SEGA’s Yakuza series gets an Extreme addition in the form of Yakuza Kiwami a from-scratch remake of the original PlayStation 2 game that started it all. 11 years after the release of Yakuza on PlayStation 2, a new generation of players will be abe to experience the birth of the Yakuza series now rebuilt-from-scratch and exclusive to the PlayStation 4. Literally translated as Extreme, Kiwami is certainly that as its a lot more than just a casual remaster of the original. Kiwami features updated mechanics, combat, new story depth and side quests plus much more.
Yakuza Kiwami will be coming to PlayStation 4 in both physical and digital editions and will exclusively feature, for the first time in the west, re-recording of the original Japanese audio. The game will be heading to the Americas courtesy of SEGA and from Deep Silver in Europe, summer 2017.
The announcement was made as a part of PlayStation Experience on Saturday and it was combined with an announcement for Yakuza 6 which SEGA will also been releasing. No confirmation on whether Deep Silver will be publishing the game with Europe as of yet but it’s a safe bet we’ll see confirmation soon.
About the game:
Being retold in Kiwami is the nascent character arc for Yakuza – the game begins with series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu getting sent to prison for the murder of his family patriarch (which he didn’t commit). To make matters worse, during the 10 years of his imprisonment, not only does Kiryu’s clan expel him from the yakuza, but ¥10 billion (~$100 million) goes missing from the clan treasury. Worse yet, Kiryu’s childhood sweetheart is also nowhere to be found, and with the entirety of the Japanese underworld on the hunt for the missing cash, Kiryu is all but lost until he finds the orphan girl Haruka, searching for her aunt who shares the same name as Kiryu’s missing love. What follows from there is a web of betrayal, underworld politics, and redemption as nothing will stop Kiryu from regaining his honor.
Yakuza Kiwami Features:
· A Family Patriarch’s Ransom of New Content – Not just a simple graphical upgrade, Kiwami adds nearly 30 minutes of cutscenes alone, providing all-new insight into the game’s plot and creating common threads with series prequel Yakuza 0. There’s also added distractions (Pocket Circuit car racing, MesuKing: Battle Bug Beauties, new hostesses, and more), side quests and combat updates to bring the original Yakuza game into the latest console generation.
· A Place for Newcomers and Veterans – Yakuza Kiwami is the ultimate bridge in the series: newcomers or those whose Yakuza experience started with Yakuza 0 will have familiar, exacting controls, top-notch SEGA localization, and a solid starting point for entering the Yakuza franchise fresh. Veterans will experience a familiar Kamurocho and plot, but with new levels of story depth and graphical polish.
· But it was me! Majima! – Completely new to Kiwami is the “Majima Everywhere” system, where the series’ deranged, one-eyed maniac will constantly surprise and challenge Kiryu to combat when he least expects it. We’re talking “popping out of a goofy costume” levels of surprise, so players must stay on their toes and be ready to defend themselves from Kiryu’s chief rival.
· Extreme Revitalization – Kiwami is rebuilt from the ground up with all new HD assets, exclusive Japanese voice audio re-recorded by the series cast, and more; optimized for the PlayStation 4 and running in 1080p/60fps. And following suit with SEGA’s commitment to the Yakuza series, the game will release in both physical and digital formats in the west.