Y2/K2 was the only game in the series where the ending made me like, genuinely annoyed lol. I like some of the things it goes for thematically with survivor's guilt and stuff, but it really doesn't stick the landing, characters like Sayama get shafted in the back half, and the whole finale was just... bad. And you can tell they were still figuring out who Kiryu is as a character, because some of the stuff he does in this game (especially "have a hot makeout sesh with Sayama over the cooling corpse of her brother and 6 other Secret Korean guys while Haruka watches on from a helicopter, ready to be re-traumatized as her new father figure dies in an explosion just like how her mom died in an explosion a year ago") just feels nonsensical with his characterization in future games.
Y3: Sayama texts Kiryu to congratulate him on becoming intimate with all the hostesses
Y5: Sayama is blamed for the Osakan police department becoming a joke
Yokoyama must really hate her.
I give it a little leeway because of how long ago the plot was written and you definitely feel that age sometimes (not so much that it's outdated but more like, the bar for storytelling in games has shifted over time) but it's definitely my personal least favorite.
If Y0 is a 9, I'd give this one a 6

same case with kiwami 1. not a great remake, but still a very good game in general!

combat feels SO MUCH BETTER than yakuza 6, still sad that style switching is nowhere to be seen in this game but eh whatever.

the story is mostly the same for better or for worse. so it's... fine. not the best but again still better than whatever the hell kiwami 3 is

despite the better combat, the dragon engine is the same version as yakuza 6, so it has ALOT of jank to it, not as much, but it's still there.

ryuji goda was such a good antagonist i liked him alot to be fair

overall? 8/10, play the original yakuza 2 if you can because that game is really good too

we're not gonna talk about the green filter though

ライブラリにしょうもないことでLegacyとか追加すんな