Yakuza Kiwami 2 (NS2) Review

Gameplay

Graphics

Audio

Narrative

Summary: Another beguiling brawler that's better than the sum of its, admittedly fantastic, parts.

4.5

Pinnacle

Yakuza Kiwami 2 arrives on Switch 2 a year after the original hit the Switch, which is timely since the game kicks off a year after the events of Yakuza Kiwami, when Kiryu left his life in the Tojo clan behind.

Kiwami 2 opens with Kiryu dragged back into Kamurocho underworld after the fifth chairman of the Tojo clan is gunned down by members of the Omi Alliance, days before he planned to form a pact with the rival organisation.

However, it seems the Tojo clan isn’t the only organisation with succession problems, as the elderly leader of the Omi alliance is overthrown by his adopted son and heir, Ryuji, during peace talks in Sotenbori, and all hell breaks loose.

Thus, it’s up to Kiryu to find a new successor for the Tojo, take on the dragon of Osaka, and stop an all-out gang war from erupting on the streets of Kamurocho and Sotenbori.

This being a Yakuza game, though, things are never as they seem, and the compelling plot brings the usual mix of gangland politicking, anguished melodrama, and big, burly men beating ten bales of shite out of each other.

Outside of the main story campaign, there’s also a shedload of optional activities for Kiryu to stumble upon, including dozens of often hilarious side missions that see Kiryu become a voice actor, butt heads with a Yakuza patriarch with some, uh, very particular tastes, and help Inspector Date pick a modem… and then get scammed. Did I mention Yakuza 2 is set in 2006?

Along with the usual bar games, driving range, and batting cages, you can also head to the arcade to play full versions of Virtua Fighter 2 and twin stick mech battler Virtua On (which incidentally makes Kiwami 2 by far the cheapest way to play Virtua On).

The Hostess Club management game from Yakuza 0 also makes a welcome return, with Kiryu taking on management duties at the struggling Sotenbori hostess club, Club Shine. It’s almost a game in itself, which sees you recruiting new hostesses, keeping your guests happy, and getting to know the staff. Not only is it a great way to make a lot of in-game cash, but it’s also a marvelous little side story all of its own.

If that’s not enough to sink your teeth into, there’s also a whole side story featuring Majima that bridges the gap in his story between KIwami and Kiwami 2 (and ties it to 0), which chronicles why he left the Tojo clan, decided to start a construction company, and landed a lucrative development deal in the heart of Kamurocho.

This fills you in on the backstory of Kiwami 2’s other game within a game, which has Kiryu help Majima’s construction to protect their worksites on the Kamurocho Hills development from attacks by a crooked consortium made up of several New Japan Pro-Wrestling stars. Which, functionally, is very similar to the clan mode in Yakuza 0. It’s basically tower defence with your favourite mobsters kicking thugs in the face to stop them smashing up the bricks you need to build that children’s hospital.

The main bulk of the game, though, is the Yakuza you know and love, wandering the streets of Tokyo’s red-light district, sampling the delicious delicacies on offer, getting into scrapes, and bludgeoning any thug stupid enough to step up to you half to death with a traffic cone.

Combat has been refined since Kiwami 1, with the different styles replaced by a single way of fighting that blends elements of all four from Kiwami into one that feels a little more grounded and robust. Being able to brawl, dodge, and grab items on the fly is a lot better than having to choose between dodging and being able to throw a chair at someone.

Likewise, the experience system has been overhauled with experience now split between four different types that you can receive by fighting, completing objectives, or sitting down to dinner. I’m of two minds about this, since you’re still saving to put points in different stats and abilities, the four-way split often leaves you with an abundance of one kind of experience, while you’ve not quite got enough of the other you need to unlock that vital upgrade you want, and most upgrades take multiple types. So you’re often left running around trying to find the right dish to get the points you need, and it just feels a little tedious, is all.

The biggest change in Kiwami 2 is its engine. It’s the first game in the series released on the Switch 2 that uses the Dragon engine.

In-game, this means everything feels a lot more immediate and bustling. You can simply walk into most shops and restaurants, thugs roam the streets, and fights are pretty much instantaneous whenever you bump into a group of thugs, rather than having to wait for a loading screen.

It’s these little changes combined with a greater level of fidelity in absolutely everything that gives Kamurocho a greater sense of place and coherence than in previous entries,

The payoff for this, on Switch 2 anyway, is a hit in performance with the game dropping from 60fps down to 30. Thankfully. Though it’s a pretty rock-solid 30, slightly better than on the PS4 Pro back in the day, and in my mind, worth it for the jump in graphical fidelity.

Moreover, it’s a positive sign that, along with Kiwami 3, which is headed to Switch 2 next month, the Switch 2 could get ports of other recent titles in the series. There’s no reason in my mind that we won’t see the likes of Like a Dragon, Infinite Wealth, or A Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii grace Nintendo’s plucky portable.

Final Thoughts

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a solid Switch 2 port of arguably one of the best entries in the storied series.

With the best antagonist in the entire Yakuza saga, memorable set pieces and a whole raft of interconnected side missions, superb games within the game, and a couple of stone-cold Saturn classics to play in the arcade, Kiwami 2 cements the series as one of the best times you can have on Nintendo’s newest hardware.

About the Author

Gareth Newnham

Yakuza Kiwami 2 (NS2) Review