01. Yakuza Kiwami 2 || PlayStation 4 || 01.10.22
After having been a spectator for a fair amount of a Yakuza Kiwami playthrough, I thought that would be the same plan for Yakuza Kiwami 2. However, I ended up playing roughly half of the story content and nearly all of the optional content. And well, while I actually finished the game over two weeks ago, I wanted to reserve my thoughts for once I completed everything fully after having so much fun.
Set one year after the preceding game's events, Yakuza Kiwami 2's largely revolves around the Tojo Clan possibly losing power alongside their difficulties with the Omi Alliance and their failed attempts to treaty together once the Omi Alliance begins to crumble from within as power dynamics shift heavily. As the series protagonist Kiryu who is now a former Tojo clan member an ex-yakuza, he again helps his allies. Within both the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance, deceit and corruption exists, and worries of the Tojo Clan becoming taken over by the Omi Alliance become prevalent. Alongside this immediate problem, the Koran mafia group Jingweon who was thought to have been extinguished 26 years ago becomes an unexpected threat. While their reasons differ, both the Omi Alliance and Jingweon have the same end goals in overthrowing the Tojo Clan.
As a game focused on yakuza and the dark underbelly of Japan, the gameplay does not disappoint by offering plenty of high-intensity street action. In a sense, the gameplay is similar to a 3D brawler with an expansive city to explore. As Kiryu, the player navigates across the city and is often bothered by delinquents, thugs, and fellow yakuza. Fighting is fluid and fun, as Kiryu earns skill points to expand his fighting capabilities. Additionally, weapons of various kinds can be used across battle—these can range from the expected dagger and gun to items littered across the city like traffic cones and store signage. While playing on Normal difficulty setting, I had issues in besting fights of any kind, so others may want to consider the Hard difficulty which is initially available too.
Throughout my time playing, the story maintained interest. Admittedly, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about how some characters were written, but I still overwhelmingly enjoyed my time playing. Upon the game's climax, I initially felt easy, as not one but two twists occur. However, I quickly backtracked and accepted it positively, as, like previously mentioned, deceit and corruption exists within these groups and shouldn't surprise the player.
I'm not sure why, but the Yakuza franchise does not take itself seriously across all aspects as there is plenty of laughable content dispersed between the serious plot. When engaged in a street fight, crowds will never fail to cheer on the fighters. That being said, the game's humor does not end with just the city's life. Across nearly every non-story element, there will always be some degree of humor. Most of the humor is offered across the game's side quests. At times, side quests will introduce some of the most over-the-top scenarios that never failed to deliver fun.
On that note, Yakuza Kiwami 2 offers an abundance of optional content. With side quests, side activities, arcade games, and fully developed original side games, there was never a time that I felt as if I didn't have anything to do aside from advancing the story. Never before did I think I'd learn how to play games such as shougi and koi-koi, but I grew to love playing riichi mahjong. Having played through all of the game's content all at once to earn every achievement was certainly the ideal way to learn how to play, as I would focus on one game and then move on to another. In the end, the only card game that I never quite understood was oicho-kabu, whereas the only one that was generally boring was poker. Going back to the two original side games, they comprise of organizing a cabaret club through management simulation and defending fellow Yakuza Majima's construction crew through real-time strategy battles while offering their own unique story elements. For both games, they were a lot of fun in spite of not having any large interest within either genre.
Overall, my experience playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 was fantastic, and I believe I found a new series that I will enjoy playing entirely immensely Naturally, I encountered minor issues that mostly relate to NPC activity and character animations when advancing dialogue, but I had no concerns relating to the gameplay or plot itself. Despite wanting to revisit the original game and play it on my own right away, I spent a lot of time playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 and would rather take a break. I don't think I'll be spending too much time away from the series, though.
