In September 2022, during a roundtable interview with IGN, RGG Studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama claimed that the Yakuza series was too mature for Nintendo’s child-friendly hybrid console. Even though the likes of Resident Evil and DOOM were already available on the platform.

Alas, two years after that interview, we will soon be playing the entire Yakuza series on the Nintendo Switch, beginning with Yakuza Kiwami, a remake initially released in 2016 of the original game that launched for the PlayStation 2 in 2005.

Check out the Yakuza Kiwami trailer below!

Set in the fictional district of Kamurocho (inspired by Tokyo’s Kabukichō), the story picks up shortly after Kazuma Kiryu has served 10 years in prison after taking the fall for his boss to protect a childhood friend, Akira Nishikyama. Yet, when Kiryu begins life as a free man, he learns that his best friend is knee-deep in the criminal underworld and his struggle adjusting to his new life becomes the least of his concerns.

Yakuza Kiwami finds itself in a unique position from a storytelling perspective. It depicts Kiryu’s fall from grace and his ascension in the criminal ranks, but he never deviates from his moral code. Yet, Yakuza Kiwami is as wacky as it gets with lots of laugh-out-loud moments before turning you into an emotional, blubbering wreck with its well-written twists and turns.

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Then you have its Kamurocho map that constantly tempts players to be distracted from the main story led by its many wonderful NPCs that you’ll encounter during side missions. Whether it’s golf, baseball, gambling, playing SEGA classics in an arcade or partaking in the endlessly fun karaoke mini-games, you’ll never feel short-changed when it comes to activities in Yakuza Kiwami.

In terms of Yakuza Kiwami‘s combat, it never gets boring beating up random street thugs, and despite being a re-release of a 2016 remake with no major improvements, it barely feels like this release has aged a day. What’s more, when you take into account the RPG levelling-up skill-tree abilities, Kiryu will feel like an ungodly beast by the time you reach Kiwami’s epic conclusion.

SEGA

The elephant in the room when it comes to Yakuza Kiwami on the Nintendo Switch is that you’re probably wondering how it performs when you’re fighting large groups of enemies. I’m pleased to say that it performs well and I never noticed anything off-putting when it comes to framerate dips. Moreover, the finely detailed cinematic cut-scenes never cease to impress me which helps to elevate the story that it’s telling.

It’s worth mentioning for new fans wanting to jump into this series that Yakuza Kiwami has no English-speaking actors. It’s presented in its native Japanese language with subtitles for the respective regions. However, as I found out when trying the English dub in recent games such as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, nothing compares to the original Japanese actors who deliver a level of performance and passion that exceeds all expectations.

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If you’re exclusively a Nintendo Switch gamer, then this port is an ideal place to begin your journey in the series. That being said, if you’re a returning fan who has been desperate to play this series on the go, Yakuza Kiwami is a dream come true - especially if you thought this day would never come. Now if you excuse me, I’m off to sing some karaoke with Kiryu and his friends.

Pros: Action is as fun as ever, gripping story, performs well on the Switch

Cons: It’s a basic port

For fans of: Shenmue, Like a Dragon

Score: 7/10: Very Good

Yakuza: Kiwami is out now on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch (version reviewed). A review code was provided by the publisher. Find a complete guide to GAMINGbible's review scores here.