Open World Action RPG Review: Yakuza

Update November 18, 2025: I originally posted this review as a clone of the review for the remake, Yakuza Kiwami. For the past few days I have been playing the wonderful Yakuza Restored patch by Sylwahan for the original PlayStation 2 version of Yakuza. This patch replaces the unfitting English voiceovers with the Japanese ones, removes the curse words that don't match what was originally said in the Japanese subtitles, replaces the weird name changes that were in the original translation to the Japanese names that are used throughout the series, uses the Yakuza font for character introductions, and much more. Because of this excellent version, which I highly recommend using if you want to play the PlayStation 2 version of Yakuza, I have decided to completely rewrite this review. If you want to see the original review, it is available word-for-word in the Yakuza Kiwami review, minus the Kiwami-specific sections.

Yakuza, known as Ryu Ga Gotoku or Like a Dragon in Japan, is the first game in the popular franchise of the same name. It laid the groundwork for the later entries in the series, and contained a great mystery of a storyline that sets itself apart from the rest.

The story starts in 1995 in Kamurocho, a fictionalized version of the real-life Kabukichō red-light district of Tokyo. It centers on Kazuma Kiryu, a yakuza in the Dojima family of the Tojo Clan who is known as the Dragon of Dojima. He is about to become the patriarch of his own family, but is instead expelled from the organization when he takes the blame for the murder of Sohei Dojima, a crime he did not commit.

Kiryu is released from prison ten years later, in 2005. Returning to a Kamurocho that is different from that he remembers, he has to contend with members of the Tojo Clan who seek revenge for Patriarch Dojima's murder. He soon meets a little girl named Haruka Sawamura. She is a target for the Tojo Clan, leaving Kiryu to have to protect her while discovering what makes the yakuza so interested in an eight-year-old girl. This begins a tale of mystery and betrayal, which is engaging from start to finish.

The original release of Yakuza came hot on the heels of Grand Theft Auto III and its follow-ups Vice City and San Andreas, which were a huge success in the West. Because of this, Sega of America localized Ryu Ga Gotoku into something it was not, adding excessive swearing to the script and changing the names of characters in an attempt to better appeal to Western audiences. Kiryu was known by his first name of Kazuma, and Shintaro Kazama became Shintaro Fuma to atempt to avoid confusion over the similar name. The weirdest change is that the Florist of Sai became Kage. This name was not used in any other game, and it negated the meaning of the Florist codename, which is explained by a non-playable character in the game.

Because of the overuse of swearing and awkward line reads, the English version is pretty bad. It's not at the level of the woodenness of Sega's earlier attempts at English voice acting such as Shenmue, but it is bad enough that the original Japanese voices were used in the sequels rather than attempting English dubs again. It's a shame that its voice cast was squandered, as it included such Hollywood greats such as Stat Wars star Mark Hamill as Goro Majima and Bill Farmer as Makoto Date.

The minigames in the PlayStation 2 release include the UFO catcher crane game at Club Sega, baccarat, blackjack, and roulette in the casino, flirting with six hostesses at various cabaret clubs, a batting center where Kiryu can hit baseballs at various levels of difficulty, and pachinko slot machines at Volcano.

The original PlayStation 2 version of Yakuza plays like early 3D games in that it shifts camera direction at load points, with the camera appearing behind or above Kiryu at any given shot. This makes it much different than later games in the series, but, barring a rare errant turn in direction due to the confusing camera changes, the awkwardness is mostly forgotten as the game goes on.

The side stories which became a well known aspect of the series started at the beginning with Yakuza. They are more somber than the off-the-wall humor that would come in substories in later games, but there are some moments of levity. It also contains substories that are not present in the Kiwami remake such as those involving a purse snatcher, an artist near the homeless encampment, and an additional story about a pick pocket. This game also started a series staple, the difficult final boss that is part of an Amon assassin family, which is available after every substory is completed.

Yakuza is a fantastic start to one of Sega's best series. The original English translation is not great, but with Sylwahan's Yakuza Restored patch, the excellent Japanese voiceovers are available to English PlayStation 2 players. The original PlayStation 2 version contained many of the regular minigames in the series, including gambling, baseball, and cabaret hostess flirting. It also started the Club Sega appearances, with the series staple UFO Catcher crane game. The side stories also began here, which were relatively serious here but would become wackier as the series went on. The best part about this game is the story, which allows it to remain as one of the best games in the series.

Final verdict:

4 out of 5

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise Review

Yakuza Kiwami Review

Point and Click Adventure Review: Simon the Sorcerer

Simon the Sorcerer has had many adventures over the years, but the original still remains the best.

The game follows a British teenager named Simon, who is transported to a magical world when he follows his dog into the attic.  He soon finds himself on a quest to become a sorcerer so he can save the wizard who has seemed to have brought him there.

The game's premise is pretty bare, but it is bolstered by its humorous take on the game's magical world. From the ogres trying to make Simon into a stew to the creatures in the forest, there is plenty of humorous whimsy to be found.  The entire Simon the Sorcerer series is a bit rough around the edges, simply because Simon is a bit of a harsh protagonist.  However, Simon's voice actor delivers his lines in a way that manages to make him a character that you root for, despite his shortcomings. It also helps that Simon's sadism is toned down a lot here compared to his future outings.

Some of the games in the series can get a bit crazy with the logic of its puzzles, but, the puzzles here are quite well done.  This game is often regarded as a classic, and the presentation has a lot to do with that. The art style is fantastic.  The backgrounds have a lot of detail despite their low resolution.  The animations of Simon and the other characters are also fantastic.  The art in this game easily stands up with the best that Sierra and LucasArts had to offer at the time.  The music also helps to set the tone of the game, including a memorable title song that is bolstered by some fantastic credit animation.

Simon's first outing is by far his most welcoming.  The humor can get a bit dark, but it's nowhere near the level of the sadism that Simon shows in later games.  The game's presentation is where it really shines. The art style, voice acting, music, and puzzles are all well done.  Simon the Sorcerer is a game that is worth playing for any adventure game fan.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Open World Action RPG Review: Yakuza Kiwami

Before the release of Yakuza 0, Yakuza was the beginning of Kazuma Kiryu's story. Yakuza 0 proved to be one of the best games in the whole series. With the release of Yakuza Kiwami, which brought the game up to modern standards yet kept the core story intact, the original Yakuza actually holds up quite well.

The game begins in 1995, seven years after the events in Yakuza 0. Kazuma Kiryu, a twenty-seven-year-old member of the Dojima family within the Tojo Clan, has climbed the ranks within the clan. He is just about to become the patriarch of his own family when he takes the blame for the murder of Patriarch Shimano, although he was not the one that killed him.

Ten years later, Kiryu is paroled and he is released from prison. He now has to deal with members of the Tojo clan that want him dead, as well as the usual violent thugs that wander around Tokyo's Kamurocho district. A decade in prison has made his skills rusty, so he has to gain experience so that he can regain his former strength.

In the Kiwami remake of the game, Goro Majima, the Mad Dog of Shimano, vows to help him restore his strength so that he can battle him properly. This is called "Majima Everywhere", and the name is apt since the battles take place all around the city. This is simultaneously both the funniest and the most frustrating part of the remake since Majima will pop up from just about anywhere at any time. The best way to handle this is to keep leveling up, especially health and beast style moves. Defeating Majima will add moves to Kiryu's dragon style. and other than learning moves from Master Komaki, is the only way to do so. Like Yakuza 0, Kiryu can use the aforementioned beast and dragon style move set. Kiryu can also use moves in his brawler and rush styles. Each of these styles can be accessed by pressing a direction on the directional pad.

Kiryu's story picks up steam when he comes across a young girl, Haruka, that is somehow tied to the one billion yen that has been stolen from the Tojo clan. The Kiryu saga of the Yakuza franchise has always been about family, and that is true here as well. Yakuza 0 had Kiryu protecting his adopted father, Shintaro Kazama, and his sworn brother, Akira Nishiyama. Yakuza picks up that trend, as Kiryu does everything he can to protect Haruka, the little girl that ended up in his custody.

In Yakuza Kiwami, the Japanese voices are left in the western versions, but in the original western release of Yakuza for PlayStation 2, the English voices were dubbed by famous voice actors. It pains me to recommend the Japanese voices, as the English cast was amazing. Among others, it included Mark Hamill giving Joker vibes as Majima and Bill Farmer doing his best Sam the Canine Shamus as Detective Date. The English voices are actually really good. It's just the janky script that let them down. Not only is the dialog in the original English PlayStation 2 version clunky. but names of places and people have been shortened or even changed for little reason. To this day, no one but the translator knows why the Florist of Sai was given the name of Kage in English. He certainly never received a given name in the original Japanese version. Thankfully, Yakuza Kiwami has a much less awkward translation with the original names intact.

In the original Yakuza, the minigames were regulated to the UFO catcher, visiting with cabaret club hostesses, hitting baseballs at the batting center, blackjack, pachinko slot, and roulette. Yakuza Kiwami keeps the UFO catcher, batting center, blackjack, and roulette and removes the pachinko slots as well as four of the six hostesses. However, it adds minigames from Yakuza 0, including billiards, bowling. cee-lo, cho-han, darts, a karaoke button-based rhythm game, koi-koi, mahjong, oicho-kabu, Pocket Circuit slot car racing, poker, roulette, and shogi. The Sega game centers in Yakuza Kiwami also contain Battle Bug Beauties: MesuKing,  based on the Catfight Arena from Yakuza 0.

All of the minigames are fun diversions, but the best part of any Yakuza game outside of the main story is the side missions. There are many sidequests, and Yakuza Kiwami thankfully doesn't remove any sidequests from the original. Kiwami also adds a few new ones to tie the game back to Yakuza 0. Like any Yakuza game, some of them can be quite off-the-wall hilarious. There's nothing like the adult baby gangsters seen in later games, but the wackiness the series is known for definitely started here. As with any Yakuza game, the last side mission is an extremely hard fight with a member of the Amon family.

Yakuza is a great game regardless of which game you are playing, even if it is the PlayStation 2 version or the Japan-only Wii U and PlayStation 3 high-definition versions. However, the best way to play is definitely the Kiwami remake. It does remove 2 out of 6 hostesses and the pachislot games, however, it adds 12 minigames, adds three fighting styles, and brings the presentation up to modern standards. In doing so, it restored the original game's status as one of the best games in the series.

Final verdict:

4 out of 5

Yakuza Review

Streets of Kamurocho Review

Open World Action RPG Review: Like a Dragon - Ishin!

Like a Dragon: Ishin! was originally released only in Japan for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in 2014. The original release was never released outside of Japan, however fans with the usernames MajDima, toyotasupra2, and jurxd created an English translation patch for the PlayStation 3 version on February 2, 2025.

The story takes place right before the Restoration period of Japan, hence the Ishin in the title, as Ishin means Restoration in Japanese. The story follows a samurai named Ryōma Sakamoto who takes on the identity of Hajime Saitō and infiltrates the special army for the Shogunate, the Shinsengumi, to discover who murdered his foster father, Tōyō Yoshida.

Ryōma Sakamoto, Hajime Saitō, and Tōyō Yoshida are all historical samurai who had an influence on Japan, but in real life, Ryōma Sakamoto and Hajime Saitō were separate people. The story mixes the lives of both men, as it begins with the life of Ryōma Sakamoto, with his friend Takechi Hanpeita, the head of the Tosa Loyalist Party. It twists things a bit, with Tōyō Yoshida being Ryōma Sakamoto's foster father in the game. This is where it diverges with the life of Hajime Saitō as it details his joining of the Shinsengumi, although in the game it is to find the person who killed Tōyō.

It's a very dramatic story filled with betrayals and bittersweet triumphs mixed in with craziness, especially in the side stories. In other words, it is very much a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio game.

The characters are portrayed by Like a Dragon series staples, as well as those characters who are lesser known. The likeness of Kazuma Kiryu, complete with the marvelous deep voice of Takaya Kuroda, plays Hajime Saitō, aka Ryōma Sakamoto. The likeness of the wonderfully crazy Goro Majima portrays Soji Okita. You'll be glad to know Hidenari Ugaki plays Okita with all of the passion of Majima, complete with taunts of Hajime-chan! Many of the likenesses and voice actors of other characters that were playable in previous games also appear here as historical and fictional characters including Haruka Sawamura, Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, and Ryuji Goda. Other series characters are also represented in supporting roles.

In the original version, there are several characters that were replaced in the Kiwami remake from games released after the original release of Ishin!, such as Koichi Adachi from Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Keiji Shibusawa from Yakuza 0. They replaced characters that had no counterparts as they were originally characters exclusive to Ishin!

Other characters that were in the original Ishin! but not included in the remake include Hiroshi Hayashi from Yakuza and Yakuza 2, Goh Hamazaki from Yakuza 3 and Yakuza 4, and Minoru Aoyama, Kan Ogita Yahata, Hiroshi Kugihara, and Shigeki Baba from Yakuza 5.

Ishin! is an action RPG, as were most games in the series before it switched to turn-based RPG style combat beginning in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. However, it does represent a change from the usual fare as swords and guns are available to use in addition to the usual fists and kicks.

As usual, side stories are plentiful, and many are just as crazy as you'd expect. The creators also had fun with the time period with some side stories, as there are some here that just wouldn't work in modern Japan. 

Happily, minigames made it into the game despite the pre-Restoration era setting of Japan. The usual Japanese gambling games are present, as is the Western gambling game of Texas hold 'em poker. The latter does make sense within the context of the game, as the era is set when the "black ships" from Britain came to Japan. As expected from a Like a Dragon series game, there are also odd yet fun minigames included such as chicken racing. You can also fish, farm, cook, and then sell the results of your hard work with help from Haruka. 

Interestingly, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise resembles Like a Dragon: Ishin! As the former was released before the latter, it is obvious where Ryu Ga Gotaku Studio got the inspiration to delve into the post-apocalyptic world of Fist of the North Star. As I was playing Ishin!, I noticed the similarity right away due to the rustic feel of the in-game villages between the two games. However, once Haruka's villa was available, it became more apparent. Lin's expressions, comments, and movements are identical to Haruka's here. It works in both games, though, as it gives off a cute vibe that suits both characters.

Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a fantastic game, with all of the series staples that you would expect from the developers of the Like a Dragon series. The voice actors, as usual, have brought their A-game, delivering fantastic voice performances. The plot is interesting as well, weaving together the stories of two famous historical samurai in a story with both historical and fictional elements. If you are a fan of the Like a Dragon series, or just interested in historical Japan, this game is one that is well worth playing.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Like a Dragon: Ishin Kiwami review

Open World Action RPG Review: Yakuza Kiwami 2

The second Yakuza game was bigger than the first, with the addition of a new district, Shinseicho, based on the real-life Shinsekai, as well as including the usual Yakuza series hangout spot, Kamurocho, based on the real-life Kabukicho. In the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake, the second district was replaced by Sotenbori from Yakuza 0, which is based on the real-life Dotenbori. In the case of both Yakuza 2 and the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake, in many ways, bigger does indeed mean better.

In this game, Kiryu Kazuma is approached by the fifth chairman of the Tojo Clan, Yukio Terada, who wishes to broker an alliance between the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance. After Terada is murdered, Kiryu decides to take on this goal himself, as he was the one who appointed Terada as the fifth chairman. Thus, he places his adopted daughter, Haruka, in the care of the orphanage where they both grew up, and sets out on the dangerous task to broker peace between the two biggest yakuza organizations in Japan.

The story of Yakuza 2, which takes place a year after the events of Yakuza, is often praised as being among the best in the series and within the top two with Yakuza 0. That praise is well deserved, as it is an exciting murder mystery with a lot of twists and turns thrown in. On top of that, the female detective, Kaoru Sayama, whom Kiryu first meets in this game is written superbly. The writers are good at writing for interesting female characters, but they usually are relegated to the women at the cabaret clubs. It is fun to interact with these women, who range from ultra-feminine to tomboyish. However, they rarely have a tough, yet feminine woman who can hold their own in a fight. That's a shame because Yakuza 2 showed that they could do it well. It took over a half a decade, with the release of Yakuza 5, for another tough, feminine woman to appear in a Yakuza game, and over another half a decade for a playable strong, feminine female character to become playable with the release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Another awesome character is the Kansai dragon, Ryuji Goda, who is one of the main villains of the game, as he wants to defeat Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, to stake the claim as the only dragon in the yakuza. He is written and performed so well that he became popular with the fans enough to become a playable character in Yakuza: Dead Souls.

As for gameplay, this game is the one that shows its Shenmue lineage the most. Yakuza showed it with quick-time events, fetch quests, and a puzzle near the beginning of the game where Kiryu had to infiltrate the funeral of the third chairman of the Tojo clan. Yakuza 2 has these as well, but it has an actual adventure puzzle near the middle of the game where Kiryu has to interpret clues to open a safe. The puzzle is done very well, and, as a fan of adventure games, I'm happy that it was kept intact in the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake.

Speaking of the remake, compared to Yakuza Kiwami, the controls are still a bit stiff and there is only one fighting style for Kiryu. In addition, some locations with mini-games are no longer accessible in Yakuza Kiwami 2, such as bowling, pool, and the Club Adam host organization. In addition, with the replacement of Shinseicho for Sotenbori, the Shinseicho minigames have been moved to Kamurocho and Sotenbori or removed entirely. Making up for it, however, some mini-games have been added to the Kiwami remake, including the Majima Construction clan creator and cabaret club management. 

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an excellent game with multiple locations to visit, well-written and excellently voiced new and returning characters, and a superb plot. Any version is worth playing, from the PlayStation 2 original, the Japanese-only high-definition versions on PlayStation 3 and Wii U, or the Kiwami remake, although I wholeheartedly recommend playing the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake. Yakuza 2, and by extension, Yakuza Kiwami 2, absolutely deserves its praise as one of the best games in the series, and the remake cements it there, even when compared to later games in the series.

Final verdict:

5 out of 5

Yakuza 2 (HD) Review

Yakuza Kiwami 2: Majima Saga review

Choices-and-Consequences Management Simulator Review: Dispatch - Episode 1: Pivot

Dispatch, the episodic superhero adventure game by AdHoc Studio premiered with two episodes. AdHoc was founded by Telltale Games alumni, so there was a lot riding on the studio's choices-and-consequences superhero management game. The big question for fans of Telltale and fans of the aforementioned genres in general is whether the premiere episode was worth the wait.

Dispatch follows Robert Robertson, a non-powered human who inherited a fortune which he used to maintain a giant robot and fight crime as Mecha Man. After a mission doesn't go as planned, Robert becomes a middle manager as he dispatches superheroes to fight crime and do mundane tasks around the Dispatch universe's version of Los Angeles.

The wording in the previous paragraph was not a coincidence, as the dispatch system is highly reminiscent of the auto-play mode of Double Fine's Middle Manager of Justice. An event is reported and Robertson has to choose the superheroes on his team to respond. These heroes all take the form of archetypes from comic book superheroes, including super strong men and women, heroes who can control elements like fire, heroes who are super smart, and those who aren't human such as reptiles and robots. Dispatching requires some strategy as each hero has a unique level of combat, intellect, vigor, charisma, and mobility. Completing a mission successfully will raise the stat level, allowing the improvement of one trait for a hero.

As this is a choices-and-consequences game akin to the Dispatch team's past titles at Telltale, such as Tales from the Borderlands, the game consists of dialog options which will affect further dialog. They can sometimes also affect characters physically as well. As with most games of this type, there are also quick time events which affect physical motions performed by Robert. This game is a lot more flexible than some earlier titles, as the game begins with a pop-up with an option to have QTEs or to play the game cinematically without the requirement of any button inputs. When the latter is chosen, it is still obvious where the QTEs were located, as the action pauses for a moment before kicking back in. This is a development choice that is awkward at first but should stop taking the player out of the story as the story progresses.

In between the choices, quick time events, and dispatch strategies, a minigame will pop up to act as a tool to hack into various computer systems in the game. This takes place on a board that requires a bit of maneuvering to connect bridges over gaps to get the needed information from various points on the grid. Once everything is collected, the player exits the grid before time runs out and the story moves on. This computer hacking mechanism is quite like the LINC terminals that allow Robert Foster to traverse computer systems in Revolution Software's Beneath a Steel Sky. The difference here is that some points in the grid will have button prompts which need to be completed in the correct order.

The presentation is top-notch, with top-tier character modeling and animation combined with music and sound effects that sync up perfectly with the events unfolding in the story. The actors are all fantastic, with voices that fit the characters so well you end up focusing on the characters even when you recognize the voices of prolific actors such as Laura Bailey and Jeffrey Wright. It really does feel like watching an animated superhero series. One such animated series in particular immediately comes to mind, as Dispatch gives off real Invincible vibes.

To answer the question that began this review, the first episode of Dispatch really was worth the wait. It has fantastic characters performed by equally fantastic voice actors. The art and animation is truly amazing and the music just makes the art that much better. The storyline is also really intriguing. The management simulation mechanics also fits in surprising well with the choices-and-consequences gameplay and button-pressing prompts. For fans of either of these genres, or just those who enjoy animated superhero dramedies such as Invincible, this game is well worth playing.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Turn-Based Role-Playing Video Game Review: South Park - The Fractured But Whole

South Park - The Fractured But Whole is the direct sequel to The Stick of Truth. This game was developed by Ubisoft San Francisco rather than Obsidian Entertainment. As a studio known for the Rocksmith rhythm games, role-playing games were out of their repertoire prior to the release of this game. This, combined with the popularity of Stick of Truth, meant that The Fractured But Whole had a lot riding on it upon its release.

The story once again stars the New Kid, the player's avatar. This game gives not only a lot more customization options than its predecessor, but more customization options than most games available at the time of its release. The Stick of Truth only allowed customization of the look of the character but the story referred to the character as a male. This time, there is an option for gender, but there's a lot more available than merely male and female. There are also multiple options available to choose for your sexual orientation. The characters will then refer to the New Kid in the manner appropriate to gender and sexual orientation. There is also some clever social commentary in the character configuration as well as in the game proper.

In this game, the New Kid gains powers to reverse time. This can be used both in puzzles when traversing the map as well as in the turn-based fights. The battle system has also been changed from the previous game with grid-based movement that adds strategy to brawls. There are many different enemies from South Park's history to battle, including the crab people who were cut from the previous game.

There is a larger variety of South Park kids that can be included as a playable character in your party, including a girl in the form of Call Girl, also known as Wendy Testaburger. The characters go by code names as this time they are playing as superheroes. The first game had up to six characters which could serve as the three characters in your party, this time there are thirteen. The other twelve characters include Stan as Toolshed, Kyle as the Human Kite, Cartman as The Coon, Kenny as Mysterion, Butters as Professor Chaos, Jimmy as Fastpass  Clyde as Mosquito, Craig as Super Craig, Tweek as Wonder Tweek, Token as Tupperware, Scott Malkinson as Captain Diabetes, and Timmy as Dr. Timothy.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole improves upon its predecessor with more characters, a more robust battle system, and fun time manipulation puzzles. However, the storyline is divisive this time around, as the whole premise is of the New Kid using flatulence to manipulate time. This, obviously, sets up a lot of toilet humor. The other part that divides fans is that the game contains characters and situation mostly from the newer episodes of South Park, whereas the original had characters and references that spanned the entire show up to that point. If you can look past the childish exterior, the storyline actually is quite fun with conspiracies, time travel, and the expected South Park satire.

Final Verdict:
4½ out of 5