So, when this other attempt is made, whether it's another recording of a music track, another painting with similar themes, or, in the case of movies and games, sequels, there is the potential to right some of the wrongs committed in the first run. Few pieces of entertainment ever find themselves truly improving when moving on to new incarnations, but every once in a while, there is one that stands out for really finding the problems before and addressing them. What went wrong? What could fix it? Few sequels ever find answers to these questions for any of their faults.

Ryuu ga Gotoku 2, on the other hand, answers them, on nearly all counts. Pretty much everything that you would want to have improved from the first game has been.

First of all, I should mention that the first game was ported outside Japan under the title Yakuza and met with tepid response. Perhaps the largest reason for its failure was due to Sega's own misrepresentation of the product and lack of understanding of the gaming public--plainly, it was marketed poorly. Magazines and review shows pointed to the game as either a Shenmue clone or a Japanese take on Rockstar's ever-popular Grand Theft Auto series.

The game was neither, actually; it was a brawler (in the vein of Final Fight or Double Dragon or Spikeout) set in a semi-free-roaming world that paid homage to action and yakuza films.

Having said that, it's the fighting that a brawler really should focus on. The other big reason why the first game failed? The action was simply confused, lethargic, and even frustrating. It was actually quite easy once you got used to it, but one thing a developer shouldn't want (or anyone in any entertainment field, really) is for their product to be something someone needs to "get used to." Rather, it should be accessible and fun.

I said that everything has been improved, and, well, it has. This time around, the fighting has much more freedom, more options to explore, and it's managed to even improve the one thing the first game really had going for it in this area--it's much more brutal and entertaining.

The first big innovation towards that end was the inclusion of a "soft" lock-on system. You are no longer forced to use the R1 button as a crutch and keep your focus on one direction while enemies slowly walk around you and you float off in a string. Instead, you can press towards enemies trying to dart around you with the analog stick and turn your character towards them. While the first game did include attacks that turned you around, they were attacks you needed to earn and still left you surrounded much of the time. This time, you have them right off the bat and they can even be followed up by other attacks, leaving you able to fend off would-be assailants from just about any direction.