Kamurocho
Another aspect of the Yakuza series that’s changed incredibly over the years is the vibrant nightlife city of Kamurocho. We’ve seen it go from the ’80s in Zero all the way up to the 2010s with Yakuza 5. Nothing shows the change more drastic, however, than Yakuza Kiwami. This comparison shows how impressive Yakuza really was on the PS2 though.
Characters mill about the streets and glowing neon signs dot every corner. The biggest change with Kiwami comes with a controllable camera, as the original game had fixed camera angles as you explored. This means you’re free to take in the sights of Kamurocho and get a much better view of things. The second image compares how well a store in the original game was rendered, versus the detailed depictions in Kiwami. Notice how much clearer everything looks, to the point where you can actually read the brands on the packaging, versus the mostly blurry packages in the original game. At the same time the PS2 Yakuza’s renders look like single blocks of items, while Kiwami looks like every item is individual.
