Eleven years after its original release on PS2, a new generation of players will be able to experience the incomparable action and drama of the Yakuza series with the rebuilt-from-scratch HD remake exclusive to PS4, Yakuza Kiwami.

Yakuza Kiwami preserves the charm of old-school, PS2-era beat-em-up gameplay, but deftly combines it with a hard-boiled crime drama punctuated with the liveliness of Kamurocho - the fictional red-light district of Tokyo the game is set in - and all the distractions that a red-light district can offer.

And "rebuilt from scratch" is not just puffery, "kiwami" literally translates to "Extreme" and with good reason: The game is packed with new features and content beyond just a casual up-rez of the original game. Kiwami adds tons of new story depth over the PS2 original, new distractions around the in-game setting of Kamurocho, added side quests, updated mechanics and combat, and much more. Topping it all off, Yakuza Kiwami will be getting both physical and digital editions, and for the first time in the west, will exclusively feature a re-recording of the original Japanese dialogue.

• ALL the in-game graphics were redone for the PlayStation 4. And I’m not talking about doing some shady up-rezzes of existing art, oh no. Graphics were completely redone for the 1080p/60fps PlayStation 4 environment
• The audio lines were re-recorded by the original cast (in Japanese). Astute fans may recall the US version of Yakuza being the only Yakuza game with a well-intentioned English dub, but given the complexity and uniqueness of the yakuza dialect, Kiwami exclusively has the original Japanese voices, re-recorded with the experience of the many Yakuza games since 2005!
• You like combat? Boom! The combat in Yakuza Kiwami has been upgraded to the fast and (for legal purposes I can’t include the word I want to here, but it starts with an f and rhymes with “curious”) combat style of Yakuza 0, where Kiryu can change stances on the fly to chain together combos and pull off the outrageously devastatingly satisfying (or satisfyingly devastating?) Heat Actions the game is known for!
• Substories! Finding substories (side missions) has become commonplace in the generations since Yakuza’s release, but were a bit obscure or difficult to find back in 2005. That’s been fully revamped now, with a clear delineation between the critical path missions and some of the quirky off-shoots of the main story.
• Majima Everywhere. This is literally the best thing ever. Majima, the one-eyed, mad-as-a-hatter psychopath of the Yakuza series takes on the role of the protagonist’s sworn nemesis. And to punctuate that in Kiwami, there’s a new system where he pops out of the most random of places for impromptu encounters. I’m talking “pops out of a manhole” levels of ridiculous, which is what makes it so great.

PS2 vs. PS4

Being retold in Kiwami is the nascent character arc for Yakuza - the game begins with series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu getting sent to prison for the murder of his family patriarch (which he didn't commit). To make matters worse, during the 10 years of his imprisonment, not only does Kiryu's clan expel him from the yakuza, but ¥10 billion (~$100 million) goes missing from the clan treasury. Worse yet, Kiryu's childhood sweetheart is also nowhere to be found, and with the entirety of the Japanese underworld on the hunt for the missing cash, Kiryu is all but lost until he finds the orphan girl Haruka, searching for her aunt who shares the same name as Kiryu's missing love. What follows from there is a web of betrayal, underworld politics, and redemption as nothing will stop Kiryu from regaining his honor.

Key Features:

• A Family Patriarch's Ransom of New Content - Not just a simple graphical upgrade, Kiwami adds nearly 30 minutes of cutscenes alone, providing all-new insight into the game's plot and creating common threads with series prequel Yakuza 0. There's also added distractions (Pocket Circuit car racing, MesuKing: Battle Bug Beauties, new hostesses, and more), side quests and combat updates to bring the original Yakuza game into the latest console generation.
• A Place for Newcomers and Veterans - Yakuza Kiwami is the ultimate bridge in the series: newcomers or those whose Yakuza experience started with Yakuza 0 will have familiar, exacting controls, top-notch SEGA localization, and a solid starting point for entering the Yakuza franchise fresh. Veterans will experience a familiar Kamurocho and plot, but with new levels of story depth and graphical polish.
• But it was me! Majima! - Completely new to Kiwami is the "Majima Everywhere" system, where the series' deranged, one-eyed maniac will constantly surprise and challenge Kiryu to combat when he least expects it. We're talking "popping out of a goofy costume" levels of surprise, so players must stay on their toes and be ready to defend themselves from Kiryu's chief rival.
• Extreme Revitalization - Kiwami is rebuilt from the ground up with all new HD assets, exclusive Japanese voice audio re-recorded by the series cast, and more; optimized for the PlayStation 4 and running in 1080p/60fps. And following suit with SEGA's commitment to the Yakuza series, the game will release in both physical and digital formats in the west.