Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS5) Review – The Series’ Best Story

Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS5) Review

Yakuza/ Like a Dragon is one of my favorite video game series of all time. The original two Yakuza games were released for the PS2, and the series remained fairly niche until the sixth mainline game, Yakuza 0, came out on the PS4. After the success of Yakuza 0, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio remade the first two games in the series as Yakuza Kiwami 1 + 2. In 2025, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut was released as a Switch 2 exclusive. Yakuza Kiwami 3 was also announced for early 2026. To capitalize on the success these latest releases, Sega has remastered Yakuza Kiwami 2 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The new update is free for owners of the original version.

If you already own the original version of Yakuza Kiwami 2 there’s no new content for this current gen release. There are minor performance upgrades because of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S hardware being stronger than the PS4. This review will give an overview for what newcomers can expect from the Yakuza games. I will discuss differences between the Kiwami and original game.

Kiryu vs. Goda

The first seven mainline Yakuza games are the story of Kazuma Kiryu, a legendary Japanese gangster. Yakuza Kiwami 2 takes place after the events of Kiwami 1. I don’t want to give away too many details, because almost any character info would spoil the plot of Kiwami 1. But the driving narrative is about a gang war between the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance. The Omi are led by Ryuji Goda, who is arguably still the series’ greatest villain. Yakuza Kiwami 2’s plot is arguably the best in the series, and Goda is Kiryu’s most equal physical rival.

The Yakuza games all have incredibly cinematic narratives. There are lots of cutscenes every story chapter, and they are incredibly well-directed. I would seriously put them alongside any great film or series. One of the main draws of these games is getting to experience such well-told stories.

Shot-For-Shot Recreation

The cutscenes in Yakuza Kiwami 2 are shot-for-shot exactly the same as the original PS2 game. Some of the characters have changed in appearance, but all the framing, camera work, and mise-en-scene are identical.

Although there are loads of cutscenes to watch in every chapter of each game, the core gameplay is an open world third person action game. The majority of each of these games takes place in a fictional Japanese red-light district called Kamurochō, modelled (in great detail) after Kabukichō, a real-life red-light district of Shinjuku. The sandbox is so accurate and vibrant that the series has become known as a virtual Japanese vacation sim. Tourists activity visit the real-life counterparts of areas in the Yakuza games.

Fighting in the Streets

As Kiryu roams the streets he gets into fights. A lot of Yakuza Kiwami 2’s gameplay involves third person battles. Kiryu has multiple attack buttons, and unlocks more abilities as the games progress. Battles often involve grabbing environmental weapons, and performing cinematic QuickTime attacks. As the series goes on, the games develop more RPG elements. Kiwami 1 is built on the Yakuza 0 engine, and they’re lighter on RPG progression. But Kiwami 2 is built on the Yakuza 6 engine, and that’s where the RPG aspects really began to take over.

A huge part of Yakuza Kiwami 2’s appeal is the incredible amount of stuff to do in the sandbox. Kiryu can walk into lots of buildings. Every street corner involves a potential new sidequest or minigame to play. There are multiple casinos, and gambling parlors, with lots of different games. Arcades have full versions of classic Sega games. The side quests get weird and can involve strange scenarios, like rooms of grown men in diapers asking for assistance. They’re a wacky contrast to the very serious crime drama that takes place in the main narrative.

Extra Majima Content

Yakuza Kiwami 2 adds a lot of content to make it match up with later games. It even has a whole separate scenario starring Majima as a playable character. Unfortunately, there’s a whole section of Yakuza 2 that takes place in a second district called Sotenbori. The playable section of Sotenbori was cut from Kiwami 2 for budgetary reasons. The events of the story still play out, and Sotenbori is featured in cutscenes, but there’s no sandbox to explore. This is a real shame, but likely won’t be noticed by anyone who hasn’t played the original.

The Yakuza/ Like a Dragon series has become one of the most beloved video game franchises on the planet. They’re a combination of cinematic crime drama, fun third person brawl combat, deep open world exploration, and insanely wacky sidequests and minigames. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the best version of the second game in the series. Cutting the Sotenbori is a major loss, but the new content more than makes up for its omission. Overall this is an excellent version of an all-time great video game.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher***