The continuation of the story of Kiryu Kazuma, which received its second remake in 2018, turned out to be quite mixed. On the one hand, a pretty strong story with a new antagonist, on the other, questionable technical performance on PlayStation. Of the most noticeable problems compared to the previous parts of Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, the PlayStation 4 version runs at 30 fps. I won't say that this is critical, but it constantly affects responsiveness in battle. Among the convenient innovations, weapons picked up in battle can now be put into inventory for use later in battle. Some key items, such as Locker Key Watcher, do not need to be added to equipment instead of armor to activate them. Graphically and technically, the game has taken a step forward compared to Kiwami 1. Almost completely disappeared loading in the city when going to any establishment. Now you can arrange a fight on the street and continue it in the establishment, scaring away visitors and smashing local furniture. Cabaret control is back, instead of Majima it is now controlled by Kiryu, which is connected with many funny stories, where old acquaintances will never meet, and yet we would really like it. From completely new games, they added a story with Tower Defense, where you need to protect resources near Purgatory from attacking competitors. The remake turned out to be very successful and did not lose all its successful ideas, but also received new ones due to the improved engine. I highly recommend it.

For almost 25 years of the franchise, the Tales series has been one of the most conservative in the genre. You always know what to expect from the game: a plot that does not immediately grab you, a team of characters from different factions, most often opposing, and an interesting combat system that often evolves from game to game. In terms of plot, the game has gone further than its predecessors, and this is an absolute plus. The clash of two different worlds: the super-developed civilization of Rena, and the technically underdeveloped Dahna, but ecologically clean and filled with magical energy. The invaders won the war and made slaves out of the losers, who have been serving their masters for 300 years. The plot raises such important questions about the correctness of waging war, about the sacrifices that can be made. About the fact that sometimes the actions of revolutionaries are no better for the people, and even worse than the behavior of tyrants. The interaction of characters in mini-scenes has also changed a little. While other games in the series had a large number of humorous scenes, now their total number has decreased. In my opinion, this is a big omission, since such scenes contrasted very strongly with the usually serious plots and helped to distract for a while. The combat system has been simplified a bit compared to the previous game Tales of Berseria. Now instead of 16 combat moves that can be assigned to buttons, there are 12, and regular attacks have been added, which has a noticeable effect on variety. Each character has become more unique, and performs its task in combat: someone breaks shields, someone ties up fast opponents, and someone makes counterattacks. The transition to Unreal Engine 4 has been a good thing for the game, and the game looks stunning visually. The game is a great entry point into the Tales series, as well as for long-time fans.