I played Yakuza Kiwami on Nintendo Switch 2, and the Dragon of Dojima’s debut feels as good as ever

The Dragon of Dojima has smashed his way onto the Nintendo Switch 2 once again – this time with a port of Yakuza Kiwami – a remake of the first game released in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s iconic series. This excellent action role-playing game (RPG) has landed on Nintendo’s latest console almost ten years after its initial release on PS3 and PS4, so does it hold up?

Well, before I answer that and get into the nitty-gritty, allow me to set the scene.

Yakuza Kiwami follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu – a yakuza who is expelled from the Tojo Clan after being accused of murdering his patriarch, Sohei Dojima. After spending ten years in prison, Kiryu is forced to find his feet in truly chaotic circumstances. His childhood friend, Yumi, has gone missing. His sworn brother Nishiki is spiralling after being appointed as a yakuza boss. And the Tojo Clan is frantically searching for 10 billion yen, which has seemingly been stolen. The story is compelling as ever, and kept me engaged from start to finish.

I’ve spent more than 15 hours playing through the main and side stories in Yakuza Kiwami for Nintendo Switch 2. And as someone who played – and thoroughly enjoyed – the PS4 version of this remake, my hopes were pretty high. Here’s how it stacked up against my expectations.

Making the Switch 2 a new console

Good news, Yakuza fans, this is a very strong port of Kiwami. First of all, the game runs at an impressive 60fps, which is the same as the PS4 version. I was glad to see that the framerate rarely ever dropped with my Switch 2 docked or in handheld mode, keeping the action flowing when it mattered most.

There was the very occasional drop during heat actions, but this was minor and had no impact on gameplay whatsoever. The title also displays at 1080p, meaning you get very solid performance, all things considered. Of course, as a port of a decade-old game, the visuals aren’t the flashiest, but Kiwami certainly looks as good as you’d hope on Switch 2.

Other than one cutscene in Chapter 1, which appeared to be a little low-res, in-game movies also looked as good as they did on PS4. The murkiness of 2005 Kamurocho, the vibrancy of yakuza fashion, and the character animations all look as character-filled as I’d hoped.

Another good thing about the Switch 2 version is that load times have been kept nice and brief. So, whether you’re heading into a fast food joint or going to the Serena bar, transitions feel swift and seamless.

Yakuza Kiwami isn’t only nice to look at and smooth performing, but it’s also a joy to control on Switch 2. I mainly played through it with the Joy-Con 2 controllers, piecing combos together, switching into different battle styles, and general movement feels just like it should.

There are a few small options that also help to make this a great port. For instance, you can carry over data from the original Nintendo Switch version of the game, straight onto Switch 2 if you’re mid-way through your adventure, say. There are also more text languages available than in the PS4 version, for example, which is a nice touch. And obviously, being on Switch 2, you can also play on the go, which is a key reason to pick this edition over home console alternatives.

Overall, this is a great way to play Yakuza Kiwami – an awesome game in its own right. Speaking of, let’s talk a little more about the game itself, which has been a favorite of mine for a number of years.

KIRYU-CHAN!

Yakuza Kiwami’s story covers some pretty heavy ground. Kiryu aims to help a vulnerable child find her mother; he has to survive in an increasingly hostile Kamurochō, and the internal politics of the Tojo Clan leave him in some extremely precarious situations. But the heaviness of Kiwami’s story is weighted against some truly bizarre – oftentimes hilarious – sub-stories and events.

Perhaps the most obvious example I can think of is just about every interaction with Goro Majima, who is nicknamed ‘The Mad Dog of Shimano’. This troublemaker has a sadomasochistic obsession with Kiryu and will fight you at every turn through a battle system called Majima Everywhere. He claims this is to revive the ‘true’ Dragon of Dojima – the full-strength Kiryu that existed before spending a decade imprisoned.

Usually, you’ll just have a scrap in the streets of Kamurochō, but some of your encounters are phenomenally bizarre. Majima will dress up as a police officer, hide in a comically oversized traffic cone, and even get into drag. All with the purpose of fighting you. There are so many hilarious moments, and these episodes will make it clear why Majima is such a fan favorite.

As you continue to battle it out and improve your Majima Everywhere rank, you’ll unlock skills for the Dragon combat style. This is a bit different, as you simply spend EXP to gain proficiency in the other styles: Brawler, Rush, and Beast. I’d argue that the pure volume of fights required to advance the Majima Everywhere plotline and gain all of the Dragon skills is too high, and can grow tiresome after a while. But still, there are a lot of brilliant moments sprinkled throughout this segment of the game.

My Judgement

I mentioned EXP earlier, which you gain through beating street punks, defeating bosses, eating food…you name it. This can be spent on upgrading health, learning combat skills, and the like. The way your power scales as the game goes on feels fitting for a yakuza who’s been long out of the game, and adding new moves into the mix as you become more familiar with the combat system is a strong design choice.

And speaking of combat, it’s seriously addictive. The various battle styles are well-differentiated, piecing together combos feels satisfying, and building up your heat gauge to unleash powerful – and sometimes zany – finishing moves is seriously gratifying. You’re not getting the most complex or deep action mechanics ever, but that’s honestly not a flaw – the fact that the simplistic combat feels this rewarding is a feat in itself.

Before I come to my conclusion, I have to mention that the story is executed very well overall. There are plenty of twists and turns, plenty of emotion-filled moments, and a wonderful cast of characters. You’ll have the odd errand to run in the main story, and this can slightly disrupt the pace of the adventure, but aside from these occasional bumps in the road, Kiwami is a real blast to play through.

There are also some funny, action-packed, and plot-enriching sub-stories to explore. Most of these are non-essential, but you can get some amazing rewards if you take the time to see them through. You’ll hear a ton of groovy and heartfelt tracks throughout these substories, and just in Kamurochō generally, which I regularly come back to listen to.

All in all, Yakuza Kiwami is great on Nintendo Switch 2. This version runs smoothly and looks very good for the most part, although the game does, of course, show its older-gen roots. Load times are short, everything feels easy to control, and the game itself is strong in terms of its narrative, gameplay, and soundtrack. If you haven’t played Yakuza Kiwami yet, then it’s all too easy to recommend it on Nintendo Switch 2.

Should you play Yakuza Kiwami on Nintendo Switch 2?

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Accessibility features

There are quite a few options available in the settings menu, like camera control customization, subtitles in a range of languages, different difficulty and gore levels, and the choice to toggle display tips on or off. Unfortunately, there’s no colorblind mode, though, which would’ve been a nice touch.

How I reviewed Yakuza Kiwami on Nintendo Switch 2

I spent more than 15 hours playing through the main story and a handful of side stories in Yakuza Kiwami on Nintendo Switch 2. I usually played in docked mode, with my Switch 2 console connected to the Sky Glass Gen 2 TV and Marshall Heston 120 soundbar. However, I did play in handheld mode on occasion, where I usually listened to in-game audio with my Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones.

I’ve played Yakuza Kiwami on the PS4 before, and spent in excess of 50 hours on the game. As a result, I had a strong understanding of what would make this a successful port. I’m also a big fan of the Yakuza series in general, with Yakuza 0 standing as my favorite game in the franchise.

More generally, I’ve been a Nintendo Switch 2 owner from launch, and have reviewed a wide range of games for the console. This includes other RPGs like Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake and Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army, but also titles from other genres, like Kirby Air Riders and Drag x Drive.

First reviewed December 2025