Yakuza Kiwami review: it's Yakuza on Switch, what more do you want?

Yakuza Kiwami's Switch port is exactly what it should be, with just a few tiny issues

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The Yakuza series has been on a roll in recent years, with the series experiencing a renaissance since the release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon in 2020. One of its biggest drawbacks, though, was that it was missing in action on one platform in particular: the Nintendo Switch. Thankfully, that’s finally changed, and with Yakuza Kiwami, the series is finally where it belongs. 

Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the original Yakuza game, bringing the game up to modern(ish) standards and making a few adjustments to the story. It scraps the combat system of the original and replaces it entirely with the system used in Yakuza 0. That’s both a good thing and a bad thing — for players of Yakuza 0, going to Kiwami feels like more of the same, but it’s a good system and a huge upgrade from the original PS2 game. 

The game follows series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, a lieutenant in the yakuza who takes the fall for a murder he didn’t commit, serving ten years in prison to protect his best friend. Once he gets out, his friend is a cold-hearted mob boss, another of his friends is missing, and a war breaks out among the different yakuza families. Kiryu takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of all of it, and the rest is history. 

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I don’t think I really need to go into a great deal of depth about Yakuza Kiwami as a game, it’s been discussed at length for almost a decade and there’s not much I can add to the conversation except my opinion: it’s good. It’s very good. Not the best in the series, but it’s a solid game, and a great start for anyone interested in getting into the series. 

The important thing here is the quality of the Nintendo Switch port. That’s also fairly good, thankfully. In terms of performance, it’s mostly a solid 30fps, but it can be a little bit shaky at times, with a few very tiny hitches here and there during exploration and combat, particularly in handheld mode. They’re not particularly frequent and don’t last long, so it’s not the end of the world. 

It looks pretty good too, with image quality that’s closer to the PS4 version of the game than the PS3 version when docked. As you’d expect, there’s a bit of aliasing at times, but it’s barely noticeable in handheld mode and easily forgivable when docked. It’s a good port that runs as well as anyone could have hoped for and looks better than I expected. 

If anything, my major complaints come from the fact that little has been done to update the game beyond its prior ports. A game having no autosaves was frustrating in 2016 when the game first released, but not having autosaves in 2024 is almost inexcusable, especially in a game that’s home to some tough fights and long cutscenes. Some of the combat is a little janky too, but that’s part of the charm of the Yakuza series, so while it can be frustrating, it’s not a dealbreaker by any means. 

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One major flaw in the Switch port, though, is the text size. Most text is just about readable in handheld mode on a regular or OLED Switch, but when you move over to the Switch Lite, it puts a lot of strain on the eyes. Granted, none of the text is unreadable, and your mileage may vary, but being able to bump up the size of some of the smaller text would go a long way in making this a better experience on Switch. 

Yakuza Kiwami is the best starting place for the Yakuza series, and the Switch is a great way to experience the start of Kiryu’s journey. While minor problems persist – both in terms of the game itself and its presentation on Switch – there’s not a whole lot holding it back. It’s Yakuza Kiwami, and it’s on Switch, and that’s all it needs to be. 

Score: 8/10 

Version tested: Nintendo Switch