Yakuza Kiwami - Switch Review

Jake Mounsey -

The legendary story of Kazama Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, has finally found its way to the Nintendo Switch with Yakuza Kiwami. After spending 10 years in prison for taking the fall for a murder, Kiryu returns to find yakuza clans on the brink of a war that hurdles him into an intense journey of love, humanity, and betrayal with his friend Nishki at the centre of it all. Fueled by his fists and unyielding resolve, he sets against the backdrop of Japan’s bustling red-light district.

The Good

Yakuza Kiwami’s combat is iconic to not just the franchise but to gaming as a whole at this point. Kiryu can swap between four styles: the balanced Brawler style, the speedy Rush style, the slow but powerful Beast style and the Dragon style, which is the culmination of the other three styles, but you will need to strengthen it over the course of the game after 10 years in prison have left him rusty and out of practice. Weaving between these styles and delivering devastating Heat Actions in combat feels just as smooth and satisfying as it did back in 2016.

Yakuza Kiwami’s story is immaculately told. As stated in the opening paragraph, Kiryu returns after 10 years in prison to find the clan he once belonged to in shambles after losing 10 billion yen, and it seems his friend Nishki, who he took the fall for, is at the centre of it. Every twist and turn of this narrative is full of drama, suspense, joy and sadness and is a treat to behold. Some people may have an issue with the length of some cutscenes, but believe me when I say that it is more than worth it.

I can’t talk about a Yakuza game without mentioning the mountain of side content they have. There is something for everyone, from the goofy substories that give players a breath of fresh air after all the heavy drama of the main story to the Majima Everywhere system, which is needed to improve Kiryu’s Dragon style, to minigames like bowling, karaoke, pocket circuit racing, and claw machines. There is an endless treasure trove of activities for you to do between all the serious drama of the main plot.

TL;DR

  • Excellent combat
  • Incredibly engaging story
  • An extreme variety of side content

The Bad

It's no secret that the Switch is showing its age, but having trouble running a near-ten-year-old game at a consistent frame rate is inexcusable at this point. On top of this, many fight sections can get very busy with the number of enemies on screen, causing some serious slowdown and making the combat unbearable at times.

TL;DR

  • Poor frame rates
  • Noticeable slowdown during intense fights

Final Score: 8/10

Yakuza Kiwami highlights the Switch’s ever-growing age; a game this iconic should not be running this poorly. Don’t get me wrong, I gave the game a high score because I still believe Yakuza Kiwami is an amazing experience that everyone should play, but if you can, play it on anything other than the Switch.

Thank you for checking out our Yakuza Kiwami Switch review, thank you to Sega (via Five Star Games) for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support: