Despite being very clearly flawed in certain parts which knock it some points, I absolutely loved this game.

So incredibly thematically rich and (mostly) amazing character work. Kiryu was handled extremely well except for one instance but the real star was Akira Nishikiyama.... what a character.

As for gameplay it's only slightly lesser than Y0 fundamentally but there's a few bosses that are unquestionably awfully designed and really unfun.
The Majima everywhere system is my favourite thing ever

Yakuza Kiwami faces a unique challenge in that it tries to be a faithful remake of the series' first game from a decade ago while not contradicting the new characterizations given to some major characters like Majima and Nishiki in the very well received prequel preceding this release. In Nishiki's case this gap is bridged pretty successfully with the additional cutscenes detailing what he has been up to during Kiryu's time in prison. Though some of the dialogue that makes it sound like jealousy over Yumi was a core reason for Kiryu and Nishiki's falling out does feel a little weird given that these new cutscenes paint a new picture of mistreatment in the Tojo Clan and the loss of his sister as the major reasons behind Nishiki's downfall, alongside Yakuza 0 previously building up their brotherhood as something almost too strong to crumble over a woman. With Majima things don't play out as smoothly since at this point RGG Studio has to connect three different personas that they've created for this character over time, so you kinda get whiplash between Majima in the main story and Majima in side content. The Majima Everywhere system honestly loses comedic value after the first few encounters, and the skill learning system could generally be balanced a lot better. Personally I don't mind that the combat system is recycled from Yakuza 0; it works and it's fun to play. Kiryu being rusty after a decade in prison and having to relearn the Dragon style seems cool from a lore standpoint but doesn't go over too well in practice. On my second playthrough I rushed through the main story on a brand new save without engaging in any side content and ended up very underpowered by the finale. Especially the boss fight with Jingu sucks and is easily one of the worst in the entire series. Overall I think it's a solid game and remake, and I'm glad it exists to breathe new life into a very important entry in the series. It's not perfect but it will always have a special place in my heart for being one of the two original games to feature Nishiki.