I bought this game, Kiwami 1, and Kiwami 2 on sale two years ago after someone gave me a gift card as a late birthday present. Wish I didn't hold off on this game as long as I did, however. Probably one of the best crime dramas I've witnessed in a while.
What I like the most about this game is the fact that it feels like several games fit into one package. Every 2 chapters, the game switches protagonists and with them the stories told as well. Both of these stories also have a plethora on top of a plethora of side content. There's something for quite literally everyone in this game. You have RPG enthusiasts who get their action-based combat. You have rhythm game fans who get the karaoke minigames and other stuff. Oddly enough, there's even a place for weirdo coomers as well. Even though I've finished both stories (which overlap at the very end), I know I'll be returning to this game to finish everything I can.
Both stories in this game are very character driven, and so like you'd expect mostly all the characters in this game are great! My favorite character of them all was Majima; seeing his transformation into the Mad Dog of Shimano from someone who was thrown around everywhere throughout the game really stuck with me. The only character I disliked, really, was Makoto. She's the central person the overarching plot revolves around, and I just didn't really care for her until the very end.
Quick forewarning for new players, this game LOVES its cliffhangers. Every chapter, bar the ending, ends in cliffhangers. That's not a bad thing at all, in fact I think a lot of those cliffhangers kept me at the edge of my toes and wanting me to see. That's one of the great things about the game's narrative. Even with that, on top of it being about a serious rivalry between yakuza factions, you still get humor within it sprinkled in. There's truly something for everyone in this game.
The combat, while I mostly liked it, felt kind of samey after a while in the sense that once you figured out how to do crowd control everything becomes trivially easy. Most encounters come in hoards, so Kiryu's Beast style and Majima's Slugger style are basically the only styles you need for the game even though they both have 2 whole other combat styles to go with (3 if you want to go through both of their grueling sidequests).
Oh yeah, sidequests. Those definitely exist in this game. The side stories, as they're called, are alright. Nothing out of the ordinary. Simple worldbuilding things I suppose. Not much I really care for in a game already chock full of side content that adds to the world already.
Another gripe I have with this game is since the game swaps between two protagonists, you'd think there's some way to retain stats, items, etc. to help out your other protagonist so that he doesn't fall behind. Unfortunately that is not the case. My Majima was way stronger than my Kiryu at the end of the game. Oddly enough, Majima's upgrades cost half as much as Kiryu's for some reason. Don't know why, but that's the case, I guess.
Final gripe, I think that the story takes forever to finally come together. The game is started through a murder mystery and it only comes together in the end when it feels like an afterthought that it happened. Also sucks that the game starts with Kiryu, yet the culprit is fought in the end by Majima.
4/5. As a first Yakuza game, I thoroughly enjoyed. Excited to see what this series has to offer from here.
What I like the most about this game is the fact that it feels like several games fit into one package. Every 2 chapters, the game switches protagonists and with them the stories told as well. Both of these stories also have a plethora on top of a plethora of side content. There's something for quite literally everyone in this game. You have RPG enthusiasts who get their action-based combat. You have rhythm game fans who get the karaoke minigames and other stuff. Oddly enough, there's even a place for weirdo coomers as well. Even though I've finished both stories (which overlap at the very end), I know I'll be returning to this game to finish everything I can.
Both stories in this game are very character driven, and so like you'd expect mostly all the characters in this game are great! My favorite character of them all was Majima; seeing his transformation into the Mad Dog of Shimano from someone who was thrown around everywhere throughout the game really stuck with me. The only character I disliked, really, was Makoto. She's the central person the overarching plot revolves around, and I just didn't really care for her until the very end.
Quick forewarning for new players, this game LOVES its cliffhangers. Every chapter, bar the ending, ends in cliffhangers. That's not a bad thing at all, in fact I think a lot of those cliffhangers kept me at the edge of my toes and wanting me to see. That's one of the great things about the game's narrative. Even with that, on top of it being about a serious rivalry between yakuza factions, you still get humor within it sprinkled in. There's truly something for everyone in this game.
The combat, while I mostly liked it, felt kind of samey after a while in the sense that once you figured out how to do crowd control everything becomes trivially easy. Most encounters come in hoards, so Kiryu's Beast style and Majima's Slugger style are basically the only styles you need for the game even though they both have 2 whole other combat styles to go with (3 if you want to go through both of their grueling sidequests).
Oh yeah, sidequests. Those definitely exist in this game. The side stories, as they're called, are alright. Nothing out of the ordinary. Simple worldbuilding things I suppose. Not much I really care for in a game already chock full of side content that adds to the world already.
Another gripe I have with this game is since the game swaps between two protagonists, you'd think there's some way to retain stats, items, etc. to help out your other protagonist so that he doesn't fall behind. Unfortunately that is not the case. My Majima was way stronger than my Kiryu at the end of the game. Oddly enough, Majima's upgrades cost half as much as Kiryu's for some reason. Don't know why, but that's the case, I guess.
Final gripe, I think that the story takes forever to finally come together. The game is started through a murder mystery and it only comes together in the end when it feels like an afterthought that it happened. Also sucks that the game starts with Kiryu, yet the culprit is fought in the end by Majima.
4/5. As a first Yakuza game, I thoroughly enjoyed. Excited to see what this series has to offer from here.