What I did in the game: Completion List: 303/303. Stats: 1200/1200. Battle Skills: 56/56. Heat Actions: 33/33. Life Skills: 34/34.
The One Picture I have taken: Ending Results Screen (getting 100% in stats prove 100% beyond the Completion List, since some skills are linked to actions the Completion List dont ask you, like fully completing the Bouncer List, the Coliseum, and some scrolls/books you have to grind like the Battling Center ones).
I can't believe this is my third Yakuza games I've completed 100% in one month. I've really fallen deep in the rabbit hole. When I first started playing this one, I wasn't sure at first. After playing 0 and Kiwami in their beautiful 60 FPS, it felt really weird going back to 30, with even some ghosting when turning the camera, which I didnt like. But after a while, you adapt, and you see how much more beautiful the Dragon Engine is. Kamarucho and Sotenbori are both here but more vibrant and alive than ever. Gone are the days of bad cameras, getting stuck on everything and screen transitions. This time, it looks like everything in your path can be moved or destroyed, the camera just don't hit building and when you enter most of the building, you don't fade to black anymore, it's still part of the open world. While I would have liked a performance mode, there's no denying that this is a beautiful game on Switch 2. It truly feels next gen and not a PS3 game anymore.
So, once that first visual hurdle has been cleared, it's time to really focus on what I like in the Yakuza games now, and it's completing everything. Because yes, once again, trying to focus on the story (which is another great Crime Drama that was really fun to watch) is mission impossible here. Everytime you do 2 steps in it there's 30 new optional things appearing before you. There's a new completion list, but this time, instead of giving you CP to unlock cheat, you're getting XP, which you can use to boost your stats. The Life Skills instead are used to cheat the system. Also, most of the completion items that were really tedious to complete in 0 and Kiwami, like completing the Weapons and Gears list or the Gambling ones, have been dialed down. As such I feel this is at first more easy to 100%, until you realize that many of the thing you need to do to unlock every skills in the game goes beyond what the completion list ask you to do. So overall, if you want to maximize your stats, I would say it's pretty much as tedious as Kiwami 1, but less than 0.
Then there's the 2 big star mini-games. First is the come back of the Hostess Club, pretty much identical to 0. And like in Kiwami 1 and the Pocket Circuit storyline that was a direct continuation to 0, the Hostess Club in Kiwami 2 is EVEN more a story continuation, which made the whole thing even more satisfying. Another reason to REALLY play 0 before any of those remakes, else you're losing TONS of references (even more in Kiwami 2 and the side-story Majima Saga, which is 3 Chapters where you're playing as Majima, but not having played 0 before is truly a sin here, since there's BIG moment that will totally be lost on you). The second mini-game is Majima Construction, and it's basically a RTS/Tower Defense. You control a team of 9 characters, and you need to protect equipments from waves of enemies. You can both level up your team and the equipments, which I enjoy, since I usually don't like pure RTS and prefer when there's a RPG system. But unfortunately, Kiwami 2 on Switch 2 give you access to all DLC content, which includes 10 Godly characters which I've used, and made the whole experience quite easy except for the last extra mission. Other than that, it was a fun and unique mini-game.
Finally there's the battle system. Gone are the different fighting styles, you only have one now, but I feel that you can do so much more with the one style you have once you start unlocking everything. Added to the game is also an Extreme Heat mode where you press ZR once your Heat gauge is full to go berserk until your gauge is empty. It feels more streamlined overall than 0 and Kiwami, but it might not be a bad thing, it's just different. Even some of the mini-games got an overhaul. Dart and Baseball feel easier to play now. And I'm happy to report that Sega Arcade games are back, with the full version of Virtual Fighter 2 and Virtual On, which are both amazingly running at 60FPS, which feel kind of weird when you transition between the main game and the arcade games. So yeah, gameplay wise, while I wasn't sure at first that the lack of fighting styles was a good thing, I would say that the overall game is really a step up.
So, that's pretty much it...at least for one week, because yes, I just couldn't resist and already pre-loaded Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, which is out next week. So I guess my Yakuza Crazy Journey is not over yet. Still one more to go before I start the waiting game for the others titles in the series to finally come out on Switch 2. But so far, they were all almost perfect experience for me. There's not many series that could made me 100% three of them back to back without feeling burned out. I may even say that this series is now becoming one of my top 5 favorite of all time. It's just that good, and I can't get enough of it. It's truly everything Shenmue ever wanted to be and more!
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