Sega had plans of remaking the originalYakuzasinceYakuza 0’s development, as it was due to release in 2015, the year of the first game’s 10th anniversary. Once that game was a success, they decided to roll with its momentum by usingYakuza 0’s assets to createYakuza Kiwami. It retells the originalYakuzastory with some extra scenes to flesh the story out and withYakuza 0’s style-switching gameplay.
Players don’t need billions of yen to upgrade Kiryu anymore. But they do need to build up XP bar by bar by beating up thugs, completing substories, and progressing through the game. On top of that, Kiryu’s frenemy Goro Majima will now pop out to fight him with his own different styles, and players have to beat him multiple times to level up Kiryu’s new(-ish) Dragon style. To help any new players, particularly on its latest port on the Nintendo Switch, they should look for these upgrades to help them bring justice to Kamurocho.
10Health & Heat Upgrades
Last Longer in the Fight
First off,Health and Heatare obvious upgrades to pick up. Kiryu starts off sturdy enough in the game’s prologue. But once the game starts properly, players will feel the toll 10 years in the joint has taken on the Dragon of Dojima. If they don’t,Goro Majima will show themin a quick, mandatory boss battle where he fights way beyond Kiryu’s level. Luckily, players don’t have to win this battle to progress.
But they should buck up their health a bit afterward to keep themselves in the game for longer. While boosting Heat will increase their Heat gauge, letting them pull off more Heat moves to damage their foes with one, context-sensitive attack per Triangle/Y/X press. Players won’t need to focus on maxing it and Health out ASAP, but they should get enough Heat upgrades to get Climax Heat (red chunks at the end of the Heat gauge). They’ll need it to spare themselves some headaches against the bosses.
9Attack Boost
From Stinging like a Bee to Roasting Them like a Dragon
It’s tempting to spend all that extra XP on the flashier techniques, like the extra Heat moves or combo strikes. But they won’t get the player far if they’re not strong enough to put a dent in their foes' health bars. TheAttack Boostupgrades will make Kiryu’s strikes hurt his enemies more, making them much less of a hassle to deal with.
Yakuza Kiwamiisn’t exactly the hardest game in the world, but its difficulty curve is strange as it’s very testing in the early stages. Players won’t get a lot of time to build up XP before they’re dealing with multi-man brawls and some tricky bosses. Like Health and Heat, Attack Boosts are upgrades players should dip into every so often to even the odds.
8Essence of Extreme Brawler/Rush/Beast
Crush the Bosses Before They Can Fight Back
Upgrading health, heat, and attack are basic suggestions, so let’s go for one that players shouldn’t miss out on getting ASAP: theEssences of Extreme Brawler, Rush, and Beast. These are finishing moves Kiryu can pull off whena boss characteris slumped over and healing up. If Kiryu has Climax Heat, he can stop them in their tracks with one of those moves. Players just have to match their style to the boss’ glow (blue for Brawler, yellow for Beast, purple for Rush).
People would assume this would be a default skill. But nope. They need enough upgrades to get Climax Heat, then they have to get these finishers separately. If players are caught short, they can also use a Heat move with a weapon to stop the boss from healing. They’ll pull off this phase twice, so players will have to keep their Heat topped up to stop them.
7Re-Guard & Black Tortoise Spirit
Bolster Kiryu’s Defenses With Some Solid Blocking Upgrades
These are two separate upgrades, but since they both involve blocking, theRe-Guard and Black Tortoise Spiritare key moves to have. They can take the edge off those multi-man brawls by improving Kiryu’s defense. His block can only hold up so long against a barrage of attacks, or even one big lunge from big enemies.
With Re-Guard, he’ll be able to recover his block faster, shutting any windows of opportunity for his foes. But wandering around blocking won’t help Kiryu keep up his Heat, reducing his chances of turning the tide. With Black Tortoise Spirit, Kiryu will gain Heat with each blocked attack. It’s a humble amount, but it’s enough to offset any Heat loss players might experience if they’re put on the defensive.
6Evasive Weaving
Stopping a Combo Short to Escape Danger
UnlikeYakuza 0, Rush is a pretty strong style inYakuza Kiwami. It helps that it’s fast from the beginning, instead of being slow as molasses until Kiryu builds up heat. If players want to get the most out of this style, they should getEvasive Weaving. It’s one of the first accessible upgrades on the Tech tree, and it can really help a player out.
It allows them to cancel out any of Rush’s combos by performing a quickstep. Normally, this would help them dodge out of danger mid-strike. But it can also be used to stunlock enemies, including some bosses (i.e.all Majima variants) by getting behind them, and doing a repeating pattern of jabbing their back twice, then quickstepping forward to jab twice more, then repeating that pattern until they’re beaten. It’s long and cheesy, but it’s a reliable way to rack up the damage if the player’s having a tough time.
5Change-Up Moves
Step Out in Style in an Instant
LikeYakuza 0, players can switchbetween Kiryu’s fighting different stylesby pressing a direction on the d-pad. It’s a quick process, but it can be quicker, as Kiryu does a little pose when he switches. If players don’t want to let up on an opponent, they can look out for his differentChange-Upupgrades. They’ll let Kiryu change styles instantly with a d-pad press during a certain move.
Change-Up (Finishing Blow)will let Kiryu switch during any combo’s final heavy attack. WhileChange-Up (Damage)will see him switch styles when he’s being hit.Change-Up (Taunt)can be handy for building up Heat for another style’s Heat move, but the best isChange-Up (Evade), as switching up during a quickstep can help Kiryu escape danger to a swifter or more powerful style. Or it can let the player get creative and pull off some impressive, inescapable combos on any unfortunate goon.
4Double Finishing Blow
A Double Dose of Pain
Kiryu’s Brawler style is a happy medium between the speed of Rush and the power of Beast. It hits harder than the former, is faster than the latter, and isn’t as broken as either of them. Even so, once players are deep into the game, they’ll need to give Brawler more to work with. Its combos work best when it’s got theDouble Finishing Blow.
Once obtained, it lets Kiryu do an additional heavy attack on his combos. Each will floor a regular grunt, and stop a big guy in their tracks. Plus, some of them can lead to other follow-up attacks Kiryu can unlock, like the Snatching Strike to floor any foe it grabs, and the Essence of Finishing Blows to give them a nice Superman punch afterward.
3Extreme Dragon Speed
Make the Dragon of Dojima Move Faster Than Before
Dragon works differently from the other styles, as its upgrades require fighting Majima multiple times via the Majima Everywhere system. They’ll pop up automatically for each feat achieved, and for each rank gained, from F to SSS. If players don’t find him, he’ll find them, as he gets more persistent with each higher rank.
It’s worth fighting him as much as possible, as he will spend a few story chapters out of action on a smoke break. They won’t get all of Dragon’s moves in one go, but they can do enough to make it a viable style. Dragon’s Speed Reborn requires getting him to muscle in on a fight while at Rank A, whileExtreme Dragon Speedpops after beating him at SSS rank.
2Komaki Cat-Like Reflexes
Get Back Into the Fight in a Flash
Another reason to beef up Dragon style is for Komaki, a master martial artist Kiryu meets in Chapter 6 of the game. He’ll teach Kiryu new moves if he completes his lessons, where he can only use Dragon style. If the player slacks on fighting Majima, they’ll pay dearly for it through Komaki’s interesting teaching methods.
After the first two lessons, he’ll only teach Kiryu more skills if he obtains the Image prizes from the Coliseum. For example, if players wantKomaki Cat-Like Reflexes, they’ll have to win enough bouts to get the Image of a Cat, give it to Komaki, and beat up the bat-wielding thug he brings out. Once done, Kiryu will be able to recover from a knockdown by pressing X/A/B the moment they hit the ground.
1Komaki Tiger Drop
No Sugarcoating Required
Komaki’s lessons don’t get any easier. With each Image obtained from the Coliseum (a feat unto itself), he’ll put Kiryu through more punishment, like dodging literal bullets to get the Evade & Strike or fighting ‘Hannyaman’ to get Clear-Minded Mastery, an offense buff against bosses. If only it could be as simpleas visiting an acupuncturistinstead. Still, it’s all worth it to get the best move in the game: theKomaki Tiger Drop.
With it, players will be able to counter-attack by holding the Fighting Stance button (R1/RT/R) and pressing Heavy Attack (Triangle/Y/X) right when a strike is about to land.Yakuza Kiwamihas the strongest version of this move as it practically destroys thugs, melts the bosses’ entire life bar with each attack, and is very generous with its timing. With this move, players have the rest of the game at their mercy.
