IF YOU'RE PLAYING THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME PLEASE MAKE SURE TO UNLOCK THE KIWAMI HEAT ACTION FOR RUSH STYLE ON THE SKILL TREE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! OTHERWISE ONE OF THE EARLY BOSSES IS GOING TO BE AWFUL!!!
But yeah, Yakuza Kiwami was pretty good! I was very happy to see the return of the different battle styles from Yakuza 0; I was expecting Beast to be my ride-or-die once again like in the previous game, and it was still great, but I really took a liking to Rush as well--it's especially good for bosses. I also really liked the additional cutscenes throughout the story showing what happened with Nishiki during Kiryu's ten years inthe joint prison--that plus his presence in 0 makes his role in this story all the more impactful. As is tradition for Yakuza, there's a boatload of substories and side content to get lost in (I lamented the lack of any actual arcade games to play in this one, but oh well. I can hop back into 0 to get my Out Run fix).
For everything I liked, there is a pretty consistent issue the game has that I can't ignore: the bosses. Many of these were a real pain in the ass to fight; I felt like I got hard punished for not doing things in a specific way for many of them (or they were just tedious damage sponges). This certainly isn't helped by the titular Kiwami Heat Actions being a really lame gimmick. I did start enjoying the bosses in the latter half of the game (attacking from behind with Rush is the meta), but then I got hit with quite possibly the worst one of all near the end (iykyk). Also, while I did enjoy some of the wacky scenarios presented by the Majima Everywhere system, it felt at odds with Majima's role in the main story. Speaking of which, it felt like a good chunk of the main story... wasn't really important to the plot at large? In all fairness, I feel like that's probably an issue related to this being a remake of the first game in the whole series. On the other hand, considering Kiwami very much made with playing 0 beforehand in mind, it's hard for me not to just see it as a downgrade in that sense; I felt like the plot in the other game was much more focused and, ergo, consistently engaging. The more plot-relevant parts of Kiwami were great, though; I just wish there was more of that.
Overall, if you loved Yakuza 0 like I did, then I'm pretty sure you'll have a good time here! Just don't go in with the highest of expectations.
and make sure to get Mr. Random, the gun that has a random effect with each shot
But yeah, Yakuza Kiwami was pretty good! I was very happy to see the return of the different battle styles from Yakuza 0; I was expecting Beast to be my ride-or-die once again like in the previous game, and it was still great, but I really took a liking to Rush as well--it's especially good for bosses. I also really liked the additional cutscenes throughout the story showing what happened with Nishiki during Kiryu's ten years in
For everything I liked, there is a pretty consistent issue the game has that I can't ignore: the bosses. Many of these were a real pain in the ass to fight; I felt like I got hard punished for not doing things in a specific way for many of them (or they were just tedious damage sponges). This certainly isn't helped by the titular Kiwami Heat Actions being a really lame gimmick. I did start enjoying the bosses in the latter half of the game (attacking from behind with Rush is the meta), but then I got hit with quite possibly the worst one of all near the end (iykyk). Also, while I did enjoy some of the wacky scenarios presented by the Majima Everywhere system, it felt at odds with Majima's role in the main story. Speaking of which, it felt like a good chunk of the main story... wasn't really important to the plot at large? In all fairness, I feel like that's probably an issue related to this being a remake of the first game in the whole series. On the other hand, considering Kiwami very much made with playing 0 beforehand in mind, it's hard for me not to just see it as a downgrade in that sense; I felt like the plot in the other game was much more focused and, ergo, consistently engaging. The more plot-relevant parts of Kiwami were great, though; I just wish there was more of that.
Overall, if you loved Yakuza 0 like I did, then I'm pretty sure you'll have a good time here! Just don't go in with the highest of expectations.
and make sure to get Mr. Random, the gun that has a random effect with each shot