Yakuza Kiwami 2 Reviews

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is ranked in the 95th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10
Aug 28, 2018

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a great retelling of Yakuza 2 with a new coat of paint, new content, rebalanced gameplay, more mini-games, more sidequest… more everything! If you're a fan of the Yakuza series then you probably pre-ordered this game and are ready to take it for a spin, but if you still haven't played a game in this franchise, then you should definitely check this remake sequel thing. Even better, start with Yakuza 0 and work your way up to Yakuza 6, one game at a time, so that you're ready for when the PlayStation 3 trilogy is on PS4. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an excellent PlayStation 4 game and a must-have release.

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Aug 24, 2018

Not once has SEGA let me down, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 is no different. It's a bloody brilliant game.

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7 / 10
Aug 23, 2018

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is another enjoyable instalment in the series. Switching between Kamurocho and Sotenbori with there being so much to do means the action never gets stale, and the new content offers some variety that will spice things up even for people who know Yakuza 2 inside out. That said, the features that have been cut from the original are greatly missed, and the new songs just don't have the same impact as the old ones do, most of the time. It's still definitely worth a play-through if a fan of the series (or even if only recently getting into it), but it's difficult to call it the definitive version of Yakuza 2.

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Gamers Heroes
Johnny Hurricane
Top Critic
9 / 10
Aug 24, 2018

If you haven't gotten into the Yakuza series, I don't know what you are waiting for. Yakuza Kiwami 2 adds new features and perfects old ones, making it one of the funnest games on the market today.

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9.5 / 10.0
Aug 23, 2018

It's really quite amazing that even though this is the third Yakuza game released in the past 12 months, the formula still hasn't gotten old but rather just seems to get better.

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9 / 10.0
Aug 23, 2018

Yakuza Kiwami 2 thrives on the back of a great villain and it is arguably the best story chapter in Kazuma Kiryu's saga. It is also the most comprehensive Yakuza game so far with plenty of mini-games and side activities to keep you engaged for a long time.

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Aug 22, 2018

A perfect slice of Yakuza life, with added toppings of humour and a badass crime story.

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Aug 28, 2018

You might worry that this is too much Yakuza, but there's no such thing.

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7.9 / 10.0
Aug 31, 2018

Fans of Kiryu's crazy adventures will love Yakuza Kiwami 2 as it's full of over-the-top action and ridiculous scenarios.

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4.5 / 5.0
Dec 11, 2025

SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios put a ton of love and care into Yakuza Kiwami 2, and it runs flawlessly on Switch 2. If you’re like me and itching for a reason to take a plunge into the Yakuza universe, there’s no better time than the present.

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Nov 25, 2025

The Nintendo Switch 2 port of Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a great first showing for the Dragon Engine on Nintendo's hybrid system. Despite the game's frame rate being locked to 30 FPS, Yakuza Kiwami 2 looks impressive in both handheld and docked modes with very little signs of compromise. Yakuza Kiwami 2's Switch 2 port isn't perfect, but it's fully playable and enjoyable from start to finish, and it shows that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has room to make more optimizations.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2025

Like its predecessors, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is one of my favorite games of the year. While it might disappoint a little with its slightly more focused combat, Kiwami 2 makes up for it with a huge range of possibilities for fun. Whether it's helping Majima in his own minigame like Tower Defense, playing in a urinal arcade, or simply challenging the Dragon of Kansai, this is a worthy evolution of the ballad of Kazuma Kiryu and his eternal quest for a peaceful life.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 22, 2025

Yakuza Kiwami 2 impresses with Dragon Engine visuals and a compelling villain, effectively utilizing the Switch 2’s hardware for fidelity. However, the experience is marred by inconsistent frame pacing and a jarring drop to 30 FPS, making it a beautiful but technically uneven sequel to its smoother predecessors.

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88 / 100
Nov 12, 2025

Overall, this Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 bundle for Nintendo Switch is great news for fans of the series and for those who want to discover its origins. There are no technical revolutions, but it is a polished, stable edition with Spanish text, ideal for enjoying anywhere. A well-rounded release at an attractive price that confirms the Dragon of Dojima is still going strong.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 12, 2025

Featuring an impressive graphical and technical leap, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the best game in the series available on the Nintendo Switch 2 so far. Some unwanted technical glitches exist here and there, but they don't dim the brilliance of an experience that is varied and very fun.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 12, 2025

Yakuza Kiwami 2 makes me believe in ports of the entire series on the Switch due to the use of the current graphics engine, even though this entire multiplatform expansion of the series after being stuck for several years in exclusivity with PlayStation seems like a dream. I believe that the more people who have access to it [the series], the better, and this game is a very good release in the franchise overall, considering its importance in laying the groundwork for titles released later.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 12, 2025

Yakuza Kiwami 2 masterfully updates the PS2 classic, featuring gorgeous graphics and a revamped combat system based on Yakuza 6, making Sotenbori more beautiful and immersive than ever. The Nintendo Switch 2 version has proven to be an extremely competent port, maintaining graphical quality and performance close to that of other platforms.

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8 / 10.0
Aug 27, 2018

With a story full of well written characters and a plot that is packed full of drama and numerous twists and turns it easy to see why Yakuza 2 is still classed by many of the series’ fans as the best entry in the franchise. This remake treats the original source material with a lot of respect and retains the core of what made it so great while injecting new systems in to better suit a 2018 audience. The visual fidelity and open world traversal have been vastly improved thanks to the Dragon Engine and it has me excited to see what’s to come in the future as the other PS3 Yakuza games have been confirmed to be getting re-releases in the future.

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Oct 1, 2018

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a pure joy on every level. This game excels in every area that I feel like Western gaming completely fails. It balances amazing gameplay and storytelling seamlessly. This is why it’s so damn good. If you’ve never played a Yakuza game before, you can jump right in at this one with no problem. There is a huge optional story recap at the front of the game that will catch you up to speed. I spent about 30 hours with this one and there is still a ton of stuff to see and do. The bonus content here is crazy, from the Majima side story to the ability to play the 2-player arcade games straight from the main menus. That’s right folks, you and a friend can play Virtual On or Virtua Fighter 2 right from the main menu. This game is worth every penny of the $49.99 price tag and I would recommend this to anyone that loves a good story or open world games. If I could give this bad boy 6 out of 5 stars, I would!

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8 / 10.0
Aug 19, 2020

Yakuza Kiwami 2 wasn’t just a continuation to the first, but a proper successor to the first. Continuing the storyline from where the first left off to implementing a ton of new features and quality of life improvements, and I look forward to seeing The Yakuza Collection (3-4-5) and Yakuza 6 release on the XB1 to continue Kiryu’s tale.

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