Yakuza 2

"A powerful and compelling story saves this fun, but somewhat rehashed, sequel."

I'm going to try something a little different with this review; the first Yakuza game was released in the US in September 2006, almost exactly two years ago. I reviewed it very favorably in October 2006 but have since sold the game, therefore obviously having not played it since. In typing this review I decided not to refresh my memory by reading my review of the first Yakuza, instead, I'll tackle this review with a different perspective. So if I criticize things here that I liked in the first game or praise things I hated about this game, or even if I point out flaws here that existed in the first game but that somehow didn't make it into that review, then this will explain why. I'd like to think my personality's changed a bit over the 2 years since I got to play the last game, and presumably certain gaming tastes of mine have too. So throughout this review, unless I specify it, I won't be comparing this game to the first Yakuza game. I really can't.

The reason I can't is because Sega totally botched the release of the brilliant first Yakuza game in the US, failing to market it in any significant way despite the (at the time) great PS2 graphics, bad-ass combat system, and fantastic production values, including an all-star English voice dub. Therefore this sequel, released 1 year after the first game in Japan, (came out at about the same time we received the first game here,) was all but cancelled for a US release due to the poor Western sales of its predecessor. ….and nearly 2 years later, literally out of nowhere, Sega quietly announced that Yakuza 2 is indeed heading to the West, (this time without a dub and with even less marketing, and on a now nearly-forgotten system, to top it off,) and as a result, the neglected fans of this series finally get to experience this…very good, but somewhat underwhelming sequel whose situation is worsened by the fact that it's being released years after the fact to an audience who'se been next-gen gaming for years.

Graphics: It's hard to really judge the visuals here due to this game's age. I seriously think that this actually looks somewhat worse than the first Yakuza game, but since I no longer own it I can't double-check that. I checked some videos online it turns out that the first Yakuza game was both sharper and also featured much higher character polygon counts in cutscenes. The sequel's overloaded with bloom effects (likely to hide poor texture-work) there are many instances of jaggies present, cutscenes look fairly washed out and there's plenty of instances of characters popping in and out. Still, though, there's no hiding the vast amounts of color thrown around these Tokyo cityscapes, and there's almost no load times present when entering combat (possibly Yakuza 2's biggest improvement over its predecessor, and likely the reason for the dumbed down visuals) and the many (MANY) cinematic cutscenes presented here are extremely well-directed and (despite the washed-out nature of their presentation) look great, with some nice facial expressions and lips perfectly synched to the Japanese dialogue. It's weird, though, that outside of cutscenes things seem so incredibly dated, right down to the text crawl. Weird when some cutscenes switch from cinema to text several times throughout. Still, I'd say the visuals look marginally better than the PS2 Grand Theft Auto games, which is certainly nothing to scoff at.

Gameplay: Make no mistake here…Yakuza 2's main focus was its storyline, and it's incredible. Gameplay-wise….its got many great aspects to it, but it all feels a bit too clunky to merge into a compelling entirety. Not saying that it's not incredibly fun to play, it is. Despite the fairly small amount of buildings to enter (and the little point to entering most of them,) it's very fun to wander through these neon-drenched cities here, beating up street punks as you follow a GTA-inspired radar to your destination. The combat system's extremely fun, (some slight tweaks were made from the last game,) and you can pick up many objects in the environment and brutally beat your opponents with them. You can also string very fun combos together as you just pummel each and every enemy that approaches Kazuma, the main character. As you hit enemies you build up a special meter, and once you do you can unleash brutal finishers and powerful attacks that all connect with bone-crunching smashes. The game also deliberately slows down for the final punch of combat. There's little that's more satisfying. There are a couple challenging fights in there, but the game, if it sees you repeatedly dying, will give you the option to temporarily switch to easy if need be. (Something I'm proud to say I didn't use even once this time around.) Unfortunately, though, due to the “beat-em-up” nature of the game, there's just way too much combat, as thugs will challenge you very frequently as you run through the city, and like random battles in RPG's, these are pretty difficult to avoid. Things begin to get a bit repetitive as the game nears its end. It also falls victim to several aimless quests (putting you in the city with no radar indicator telling you what you're looking for happens a couple times too many here,) and some very unnecessary filler near the end.

Exploring the city, as stated above, is very fun, and you can enter restaurants to get food, you can enter pharmacies and general stores to purchase items, and it all seems extremely authentic, giving off a feeling of really walking through an Asian city. The combat system's excellent, and these things carry this game through. At times it's so addictive that I just didn't want to put the controller down. Cutscenes come very frequently, and the story that's told here's probably the best one ever featured in the beat-em-up genre.

That said, though, there are big issues here. Aside from the somewhat repetitive nature of combat, Yakuza 2 also suffers from somewhat lazy game design, which becomes apparent whenever the game forces you to do “detective work” throughout the city in order to progress. Shenmue this is not, and these segments seem entirely sloppy and lazily thrown in there. The sidequests, though plentiful, don't mesh at all with the otherwise realistic nature of the story, and you'll notice the flaws in the “dating sim” aspects of the game almost immediately if you play it. Mini-games, etc. also don't feel very refined just seem thrown in the game regardless of their lack of quality. (Thankfully most of this is optional.) The city also gets a bit tiresome, as you walk from point A to point B very frequently, something that also becomes tiring as the game nears its end. The game also makes use of a (way too) limited inventory screen and item boxes, an entirely outdated concept that becomes a big pain, especially since the game continually insists on giving you items that you don't need. When switching items from the item box to your inventory (and vice versa) the game doesn't allow you to see what the items actually do, which means you must exit that screen and go to your basic item menu to read a description. Really, guys?

What ends up happening is that the gameplay's very fun, but it rarely feels polished. Way too many sub-par concepts make their way into the game, and the whole idea of walking through a city and experiencing the equivalent of random encounters just seems like a weird fit. There's not enough gameplay variation here, and as a result the game begins to get repetitive towards the end. BUT…..it's still a blast to play. It's unrefined and very outdated (and was when it came out, too, by the way,) but the game's fun, and that's really all that matters. Yakuza 2's biggest undoing happens to be the fact that there's just not much that's new here. Combat's been slightly refined but that's really about it. There are 2 new cities but most of your time's spent in a nearly unchanged version of the city from the last game, (the new ones happen to be smaller and not nearly as interactive) and amazingly fresh and exciting locations (like seeing Purgatory in the first game, which I was blown away by) just don't happen at all here. It's mostly the same locations, and the new ones aren't much of anything. What Yakuza 2 ended up being was just a big example of a rehash; a game released to market a year after its predecessor to cash in. It does little new, just presents more of the same. The fact that “more of the same” here equals fun, of course, helps, but unfortunately the freshness of the first game's now gone, and it's much easier to notice its flaws as a result. The very dated visuals (in 2008) have the same effect, unfortunately. On the plus side, the game's a bit longer than Yakuza 1. My completion time this time around was 17 hours, with some scattered sidequests throughout. Not bad at all for the MSRP of $29.99...

Storyline: But what makes Yakuza 2 100% worth playing despite the fact that it's a rehash in the gameplay department is the completely amazing storyline. It's literally one of the best storylines I've encountered in any medium in a long time. It begins with a series of mysterious and intriguing cutscenes before cutting to the present day, where Kazuma's standing, with his newly-adopted little girl Haruka, (also returning from the first game,) at a grave mourning deaths from the last game. It's here Yakuza 2 gives you the option to reminisce, which, if accepted, gives you an EXTREMELY detailed and comprehensive recap of the events from the previous game, and this allows both those new to the series (and also those of us who forgot the first game nearly entirely, as I have) to jump into this new storyline very easily. Essentially, the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance are at near war, and an assassination risks escalating these two tense crime families into complete chaos. It's here that Kazuma, who was counting on living a quiet and retired life from the Yakuza, is dragged into the conflict to prevent all-out war. To go any further would spoil what's an amazing storyline, loaded with brilliantly well-developed characters, great translation (And yes, the use of the F-word was toned down a bit here from its sometimes excessive use in the first game,) and shocking plot twists. The game hits some pacing issues near the end but it always manages to come back with some amazing new developments to put things back on track. It's a storyline I'll remember for years to come and I can't praise enough the writer for crafting an incredibly memorable story that, unlike the gameplay in this sequel, does NOT feel thrown together, this storyline was put together with a huge amount of care and thought and it all shows. Brilliantly done. There are even some surprisingly emotional moments towards the end. But with such memorable characters that pretty much goes without saying. The only weaknesses….first of all, Kazuma's way too "gentle" and "decent" of a person for a Yakuza killer....this guy's 100% "good" and at times I just didn't find him believable at all.....Also, the ending may have 1 or 2 twists too many; one of them, especially, creates plot holes big enough to drive a truck through, especially if you go back and re-watch certain cutscenes. The finale, though, is incredible, even though its impact is lessened by a poor choice in the audio department. (See next paragraph.) And please sit through the credits.....

Audio; The Japanese voice actors do a great job, although I really miss the English voice cast, especially the actor who portrayed Detective Date, and I hope, assuming Yakuza 3 ever makes it state-side, we're given the option for English or Japanese voice acting. The music's strictly background-grade (some of it directly lifted from the last game,) and the rock music (and even jazz) that plays during battles is great…but otherwise, it's a pretty unmemorable soundtrack and this is one area that could use massive improvement in future installments of the series. One exception is an incredible song that plays during parts of the big finale that's pretty epic and really helped create one of the most memorable scenes in the game…but then they totally drop the ball by throwing a horrible vocal song over a huge portion of the ending which completely ruined it….

Overall: Yakuza 2, while it may have been released simply as a cash-in (and it shows) still ends up being a lot of fun to play. Afterall, it's rehashing a great game. The story, thankfully, is not a rehash, and turns out to be one of the most incredible things I've witnessed in gaming since Final Fantasy 10. That said, though, aside from some tweaks to the combat system, Yakuza 2 makes no effort whatsoever to push the series forward, and this time, without the freshness or the advantage of good-looking visuals on its side, its flaws in the gameplay department stick out like a sore thumb. To fans of the original, I highly recommend playing Yakuza 2, you won't regret it, although your expectations should be reasonable; this is very much Yakuza 1 with a new story. (And Yakuza 1's gameplay, it turns out, has aged pretty poorly.) To people who haven't yet jumped into this series, I still definitely recommend it, although do yourself a favor and pick up (the slightly more memorable) Yakuza 1 alongside this game, you won't regret it. Now Sega needs to hurry up and bring Yakuza Kenzan over....

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/23/08, Updated 10/13/08

Game Release: Yakuza 2 (US, 09/09/08)