Yakuza 0 Director's Cut
Diving back into neon-soaked 1980s Japan with the Director's Cut of Yakuza 0 on PS5 feels like a massive breath of fresh air -- especially with the incredibly quick loading times. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio also finally stripped away the most agonizing part of the original game: the terrible save system. You no longer have to find a phone booth and click through multiple dialogue boxes just to record your progress. The new auto-saving and instant menu saves are the best quality of life improvements.
On the performance front, the game looks exceptionally clean on the PS5. The visual upgrade is immediately noticeable compared to the older releases (even compared to the Nintendo Switch 2 release), boasting vastly improved anti-aliasing that sharpens up the streets of Kamurocho and Sotenbori. It also bumps all the pre-rendered cutscenes up to a smooth 60 frames per second.
The other new addition is the English dub, which features fully reworked lip-syncing that matches the English dialogue perfectly. There’s also a fully voiced Chinese dub as well. However, it isn't an entirely flawless package. Some of the stylized menu UI looks a bit low-resolution and blurry on modern 4K displays, and the newly added story cutscenes feel somewhat unnecessary.
In terms of actual new content, you get a new wave based multiplayer mode called Red Light Raid, which you can play solo, locally, or online with friends to earn money to unlock new characters and upgrades. It’s a nice addition, but it inevitably and quickly gets repetitive.
Unfortunately, your previous PS4 save data does not transfer to the Director’s Cut version; you have to start completely from scratch. The original Yakuza 0 is also delisted from digital storefronts, forcing you to pay for the Director’s Cut. For a more in depth review of Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, check out Katelyn’s review.
Yakuza Kiwami
The PS5 native upgrade for Yakuza Kiwami feels like a minor enhancement rather than a massive overhaul. Much like the Director's Cut of Yakuza 0, it features the massively improved save system. Performance-wise, it runs at a flawless 60 frames per second at a crisp 4K resolution. The improved anti-aliasing goes a long way here as well, eliminating the ugly edges that were noticeably present when playing the PS4 version through backwards compatibility. That’s really where the improvements end. There’s no new English dub, extra cutscenes, or new modes. I guess it does include some expanded subtitle languages! Sadly, Yakuza Kiwami requires a $1.99 fee for the upgrade if you own the PS4 version.
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Out of the entire PS5 native collection, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is probably the biggest technical upgrade. Because it was an early Dragon Engine title, the original PS4 release played at a choppy 30 frames per second. The PS5 version finally unlocks the game at a native 60 FPS (including cutscenes), and the difference in gameplay is night and day. The combat feels significantly heavier, more responsive, and far more satisfying. RGG Studio actually went in and fixed the engine physics tied to the framerate. It’s nice that this upgrade is free for digital owners of the PS4 version. (Note: 0 Director's Cut and Kiwami 1 are paid upgrades.) For a more in depth review of Yakuza Kiwami 2, check out David’s review.
