que nunca decepciona y siempre te deja con ganas de mas. Algo continuista, por eso el 8.5 y no un 10.

90%PlayStation 4

Peaker

80%PC

Bem mais bonito e polido que o antecessor, deu pra ver um salto na qualidade. Os cenários são detalhados ao extremo e entrar nas lojas nem precisa de loading. Entretanto, o jogo tem bem mais serrilhados por conta de filtros e mais filtros aplicados, o que me incomodou.

Particularmente, achei que a gameplay mais fraca se comparado com Kiwami 1. Menos opções de combos, vários Heat Actions são situacionais (desbloqueiam depois de substories e depois você precisa estar do lado de NPCs específicos), a movimentação do Kiryu é bem mais dura e unreliable e certos golpes parecem que nunca conectam. Achei um absurdo ter momentos em que as heat action conseguem nem tirar METADE da vida de um inimigo random com pouco HP, no Kiwami 1 praticamente uma já era suficiente para matar.

A história é engajante, mas tem menos peso se comparado ao jogo anterior. A Sayama foi uma boa adição. O Amon foi bem mais fácil se comparado ao primeiro.

100%PC

kiryu is a complicated romantic and we love him for that

80%PlayStation 4

A strong 8/10. I enjoyed the combat better than Kiwami 1 (sometimes, besides the Coliseum) and this had another good Yakuza story with great cutscenes. Very gory and conniving underworld action. I thought the Majima Construction and Cabaret mini-games were terrible and did not partake beyond the required sections. The mandatory Haruka parts were annoying when I just wanted to advance the story- it sometimes seemed like the game wanted to intentionally drag out its play time. That said, I did enjoy the game and the locations are so well realized graphically. It's great virtual tourism :)

80%PC

It was pretty good. It's a huge step-up from Kiwami 1 in terms of everything, including the story, the presentation, the combat, and the minigames.

The main story is a pretty standard criminal drama, revolving around power, money, betrayal, etc. But it was entertaining nonetheless because of the interesting characters and how the story folds itself on the screen.
Kiryu in Kiwami 1 was an acceptable character, but in Kiwami 2 they developed him as a great character that feels like a human being, as he shows more vulnerability. The antagonist, Goda worked for me as well. He's intimidating, charismatic, proactive, and of course, his backstory is the flip of the same story of Kiryu. They ended his story well here.
Also Majima, man, every scene featuring that guy is gold. I'm really looking forward to play the Majima spin-off pirate game soon.
But I didn't like Karou, the heroine, and the romance between her and Kiryu in general. Kaoru feels like a wasted opportunity to feature a strong female character in the bunch, as she's introduced as a badass cop, but ends up being a hopelessly romantic girl. I guess it reaffirms that RGG studio just can't write women characters; they are either moms or babies.

The sidequests are hit or miss, but there are more hits this time. The cabaret club, compared to the Pocket Circuit in Kiwami 1, was a huge upgrade too. It's a simple game, but it's funny and engaging, and watching the number going up is pretty hypnotic. It took me about 5 hours to complete.
The combat mechanics got much better also, and it feels less like a button-masher this time. The game punishes you less for your mistakes, and gives you more room to react to the opponent's actions. But I would say it's finally 'serviceable', not 'good'. There's still no lock-on mechanics, the camera works against you, enemies fly around you to hit your back, and the game's difficulty setting still relies on the user's decision on whether they'll spam healing items or not.
Yet I had mostly a good time in battles because of the over-the-top action sequences that change according to the context. When you're near a river, Kiryu will throw the opponent to the river. When you're near a fire hydrant, he will smash the opponent's balls on that thing. When you're at a certain place of the town, after completing a sidequest, the townfolks will come out and help you to beat the shit out of the opponent. So on and so forth. It was a thing in Kiwami 1 too, but it was expanded in Kiwami 2, and feels more satisfying with better animations.

So, it's not a masterpiece, but in general I had a fun time, and it washed away the disappointment I've got from Kiwami 1. High 7 to low 8 in my book.

85%PC

Eu comecei sendo bem decepcionado por esse jogo, achei o início da história fraco, o combate muito ruim, e não tava sentindo que ia gostar do jogo. Porém quanto mais tempo eu joguei, mais gostei dele, Kiwami 2 certamente não tem o melhor combate da franquia (provavelmente o pior), mas tem talvez a melhor história da franquia, ele te faz se importar com muitos dos personagens, a relação da Kaoru com o Kiryu é algo lindo e muito legal de se acompanhar e esse jogo tem o melhor vilão da série, Ryuji Goda é um vilão fantástico, que rouba a cena sempre que aparece. Valeu muito a pena jogar esse jogo, o final dele o transformou de um jogo 7, 8 de 10, em um 9/10 quase perfeito.

90%PC

The first Yakuza game I managed to complete, Kiryu was an awesome protag for me, I really love the Dragon Engine (for me it was a huge improvement because the prior games are too "PS2ish" for me)

I love the weird and quirky substories, the combat was really solid (Suprisingly it was deep and fun to explore after all the upgrades)

The story itself is a mixed bag, especially the ending. But overall it was a fun and memorable experience!

Thanks RGG team!

85%PC

Très cool ! Il a de gros soucis je trouve (les mobs ont trop tendance à bloquer les combos les rendant quaducs et nous rendant TRES vulnérables), je l'ai trouvé moins prenant et marquant que 0 et le premier Kiwami, mais il a de grands moments et des perso très bons. J'aime beaucoup Ryuji Goda, Kaoru est cool aussi mais même si elle m'a plus marqué que Yumi elle m'a moins impacté que Makoto.

On a du grand Goro, du grand Kiryu, des moments cool avec Haruka et la scène du pont est légendaire.
Kamurocho et Sotenbori sont très, très beaux sous cette version du Dragon Engine, et même si j'ai eu du mal à me faire au design de Kiryu avec ses pupilles extra-larges j'ai quand même trouvé les modèles des personnages vraiment beaux également.

J'ai toutefois trouvé le final moins marquant, bien que le combat final contre Ryuji soit super le reste m'a moins marqué et quelques décisions de Kaoru / Kiryu m'ont vraiment laissé circonspect.

Très bon quand même, juste le Yakuza que j'aime le moins jusqu'alors. Le 3 arrivera plus tard !

95%PC

By far my favorite yakuza game yet. The rain scene and the ending were a fucking masterpiece. I have zero clue why I didn't play this series earlier. The updated engine from the previous few games was so sick too. The world and cities felt so much more alive and larger than the previous few games as well. All around an AMAZING fucking game. Recommend to anyone who loves the series or games for a real japanese vibe or people who enjoy yakuza vibes.

Wish I could play the game again for the first time.

60%PC

Least favorite of the 3 Yakuza games I played up to this point (0, Kiwami 1, and this), but still pretty good overall. Didn't care much for the story with the Dragon of Kansai, so technically didn't finish the last couple of chapters, but I watched cutscenes

90%PC

God, I love this series so much. I had, once again, a blast playing this game. The style this game exudes is beyond, the world building is perfect, the story-telling, the side quests, everything. It's a ball of fun and I couldn't think of a series that takes itself as seriously as much as it doesn't. Everything about it is goofy as fuck yet it is still able to put across a story that's serious in tone and deals with a lot.

I will say that I feel the story in this game missed me a little bit in regards of fully captivating me as the ending "twists" were a little predictable, especially with Ryuji being Sayama's brother, but it was still fun overall. The cabaret club side-story was a blast, I'm so happy that it came back. I sat down for like 5 hours in one night hammering it all out because it's like playing a Diner Dash side quest. As You Are is also a slapper despite the lyrics making absolutely no sense.

I'm excited to play 3 despite me already knowing that it's going to be an obvious downgrade. I can't wait to get deeper into the series, I have every game purchased. I love you Yakuza (and Kiryu!!!! you're so sexy!!!!)!!!!

85%PC

This is an amazing game, for yakuza standards, not the best, but the game is really fun and the emphasis on weapons is a nice change

100%PC

Truly a great game; I liked it better even than Yakuza 0. The gameplay is refined compared to earlier entries, and once you figure out the food XP system, it flows really smoothly. The story is the typical over-the-top yakuza drama, and it didn't have any of the annoying elements from Kiwami 1, like the highway chase. The fights felt fair, and the combat itself is very fluid. And of course, the cabaret club minigame is great.

95%PC

A fine game indeed, in this sequel you can really feel the power of the Dragon of Dojima.

75%PlayStation 4

The battle system is less interesting than 0 and Kiwami, but the story remains compelling (if convoluted) and the mechanics are significantly streamlined compared to previous entries. Yakuza 0 0 remains my favourite of the series so far, and Kiwami 1 had more moving story beats, but don't sleep on Kiwami 2. I'm glad I played, though most of the best parts of the story are at the beginning and end.

75%Xbox One

Overall a great game but the story ends up mixing the best and worst from Yakuza. Charismatic characters, cool action and cinematics and a really good way of building up suspense. But a force romance, too many filler main and side missions (there are litteraly 3 filler chapters in the middle of the game) and a really underwhelming ending. The character of Ryuji is really captivating when on screen but lacks any impact on the overall game.
The Majima Saga is litteraly useless except for only one cutscene that is indeed cute but doesn't makes up for the emptiness of the rest of this 1 hour extension.
It is still a really good game with great combat but after 35 hours you can only feel burnout from the formula and underwhelmed by the story.

90%PC

N/A

85%PC

The graphics is a bit blurry in this game. Ragdoll physics are hilarious. The combat is clunky especially i the beginning without upgrades, though it gets better after some combo speed upgrade. I like and enjoyed the combat (kinda miss the OP tiger drop from kiwami 1). Parry is super nice hahaha, i actually used more charge attacks in this game compared to previous yakuza games. Storywise tho, its decent, not as great as Yakuza 0. Finally, Kiryu with the gigarizz got her girl. As for Majima saga, something i really loved as a addition and a closure to the his story. Bittersweet and heartwrenching.

95%PC

é o goat né

80%PC

Did not do much of the side content this time around. That last chapter really was something tho. So much drama, so over the top, loved every seconds of it. Cabaret is fine but didn't like majima mini game.

70%PC

-30 за маджонг и квесты с маленькой тварью
+15 за новый движок
+35 за смешной и пафосный сюжет
+20 за геймплей

75%PC

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a wonderful game with some glaring early game issues, namely, Kiryu's moveset being notably stripped down to feeling straight-up kind of bad to use early on. Key moves/upgrades/QOL skills can be prohibitively expensive, which I think contributes to the negative perception of Dragon Engine combat. More on the grind below.
Of course, this brings me to the new leveling system, which I think is harmless at best, and pretty annoying at worst. Needlessly overcomplicated, each stat having an associated flavor of EXP currency, and combat encounters giving essentially zilch in any of those flavors for partaking, it feels a little weird. If you're not getting EXP from combat, where are you getting it? Food is your answer.
Eating for EXP in Kiwami 1 was particularly pretty useless. It didn't give anything substantial for the trouble of stopping and immersing yourself in the world, and to that end, I can see what they were going for by making food so prominent for progression in this game. At first, it feels successful in eliminating the gaminess of how EXP feels to earn, but that quickly falls off a cliff when you see the steep stat requirements for even basic upgrades, like uhh, sprinting, I guess. So, a chunk of time has to be lent to stuffing Kiryu's face with food, emptying his stomach with meds from across the street, and repeating until the arbitrary numbers are met. So in turn, what should have been a clever way to immerse yourself in the world and warrant it's exploration, is boiled into something far gamier, more grindy, and boring than just getting experience through combat encounters.
Fortunately for the rest of the game though, once you get some decent skills and upgrades under your belt, progression is a cinch, and never really stops flowing naturally. It's just a shame how rough the early game grind can be, and that it couldn't flow that way from the start.
Combat has seen notable improvements in feel and tactility though! After the early game slog of progression, Dragon Engine finally gets to shine, and feels REALLY good once it gets going. It has a smidge of jank on it, sure. But we love jank here. Mostly. Staple mechanics from Y2 can be hit or miss here, like finishing holds, and throws in general. Brushing up against nearly anything mid-throw can cancel them and negate damage, which I thought was really strange. But it's really not that bad, it's just very noticeable when you try to throw enemies in any tighter space. Also, god bless ragdolls. Funniest shit ever, idc.
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The storytelling this time around was both strange (at first) and beautiful, the budding father-daughter relationship established in K1 notably takes a narrative backseat, which shocked me for a bit. I'd assumed they would delve a bit more into that before they switched gears. But turned they have, to explore Kiryu fumbling through his traumas and things he'd experienced in the past year, finding new love, and rebuilding the Tojo. More than that, I'd say the game is moreso about Sayama and Kawaru than anyone else. Wonderfully tragic mirrors of each other; one trying to dig up their past, and the other trying to bury it. The one that steals the show for me is undoubtedly Ryuji, an enamoring unhinged, and intimidating performance of a villain who maybe shows up a handful of times in the entire game, just enough to keep him at the forefront of my mind the whole time I was playing, hoping I'd get to butt heads with him again. Another thing I REALLY appreciated narratively, was how unashamed it was to be a direct sequel. There's a bit of exposition for newcomers in the beginning, sure. But by and large, the game plays into a lot of previous characters, arcs, moments, and plotpoints without overtly obvious "ah. they're expositing for new people here." moments in the middle of the story, which I can really appreciate.
And of course in Yakuza fashion, it's rife with twists, turns, and the most dramatic drama you've ever drama'd all over the place. It sticks in your brain like glue, it is absolutely magnetic.
Other series staples to provide a nice bow on top of the tight Yakuza narrative throughline are still there of course. Tons of substories and minigames are littered throughout the world to break up the narrative tension and breathe life into the beautifully (and newly) rendered cities of Kamurocho and Sotenbori. Returning from 0 to my pleasant surprise is CABARET BABEY!!!!! WE LOVE PLAYING DOLLS!!!!!!!
In short, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a bit of a slightly rough gem. Still a really good time, but it has a few small, annoying hurdles to climb to enjoy the full view of the picture it paints, but it is absolutely worth the toll cost, imo.

60%PC

A typical (but very generous) Yakuza entry. A solid game with good story, and very generous in its side activities.
Would have been a 75 (or even 80-85 if I was able to enjoy the game and its side activities more), but the technical state of the PC version was abysmal. Unplayable on W11 (and I was generously above minimal specs, even if not reaching recommended spec for 1080p), unless you replace DX11 calls by Vulkan which causes (if unlucky)...black screens after loading, making the game unplayable. So I went with the constant stutters in the open world instead, which made me rush from point A to B, a shame, as I think the game is rather good otherwise.

90%Xbox Series X/S

Yakuza Kiwami 2 felt very fresh coming from 0 and the first Kiwami game, mostly because of the new engine and overall tweaks and improvements made to the game.

The story was great at times, kind of pointless at other times, and absurd and stupidly convoluted at other times. I enjoyed the seemingly controversial dynamic between Kiryu and Kaoru, and felt that their falling in love was natural and I greatly enjoyed the rooftop scene on their date. The ridiculous stuff began with the Osaka Castle, which was retarded. A literal castle rises from the ground, Kiryu beats the shit out of two tigers, and nobody thinks anything of it. And on top of that, Kawara was hiding in the castle the whole time. Does he make a habit of hanging out in hidden castles? The ending was very convoluted, with all the Jingweon Mafia reveals and betrayals. And the decision by Kiryu and Ryuji to fight after being shot, with a bomb ticking, and while Kaoru begs them to leave with her, can only be described as retarded. They could have left, gotten treated for their injuries, and fought later. Or just let it go. But Ryuji died after meeting his sister for no apparent reason.

However, despite the wackiness of the story at time, I loved the characters. Ryuji Goda was the star of every scene he was in. Even though he was the antagonist of the game, you couldn't help but like him. He clearly had morals, unlike Sengoku and Takashima, while still being menacing. The scene where Kiryu and Ryuji meet in The Grand is awesome, and Ryuji comes off like an absolute badass.

The combat was very good, in a different way from 0 and Kiwami. I enjoyed the fresh feeling of the Dragon Engine. And the game was visually beautiful on the new engine as well.

Several quality of life improvements definitely did not go unnoticed either. The improved inventory, the ability to walk in and out of buildings without loading screens, saving anywhere and autosave, were very much appreciated. Losing those features when playing Yakuza 3 will be even worse than the downgrade in graphics and combat, I think.

I loved the cabaret mini game, and all the callbacks to 0. Seeing Yuki again was cool, and the new girls were very fun. I did not like clan creator/Majima Construction. Thankfully, it did not have any substories tied to it, because I did not want to have to play through that whole thing. I did like the inclusion of the Japanese wrestlers, though.

The Majima Saga was a great addition, if only for the Makoto Makimura stuff. The rest was clearly only there as filler, and I do wish there was a bit more to do as Majima than just the main missions and fighting street bosses. Majima's moveset was also very limited. However, the Makoto scenes made up for it. Seeing the fear on Majima's face when he realized who was giving him a massage was heart-wrenching, but it was great seeing Majima look so happy while Makoto told him about how great her life is and how thankful she was to him. And Makoto's realization that she had finally thanked Majima after 18 years was great, and all the closure I needed for that story. It was done perfectly.

Overall, I enjoyed Yakuza Kiwami 2 a lot. The story left a bit to be desired, but it wasn't bad. The game felt fresh and fun. I can't wait to get to Yakuza 6 to get back to the Dragon Engine. 8.8/10

75%PC

Fun side content, great OST, good visuals, subpar writing.

80%PC

Very solid game.
Very good story, atmosphere, characters.
Better combat than Y0 and Kiwami 1 (IMO). Liked the goofy ragdolls.
Also very beautiful game.

70%PlayStation 4

I didn't like Kaoru Sayama at all, that's the only reason this game isn't at the level of 0 & Kiwami.