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GAME: Yakuza Kiwami - Switch Version Game Review

Yeah, it's legitimately frustrating that they'd put Kiwami out on Switch but not 0.

I mean...the obvious rationale is they're testing the waters with a smaller project, but still, Kiwami works best as a followup to 0, which retroactively adds a lot of depth and characterization.

Kiwami does a lot on its own to add depth to Nishiki (the story of his transformation from Kiryu's sworn brother to embittered Tojo Clan patriarch is not part of the original PS2 release) but still, his arc still has a lot more impact after seeing his and Kiryu's relationship in 0.

Yeah, it's legitimately frustrating that they'd put Kiwami out on Switch but not 0.

I mean...the obvious rationale is they're testing the waters with a smaller project, but still, Kiwami works best as a followup to 0, which retroactively adds a lot of depth and characterization.

I've never played any Yakuza games ever, would this be a good starting point? Or is Kiwami like a spinoff of normal Yakuza?
Also does the game have Japanese audio?

Yeah, it's legitimately frustrating that they'd put Kiwami out on Switch but not 0.

I've never played any Yakuza games ever, would this be a good starting point? Or is Kiwami like a spinoff of normal Yakuza?
Also does the game have Japanese audio?

0 is an infinitely better game than 1 and arguably the best in the series, but I will always advocate for people to play and watch things in their release order rather than chronological order. Playing 0 before 1 is like watching the Star Wars prequels before the original trilogy.

But then I would also advocate for people to play the original versions of these games rather than the Kiwami remakes or the remasters.

Personally, I would highly recommend starting with Yakuza: Like A Dragon, as Ichiban's story is fantastic, and a real high point for the series. He also makes for a much stronger and more dynamic protagonist than any of the other leads, in my opinion. But if you'd rather not jump in with the turn-based games, and would prefer the action combat.... well, then I'd advise starting with either Judgment or Yakuza 0. Probably more the former than the latter, since it only has the one sequel to contend with, whereas 0 has so, so, so many. And "Yakuza burnout" is a very real condition.

But then I would also advocate for people to play the original versions of these games rather than the Kiwami remakes or the remasters.

Logically if you’re going to engage with a series you should do so so in chronological order (if necessary). Rather than out of sequence. As following the sequels before the prequels means you’re going to know a lot of things ahead of time killing any suspense and the stakes are not going to be as impactful.

With Yakuza 0 you only really need to play 1,2, maybe 6 for Kiryu’s story while skipping everything else in between.

You've got that completely backwards. And it feels especially odd to see you say that specifically in the context of the Star Wars prequels, which were very much (and very unsubtly) written with the expectation that audiences would already be familiar with the original Star Wars trilogy, and know where the story was going. A huge amount of the dramatic tension of that prequel trilogy arises from the looming specter of Darth Vader and the inevitable fall of the republic; likewise, consuming the PT before the OT will wind up spoiling a number of elements of the the latter,

because that's... simply the nature of subsequent works.

The reason why people generally view production order as more logical is because that's the order in which the media was created and released in -- as well as the order in which the vast majority of the audience would've consumed it.

I mean, if you're going to start skipping games, there's really no reason to play any of the sequels.

Stinkabod Lamé wrote:

But then I would also advocate for people to play the original versions of these games rather than the Kiwami remakes or the remasters.

I agree with that, generally, though I do think the dub is reason enough to avoid Y1. Yakuza 2, I think, is universally superior to Kiwami 2.

(Also, it's worth noting that the PS2 emulation scene is, in fact, extremely active. It's probably one of the most-emulated platforms out there.)

BadNewsBlues wrote:

Logically if you’re going to engage with a series you should do so so in chronological order (if necessary). Rather than out of sequence. As following the sequels before the prequels means you’re going to know a lot of things ahead of time killing any suspense and the stakes are not going to be as impactful.

You've got that completely backwards. And it feels especially odd to see you say that specifically in the context of the Star Wars prequels, which were very much (and very unsubtly) written with the expectation that audiences would already be familiar with the original Star Wars trilogy, and know where the story was going. A huge amount of the dramatic tension of that prequel trilogy arises from the looming specter of Darth Vader and the inevitable fall of the republic; likewise, consuming the PT before the OT will wind up spoiling a number of elements of the the latter, because that's... simply the nature of subsequent works.

The reason why people generally view production order as more logical is because that's the order in which the media was created and released in -- as well as the order in which the vast majority of the audience would've consumed it.

Though back to Yakuza... I do think it's worth noting that the "production order vs. chronological order" conversation gets a bit weird with the Kiwami games.

But, like I said in my earlier post -- or at least heavily implied -- I think the games are sufficiently self-contained that it doesn't really matter that much which order you play them in. Playing Yakuza 5 first, for for example, isn't going to do much to change your perception of playing Yakuza 3, later. Mostly you'll just go, "Oh, so this is what X used to be like," or "Huh, so this is what Y was doing before Z." That kind of thing. The series really doesn't have any kind of multi-game narrative arcs.

BadNewsBlues wrote:

With Yakuza 0 you only really need to play 1,2, maybe 6 for Kiryu’s story while skipping everything else in between.

I mean, if you're going to start skipping games, there's really no reason to play any of the sequels.