Kiwami – is a remake of the very first part of the Yakuza, published another PS2. A remake of a fairly conventional: it markedly improved the graphics and combat system, but left almost unchanged the rest of the gameplay and story. Yakuza could hardly be called a good game in 2005, and its updated version in 2017 is roughly the same emotions.
The most offensive, that did not happen from Kiwami sensible continuation Yakuza 0 : very good prequel opened all the actors of the first part, but the remake did not bother to expand their role in the plot of the original kutsem.
Especially sorry Madzimu which was Yakuza 0 one of the two protagonists (the best and bright, of course), and transformed into Kiwami clown, wherein quite unknown emotional depth of its previous image.
The hero is now one – insipid, boring Kazuma Kiryu, who in a fit of self-denial takes responsibility for someone else’s crime and goes to prison for ten years.
When he comes, he finds that everything has changed, and the friend was suddenly no one but himself, can not achieve justice.
While Kiryu walks and administers lynching (no one killing as Batman), Madzima, a fan of his, is always looking for an excuse to drag Kiryu in a fight – first, because it is fun, and secondly, because in the ten years in prison our hero has forgotten his signature fighting style and can only remember in a tense duel.
The original Yakuza Madzima was weird secondary character appears only a couple of scenes purely for the sake of such fights – he was as the Joker, that voice he was called Mark Hamill.
After Madzima in Yakuza 0 was the real star in Kiwami his role expanded: now it is as empty and superficial clown, as in the first part of the original, but instead of two times with him have to fight a few dozen.
Developers call this mechanic Majima Everywhere: the one-eyed yakuza scour the city in search of Kiryu, waiting for him literally everywhere from strip clubs to shops with food, mimicking a local staff.
Some scenes with him can be called fun, but to go through dozens of similar fighting style for pumping tires, and no interest in Madzima Kiwami and begins to represent.
The combat system – up to animations – migrated from Yakuza 0: in Kiryu there are three styles between which it can be switched on the fly, a small arena with a crowd of enemies and the materials at hand, which can be on their heads split.
Alas, I can not say that in the past with Yakuza 0 release six months I have missed these fights, so the battle in Kiwami looked through the secondary and is not so exciting.
But they got another problem: regenerating bosses. Almost every serious opponent in the middle of a fight could get up and start to restore his health, and to stop it, it is necessary to save Super, scale and hold on to him a special welcome.
This is a very vile mechanics, which was not in the original and that makes fighting in Kiwami even more prolonged.
In terms of gameplay in general, Kiwami yields zero part, although it it in many respects is similar: there are higher complexity (why fights rather a burden than a pleasure) and a lot of empty bustle, during which the hero of the time, continuously run up randomly Gopnik (because of them I was in 2005, and dropped the original).
But it would not be such a big problem if it is offset by the inconvenience of the plot. The Yakuza 0 he was a great, intense and integral to the very end.
The Kiwami story of two childhood friends who find themselves on opposite sides of the barricades, put on pause for a good third or even half of the game, during which the player slips plot empty stories, which in saydkvestah would look pathetic. It is clear where it came from: the first part, obviously wanted to impress players picture underworld of Tokyo red light district, demonstrate how dangerous to live there and what the situation there may arise …
But in other parts, for example, in the fourth or the same zero, all the elements of the world perceived as something ordinary, in this not to focus so much attention: the player in the same way became acquainted with this setting, but that was unobtrusive. Kiwami does so with all the grace of an elephant in a china shop.
Did you know that in our area there is a gang? Now you have to beat a couple of dozen blue Gopnik, then red, then white – despite the fact that none of them appear in the city, either before or after the chapter, and they are absolutely not important to the plot.
And it is – a typical example of what is necessary to deal with here. Instead of being in a remake to get rid of the worst that was to Yakuza, developers are all preserved. Kiwami and so not long – it really go for 12 hours, being distracted by saydkvesty – so still and filled with shabby fillers.
