Gamescom has been delivering a bevy of surprising video game reveals so far this year. If you’re a fan of hot-blooded Japanese gangster action games by way of Sega, then one announcement, in particular, is sure to get you jumping. Sega dropped a surprise announcement of The Yakuza Remastered Collection at Gamescom 2019, and you won’t have to wait long to start playing, either. The first piece of the collection, Yakuza 3, is available to buy and play digitally right now on PlayStation 4.
On October 29th, 2019, Yakuza 4 will launch digitally with the same fancy PS4 HD treatment. Then, the collection closes out on February 11th, 2020, with the release of Yakuza 5. You can buy the entire collection digitally right now, and as each game is released they’ll be unlocked for you to begin downloading and playing on your PS4.
If you’d rather wait for a physical release, Sega has you covered with a beautiful Day One Edition of The Yakuza Remastered Collection. It comes with 2 PS4 Blu-ray discs in a beautiful red folding case. Disc 1 has Yakuza 3 and 4 on it, while disc 2 is for Yakuza 5. Yakuza 5 never got a physical release in America, so for hardcore fans looking to complete their PlayStation 3 collection of the series, the Day One Edition also comes with a collectible Yakuza 5 PlayStation 3 Amaray Case.
Here are some more details on what’s new in these remastered releases, straight from the official Sega press release:
The Yakuza Remastered Collection is far from a typical console generation port. In addition to graphical and performance upgrades (720p>1080p at 30>60fps), all three games have gone through a rigorous re-localization process. The English scripts for each game have been reviewed, revised, and even rewritten in some cases, and content previously cut from the Western releases of Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 have been re-added in The Yakuza Remastered Collection.
In Yakuza 3, this means the Mahjong, Shogi, Massage Parlor, and ever-popular Cabaret minigames, as well as a collection of Substories cut from the original release, are now available in the West for the first time!
Several quality-of-life changes have also been added for each release in the collection, including a Substory tracker on the map and the ability to toggle between English and Japanese written lyrics during Karaoke.
If you need to catch up on the series before diving into Yakuza 3, Sega has got the perfect bundle for you. The Yakuza Origins Digital Bundle is available right now for PS4, and it includes Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2. The cost of the bundle is $49.99, and considering the MSRP for Yakuza Kiwami 2 is also $49.99, this is a bargain of a bundle that basically gets you two extra games for free. If you aren’t familiar with the early entries in this series, the official PSN listing offers some juicy details on each game:
Yakuza 0
The glitz, glamour, and unbridled decadence of the 80s are back in Yakuza 0. Fight your way through Tokyo and Osaka with protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and series regular Goro Majima.Yakuza Kiwami
10 years ago, Kazuma Kiryu took the fall for a crime he didn’t commit to save his best friend. Expelled from his yakuza family, Kiryu is released from prison to a city he no longer recognizes.Yakuza Kiwami 2
An assassination threatens to erupt in an all-out war between the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance. Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, must broker peace between the rival clans, but Ryuji Goda, the Dragon of Kansai, will stop at nothing to get his war. In this world, there can only be one dragon.
The Yakuza Remastered Collection is available to buy digitally right now on PS4 for $59.99, with Yakuza 3 unlocking immediately. The full collection, as well as a limited run physical edition, will be available by February 11, 2020.
