A weaker game than 0, Yakuza Kiwami still delivers a well-rounded and emotional experience for those invested in Kiryu's story. The added scenes in this version of the game bring a lot of volume to the villain's arc and Haruka is an outstanding character that completes the Yakuza dynamic.
I personally found the character progression in Kiwami to actually be more engaging than 0, and the ties to Majima Everywhere really helped that. However, a lot of the plotting and scenarios do feel ripped right out of a PS2 game, because they are. This doesn't have a ton of bearing on my enjoyment of the game but it does drag it just beneath Yakuza 0 in my personal ranking of the series.
I personally found the character progression in Kiwami to actually be more engaging than 0, and the ties to Majima Everywhere really helped that. However, a lot of the plotting and scenarios do feel ripped right out of a PS2 game, because they are. This doesn't have a ton of bearing on my enjoyment of the game but it does drag it just beneath Yakuza 0 in my personal ranking of the series.