How to easily make money in Yakuza Kiwami
Money is important in Yakuza Kiwami - not to the same extent that it was in Yakuza 0, but you’ll still need money for equipment, healing items, and spending time at the Cabaret Club. There are a few ways to make money a little bit easier in the remake of Kiryu Kazuma’s initial adventure, as well. Many of these can be a little time-consuming but will serve multiple purposes at once.
Now that Yakuza Kiwami is on the Nintendo Switch, you can farm money on the go as well. As many of these are relatively simple, if you’re traveling or hanging out away from your TV, these will work just as easily as they will in docked mode.
Tips to make easy money in Yakuza Kiwami
One of the best ways to make money in Yakuza Kiwami is an obvious choice - fighting! Defeating enemies leaves you with a stack of yen as an apology from the various thugs, hooligans, and criminals for wasting your time. While you’ll never be short of enemies to pummel into a fine paste, there’s an easier way to find fights.
The first is by completing Substory 43 and receiving the Locker Key J5. This gives you the equippable item Charismatic Photo. By equipping this accessory, enemies will try and fight you far more often. This also keeps you in the regular world, and can hopefully increase the odds of Majima showing up to look for a fight. Also take the time to help citizens in need, as they often give you Plates to sell at the Pawn Shop.
That said, if you want to make money through combat, the best way is to go to the Coliseum. This unlocks by reaching Purgatory, and each time you win one of the tournaments, you’ll receive money as a reward in Yakuza Kiwami. You also receive CP (Coliseum Points) - which you will almost certainly use to buy the images needed for Komaki’s intense training.
The minimum you’ll receive for the Coliseum battles is 20,000 yen, so it’s a significant chunk of change. This is one of my favorite ways to make money, as the battles are relatively short, and I receive two forms of currency as a result.
Speaking of Locker Keys, several of these give you items that you can sell for serious amounts of cash. You’ll receive items like Buddhist Statue, Dinosaur Fossil, Clay Figurine, and plates like a Diamond Plate. These serve no purpose other than to sell them. You only get them once, but it will really add up.
There’s also a risky way of making money, and that’s through Gambling. Personally, I don’t recommend gambling, since I’m not especially great at it. You can unlock some cheating items through Locker Keys as well, but they’re only usable once.
That means you’ll need to get some high-stakes action going and use them at the right time. The final best way to make money through, is tedious, but worth it. Farm up enough CP, speak to Bob Utsonomiya, and unlock the Ebisu Socks. Equipping these will cause you to hear a jingle with each step, but each time you do move, you gain money.
To maximize these, rubber band your controller so you constantly run in a direction or circle, and lower the volume. After a few hours, you should have all the money you’ll need in Yakuza Kiwami. I usually just equip these and run everywhere, instead of taking a taxi. It takes time to accrue a fortune this way, but every bit helps.
Yakuza Kiwami is now available on the Nintendo Switch, in addition to other platforms the game is already available on - PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. You can learn more about this most recent release on the Nintendo Switch in our in-depth review.