This review of the brand new Yakuza Kiwami port for Nintendo Switch will essentially be split in half to cater to two different audiences. The first group I'll be talking to are those who have never had a chance to delve deeper into Sega's venerable crime TV saga until now and are wondering whether Yakuza Kiwami has it all covered. all of that or not. exaggeration. On the other side of the fence, we have those who have converted to the Kiryu Cult, or at least those who don't question their interest in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise, and just want to Who knows if this will last—the anticipated Switch version will do the game justice. The good news is I have a lot of answers for everyone.
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First, here's what new players to Like a Dragon need to know: Yakuza Kiwami is a complete remake of the original PS2 Yakuza game from 2005. It debuted on the game's 8th generation play this. console in 2016, then came to PC, giving gamers all the chance to experience the first adventures of Kazuma Kiryu, a stubborn ex-gangster with a heart of gold, fists of steel and a penchant for caring for endangered orphans who get caught up in ridiculous criminal plots. As players of Kiwami (or any of its prequels/sequels) quickly discover, Kiryu also possesses the strange ability to cause hundreds and hundreds of random Japanese citizens to lose their minds. and randomly attacks him on the streets of the fictional Kamurocho red light district. ; This is to say nothing of the hours he would spend playing video games, hitting balls in batting cages, bowling, racing motorcycles, and participating in the strange and eccentric lives of the residents. Kamurocho's strangest people.
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The franchise that would eventually standardize its name to Like a Dragon has experienced an explosion in popularity in recent years, with two recent turn-based RPG titles selling millions of copies as they come out, but Yakuza Kiwami represents the franchise. series at its purest brawler roots. Unlike his successor, Ichiban Kasuga, Kazuma Kiryu never felt the need to wait his turn before delivering blows to many of his enemies, and players may only be familiar with the games. newer must know that they will spend a lot of time. Many of these games involve dozens of hours of playing on the Joy-Cons' face buttons to ensure that Kiryu can always pull off the face-smashing, rib-crushing, spine-crushing combos that his various games feature. That fighting style will allow. Maybe you're someone who appreciates his quick jabs and brutal “Rush” style kicks, or perhaps you've destroyed every other enemy and Kiryu's beefy “Beast” style is the main one. is what you need to bury that last a-random side of the hole into the concrete. Of course, there's always the balanced “Brawler” style to balance things out, and eventually, you can accumulate enough XP and complete enough side missions to take advantage of the aptly named “Dragon of Dojima” techniques. His case, is guaranteed to handle even the toughest bad guys. Regardless, the Yakuza franchise with its stylish and cool fighting specials is just as fun today as it was nearly a decade ago.
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What about all the story and side content you'll enjoy in between all that brawling? It's just as great as it was in 2016. Sure, the story has the difficult pacing and sometimes confusing tonal shifts that feature in every Like a Dragon game, but those “quirks” are practically a Feature available, at this time. Do the crazy schemes of Kiryu's rival, Majima Goro, always make perfect sense within the larger context of this crime epic? ARE NOT! Can Kiryu's strange, often cartoonish side adventures combine with the heavy, bloody drama that occurs in the big-budget story's cutscenes? Are not. Does all the endless action and mafioso backstabbing always feel justified and well-executed? Every time, baby! That's just the Yakuza way, though, and for all its faults, this franchise has one of the most distinct and endearing feels in all of gaming.
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Really, the only major downside to Yakuza Kiwami finally arriving on Nintendo Switch is that it's the only title available on the platform at this time. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that a whole new audience will love Dojima Dragon as much as the rest of us, but this is just one of nearly a dozen titles that are easily accessible on every major console different for many years now. This is unlike 2012 when I had to buy a used PS3 from my best friend's girlfriend just to access the digital-only Yakuza 5; I see huge franchise packs for sale in every other store I frequent at least two or three times a year. Kiwami is great, but I think it's a much easier game to appreciate when you can play it in the context of its (deluxe) Yakuza Zero prequel, especially when this remake incorporates several additions and changes to the story to make it flow better as a natural continuation of Kiryu and Majima's origin story. Hopefully this Switch port will sell well enough that Sega sees fit to bring the rest of its games to the device — or at least the games it can run.
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That brings us to the technical aspects of the Yakuza Kiwami port and to be honest, I'm quite impressed. It's far from perfect, I have to admit, and you'd think the Switch could do better with a game that's nearly ten years old, but then again…I played that terrible Mortal Kombat 1 port. I know how bad it can really be. All things considered, the Yakuza Kiwami port is completely serviceable in most respects, with the game as a whole being very playable and essentially free of any kind of major bugs or visual issues that put anyone off. Anyone has reason to avoid this portal altogether. The resolution isn't great in Handheld Mode, yes, and things like loading screens and visual pop-ups during the game's city-moving segments are more noticeable here than in the PS4 version. mine, but nothing game breaking.
My biggest issue with the Switch port has more to do with the frame rate being halved to 30 FPS. Normally, I'm not the type to get hung up on frame rates, and cutscenes are always limited to 30 FPS on consoles, as far as I know. There's something off about the frame pacing in certain sections, especially the effects-heavy sequences that take place during combat or at night in Kamurocho, which can make the game a bit choppy and choppy. see movement. However, I had less of a problem with all these shortcomings in Handheld Mode, which is probably how most people will want to play the game, since”It's Yakuza Kiwami, but portable!” seems to be the main selling point of this release.
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So in the end, is Yakuza Kiwami a worthy flagship for the series in these uncharted Nintendo waters? I would say that's definitely true, although mainly for players new to the franchise. There's simply nothing new or interesting on offer here to entice players to come back, and the visual downgrades technically make this the “worst” version of the game you'll ever have. can get if there are any other options. Seriously though, if you're on the fence about catching Yakuza Kiwami for the first time, don't let any warnings stop you. This is a great game, no matter how you slice it. Hopefully this will be the first of many excursions for Kiryu on Nintendo platforms.
