lol.
No.
The soundtracks in the original games are superior - both by virtue of there being more music in those games (Kiwami 2 cut soooooooooooo much), there's also many a tune that got worse remixes.
Anyway, to the thread question (boy I wish I had my response from the last time saved) - yes there are reasons. Here's why:
Yakuza 1 Vs Kiwami 1
The biggest issue Kiwami 1 has over Yakuza 1 is the bloat. Second is the combat.
Yakuza 1, believe it or not is a short game. Its around 20 hours to 100% (that's doing all side stories including Amon, the arena, even Haruka's damned requests that would drive a sane person to... post this response). But its well designed and you'll have Kiryu maxed leveled in no time, and be able to appreciate the game design as you go (as long as you have a guide so you dont miss those pesky side stories and keys!)
Kiwami 1 basically says "fuck that shit, lets make it 60 hours long" by just making you grind shit out badly. Dont get me wrong, grinding inherently doesnt make a remake bad, but when you consider most of the grind wont be spent with unique activities like Pocket Racing or arcade games (I mean... there's only one arcade game included in Kiwami!) but rather fighting Majima over and over and over and over and over (please re-read sentence several more times to really drill the point in). By the time you have the tiger drop you wont be doing anything other than countering him for XP and completion list requirements.
Oh, and the arena is a grind now to get moves. In RGG1 you'll basically level up naturally via content (which gives tons of XP), but again, Kiwami screws that up because Majima is the source of XP and Komaki moves are now unlocked via special arena currency. So it takes several times longer. Fucking genius...
The plot is made worse. On the one hand - you have bits of the game that are extended and its really, really rough. Take the very first chapter if you will - right at the beginning you meat Majima - he's initially portrayed as a really sadistic SOB that wants to beat his own dude to death because he disrespected you. In Yakuza 1 him and Kiryu have a short word after Kiryu saves the dude, but that's it. In Kiwami Majima proceeds to beat Kiryu with an umbrella before dancing off - you can literally see the tonal shift before your eyes.
Or how about fetch quests - as Kiwami adds one and increases another in length. That ring quest in Yakuza 1 for Yumi? Wasnt in the original, it just bloats the first chapter for no reason (poor Yumi gets no good development with Kiryu... she's barely mentioned in 0... reminder - Kiryu's one true love everyone), meanwhile the funeral chapter early on has you finding a item to act as a member of staff - this is done originally as you go to one of the bins, find it, and on your way. In Kiwami? You go looking for it, cant find it, then have a whole thing with members of staff getting into an argument, and discarding it. Its a good 5-10 minutes extra for no good reason.
Speaking of that chapter and making things longer for no good reason... lets talk Shimano and his bald, sexy head... oh wait, no I mean remember his boss fight in Kiwami 1? It lasts for around 5-6 minutes because you do next to no damage and if you let him heal accidentally it lasts even longer? Guess what, some bright spark in the dev team fucked that up as that was never the case in the original game. Yakuza 1 has the fight last about 2 minutes on a decent run (not estimates btw, I was sad enough to time these), and also Shimano original has an original move set, not just Mr Shakedown reskinned... So yeah, big fuck up.
Oh! Bosses healing! Copied move sets! Both stuff that was only in Kiwami. The original game had original move sets and no garbage healing mechanic.
Im not done with the combat - the other problem (well, one other) is that instead of properly rebalancing Kiwami when plopping in the 0 move sets, they just take 1's encounters and then say "good enough". Zero made changes to the combat in that stab and gun injuries cause more stagger - however on the whole this attacks were only seen in the tail end of the game, and used sparingly - see this is fine game design - in that they balanced the encounters and mechanics so that they'd work. Kiwami didnt bother doing this so you have Shindo and his goon squad stabbing you while you have no good way to really counter it (Beast should have worked but no bikes or big weapons available...) - guess what? Not like that in Yakuza 1! See in Yakuza 1, by Shindo you'll have unlocked the Giant Swing - this is a move that's not in the remake, how it works is when you have a bit of heat, you grab an enemy and press circle without inputting a direction - so you spin around with the enemy - basically creating an amazing AOE attack. This disarms enemies all around you, as would simply grabbing the enemies and throwing them into other enemies. Of course the remake removes dropping weapons on grab, because of course it did.
(Im still not done, take a break and grab a bite to eat ;) )
Further on, the original 2 games have a rather... unique feel to them. Grittier than the remakes, they have a great atmosphere and the limitations of the PS2 console meant we had static camera angles for the city. This meant that RGGS could "set the scene" and have more NPCs hanging around areas pretending to do stuff. Its a great little touch and helps make the games feel lived in.
Also, random encounters worked a different way originally in two key ways:
1) If you hit an invisible level cap, random encounters wont spawn (until the final two chapters). This means those who prefer not being accosted every few moments can relax.
2) Different chapters would have different "sorta random" encounters (even if you hit that cap) - so when Shimano/Majima is looking for you, your gonna see Shimano goons complete with their family fight theme. Ditto in Nishiki chapters where he's after you. Also, for Arase's long fight, you'd originally have the family theme, with Arase's boss theme ONLY used for his boss fight. In Kiwami you only hear Nishiki family theme ONCE. And its for a quick fight in Serena... RGGS fucked up with those themes royally for Kiwami... Heck, originally you almost never heard the Shimano theme either, I think its heard one more time in the localised version because the song it replaces (the series theme - Receive You) was cut because of licensing (genius move there Sega...)
Then there's just the parts of Kiwami where it basically has no actual new content, rather just recycling stuff from other games - even the mini games are all just from the other games. There's not a shred of originality in it.
Oh, and as for Nishiki's scenes... they aint too bad, but a bit to "beat him into the ground" in terms of how unfortunate his story is portrayed. Oh, and the big twist with the doctor screwing his sister over? RGGS already did that before in Kurohyou 2 to better effect. Just wanna point that out...
Now one last point - to the people inevitably going "yeah well Kiwami's combat handles better". I gotta ask... does it? 1HD for the PS3 nicely smooths over the games handling and honestly, if you bother to learn the moves, you'll be fine. The only thing you gotta watch for is how once you start a combo, you gotta commit to it. However you do unlock a combo ender which lets you switch directions - so if someone is looking to sucker punch you in the back of the head, you use it. And this is the point I wanna make - 1's movelist is short yeah, but look at that list and there isnt a single move there that doesnt help you out in a fight. Each one, when mastered, basically has you fighting like the one true Dragon of Dojima... while Kiwami has you fighting as anything but until you grind out 100+ Majima fights.
Oh, and that one shooting section people complain about? Guess what? After Lau's fight and before the shooting section, Yakuza 1 lets you save - not checkpoint, physically create a game save. So no need to replay the entire thing all over again lol.
Now for Yakuza 2 (hope I have enough characters left for this...)
First off, Im ignoring mods. Else it'll make this even longer. So I'll just say - if your on PC, there are some bits you can sorta but not properly fix. So its a half measure at best.
First off, again, the music. Kiwami got some shit remixes and some themes werent used much, but Kiwami 2 is like, 50 times worse. Aside from worse remixes, it creates all new themes for some fights. These are mostly worse than the originals. Then you have the mountain of themes that are completely cut from the game... did you know there were several side story exclusive boss themes? All gone in Kiwami 2. Heck, certain main bosses have their themes cut and exchanged for just the generic boss theme for no good reason.
Special mention to cutscene music changes. Originally a duo of scenes were designed and scored alongside two particular Crazy Ken Band songs. This being the infamous stabbing scene, and the end theme that leads into the credits. It gives a very unique vibe to said scenes and long time fans almost all agree these are some of the best bits in the series full stop. However, these scenes are butchered because we get some loud rock shite from SiMM instead, completely undercutting the tone the scenes originally went for, and worse still for the stabbing scene - where as originally there were no sound effect on knife impact (you only realise Kiryu's been attacked when he stumbles over), you get these cheesy sound effect that wouldnt be out of place in a childrens cartoon show.
Now, for more cuts...
Originally around chapter 11/12 Kiryu and Karou were supposed to go to another area of Sotenbori to investigate a lead. This took them to a fictional version of Shinsekai. Famous for some local landmarks, and one heck of a tower. This small, yet impactful area housed a number of great moments and story scenes. All of these were cut and retooled as the area was removed.
Problem is, this also meant that the side stories in this area (of which there were several) were cut. And they couldnt repurpose a number since they lean on local lore so it'd have made no sense keeping them in. The tower, while barely explorable, remains a rather memorable moment for me, and I vastly preferred it to how Kiwami 2 handled the puzzle. Its worth noting the Shogi Parlor and Acupunture Clinic were moved to Sotenbori as they were needed for the plot, and move unlocks.
So, flash forward to Yakuza 6. Your romancing a hostess and the subject of Kiryu's past exploits as a host crop up. Kiryu talks about how he once worked at a host club, becoming number one host... which is completely non sensical now as that content was cut in Kiwami 2. See, in Yakuza 2, Club Adam (found north of the batting cages, you can still see the sign out front) was a really cool mini game. It works similar to hostess romancing with you still picking options which best correspond to the conversations, but now you also gotta bleed the ladies dry in terms of money. So you have to play it smart, answer correct, and then when ordering booze crops up, you gotta get them spending as much as they can! And no you cant always pick the most expensive option, that'll just cause them to think negatively of you and you'll mess up! Its a great series of side stories that remain completely lost thanks to the remake removing them, all for some stupid shit with 4 Shines probably...
Speaking of, Originally we got a unique hostess club management mini game - focused more on actual... management. Not shift management. You pick the layouts, decour etc. of the actual club, not what eye lashes your girls wear. Again it has its own series of side stories tied to it, while not the most amazing content, I prefer it to the rehashing of the Osaka clubs story that Kiwami 2 did... Id probably change my stance if they actually tried to add new mechanics in Kiwami 2, but they didnt... hilariously its Hokuto Ga Gotoku that has the real sequel to Cabaret Club which I enjoyed.
Combat... what a fucking mess. DE combat before Lost Judgment can be rough in certain areas. JE almost had things solved, which is why I let things slide there more, but here... its baaaaaaaaaaaad. First off, moves are still missing compared to the original game. Second, lots of NPC heat moves are completely cut in Kiwami 2 (you know, the ones where people throw you items? 2 has way more, many hilarious ones at that)
Kiwami 2 has a number of weapons (needle, pliers) which SHOULD be found in random encounters (mostly in back alleys) - however you have to individually purchase, equip and repair them to use them. But in original 2, you just pick them up. Sure its not a cut per se but when you have random encounters, it sucks that you gotta mess with your menu (assuming you have the items) instead of just grabbing them from the floor. Makes things feel less dynamic.
Then you have one of the early DE games biggest bizarre issues - bounce on enemy block. By that I mean - if an enemy blocks your attack, you'll bounce backwards slightly, interrupting your combo. This varies depending on the boss, but on the whole I detect this. Its made more moronic when you consider the famous Tiger fights have the animals coded to ALWAYS block. So while in 2 you'll be combo'ing away, evading when they attack, in Kiwami 2, you'll bounce off them after every attack, breaking combos and making a classic boss fight into a completely miserable experience. If you wanna see the difference - go play Lost Judgment's VR mode and fight a tiger there and see how different it is when DE combat is actually implemented correctly.
Difficulty wise its a weird thing. Kiwami 2 still suffers from a combat system ill designed for the old game being dumped into it without much thought, only now its one of those "cant please anyone" type situations. Combat is mostly far too easy, heat moves are too damaging off the bat so using one in a fight basically means its over. However at the same time, you have slow and sluggish movement so certain chapters/fights feel bad to play because they took a boss/enemy move list and then didnt tweak it to consider how different Kiryu moves. Needless to say - in something like Shindo's fight or Hayashi's fight, 2 is a vastly better experience because the fights are a better length and they just FEEL better to play.
More cut mini games:
Bowling - gone. You'll never beat that bowling champ now in Kiwami 2 if you cant bowl!
Love in Heart Massage Parlor - Not exactly a huge loss, but still its a long running mini game, Id have preferred it stayed.
YF6 - A fun little arcade action game you play in the Sega arcades - this is also lore important for the series as Dr. Minimida from Yakuza 3-5 mentions how he worked on the titles before trying to create his super dangerous VR games. Its like the host stuff - something that I loved in 2 and ties into the bigger world /story that they just discard because LOL TOYLETS! (fun fact - these werent even around the year Yakuza Kiwami 2 takes place... its not as dumb as Yakuza 7's time traveling VF5 cab but it is silly. Also Kiryu having a vastly better smart fun than what he should originally have had.
Lots of mini games were cut. Way too many to list. But they really did just cut a ton of them for no disernable reason (and they are memorable enough in my eyes to the point where they should have stayed)
The cities in Kiwami 2 feel... a bit empty at times. Much like my points in 1/Kiwami 1 when it comes to the static cameras, Kiwami 2 also loses a certain vibe from the original. This is made worse because while the DE lets you explore without load times, you often have shops (convenience stores, restaurants) which have almost nobody in them. And the people there are usually just looking at the wall, Blair Witch style. In original 2, you have canned NPCs in stores (thanks to load times making them separate areas) so it feels more line Shenmue in that you have people actually IN stores, shopping, eating, gambling etc.
Stuff Im on the fence over:
Arena - I mean, it plays worse in Kiwami 2 because DE combat, but I do like the modes included especially the free for all fights. But lots of classic fighters from the arena are missing which sucks. 2 has a colourful cast I really miss... even if some are pretty crazy when it comes to unlocking them (very low chances of appearing)
Completion/Amon - On the one hand, Kiwami 2 has too many repetitive bouncer missions which drag on way too long. On the other hand, 2's Amon unlock requirements are perhaps tied with Kenzan for strictest where you can easily mess up if your not careful. Both have their pros and cons. Kiwami 2 (and Kiwami 1) at least dont let you miss side stories, a vast QOL improvement over the originals.
Note - this isnt close to the only stuff Kiwami 2 is missing. But Im tired. So dont forget:
That time one Omi character is aged up 20 years despite being the "young genius" just so they can use a face actor for the character.
How the new VAs for many characters arent as good and are just celebs shoe horned into the roles.
How the sunset skybox/time of day is completely cut, changing how cutscenes look.
And this fucking atrocity right here:
Behold a world where flat lighting rules, its a ghost town at Omi HQ... (this is the remake btw)
Ah the actual beauty of Omi HQ - those architects were legends putting in those gorgeous tiles that reflect the environment. Also, goons watching! You know, because you stormed the BASE OF THE OMI!
But seriously, this last one is something only PS2 players will probably notice, but to anyone who thinks its not something old fans would notice straight away - your wrong. This area left a strong impression on me, the remake looks horrible by comparison.
So yeah. Whether you agree or not, there's quite a bit missing/changed in the remakes that do the originals a disservice, especially when it comes to the audio.
