There were quite a few surprising reveals at the Nintendo Direct Partner’s Showcase, but the reveal of Yakuza Kiwami might be the most shocking of them all! Why is that? Simply put, while the franchise, which now goes under a new Dragon-style moniker, is one of Sega’s most successful series, it has never graced Nintendo platforms in the past. Part of the reason for that was the M-rating and the nature of the games themselves. More specifically, the “Underworld” storyline and the characters you’re playing as. However, clearly, those barriers have been broken down if Sega ported and remastered the beginning of the story for the popular console.
Chronologically, Yakuza Kiwami is the “first game” in the series. There was a prequel game released later, but let’s not get into that, okay? This was the game that introduced Kazuma Kiryu to the world. He is a member of the Yakuza, but one who is an outcast after he is blamed for the death of the organization’s head. Now, he must wander the streets of Tokyo, Japan in an attempt to find out the truth. However, he won’t be alone, as he’ll have to protect the young Haruka, the heir to the Yakuza organization.
As Kazuma and Haruka wander around Kamurocho, a key entertainment district within Tokyo, they’ll have to uncover what really happened while also fighting off various thugs and gangs that attempt to take Kiryu down.
The good news is that this Yakuza has all sorts of moves that players will get to unleash. For example, he has four different fighting styles that he can swap on a dime if they feel the situation needs something different. Plus, he can wield all sorts of weapons that he finds lying around on the streets!
Then, if you get the urge to change things up in a different way, you can wander around the district and find something fun for you and Haruka to do! You can go to a batting cage, take pictures together, and there’s likely to be karaoke. The series loves karaoke; it’s always in there.
So, if you’ve never played this franchise before, it’s time to get in on it and see exactly what you’ve been missing out on!
Fans, naturally, are very excited about this, especially since it’s dropping in October. However, they’re also hoping that it doesn’t END here. Confused? Well, they’re hoping that the game is but the first entry to drop either on Switch, or on the Switch 2. If this first one does well, it’s entirely possible more will come in the future!
