Yakuza Kiwami Review
Yakuza Kiwami: The Remake in all its splendorWho has never dreamed of taking the tortuous paths of crime and even putting on Yakuza's costume virtually? Often considered as the Japanese alternative to Grand Theft Auto (rightly or wrongly), the Yakuza license has skillfully mixes Beat'em All and the open world for more than a decade in the service of storytelling and staging worthy of the 7th Art. 6 canonical episodes and several spin offs later, the Sega franchise takes a look in the rear view mirror and brings Kazuma Kiryu's first steps to PlayStation 4 out of its boxes. But is this remake named Yakuza Kiwami up to the legend? of the Dojima Dragon?
NISHIKI, MY BROTHER
Blood and tears have flowed under the bridge since the events of Yakuza Zero: The Place of Oath that have set Tokyo and Osaka alight. A decade during which Kazuma Kiryu and his friend Akira Nishikiyama rose through the ranks and made their place in the clan. But fate is relentless once again on a Dragon of Dojima quick to get into the worst situations. And his fate changes on a stormy night in September 1995. The heart has its reasons that reason ignores. Out of love for his loved ones, our hero attracts the wrath of the Yakuza and pays the price. Sent to prison and expelled from his criminal organization, Kazuma vegetates for 10 years in a cell before finding the open air not without having an idea in mind. Life as a criminal is not easy, and K. Kiryu is a perfect example.The Yakuza franchise has been eyeing the cinema since the very first episode and Sega continues this tradition with this remake. Yakuza Kiwami is once again inspired by Japanese gangster films (Aniki, my brother ...) and keeps the staging of the original game. The 5-star cast is back. The actors hidden behind each character resume their role and have taken the trouble to re-record for the occasion all of their dialogues (for Japanese voices only). And this 2017 version sublimates this cinematographic vision by a complete overhaul of the cinematics now produced with the engine of the episode Zero and 30 new minutes to discover by rolling out a scenario that is still as engaging. And the changes are legion. Yakuza 0, as good as it has created some inconsistencies in the universe of Yakuza that Sega strives to erase with this remake which purifies a chronology and events nested in a story with multiple sub-plots.
The presence of Majima Goro, a secondary character who went down in history over the episodes, is gaining momentum. Beyond the extensive introductory cutscene, this baseball bat psychopath follows Kazuma Kiryu as his shadow and appears when he sees fit to offer you an epic fight. This system called "Majima Everywhere" adds a certain tension to each movement of the hero and offers Majima Goro a tailor-made role. And many improvements still remain to be discovered, including a complete rearrangement of side quests to detach them from the main adventure and extended game sequences such as the purchase of a ring for Yumi at the beginning of the story.
Unfortunately, the lack of localization in French will make many players cringe once again. Yakuza Kiwami is content with English subtitles. People allergic to Shakespeare's language will have to do violence to take advantage of this remake.
THE DRAGON'S FIST
Yakuza Kiwami: The Remake in all its splendorAlthough Yakuza is above all a scripted adventure leaving the player going about his business in the Kamurocho district of Tokyo, the title of Sega is nonetheless an accomplished Beat'em All requiring technique and abnegation to overcome the thieves , punks, Yakuzas… who cross the path of a determined Kazuma Kiryu. Circular kicks, direct to the chin, cuffs and crushing of the vertebrae… the blows rain on these poor unfortunates who are only small fry. The fights gain in interest with the growing number of opponents because a versus 3 has little chance of winning against your determination.
The bosses on their side know how to respond present and by their specific patterns require concentration and mastery of the 4 fighting styles available. Sega thus took over the system implemented in the Yakuza Zero prequel to modernize the clashes and protect this coherence so dear to the saga. Kazuma Kiryu alternates between Brawler, Rush, Beast and Dragon of Dojima. Each situation has its own style and it is strongly advised to take advantage of their strengths and weaknesses to increase your effectiveness once the game has started. An exhilarating feeling of omnipotence then takes hold of you. The enemies bend under the weight of the strikes struck by a revenge Kazuma. And yet, without mastery, power is nothing. And nothing would be truer in this Yakuza Kiwami.
By completing side quests and clearing Tokyo of its criminality, experience points are sure to be there and open the door to new active and / or passive skills. From simple health improvements to increasing damage to new combat techniques for the 4 styles listed above, Kazuma Kiryu unleashes his full potential as the story progresses. The latter can also count on various accessories and weapons as well as on the shops scattered around the map to stock up on drinks and food… synonymous with bonuses in combat and Health regained, respectively. These RPG mechanics, without offering extensive personalization of the hero, are enough to adapt the latter to our player requirements and reward us with an adventure in total immersion in the Japanese underworld.
TOKYO IN TRANSLATION
With its fantasized Japan crying out for truth, the Yakuza saga has always stood out from the competition by its ability to transcribe in control the atmosphere so characteristic of Japan and in this case the red light district of Tokyo and other places such as Yokohama . Yakuza Kiwami must be content with the environments of the original game, but does it wonderfully. Walking through the streets of Kamurocho (inspired by the real Kabukicho district) is a real treat. Passersby stagger, chat. The rain hits a floor littered with trash. Criminals haunt the dimly lit alleys. From this very layout of the streets, grocery stores, arcade rooms emerges a foolproof realism. The Tokyo of 1995 and 2005 are glaring with truth and the presence of activities of all kinds watered this much sought after reality.The Yakuza saga owes its fame to its cinematic dimension, its colorful characters, its epic battles, but also the multitude of activities giving life to the environments visited. The only district of Kamurocho is full of guilty pleasures. Bowling, video games, restaurants, bars, DVD purchases for adults, hostesses ... Kazuma Kiryu is spoiled for choice between two missions. Sega enriches the formula with 2 new “childish” activities as pleasant as they are absurd. Pocket Circuit Car Racing takes the form of a race on electric circuits. MesuKing: Battle Bug Beauties is a Stone-Paper-Scissor Combat game that should not be put in front of everyone's eyes, although children play it. Young ladies dressed in sorrow skin confront each other in front of a crowd of delirious insects ... Japan when you hold us!
But the main quality of this remake lies in the visual and sound redesign operated by the developers. Yakuza Kiwami is a model of the genre. Sega pushes the engine of Yakuza 0 to its limits and subjugates the title released in 2005 in the most beautiful way to the point of making it unrecognizable. Environments, animations, characters, cutscenes ... Yakuza is getting a completely new look. And this increase in the quality of the graphics does not spoil the pleasure of playing at 60 frames per second in 1920 * 1080. Certainly Yakuza Kiwami suffers from the same ills as his prequel, the fault of an aging engine replaced in the 6th canonical episode by the dashing Dragon Engine. But pestering would be unwelcome in the face of the titanic work carried out by the Sega teams. Yakuza Kiwami surprises and leads us with passion in the tumultuous life of Kazuma Kiryu and this is the essential.
The notes
+ Positive points
A breathtaking graphic and sound redesign
An experience at 60fps in 1920 * 1080
A district of Kamurocho crying out for truth
A modernized combat system
30 minutes of new cinematics
New activities, hostesses ... to discover (Pocket Circuit Car Racing, MesuKing: Battle Bug Beauties ...)
-Negative points
An aging game engine
Subtitles only available in English (VOSTA)
Yakuza Kiwami shows with talent the interest of remakes and such a practice in an industry quick to copy and paste and recycle everything and its opposite. Far from being a simple portage or an HD remaster, this 10th anniversary version of the adventures of Kazuma Kiryu is a success in every way. Complete visual and sound redesign, new activities, modernized combat system, coherence of the chronology and new cinematics make Yakuza Kiwami the example to follow for all publishers wishing to bring out their past glories.
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