IGN writes: "The first Yakuza was something of a mess. Oh, the game itself was decent in parts, but so much of the effort taken to localize the game ended up muddling an already uneven game experience. The storyline, one of the main things the beat 'em was supposed to rely on, got bogged down with way too much extraneous cussing, some laughable voice acting choices and a narrative that wasn't always as compelling as it probably could have been.
With the sequel, though, novelist Seishu Hase and producer Toshihiro Nagoshi are aiming to right some of the wrongs in the first game. It's a theme that actually carries over into the story of Yakuza 2, and thanks to a much-improved translation (albeit with perhaps a few too many instances of "yer" and "ya") that actually looks like it respects and aims to give the source material a solid foundation in English instead of peppering it with excessive expletives."
Cutscenes pull a game's story together, but sometimes they can be a bit much. These are the longest cutscenes in PlayStation games.
Standing and fighting, face to face, just isn’t what these bosses are known for.
Besides being a fantastic game, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is also a technical showcase for the long running series.
Easily my favorite yakuza in he series, especially that ending.
This is how you do a remake, yakuza 1 kiwami was also great, even yakuza 0 (though not a remake)
Not a full priced game, fully upgraded with next gen graphics, expanded story modes, etc ect
It's crazy, after playing Kiwami 2 for the past week I decided to fire up Yakuza 2. Man, the difference is just...wow. The original Yakuza 2 still looks great though.
It's the greatest remake of all-time, because it has 12 years, and 2 console generations (nearly 3) between the 2 games, and benefits from modern day graphics power?
Um...... no. The best remake of all-time, is still Resident Evil, from 2002. That was both, a technical marvel with only 6 years between the games, and a true-to-heart remake, by the original creator.
Will Resident Evil 2 replace it this January? We'll see, but, doubtful. It appears to be taking too many liberties.
Really glad Sega is putting fourth so much effort back into this series! I missed out on Yakuza initially so these remakes are a great for both veterans and newcomers alike!