![]() Not only are they packed with little visual details, but they also include a near stupid amount of activities to partake in. The environments that have been built are on a level all their own and the art team deserves an incredible amount of praise for their work. Only by really looking hard did I notice a few low-res textures here and there, but that gets an easy pass with how much is going on in each city. Moreover, thanks to the Dragon Engine, you can enter or leave these places without seeing a loading screen. The insides of stores, restaurants, arcades, and the like are all fully modeled. There are so many areas that are tucked away down alleyways, inside buildings, or on rooftops that you may find yourself ignoring missions just to soak it all in. Bright, neon shop signs cast fantastic lighting throughout the environments, both inside and out. Streets are filled with reflective puddles and damn if I am not a sucker for a good puddle. These familiar haunts have been staples of the franchise and, thanks to the Dragon Engine, look absolutely fantastic. Speaking of streets, you will once again get to explore the mean streets of Kamurocho and Sotenbori. I will never tire of seeing Kiryu knock over objects like a bull in a china shop or punt an enemy into a bunch of bikes halfway down the street. In the end, I'll happily take a less than full HD image if it means I get to experience the gorgeous lighting and wonderfully amusing physics interactions that the Dragon Engine seems to deliver in spades. This can sometimes produce some aliased edges and "shimmering" effects both in cutscenes and during gameplay. I believe the team targets 900p resolution for this game in order to keep the framerate at or right near the 30fps target. However, on the base PlayStation 4 system, you still will not get a full 1080p image. It seems as though the development team was more comfortable with the engine after having already shipped Yakuza 6 in the months prior. I can say here and now that nearly all of the issues I encountered, as they relate to the Dragon Engine, have been addressed for Yakuza Kiwami 2. Specifically, I found that the game would have some framerate issues show up from time to time. I had a few gripes about the Dragon Engine that I made note of back in my Yakuza 6 review. It also somehow manages to incorporate tons of mini-games, side-stories, combat moves, collectibles, two-player content, and even a separate Majima focused game mode! This perfect storm of new content, fluid combat, gameplay refinements, incredible cutscene direction, the always top-notch voice work, and engaging story have immediately propelled Yakuza Kiwami 2 to being my new favorite Yakuza game. It also adds on a heaping helping of additional story content on top of the original title. It runs on the all-new Dragon Engine that we first saw with Yakuza 6. Every entry has offered up something new and unique to experience while still maintaining a certain alluring appeal that kept me hooked through dozens upon dozens of gameplay hours.įast-forward slightly and we arrive here at the present day with the Western release of Yakuza Kiwami 2, a remake of the 2006 PlayStation 2 game, Yakuza 2. I have played it across two different game engines. ![]() I have seen the beginning and the emotional end to this franchise. It started with Yakuza 0, followed by Yakuza Kiwami, and then Yakuza 6 just a few months back. Since January of 2017, I've had the good fortune to be able to review every Yakuza release that has come out on the PlayStation 4.
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