I’ve played and reviewed pretty much every Yakuza game since Yakuza 0 here at MonsterVine, but it’s been a good while since I revisited Yakuza Kiwami and my favorite title in the series, Yakuza Kiwami 2. Just recently, both games received PS5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrades that promise to run at 60 fps with 4K resolution, so I decided to hop in and see how different they are and whether they’re worth grabbing – especially for people who played the originals.
It’s worth noting that Yakuza Kiwami’s updated release costs $20 on its own and $2 for those who owned the original release digitally before December 8, 2025, while Yakuza Kiwami 2 provides a free upgrade for existing digital owners. As such, it’s not a major expense for those who already own the games, but Kiwami costs money nonetheless.
Credit: SEGA
Both games run noticeably better in these upgraded versions, hitting the promised 60 fps and 4K display. I found fights to be far smoother in both, and while I ran into minor stutters while revisiting the PS4 versions of these games, I had no such issues in the same spots in the updated releases. I found it to be a consistently smoother experience that certainly felt much more at home on a current-gen console than the now-dubbed “Legacy” versions do at this point. The colors are a bit stronger, and it’s the slightest bit easier to see small details on the character models and in the environments. Things like hair strands and stubble look more defined and realistic, and everything “pops” out a bit more, for lack of a better term.
We made a comparison video on YouTube for both games below so that you can see the differences between versions for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwAE2IgYBiI
Extra language options are the only new thing added to both of the current-gen versions of Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2, along with two karaoke songs in the first Kiwami. As such, those who don’t care about performance and don’t speak French, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, or Russian may not feel the urge to upgrade – especially since Kiwami isn’t quite free for existing owners. Though that comes down to the individual, I do feel that the upgrades are substantial enough to be worthwhile, thanks to the consistent, smoother framerate and 4K visuals.
Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2‘s current-gen versions don’t support save transfer.
My one hang-up with these updated versions is that you can’t transfer your save data from the original versions of Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2 to the newer versions. This means that even though I finished both games ages back and would definitely continue Premium Adventure through these current-gen upgrades, I’d have to replay them both to do so. I’ve read speculation that this could be due to them having different trophy lists, but even as someone who enjoys getting trophies now and then, I’d much rather be able to transfer my saves and continue from where I left off, especially given the breadth of side-content available throughout and after the story.
Credit: SEGA
But so long as you can look past the inability to transfer your save data – something that is especially easy for people who have never played either game before – both Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 benefit immensely from this upgrade. It’s certainly the best way to play both of these fantastic titles if you have a current console, and it’s the ideal way to replay them if you’re looking to start over anyway.
