Yakuza shouldn’t be as popular as it is today, when you compare it to the trends of the industry. It’s a series of games that requires you to spend more time watching its story unfold than actually steering it, it has little to zero DLC after each game ends and the core mechanics between the various sequels barely change, even when they’re given a fresh face-lift with the Kiwami upgrades. And yet, Yakuza does gangbusters in the West.

The Dragon of Dojima returns for one more adventure, with the stakes higher and more personal than ever in this touching farewell to a Yakuza legend. With a tale that closes the book on a long-running saga, Kiryu’s farewell results in a story that is as satisfying to watch as its gameplay is as underwhelming to consume.

What worked once clearly works twice, as SEGA is doubling up on Kazuma Kiryu’s underworld troubles with an English port of the first Yakuza sequel. Yakuza Kiwami 2 will drop in the West in August, picking up a year after the dragon of Dojima settled his score in the first game.

Honour, civil war between gangs and a life behind bars. Yakuza is all that and so much more. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life however? One thing is for certain: It’s the end of the Dragon of Dojima. Is it a touching farewell song or a drunken karaoke ballad in its construction however? Apparently, it’s a damn fine farewell to arms as critical reviews have been mostly positive so far.

You’re walking down the streets of a Japanese red light district. Minding your own business, possibly thinking of grabbing a drink when all of a sudden a random group of ruffians demands that your face becomes best friends with their knuckles. In any other sandbox game, such an encounter would be a sloppy fight of note. Basic, sluggish fisticuffs, right? Not in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 was announced last month, which will also make use of the Dragon Engine to give combat that little extra oomph when you smash a rival gangster’s face through a car windshield. It looks beauitfully bonkers so far.

Yakuza Kiwami’s fresh coat of paint has done wonder for the aging sandbox brawler, even if some wrinkles have still managed to stubbornly hang on. It may not reach the same highs as the prequel Yakuza O, but Kiwami still has plenty of charm, story and more than enough action that sets the scene for the Dragon of Dojima to return on a grander stage next year.