Yakuza Kiwami

Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the first game in the famous Japanese Yakuza series from 2005, reworked by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio on a modern engine with new story tangents and characters from later entries added in. The player once again steps into the shoes of Kazuma Kiryu, a former yakuza who served ten years for a murder he didn't commit to cover for his friend, and after his release returns to the fictional Tokyo district of Kamurocho to find out where ten billion yen vanished from the clan's coffers, along with the daughter of his late colleague. It's told as a yakuza drama full of honor, betrayal, and family bonds, one that regularly swings into moments of almost soap-opera excess.

The core of the gameplay is a linear story interspersed with cinematic sequences and an open district packed with side activities - from karaoke, batting cages, and hostess clubs to collecting cats and the original Majima Everywhere minigame, in which rival Goro Majima can ambush the player at any moment while walking the streets, forcing them to keep sharpening their combat skills. Combat offers four distinct fighting styles with their own skill trees and makes heavy use of the surrounding environment, from trash cans to motorcycle wheels. On PlayStation 4, the remake runs smoothly at high resolution and noticeably improves the controls and graphics over the PlayStation 2 original, while preserving the original voice cast, which gives the characters weight and credibility.

Critics and fans alike embraced Kiwami as the ideal entry point into the series for players put off by the dated look of the first game; thanks to the reworked controls and dubbing, it remains playable today. The neon streets of Kamurocho and the melancholic music round out an atmosphere that can turn from serious to outright comedic within minutes, and that very combination is part of why the Yakuza series earned a loyal fanbase even outside Japan. The remake also works as a safety net for newcomers who want to enter Kazuma Kiryu's long story chronologically and without compromises in controls, and many players discovered the whole series through Kiwami and stayed with it for years.

Why play it: For newcomers who want to enter the Yakuza series through a reworked, playable introduction full of Kamurocho's neon streets and unexpected humor.