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If you've watched Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor and are curious about its predecessor, this review should be what you're looking for.

In terms of art and sound, it matches Kaiji equally; the addition of 'Zawa' would be nice, but it does not make it feel lacking without it.

The story is equally good, though for different reasons. Kaiji is about pulling yourself from less than nothing to stand on the same ground as the average person on the street. Akagi is about one man with god-like awareness, skill and luck establishing a legend that only he can. I find it easier to get invested in Kaiji, as it's ... a tad more relatable.

Characters were a huge deciding factor in why I think less of Akagi than Kaiji. Akagi is a genius that performs inhuman feats with complete disregard for immediate rewards, instead seeking greater challenges with greater risks. Kaiji is a man that defends his friends even if it means risking his own chances of victory. In the end, Kaiji feels more human, more relatable and most importantly, more likable. Rather than watching events unfold, I'm rooting for Kaiji and easily get very emotionally invested in him and what he's doing.

While Kaiji is about multiple separate and entirely unrelated games, Akagi is strictly about Mahjong. This is likely a huge selling point one way or the other. While Akagi does its best to explain the rules of Mahjong, it can very quickly become hard to follow unless you have personal experience with it. On the other hand, Kaijis independent games have ample explanation and it's much easier to follow what's happening and the logic behind it. If you're not huge into Mahjong, odds are it'll seem like a bloody mess at times, but knowing it could make it much more enjoyable than the games in Kaiji.

The characters and my personal lack of Mahjong knowledge are what cemented Kaiji as better. This may not hold true for everyone, but I hope I explained my reasoning behind it well enough.