It’s quite the day for Yakuza news today as over eight minutes of story footage from the forthcoming Yakuza remake, Yakuza: Kiwami, has been released.
Set for release on both PS3 and PS4, Yakuza: Kiwami is an impressively polished version of the original Yakuza which was released on PS2 ten years ago. In addition to a new coat of impressive high-definition paint, Yakuza: Kiwami also features a boatload of additional story cutscenes, extra fighting moves, additional mini-games such as “Insect Queen Female King” (don’t ask) and the ability to have a scrap with series personality Goro Majima anytime you like.
Another unique feature of the remake is the addition of retired, but still double-hard real-life Japanese judoka Shinichi Shinohara to the cast. Initially appearing as a bewildered tourist, Shinohara eventually baits main protagonist Kazuma Kiryu to an underground fighting arena where the decorated martial artists pits his judo skills against Kiryu’s blunt force trauma-style street fighting style.
To sweeten the pot even further, first-print copies of Yakuza: Kiwami will include a demo for Yakuza 6 which if you haven’t seen it already, is shaping up really quite nicely indeed.
Set for release in Japan on January 21st 2016, Yakuza: Kiwami hasn’t got a release date in North American and European territories yet sadly but until that joyus occasion comes to pass, you can feast your eyes on that new footage below.