Alright, so I just finished Yakuza Kiwami 2. Out of the Origins Trilogy (0, 1, and 2), I'd say the overall story for 2 is probably my least favorite and the weakest. To an extent, I'd say it's mostly due to what feels like a lack of involvement with the plot, at least compared to 0 and 1. The plot of 0 managed to be about a separate party for the most part, while maintaining solid growth and character development for Kiryu (and Majima) throughout. Kiwami was focused a lot more on Kiryu and his new life after the timeskip at the start of the game. I just didn't feel like he had as much growth or connection to the story in 2 unfortunately. However, it still has quite a bit of decent story bits, and mostly just felt alright on that front overall. The ending of the game could've easily ended the series, and I would've been very content (possibly removing the post-credit scene, which serves to allow the series to continue). The combat is like it is in 6, or so I've heard. I'm not as big of a fan of it as I was with the combat in 0 and 1, but I did start enjoying it a lot more later on when I had better upgrades. Substories in 2 were similar in quality to 1 I felt, which is just alright. In spite of this, I did still really enjoy the game, just not quite as much as 0 and 1.
Oh, I guess I forgot to mention the Majima bonus chapters that you get about halfway in. They were alright. Theres only 3 chapters, and they all feel really short. They're also kinda boring combat-wise. Majima only has a base set of moves and abilities that you can't change at all, and he always uses a specific weapon, meaning you can't use the environment or different weapons to fight like Kiryu can. It's a nice addition story-wise, especially since it ties up a plot-point from 0 and explains why Majima is where he is at the start of 2 though. Kinda a cool side thing but not really any sort of major addition

Reviewed on Nov 07, 2023


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