4/5 ★ – Lord_Hazenberg's review of Yakuza Kiwami.

Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the original Yakuza game, but with the advantage of having Yakuza 0 to work off of. It adds cutscenes to help to flesh out the conflict between Kiryu & the main villain more. But the best new addition is the Majima everywhere system. Majima’s goal is simple; get Kiryu back into fighting shape after spending a decade in prison. So he will roam the town & attack you on sight at any given time. He’ll ambush you at restaurants, mini games, & even main story segments. The story is about the player character, Kiryu, taking the fall for a murder he didn’t commit, and the aftermath of coming back into the yakuza scene after spending 10 years in prison. Along the way he tries to find his old flame, rescue an orphaned girl, & retrieve his old clans stolen ¥10 billion. Gameplay is the exact same as 0. Same fighting styles & move-sets. The skills system has been changed as you use EXP & Skill Points to level up vs using money like in 0. Except the Dragon style, which requires you to complete the Majima everywhere storyline & all of the colosseum fights to complete that skill tree. The city of Kamurocho has slightly changed from 0. Most shops have stayed in place, but there are different restaurants & fewer mini games. The sub stories aren’t as diverse either with most of them boiling down to people trying to scam you. This is reused assets the series, so you’ll see identical animations, voice lines, and combos throughout. Sadly the worst new addition was implemented into the boss fights, & its name is the Kiwami state. An ability where bosses can heal multiple times throughout a fight unless you have enough battle energy & the proper skill unlocked in each fighting style to interrupt them. This lengthens already long fights to a somewhat absurd level. In conclusion, Kiwami is the definitive way to experience the first Yakuza game. The story & gameplay are better, and the new additions are mostly well done. A worthy successor/precursor to Yakuza 0.