The ESRB has now rated Yakuza Kiwami on the PS4 platform. If you are unaware, the game is a remaster for the original Yakuza game that came out on the PS2 many years ago.
Yakuza Kiwami has been rated Mature for players over the age of 17. The content descriptors say: “Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol“.
The rating summary says: “This is an open-world action game in which players assume the role of a Japanese gangster (Kiryu) searching for answers after being released from prison. As players explore parts of Tokyo, they engage in missions that can involve gang rivalries or fights with thugs. Characters engage in fistfights that involve weapons and scripted special moves (e.g., bashing heads into walls, shoving nails into enemies’ faces, slamming heads with car doors). Some scenes allow players to engage in gun fights using machine guns and grenades. Combat is accompanied by gunfire, screams of pain, and large blood-splatter effects.
Some cutscenes also depict intense acts of violence: a bound man tortured with razorblades and spikes; a gangster’s fingers sliced by a boss; a character shot in the face. Some missions allow players to become more intimate with female characters; as these relationships escalate, players can earn video clips of real women posing in lingerie, swimsuits, or partially nude in bathtubs (e.g., characters’ nipples/genitalia barely covered by soap bubbles). During the course of the game, players can order and drink whiskey at bars/restaurants—a status icon indicates drunkenness; consuming alcoholic beverages provides minor bonuses in combat. The words “f**k,” “sh*t,” and “a*shole” appear in the dialogue.”
Yakuza Kiwami was originally out in Japan last year, but will now come to North America and Europe on August 29th, 2017. It’s worth playing since the game takes place after the events of Yakuza 0. It remains to be seen if Sega wants to remaster Yakuza 2 down the road. That game was also released for PS2 before the series started to jump onto the PS3.
