Announced today, The Yakuza Remastered Collection is a package deal that includes remasters of Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 5. These games are headed to the PlayStation 4 in Western markets beginning with Yakuza 3, which is available right now!
All three games are included only with this collection, priced at $59.99. If you buy it now, you get immediate access to Yakuza 3. Yakuza 4 will be released on October 29, 2019 with Yakuza 5 coming out on February 11, 2020. You do not have to buy those games again. Once the release date rolls around, you'll just have to download them and they'll automatically unlock.
There will also be a limited run of a physical release for this collection. The Yakuza Remastered Collection: Day One Edition will be out on February 11, 2020. Pre-orders for that bundle can be made now at the Yakuza website. This physical release will also retail for $59.99 (USD). It includes all three games on two discs, a red collectible case with Kiryu's dragon tattoo, and a genuine Yakuza 5 PS3 case. This is kind of a big deal, especially for collectors, since Yakuza 5 never had a physical release outside of Japan.
As clearly indicated, these are remasters, not full remakes like Yakuza Kiwami or Yakuza Kiwami 2. That's not to say that improvements haven't been made though. The games are all now 1080p and run at 60fps. Content has been restored in some cases.
If you haven't yet started the franchise, there is no better place to start than at the very beginning with Yakuza 0. Fortunately, Sega also announced that they have put together The Yakuza Origins Digital Bundle. This includes Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2. All three games are $49.99.
And of course, there is Yakuza 6, which finishes out Kiryu's story. This one can be yours for $39.99 through the PlayStation Store.
What's Changed in The Yakuza Remastered Collection?
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.
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.
