As we reported a few months back, the Yakuza series is going through something of a franchise rebirth, thanks in large part to the overwhelming reception of Yakuza 0. Sega's follow-up to that instant classic is Yakuza Kiwami, a remake of the original Yakuza, built from the ground up for modern...

Positives + Beautiful graphics completely rebuilt from the ground up; + Majima Everywhere is a welcome addition

Negatives - It's just not as good as Yakuza 0; which is a good problem to have

Yakuza Kiwami Developed by: Sega Published by: Sega Release date: August 29, 2017 Available on: PS3, PS4 Genre: Action Number of players: up to two ESRB Rating: Mature for Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol Price: $29.99 (Amazon Affiliate Link)

Great remake that adds some nice new features; excellent story, visuals, and voice acting

Not as long as other Yakuza titles; but it's not as expensive either

The Yakuza series has been a wild ride, seeing wild changes over the years to the Kamurocho district that often acts as the game's focal area, with a rotating cast of characters through the years, but always with one Kiryu Kazuma at the center of things.

Allows latecomers to the series to see the original storyline they may have missed; new storyline elements and sidestories for those that have already played the original

So much content feels lifted from Yakuza 0; Majima Everywhere can sometimes feel like a drag; some extremely tedious boss fights; lack of new content

"The problem with Kiwami isn't that it's bad, but that its entire existence can't escape a feeling of vapidness." © 2017 SEGA of America, SEGA. All rights reserved.

Fun; melodramatic story and interesting cast of characters

Tedious battles and boring gameplay

I've been a fan of the Yakuza series for a while, but I missed out on the original 2 entries and hoped that one day I'd get the chance to go through them…which is now a reality with Yakuza Kiwami and a remake of the second game has also been announced.

Yakuza Kiwami is par for the course for the series with an engrossing storyline, a host of enjoyable mini-games, and hours of satisfying, face-smashing combat. Technical issues appear more frequently than in Yakuza 0, from slowdowns during cutscenes to details popping up throughout the city, but...

The Yakuza series has had a rough time finding a foothold with audiences outside of Japan-until, that is, the success of Yakuza 0 . This has placed the latest entry in the series, Yakuza Kiwami , in the rough situation of being more than just a remake to the original Yakuza from 2005 but also, for...

In 2006 the first Yakuza game was released for the humble Playstation 2. It spawned a successful franchise with seven mainline titles and numerous spin offs and now, a decade later and two generations of console on SEGA has gifted us with Yakuza Kiwami, a remake of the very first game.

Concept: Remake the first entry in the Yakuza series in the style of Yakuza 0, adding new activities and restoring the Japanese voiceovers Graphics: Though the overall quality is inconsistent, the visuals are undeniably easier on the eyes that its PS2 counterpart Sound: It may lack the star power of...

Yakuza Kiwami is a thrilling action-adventure game that takes players deep into the world of Japan's infamous underground organization.