Yakuza Remastered Collection Review
Release Date: February 11th, 2020
Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios
Platforms: PlayStation 4
Price: $59.99
Since 2005, SEGA's Yakuza series has been wildly successful and has spawned an entire franchise of games that include spinoffs most of which feature Kazuma Kiryu as the main protagonist. Kiryu's ascension from Yakuza 0 shows him moving up in the criminal business - all the way up to Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan - before inevitably wanting to leave for good, realizing this isn't for him, yet finding himself inexorably caught up in all the drama from a past he's made all too known and can't escape. It's a series that’s seen heartbreak, adrenaline pumping action, golden comedy, and the feeling of kinship as you go throughout the series fostering kids at the Morning Glory orphanage and making friends and memories throughout. Yakuza has it all, and now, so does the PlayStation 4 with the Yakuza Remastered Collection hosting the entire mainline series on one console for the first time ever.
With the Yakuza Remastered Collection comprised of Yakuza 3, 4, and 5, the entire middle portion of Kiryu's journey and growth in and out of a life of crime now completes the void between Kiwami 2 and Yakuza 6: Song of Life, and is as crisp and incredible as ever with complete high-definition polish and a very stable and smooth 60fps that makes going through the series staple Kamurocho (an in-game recreation based off of Kabukicho within Tokyo) - as well as Ryukyu (Okinawa) and Nagasugai (Fukuoka) - feel more immersive than ever as it deepens with each new entry, giving players an exorbitant amount of tasks and what feels like a never-ending world of events that quite literally occur on every street corner. While each story typically takes you anywhere from 20-30 hours to complete if you're solely focused on it, full completions can range well over 100 hours and beyond if, in PlayStation's case, you're aiming for the Platinum Trophy. With what feels like countless side-missions, mini-games, Premium Adventure Modes, and beyond, every Yakuza entry, to me, takes the very best parts of gaming and makes it as immersive as it possibly can outside of the realm of VR.
Yakuza 3 starts off the remastered collection with Kiryu finally seeking a permanent residence outside of Kamurocho within Morning Glory - his orphanage which houses roughly ten kids - in Okinawa, and while things have finally calmed down for the Dragon of Dojima, it's not long before he finds himself in Ryukyu with trouble at his doorstep as the land Morning Glory Orphanage rests on is now in negotiations to be sold to place a resort. Wondering why this is happening, mysteries unravel and Kiryu finds himself with his past catching up to him as new families and territories try to make a name for themselves regardless of the repercussions and collateral damage. It's an emotional story as Kiryu wants to give these kids everything he couldn't have growing up, but problems keep a lot of that from happening and puts them in danger. Yakuza 3 sees the series make its debut outside of Kamurocho as well and with it brings tons of stories and side content in small yet packed town in Ryukyu that, in pure Yakuza fashion, has a little bit of everything that'll leave you lost in the world indefinitely. The fighting that occurs in all Yakuza games remains one of the brawler greats, but the biggest difference Yakuza 3's fighting has that made it have the least enjoyable combat out of all of the games in my opinion is the fact that Heat Actions - a Yakuza staple that sees a meter build up as you fight and triggers intense, over-the-top action moves that inflict massive and fatal damage - take way too long to charge, and that the fights you get into on the street, as well as scripted events and boss fights, never really feel that flashy or hyped up because of it; enemies have almost impenetrable guards no matter how much you upgrade your fighting styles, perks, and abilities. Another unfortunate side is that Ryukyu is where you'll be spending a bulk of the story, though after a certain point you can freely move from city to city, and it's a relatively small area. Despite this, however, it's packed with stuff to do even if there aren't many places to go inside and explore. Quests are plentiful and can give plenty of laugh-out-loud moments but just as many serious dramatic narratives that range from philosophical, morality, and reflection. Things like taking photographs of some of the most cartoonish moments you'll ever see and helping a poor guy get the strength to talk to a girl only to get rejected in such a hilarious manner to saving a puppy from harm or keeping someone from committing suicide give not only Yakuza, but Kiryu a deep characterization that are complemented by their own kind of slice-of-life approach to gameplay and storytellling. When Yakuza 3 reaches its peak and credits begin to roll, despite the flaws it wraps up rather nicely with a few twists and turns that no matter what keep you at the edge of your seat, even if it is, once again, at the top of Millennium Tower.
Yakuza 4 sees a radical take on Yakuza, giving multiple characters to play with this time around instead of just Kazuma Kiryu. The cast expands to four playable characters: Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, Masayoshi Yamamura, and of course Kazuma Kiryu. Each character has their own skill set and fighting style that keeps them distinct from one another, with their own point of view on a larger branching narrative that intersects and sees everyone coming together both knowingly and unknowingly fighting for the same cause, albeit with their own sense of accomplishment. From a detective, to a loan shark, to an ex-yakuza convict, and Kiryu himself, the gameplay here is constantly changing from chapter to chapter and keeps things fresh, though its easy to sometimes lose track of certain key moments with each character taking a fair amount of hours to complete as well as the countless side-missions and min-games you can do within each if you're going for those. Yakuza's design and how it keeps everything so packed with stuff to do yet each character's distinct story and feeling with a fresh start on each make Yakuza 4 seem like there's actually four games in one before reaching its climax and having them all come together in a pinnacle moment. Experience from character to character isn't transferred since everything is unique, but the Soul Orbs you collect as you level up can stack and don't need to be spent right away to upgrade the moves and styles you want to make the craziest possible fights imaginable. Unlike Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4's combat is a lot more polished and your Heat Actions gather a lot more quickly to ensure you get those bone crunching punches from fight to fight and that they're properly paced. Yakuza 4, much like 3 before it and 5 afterwards, is a wonderful conversion that looks crisp and despite how minor the changes are from Yakuza 3 to 4 in terms of how the gameplay and mechanics work throughout, you can see how fights get progressively more polished and character models enhance from entry to entry.
Yakuza 5 at the surface is more or less Yakuza 4 again - including multiple playable characters - with a new story but goes away from Kamurocho and takes you to a variety of other cities instead with a multitude of jobs that, despite being sidequests most of the time, actually feel important and substantial to the growth of each character and giving further depth to the story and world as a whole. Without spoiling it, Yakuza 5 also gives one of the most unique moments of the series in its entirety roughly half way through, and though it's extremely unorthodox, it's oddly fitting and because of it makes Yakuza 5 one of my favorite entries of the series. Prior to Yakuza 6's Dragon Engine, Yakuza 5 sees the most seamless forms of brawling as fights occur almost instantaneously instead of needing to warp the screen or fade to black. Most of the time it goes in and out without taking you out of the environment or having to go through a loading screen, and it makes the entire playthrough a lot more fluid, and because of this the presentation and package feels exceptional and whole as the game is constantly giving out gifts for the player to revel in and enjoy. Yakuza's take on Japan through the eyes of multiple characters in 4 and 5 is such a sight to behold and will forever stick with me as one of the most elaborate forms of game design ever conceived. From city to city, career to career, and drama to drama, Yakuza's feeling of endless entertainment is unrivaled, and in Yakuza 5 the polish reaches an all time high as you can see the pinnacle of the PlayStation 3's architecture still hold itself well today with Ryu Ga Gotoku's Studio's ambition and clear love and passion for making games.
It's impossible for me to be bored of Yakuza, and the games refuse to let you ever feel any kind of disinterest as each entry is jam-packed with stuff to do in and around the walls of each sandbox - from Kabukicho to Osaka to Fukuoaka and beyond. Mini-games inside of the likes of Club Sega, downtime in Cabaret Clubs, getting drunk at some of your favorite bars, singing your heart out in karaoke, taking in the bright lights of the cities, absurdly comedic moments across rooftops, sewers, and everything inbetween, side-quests galore, a plethora of collectables and a list of stuff to do that almost makes a full MSRP feel like a steal for just ONE of the games, let alone three in this collection, keep Yakuza one of the most immersive and well thought out experiences and investments one can make within the medium. Series staples like Majima, Kiryu, Akiyama, Haruka, and more literally feel like getting back together with old friends and family in each entry, and having a star-studded cast that includes many big Japanese actors not only in voice-acting but in cinema give Yakuza further authenticity and merit with a wide array of talent that simply can't be beat. These characters, stories, and worlds mean a lot to me, and it's games like these that make me so proud to be a part of such a creative medium driving the way forward of what it means to create art.
Kazuma Kiryu's journey is one that has seen many ups and downs throughout the course of the Yakuza series, and is reflective of the setting as well as the journey commercially for the series and its global reach. Now, Yakuza is bigger than ever, and it's absolutely incredible to see a system like the PlayStation 4 have all the mainline games in one place at long last. While there are still some entries missing like Dead Souls, Ishin and Kenzan (Japan only releases that took place in the Bakumatsu and Edo periods respectively), and a few PSP titles 'Black Panther' that also never made it out of Japan, the core of Yakuza is intact and all here thanks to the Yakuza Remastered Collection which sees some of PlayStation 3's best titles - and one of SEGA's greatest IP's - in full HD and a clean 60fps that gives a clear, crisp look and a new sheen of personality that really gives the games a big boost. I can only hope that as Yakuza slowly makes its way onto PC, we'll see the same treatment with the entire series there as well so we won't be restricted by generational hardware. Yakuza will make you laugh, Yakuza will make you cry, and it'll give you everything you need in terms of a living breathing world that has surprises at every corner and is difficult to put down, much like the countless BOSS Coffee’s I’ve gotten from my local Don Quijotes.
PROS:
Kazuma Kiryu is one of the greatest characters conceived, and the cast from entry to entry make themselves known and feel real
Crisp 1080p and 60fps help to bring the games a new life, delivering breathtaking visuals
Each game delivers something new and exciting to keep things fresh while maintaining the spirit of Yakuza
CONS:
Cons don't really exist in Yakuza except for con artists, but if we had to choose one, it would've been nice to have seen the remaining Yakuza ports getting a Kiwami treatment instead and having a taste of the Dragon Engine.