There are blows that can communicate better than a thousand words. There are fists dictated by impulsiveness that move to hiss driven by irrationality, blows that rustle deaf in the air and impact punctually, mixed with hatred and suppressed emotions, cold, stainless. These powerful blows are a source of restless sensations on the target, tempered by years of difficulty and vicissitudes. Yakuza Kiwami 2 remembers how Kazuma Kiryu also knows these blows well, after all, he has given many and suffered as many, sparing his mercy to a few of the unfortunate souls who, during the events told in the first Kiwami, tried to block his path. Today we want to talk to you, after the version released on PlayStation 4 last year (of which you can find the review here), about the porting of Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PC.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 opens, in its early stages, with a twist that goes to subvert the cards on the table: once again the heavy atmosphere of the situation, originated by the incessant wars and unrest between clans, weighs on the shoulders of the heroic Kiryu, always ready to rush in case of need. But in the world of the Yakuza there’s no room to feel pity, no time to make amends for one’s mistakes, no way to get a second chance: whoever makes a mistake pays and, very often, between Kiryu himself and an ignoble end we’ll just stand ourselves and our talents in the frantic pressure of keys to make the Dragon get the better of our opponents. The cast of the opera sees the return of some old acquaintances but also the entry of new characters – including the spectacular Kansai Dragon Ryuji Goda, Kiryu’s nemesis – who will play the roles in the unravelling of a story that will not fail to provide exciting moments, from the beginning to the end, in an epic ride that will be marked by moments of great impact.
The feeling with Kiwami 2 is immediate and exceptional, as the console version had already accustomed us to its time: the beautiful Kamurocho speaks for herself, and is even more beautiful than that known in previous chapters, with its eloquent streets teeming with passers-by and opportunities – and dangers – for those who intend to discover what lies behind every corner. The annoying, albeit short, loads that made our entrances to closed buildings in Yakuza Kiwami 2 PC sobbing have disappeared and now make way for a world without pauses, more dynamic and immediate and of great effect, aesthetically and overall.
The glance of Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PC is exceptional: Kamurocho and Sotenbori – the new explorable neighbourhood – are first of all two places that live at the rhythms of what is a precise metaphor of Japan: frenetic trends, imposing signs, small gorges to discover, appreciate and in which, freely, then return in the future, providing a general prospect of great coherence and cohesion, under which move, however, the burning contradictions that feed the Japanese society.
The cohesion in the activities of the game is one of the key points of the series Yakuza – confirmed in an excellent way in this Kiwami 2 – which leaves you amazed by the depth and variety: there is never to be bored, in Yakuza Kiwami 2, and very often it is a difficult task to stay focused on the main missions, perhaps being swallowed up by the desire to do some baseball, by a game of golf, or why not, even by a curious minigame to do while you are in the bathroom. Everything is different, studied with unique attention and maniacal skill: the many activities go hand in hand with the spirit of the game, a true godsend for those who want to get the most out of this experience.
The excellent graphics of Yakuza Kiwami 2 is allowed by the renewed appearance of the Dragon Engine that manages to provide an overall result capable of leaving astonished, at the expense of system requirements this time more onerous than those of the porting of the first Kiwami for PC, but still able to adapt in a more than good way even to machines no longer in the vanguard.
The same combat system has undergone some changes and no longer presents the styles, but everything is made in a more immediate way, providing a positive sense of heaviness guaranteed by improved physics and excellent feedback of controls, as well as a review in the combat moves. The system as a whole works so well as to be fun even for the bravest who want to embark on the adventure of Kiwami 2 without a controller (mode in which it performs best), but only with mouse and keyboard, in a combination of shrewd combos produced by the alternating pressure of the buttons of our mouse.
Further changes are proposed in the system of power-ups, diversified also to obviate the aforementioned absence of fighting styles, and by the introduction of two more important side activities such as the Clan Creator, where we can control the spectacularly crazy Goro Majima and the Cabaret Club Grand Prix, where we will have to manage in first person a cabaret trying to satisfy customers who will willingly squander their savings in the face of good-looking girls.
A big and incredible step forward is made in the way the story is told in a direct way: Kiwami 2 lives of directing moments worthy of a Hollywood film, moments whose power is transmitted by a scene on screen proposed with a refined and incredibly complex frame, troubled, perhaps alternated with a close-up that shows the renewed face of Kiryu in the new graphics style, capable of transmitting emotions that can make you go up with the only help of the look.
The same soundtrack that accompanies us is always suitable and praiseworthy in the notes played and in the emotions touched, also because it is able to emphasize at best the moments of leisure and those of tension, providing an audio-visual complex of incredibly high quality.
High quality that is also reflected in the dubbing of the work – in Japanese – capable of giving even more credibility to the characters in the deepest scenes. Unfortunately, however, there is no Italian translation of the title, available only in English.