by Amr (@siegarettes)

• Yakuza 3, 4, and 4 Remastered
• Developer: Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, SEGA CS1
• Publisher: SEGA
• PS4 (Previously on PS3)

With the newfound popularity of the Yakuza saga and the next gen remakes of the early games, it’s a great time to get into the series. And with the release of the Yakuza Remastered Collection the previously PS3 only games–Yakuza 3, 4 and 5–have made it onto modern platforms, making it easy to play the whole series on a single console. 

For those used to the slick presentation of the recent entries this might be a jarring contrast. Yakuza 0 and Kiwami, while being simultaneously released on the PS3 and PS4 came out well after some of the entries in this collection, and boast much slicker interfaces and quality of life changes. Alongside the harsher edges brought on by the high resolution treatment, it makes these earlier games look quaint by comparison. 

Yakuza 3 in particular looks ancient, with its chunky menus and lower resolution artwork. Yakuza 4 shares the same interface issues, but the overall aesthetic has been refined a bit more. Yakuza 5 fares the best of these by far, as it already looked incredible on the PS3, with some really impressive modelwork and cutscene direction, managing to look consistently great across one of the most massive entries in the series. There are still harsh edges in the models and textures, but between the great art direction and updated interface, it still generally gives off the impression of a modern game. 

The 60fps treatment is a mixed bag. In combat and general gameplay it feels great and gives the game a much snappier feel, especially in some of the latter fights of Yakuza 5, where the team went absolutely wild with the amount of enemies they throw at you. In cutscenes, the higher frame rate makes everything feel a little off. 

Unlike Yakuza 0 and Kiwami, which were built around the higher frame rates, these earlier games weren’t made with it in mind, and the timing and movement comes off as more unnatural. For in-game dialogue and text based conversations it’s fine, since they tend to use several stock animations, but during more elaborately framed moments it comes off as jarring in places and distracts from the scene. A shame, since Yakuza is a series that’s full of incredible direction and composition, and the  remasters don’t always feels like they present it in the best light. Again, this is something that’s much more clear in Yakuza 3, and smoothed out by 5. 

It might seem that Yakuza 3 ended up with the short end of the stick here, but thankfully the remaster doesn’t only throw it up in higher resolution and framerate, but brings a full re-localization effort that restores tons of previously cut content from the Western releases and brings the game more in line with the series’ modern translations. One transphobic mission was cut, both in the Western and Japanese releases, but it’s honestly for the better given how gross the content of the mission was, and feels more in line with the characterization of Kiryu the series has built since then. 

The restoration of the cut content and new translations of the series feel like an acknowledgement of the more everyday role of Japanese media here, and the level of ubiquity and comfort we now have with Japanese culture in general. If nothing else, it’s nice to a see a fresh translation that keeps that in mind. 

The Yakuza Remastered Collection doesn’t quite make these old titles feel like modern games. But it does bring them in line with our modern understandings of the culture that surrounds the games, and makes them more accessible for a modern audience. The visual upgrades can be a little hit in miss in spots, but clean up the games’ looks while losing some slight character that only bothersome old heads like me will notice. If you’re looking for an easy way to catch up with the adventures of Kiryu and friends, the Yakuza Remastered Collection will provide you with plenty of melodrama and homoerotic tension you crave.