How is Kiwami 2 compared to Kiwami 1 and 0?

[Geralt]

Yakuza 0 was ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ amazing, Kiwami 1 was also nice but also slightly boring and the bosses.. not that fun.

[vkobe]

kiwami 2 seem to be better than kiwami 1, but i think yakuza 0 is the best

[Chuck P]

Being a remake rather than a mainline entry it follows the same design philosophy as Yakuza Kiwami, which is cutting a lot of corners and reusing a lot of assets. In Kiwami for instance they recycled old boss movesets instead of making new ones. In this game they do that too, but they also removed an entire area from the game. It's pretty sad really. It's also one of the easiest games in the series, enemies are made of tissue paper. That's it for the bad.

On the upside it looks pretty and the new engine has nice ragdoll physics.

[CPU Level 2]

It's pretty good, though I'm not that huge a fan of how the Dragon Engine feels.

For the games I'd rank it as so:

0=5 > Kiwami 2 = 4 > Kiwami > 6 > 3

Not counting the PS2 games as they're a bit harder to rank due to the remakes. 1 certainly improved with the remake, 2 had some bits cut down, but before 0, I believe most people found 2 or 5 to be their favorites.

Personally I liked 5 more, though the biggest con was that this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKOLdfpcODk

Will quickly end up very very annoying.

[Redblaze27]

Kiwami 2 is a very close 2nd to 0, in my opinion.

While Kiryu only has Dragon Style, the general combat system got improved and feels alot crunchier.

The main plot is in the same tier as Yakuza 0, and is really a matter of preference as to which is better.

Its only shortcoming (outside of the stule reduction) is how barebones The Majima Saga is. It has no sidestories, upgrades, and enemies are used as roadblocks to pad out the length. Its not a huge deal though, as this mini-campaign is meant as a bonus and not a main selling point.

[SA]

Can someone please show me the removed area in this remake? I’d really like to know!

[Capnmaf]

Originally posted by Sandoval:

Can someone please show me the removed area in this remake? I’d really like to know!

I think they are talking about this (spoilers, obviously):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZPkI-ymk-g

Been a little while since I played Y2, but I don't remember this area offering much. Despite what people may tell you, you really aren't missing anything.

[CPU Level 2]

the name of the district is shinseicho, here's a vid of the areas in the game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pN4uB7rhZc

though it was just a really small area. like say 1/4th the size of sotenbori

they just moved stuff that happened in that area to sotenbori

[SA]

Originally posted by Capnmaf:

Originally posted by Sandoval:

Can someone please show me the removed area in this remake? I’d really like to know!

I think they are talking about this (spoilers, obviously):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZPkI-ymk-g

Been a little while since I played Y2, but I don't remember this area offering much. Despite what people may tell you, you really aren't missing anything.

Wow, that looks nice! I know its on emulator, but damn is it pretty good for PS2!

Is the area isolated, or is it just a smaller area within Sotenbori?

[CPU Level 2]

isolated, you only go there for a chapter and it's not really a full fledged area so i can see why they cut it for budget concerns

[Redblaze27]

Originally posted by Sandoval:

Can someone please show me the removed area in this remake? I’d really like to know!

Its a map that is literally the size of a block.

Anything important in that map was relocated to Kamurocho or Sotenbori

[SA]

Originally posted by Redblaze27:

Originally posted by Sandoval:

Can someone please show me the removed area in this remake? I’d really like to know!

Its a map that is literally the size of a block.

Anything important in that map was relocated to Kamurocho or Sotenbori

Huh, so its nothing worth complaining about 😂 At least from the point of view of someone who did not play the original.

[Chuck P]

It was separate from Sotenbori, you got there by cab. Sure, it wasn't huge, but then again neither is Sotenbori. Also I wouldn't say it wasn't a full fledged area, Two chapters were centered around it, and you could go back afterwards, t had its own locales and mini-games, minor NPCs with dialogue related to the area, some exclusive sidequests, and I remember that observation tower you could explore playing a role in the main story. I don't know how they contrived to change the plot in the remake to make up for the change in location, but I bet it's not a smooth transition. Even without all that I think its removal was a major loss, it was a really atmospheric and unique area.

[SA]

Originally posted by Gustave the Steel:

isolated, you only go there for a chapter and it's not really a full fledged area so i can see why they cut it for budget concerns

True. Besides, both Kiwami remakes had to be done in just a year, which includes re-building and adding new mechanics.

[Nens]

My favorite games in the series are 3 and 5, original Yakuza 2 would be probably third but remake is a little lower on my list. There are some changes that I don't like and Majima Saga is another unnecessary fan service (as if Majima Everywhere wasn't enough) but it's definitely a good game and I guess in general people like it more than first Kiwami.

I'm not a big fan of Dragon Engine but fortunately they improved it a lot since Yakuza 6.

[SA]

Well, in case anyone does not know how long each Kiwami took to make, I got this screenshot from a recent interview with IGN.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oafp5x8ZbAi1I6ieoYu1Az5XTalTOk2i/view?usp=drivesdk