Yakuza Kiwami Release Date and Price Revealed by Sega

Written by Brandon Hofer on April 12, 2017

News: You will get your hands on the Yakuza 1 remake in August at a very reasonable price.

Yakuza Kiwami is coming out later this year on the PS4 and now we finally have a release date and price. It will be arriving on August 29, 2017 and will be available for $29.99/£29.99/€34.99. For those who haven’t been following along with this game, Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the original Yakuza game that was released on the PS2 in 2005. This is an “extreme” remake that has completely recreated graphics, fully re-recorded Japanese audio by the original voice actors, 30 minutes of new cutscenes and more. Yakuza Kiwami will be available digitally and physically with the pre-orders/first run copies of the physical version being packaged in a SteelBook.

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.

Some of the key features for Yakuza Kiwami include:

A Family Patriarch's Ransom of New Content - "Kiwami" literally translates to "extreme," and the game was named that for good reason. 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, combat updates, re-recorded Japanese dialogue, and more 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.

Sega has also released the Yakuza Experience website, an all new Yakuza portal where the world of Yakuza can be explored via an interactive timeline and character map. It is a great resource to use if you want to learn about the history, characters and families in the series. Right now you can check out everything leading up to 1995, where Yakuza Kiwami begins. The site also features the first issue of a 10 issue digital comic, starting with some of the key events of Yakuza 0 and taking you along for the ride all the way up to Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, coming to PS4 early next year.

Take a look at the new trailer that was released and tell us what you think. Yakuza 0 was just released a couple of months ago on PS4, Yakuza Kiwami will be released in August and then Yakuza 6 will be released early next year. Are you ready to spend a lot of time with the Yakuza?