WorthPlaying: "I'll freely admit that I was a huge fan of the original Yakuza that debuted on the PS2 a couple of years back, and to this day, it remains one of my favorite brawlers on the system, even with the obnoxiously bad dubbing and somewhat tedious loading issues between battles. The story line had its faults, but I don't think anyone could deny that the main hero of the game, Kazuma Kiryu, is one of the better action game protagonists we've seen in a brawler in quite some time. He's got the whole stoic gangster thing down pat, and he's just an entertaining character to watch and see how his story plays out. Yakuza 2 manages to deliver on that aspect just as well as the original, while at the same time making some small, but needed, improvements to the overall system and gameplay.
I'm happy that we even got a chance to check out Yakuza 2 in the U.S., especially since this game was released in Japan just a year after the original title. I'm not sure if this is due to the warm reception of the side-story Yakuza title that recently released on the PS3 in Japan, or if this was Sega's intention all along, but it took nearly a year for this to get ported stateside, and I'm genuinely hoping that it's received well enough so that the eventual third title will be brought over from Japan in the next few years."
Cutscenes pull a game's story together, but sometimes they can be a bit much. These are the longest cutscenes in PlayStation games.
Standing and fighting, face to face, just isn’t what these bosses are known for.
Besides being a fantastic game, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is also a technical showcase for the long running series.
Easily my favorite yakuza in he series, especially that ending.
This is how you do a remake, yakuza 1 kiwami was also great, even yakuza 0 (though not a remake)
Not a full priced game, fully upgraded with next gen graphics, expanded story modes, etc ect
It's crazy, after playing Kiwami 2 for the past week I decided to fire up Yakuza 2. Man, the difference is just...wow. The original Yakuza 2 still looks great though.
It's the greatest remake of all-time, because it has 12 years, and 2 console generations (nearly 3) between the 2 games, and benefits from modern day graphics power?
Um...... no. The best remake of all-time, is still Resident Evil, from 2002. That was both, a technical marvel with only 6 years between the games, and a true-to-heart remake, by the original creator.
Will Resident Evil 2 replace it this January? We'll see, but, doubtful. It appears to be taking too many liberties.
Really glad Sega is putting fourth so much effort back into this series! I missed out on Yakuza initially so these remakes are a great for both veterans and newcomers alike!