With Sonic Mania and the Yakuza 1 remake (Kiwama), SEGA is all aboard the nostalgia train. Fans can rejoice as Yakuza: Kiwama 2, the remake of Yakuza 2 has been leaked by the Taiwanese PSN store.
It’s all there (I think). Well at least I can understand the logo and the date of 2012/12/07 which isn’t too far away. Kiwami 1 came out Jan, 2016, so SEGA has their ducks in a row in terms of production.
Not much is known, but we’ve heard it will run on the Yakuza 6 engine. Kiwami 1 ran on the Yakuza 0 engine which was primarily used for the PS3. Yakuza 6 is a PS4-exclusive and will obviously look much sharper and be able to handle more on-screen action.
The report was initially found on NeoGAF – a stellar resource for breaking game news.
GAF has them all beat by 19+ hours. An incredible site.
So is Yakuza 2 worth playing? It’s a PS2 game after all, and game mechanics rarely age like fine wine. How about its place in the series?
My google search of ‘Yakuza 2 best’ unearthed this gem.
The retort of “I peacockd your mom” should answer that question handily. The series’ fans have long blown the horn (or peacock), heralding it as one of the most underrated franhises in gaming. I grabbed Yakuza 5 free during PS Plus but wasn’t in the right headspace to enjoy. I loved Shenmue and it appears to be a spiritual successor. With all the hooplah it seems like there’s never been a better time to see what all the fuss is about.
Originally released for the PS2 in 2006, Yakuza 2 marked many improvements. Fighting multiple foes was made easier by allowing target-switching during combos, and a mature love story was introduced. Interestingly, the voice director insisted the actors refrain from typical anime acting style when hurling insults, demanding a more mature, realistic feel. They also skipped hiring North American actors for the port, keeping the original Japanese voices and simply adding subtitles.
What are you waiting for? There’s 300 hours of Yakuza to get to!
