Sega dropping “extreme” ‘Yakuza’ remake this August
I’ve never gotten into Sega’s Yakuza series, despite wanting to. I don’t know if I’ll play this extreme remake, despite it being a perfect opportunity to get into said franchise. However, I certainly am interested.
Yakuza Kiwami, Sega’s remake of 2005’s Yakuza, is coming to PlayStation 4 on Aug. 29, the publisher announced today. The “rebuilt from the ground up” version of the PlayStation 2 original will retail for $29.99.
The so-called extreme HD remake will feature “completely recreated graphics,” according to Sega, and re-recorded audio from the game’s original Japanese voice actors. In terms of new content, Sega promises “added distractions” — including the “Majima Everywhere” system, in which Goro Majima will regularly surprise and challenge players to combat — and about 30 minutes of new cutscenes.
The original Yakuza was released on PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2005. Sega later re-released the game on PlayStation 3 and Wii U.
Yakuza tells the story of Kazuma Kiryu, who is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Then, according to Sega…
[D]uring 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.
Sega will release a special Steelbook physical version of Yakuza Kiwami for pre-orders and first-run copies