Yakuza Kiwami (Japanese: 龍が如く 極 | Hepburn: Ryū ga Gotoku Kiwami | lit. "Like a Dragon Extreme") is an action-adventure video game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. It is a remake of Yakuza, the first game in the Yakuza series, originally released on Sony's PlayStation 2. Yakuza Kiwami was released on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan on January 21, 2016, and on PlayStation 4 in Europe and North America on August 29, 2017. It was also ported to Windows via Steam worldwide on February 19, 2019,[4] to Xbox One on April 21, 2020, and to Amazon Luna on December 22, 2022.
Like the original PlayStation 2 game, Yakuza Kiwami explores the life of a man named Kazuma Kiryu who is demoted from his clan after taking the blame for his boss's murder. After a decade in prison, Kiryu searches for his old friends who have gone missing. The remake adds extra elements to the story, including Akira Nishikiyama's corruption during Kiryu's imprisonment and the constant struggles between Kiryu and his rival Goro Majima. The gameplay was improved to resemble the prequel Yakuza 0, adding more depth to the fighting system.
Sega had ideas to remake the first Yakuza game in 2015 as part of the series' 10th anniversary but was unsure about developing it due to their team focused on making Yakuza 0. Following the success of Yakuza 0, Sega started working on the remake of the first game and aimed to add new elements to the story while trying to make it more enjoyable than the original game. The game was well received, earning positive sales. Critics praised the simplicity of the combat but were divided by the handling of the storyline and side missions. Nonetheless, the Majima Everywhere system was praised for its comedic value. Yakuza Kiwami was followed up by Yakuza 6: The Song of Life later in 2016, and another remake based on the second game titled Yakuza Kiwami 2 was also released in 2018.
