Early Kiwami 2 thoughts -
- So yeah, it's basically 6, much like Kiwami 1 was quite similar to Zero, but it feels more disjointed here - Kiryu and the rest still look and act like their "older" selves from 6, which is odd to get used to considering this is supposed to be one of the "younger" entries, story-wise. Some aspects are more balanced (the experience system is the same as 6, but the different types of points are doled out more evenly), and the framerate, while still unfortunately stuck at 30, so far seems more consistent than in 6, but frankly I still prefer the old engine.
- You can keep and equip weapons again, and both weak and strong attacks can be charged (while moving, even) from near the beginning, but otherwise combat feels much the same as 6's - most Heat Actions are either context-sensitive or require "extreme heat" (which I haven't unlocked yet) to use, and the camera, as ever, is still a bit of a bear.
- Speaking of legacy issues, I'm frankly floored that it's
still so cumbersome to keep track of your completion, which the game so strongly encourages - why in heaven's name do I still have to open the menu to check which dishes I've eaten at a particular restaurant instead of seeing them checked off as I order, and for that matter why does even the menu not keep track in any way whatsoever which heat actions I've used? I can't imagine I'm the only one to have asked for this after so many entries, what gives?
- Several of the gambling games are back (or, more accurately I suppose, are still here), though pretty easily ignored if you're not nuts enough to try to 100% this...darts and karaoke are much the same, golf is fun (though like the batting cages suffers from the halved framerate), but the UFO catcher, inexplicably, is even more unfair (and, presumably, true to life) than before.
Arcade-wise, I know there are some Virtual On fans here, but ugh, I must be missing something big, because I absolutely
hated the controls and camera here. Haven't unlocked the "major" minigames yet.
- Not too far into the story, but I will say I like the villain this time around; in a bunch of the other Yakuzas you don't find out who the "big bad" (insofar as you can label anyone in this series as such) is until the plot has taken a bunch of ridiculous twists and turns, but here the guy is right out front, and puts on a pretty good show, which in these circumstances is oddly refreshing, though part of it comes from having been partially spoiled and knowing there isn't a Zeromus waiting in the wings somewhere.
Still a long ways to go, but I'm pretty confident in saying I'm eager for Sega to move on from their current "formula" for the series, as I'm pretty sure this one won't rank much higher on my list than 6 when all is said and done...though I feel it's only fair to close by noting that another early sidequest got a healthy laugh out of me again, so they can feel free to keep that part.
