Finished Kiwami after Y0, and I’m really frustrated with Nishiki’s arc. What do you guys think?

Hey everyone,

I just finished Yakuza Kiwami after absolutely loving Yakuza 0, and I’m honestly frustrated with how Nishiki was handled. He was my favorite character in 0. In Kiwami, his change felt not only confusing but kinda disproportionate. I’d really like to hear your thoughts on a few things that have been bothering me. Sorry in advance for the long post, I’ll break my thoughts down into a few short paragraphs.

First off, I feel like his cruelty is just excessive. At the start, I never thought he’d go that far. I know we get to see his "descent into hell" through the new cutscenes at the start of each chapter but for me, that doesn’t excuse how cruel he becomes toward longtime friends and allies. The deaths of Shinji and Reina especially felt like such a strange and extreme point of no return…

Plus Kiryu spent 10 years in prison for this guy and never once wavered. He never betrayed him. I don't feel like Nishiki’s inferiority complex is enough to justify that level of hatred after everything Kiryu did for him. It creates such a harsh rift that it almost makes their kyodai bond feel more fragile than we were led to believe in 0. (Also… how do we explain the fact that he never even visited Kiryu once at the beginning of his sentence, before fully spiraling and listening to the wrong people?)

Now I know this isn’t Naruto, and I get that Nishiki was always meant to die, but the almost complete lack of emotional redemption before his death felt frustrating. Sure, Yumi kinda shook him with her words at the end, and maybe that’s what pushed him to sacrifice himself, but personally, his sacrifice felt flat.. Did you see his final smile? To me, it was the same "cartoon villain" smirk he wore throughout the whole game lol. I was really hoping for a hint of humanity, love, or regret in his face or his final words…

Part of my frustration also comes from Kiryu. felt like he didn't really try that hard to get through to his Kyodai or communicate with him. Given their bond, he surely could have reached him, especially after what Yumi said (but to be fair I can understand his silence to some extent)

Anyway I understand Kiwami is a remake of the first game, but by trying to stick too close to the original, I feel like they missed the chance to create a truly organic transition after the events and character development we saw in Yakuza 0. Either that, or they should’ve planted more visible flaws in him back in 0, or made him a little less lovable, lol.

What do you think? Maybe I just didn’t fully understand the character.