PETER HOSKIN reviews The Yakuza Remastered Collection and Scott Pilgrim vs The World – The Game 

Behold! The missing pieces of a Japanese puzzle: PETER HOSKIN reviews The Yakuza Remastered Collection and Scott Pilgrim vs The World – The Game

The Yakuza Remastered Collection (Xbox, PC, £49.99)

Rating:

Verdict: Gangland greatness

Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, £12.49)

Rating:

Verdict: Retro fashion

You know that satisfying feeling when the last jigsaw piece slides into place and you can finally see the whole picture? Now imagine if the jigsaw pieces had previously been scattered in different boxes around the world. That is the feeling of this week in video games.

For this is when the monumental Yakuza series becomes easily playable on most consoles and computers — or close enough. There was a time these games were confined to Japan, a legend among Western gamers. 

Then they were slowly translated to English, but mostly just for PlayStation. Now Xbox and PC owners are being allowed a complete set.

Yakuza is, in effect, a single work, a sprawling gangster yarn that follows the same characters — particularly underworld hunk-with-a-heart Kazuma Kiryu — across decades

Yakuza is, in effect, a single work, a sprawling gangster yarn that follows the same characters — particularly underworld hunk-with-a-heart Kazuma Kiryu — across decades

The release that fills in the gaps is called The Yakuza Remastered Collection and includes Yakuzas 3, 4 and 5. The sixth game follows for Xbox and PC in March. From the prequel Yakuza 0 to last year’s Yakuza: Like A Dragon, we can all finally enjoy the entire eight-game run. Which is how it should be. 

Yakuza is, in effect, a single work, a sprawling gangster yarn that follows the same characters — particularly underworld hunk-with-a-heart Kazuma Kiryu — across decades.

The series’ gameplay is great fun: a mix of strolling around bustling Japanese cities and frantically pressing buttons to beat up no-good punks. But that gameplay is almost incidental to the soap opera: the friendships, betrayals and funerals. This is where Grand Theft Auto meets Coronation Street. 

The release that fills in the gaps is called The Yakuza Remastered Collection and includes Yakuzas 3, 4 and 5

The release that fills in the gaps is called The Yakuza Remastered Collection and includes Yakuzas 3, 4 and 5

The series’ gameplay is great fun: a mix of strolling around bustling Japanese cities and frantically pressing buttons to beat up no-good punks

The series’ gameplay is great fun: a mix of strolling around bustling Japanese cities and frantically pressing buttons to beat up no-good punks

These three titles, especially the 2012 masterpiece Yakuza 5, are where the series perfected its distinctive mix of elements, including a joyously offbeat sense of humour.

There are some clunky parts, even in these versions polished for modern television sets. But each game is a fine experience in its own right.

Besides, it’s fun to try to work out the rest of the story from one random Yakuza game. Much like tipping open a new jigsaw and starting to piece it together.

Weirdly, the Scott Pilgrim game has much in common with Yakuza. A remastered version was released earlier this month after the decade-old original fell victim to a licensing issue and became inaccessible. It also makes you punch a lot of dudes.

Yet it is quite different, too: a 2D game that, like the comics on which it is based, is a witty and hyperactive take on early-90s classics.

The fun wears off as your hands start to tire, but the gorgeous pixelated graphics are a reason to carry on. 

A remastered version was released earlier this month after the decade-old original fell victim to a licensing issue and became inaccessible

A remastered version was released earlier this month after the decade-old original fell victim to a licensing issue and became inaccessible

The fun wears off as your hands start to tire, but the gorgeous pixelated graphics are a reason to carry on

The fun wears off as your hands start to tire, but the gorgeous pixelated graphics are a reason to carry on