Ryu ga Gotoku 2 [Model SLPM-66602]

Released on December 7, 2006 in Japan. It was the 98th best-selling game in Japan in 2008 selling 136,809 copies that year, while it was the third best-selling PlayStation 2 game in its release year, 2006, reaching lifetime sales of around 830,000 in Japan.

Ryu ga Gotoku 2 was announced in August 2006 with Sega promising an improved fighting system and further exploration. In addition to providing a deeper dramatic storyline over what was found in the original, the game also has some themes that were not in the original, including an adult love story. The Sega team considered fan input when making changes to Yakuza 2. One of the main aims in developing Ryu ga Gotoku 2 was improving its fighting engine. Accounting for fights against multiple opponents was one of the most important things that were considered when improving the fighting engine. It was made much easier, for instance, to attack foes that come at the player character from multiple directions, and to switch targets in the middle of a combo in order to quickly take out someone who may have snuck up on your flank. As a result, the fighting system was polished and the staff believed they succeeded. The team also added more Heat moves to make the fights more exciting.

The director of the voice recordings discouraged the voice actors from falling back on the cliches of anime character acting. When scenes involving characters exchanging insults and threatening each other take on cartoon cadences, the sense of tension and suspense evaporates. The decision not to use an overblown style of acting was what the composer thought it added to the distinctive dramatic feel of the series.

In order to make realistic recreations of Tokyo's Kabukicho and Osaka's D?tonbori, Sega made 17 tie-in with famous Japanese companies. As a result, some places found in the game, such as the Don Quijote discount store, the Club Sega game centers and the Matsuya restaurants (replacing its unlicensed version called Akagyu) are modeled after the real life buildings. The T?kaid? Shinkansen high-speed train is also featured in the game.

In order to support the game's expensive production, Sega used product placement strategy and introduced ads within the game. This includes the Japanese coffee brand Boss Coffee, numerous brands of alcohol appearing in the game's bars and pubs including Suntory Whiskey, Jack Daniel's Bourbon or Carlsberg Beer.

Famous real life arcades are included in the game. Sega's UFO Catcher crane game machine is included as a minigame, and arcade cabinets of Virtua Fighter 4 can be seen in the Club Sega game centers.

Reviews:
Famitsu gave the game a score of 38 out of 40.

Re-Editions:
[JP] "Ryu ga Gotoku 2 [Model SLPM-74301]" (2007)

Export releases:
[KO] "Ryu ga Gotoku 2 [Model SLKA-25280-1]"
[US] "Yakuza 2 [Model SLUS-21769]"
[EU] "Yakuza 2 [Model SLES-55242]"