When comparing Yakuza Kiwami vs Dark Souls III, the Slant community recommends Dark Souls III for most people. In the question“What are the best RPGs (role playing games) for PS4?” Dark Souls III is ranked 22nd while Yakuza Kiwami is ranked 67th. The most important reason people chose Dark Souls III is:
There's tons of lore everywhere for you to discover, but it isn't necessarily told through a conventional story. Weapons, armor, spells, and items you acquire have descriptions on them that tell you where in the game world they came from, any prominent characters they're associated with, and a bunch of other relevant and interesting information. So when you find examples of the lore scattered around the game, like bosses wearing a style of armor you read about, or an obscure NPC mentioned in a sword's description, you know the history behind the design and their purpose without that boss or character needing to explain anything to you. Even though the actual story in Dark Souls III is very thin, there's a lot to find under the surface if you're willing to look for it.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Compelling story
Yakuza Kiwami tells the story of Kiryu getting dismissed from the yakuza, only to get swept right back into their world once his loved ones are in trouble. As he tries to find out what happened to his love interest, Yumi, he meets Haruka, and learns to care for her as if she were his own daughter. While protecting Haruka from the yakuza who target her, Kiryu discovers more about how she and Yumi are both connected to a larger crime of ten billion yen that's gone missing from the crime syndicate, all the while his best friend Nishiki pulls strings from the shadows.
Overall, the story leans successfully on its memorable characters and Kiryu's attachments to them. Finding out what happened to the missing ten billion yen also includes figuring out why Nishiki went down such a dark path, finding Yumi, and keeping Haruka safe. It's compelling to play through the game and discover these answers while also getting to know the characters more along the way.
Pro Memorable cast of characters
You'll encounter a diverse batch of characters in Yakuza Kiwami, like Kiryu's childhood friend Nishiki who goes down a dark path that changes him, creating an intriguing drama throughout the story. There's also Haruka, a determined young girl who is looking for her mother, and ends up forming a strong bond with Kiryu as he tries to protect her from the yakuza who want to harm her. Goro Majima, one of the antagonists, is a foil to Kiryu in how wild and unhinged he is, often throwing a wrench into the game's story with his over-the-top antics when you least expect them, such as driving a truck straight through a building.
It's easy to grow attached to the cast in Yakuza Kiwami and want to follow their stories throughout the rest of the games in the series. For players who jumped into the franchise with Yakuza 0, they'll have even more backstory on these characters and their struggles in this installment.
Pro Great amount of side content
In between story missions, Kiryu is mostly free to run around the city and engage in optional side quests or mini games. Side quests in Yakuza Kiwami mostly deal with various shady characters trying to scam Kiryu out of his money, like a supposed loan collector who calls his cell phone and demands that he pay up or get beaten up, and a thuggish guy collecting toll money on a street and also threatening to fight Kiryu if he doesn't pay. Mini games can be found in the SEGA arcades, like the classic UFO catcher, or elsewhere at the mahjong parlor, the shogi building, the karaoke parlor and much more.
Pro New cutscenes add more depth to the main antagonist
In the original Yakuza 1, Nishiki's change from Kiryu's best friend to a cold-hearted villain didn't feel natural, but new scenes in Yakuza Kiwami flesh out this transformation. The cutscenes give more context and background on why Nishiki made such a drastic change, portraying him in a sympathetic light that helps the player understand him more. It helps a lot to see his sorrows and his struggles against his own subordinates in the yakuza who disrespect him, as well as his resentment toward his superiors who think he'll never live up to Kiryu.
Pro Extensive lore that's presented in unconventional ways
There's tons of lore everywhere for you to discover, but it isn't necessarily told through a conventional story.
Weapons, armor, spells, and items you acquire have descriptions on them that tell you where in the game world they came from, any prominent characters they're associated with, and a bunch of other relevant and interesting information. So when you find examples of the lore scattered around the game, like bosses wearing a style of armor you read about, or an obscure NPC mentioned in a sword's description, you know the history behind the design and their purpose without that boss or character needing to explain anything to you.
Even though the actual story in Dark Souls III is very thin, there's a lot to find under the surface if you're willing to look for it.
Pro Stunning environments
The world of Dark Souls 3 looks amazing, so you may often feel the need to stop and take in the beautiful sights. This can be the sheer size of structures, mountains, or caves. It can also be the decorations, inscriptions, or details in a room. There's always so much to look at, allowing you to truly immerse yourself in its world.
Pro Can give a great feeling of accomplishment
The Dark Souls series is known for its difficulty and Dark Souls 3 is no exception. It's filled with difficult enemies and tough boss battles, able to cause you grief on more than one occasion. However, every time you progress to the next safe spot or defeat a boss you'll often be filled with a mix of joy and relief. Beating this game will almost certainly feel like an achievement.
Pro Unpredictable boss battles
The boss battles in Dark Souls 3 consist of several phases, changing up how the bosses fight over the course of the battle. They will gain new abilities, become more aggressive, or reveal various nasty surprises. This creates an enjoyable experience that is different from most modern games where bosses are just glorified pincushions.
Pro A great variety of equipment for almost any playstyle
You'll be finding new pieces of equipment quite often, giving you many options to choose from. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to pick the equipment that best suits your playstyle.
For example, heavy armor will make you move slower, but you'll be better protected. Greatswords have a wide reach, but you swing them really slow. Conversely a dagger is very fast but it has a horrible reach.
Pro Solid controls
This game feels and plays really well. Your character responds to button inputs immediately and it almost never feels like you're losing control over it. The control scheme can also be customized, giving you the option of a more personalized experience.
Pro Great combat system
Dark Souls 3 is a very fast-paced game but it's not just about having quick reflexes. A lot of the combat comes down to exploiting your enemies. To do that, you have to learn their patterns and attack the moment they pause or perform a telegraphed attack. This creates a combat system, which rewards awareness and patience, and is satisfying to master, even if you don't have extraordinary reflexes.
Cons
Con Boss battles are cheap
Getting stunlocked during boss battles is all too common in Yakuza Kiwami, like when the enemy uses a weapon to constantly hit you over and over. There's also an infamous battle against two gang leaders who enjoy knocking Kiryu to the ground again and again, leaving little room for recovering or dodging. Even if you love the game's story, these annoying fights could be a deal-breaker, especially on harder difficulties.
Con Majima Everywhere system is annoying
The Majima Everywhere system features the fan favorite character Goro Majima who sneaks up on Kiryu around the city and challenges him to random fights. It's an amusing idea at first, with Majima hiding in giant cones or manholes and popping out to surprise the player. But sometimes these encounters are too frequent, and they can go on for too long as Majima gains more health.
Con Graphics aren't impressive
Yakuza Kiwami looks like it could have been a PS3 game with weak textures, stiff character animations outside of cutscenes, and too many repeat copies of NPCs around the city. Invisible walls also block off the city's boundaries. Thankfully the characters and facial animations look great during story scenes, helping to make up for the poor visuals elsewhere.
Con Poor support for mouse+keyboard control
The default DS3 key/button bindings actually prevent full use of certain weapons by requiring the shift key to be pressed and not-pressed simultaneously. Rebinding is possible, but limited by issues like the left mouse button overriding all others and certain bindings not actually working in game (e.g. Shift+MiddleClick).
Con It's hard
You should try avoiding the trap of great review scores since most of them fail to mention the difficulty. It's simply put - hard. A lot of the combat requires quick reflexes, good mechanics, and the mental fortitude to carry on after failing for hours. If you're new to the Souls-like genre or simply want to enjoy a relaxing evening playing a video game, you most likely won't enjoy Dark Souls III.
Con Poorly tuned dynamic visiblity
You may notice some texture pop in while sharply turning the camera. It can be somewhat distracting if you notice it, but most of the time you won't because it happens in the distance.
Con Occasional performance issues
There are portions of the game that will have noticeable framerate drops, which can negatively affect the gameplay. Most of the fault lies with the game engine, so getting better hardware won't help that much.