Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties review for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch 2, PC

In 2023’s Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, the normally static logo of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio got a bit of a “glow up”. Players who would boot up games from the studio would be treated to a twangy guitar medley with montages of the studio’s iconic characters being shown before a flame flared into the studio logo. Many compared this logo treatment to the one utilized by Marvel Studios at the time. Little did we know that the comparisons wouldn’t just end there…

Yakuza 3 was the 2009 entry of the franchise which saw series lead Kazuma Kiryu leave Tokyo to run an orphanage in the Okinawa region of Japan. However his carefree days acting as a foster father to the children of this group home would not last as a plot festers in the shadows which forces him to interact with the criminal underground.

As the first and second entries of the franchise received remakes in the form of Kiwami (“Extreme” or “Ultimate”) titles, it would only be time before the 3rd title would get this treatment. The Kiwami games were a great way for newly christened fans to experience the earlier chapters of the series without the need to access older hardware. The two games received generally favorable reception, but there were those who criticized changes and omissions from the original.

When the inevitable announcement of the existence of Kiwami 3 was made, the studio also revealed that an additional mode dubbed “Dark Ties” would be made available. This mode featured Yoshitaka Mine, the stoic businessman turned Yakuza and one of the main antagonists of the title. Dark Ties would give this fan favorite character a spotlight that has eluded him for over 15+ years.

While I can’t say I’ve played the original 3 or its remaster, Kiwami 3 is relatively faithful to the plot, so much so you can literally compare some cutscenes between each version and see almost a beat for beat recreation, albeit with higher fidelity visuals. However where Kiwami strays it will be discussed much akin to “Han Shot First” that the Star Wars fandom has to contend with.

Another major change in Kiwami is the fighting style which Kiryu uses as he fends off miscreants in both Kamurocho and Ryukyu. The Dragon of Dojima: Kiwami Style is an amalgamation of the style Kiryu has leveraged in the past, powerful blows mixed with fleeting footwork as well as a scrappy usage of environmental objects to ensure you’re the last man standing. The Ryukyu Style relies on various weapons and a shield. While I was initially dismissive of this style, likening it to the gimmick “agent” style, however upon learning that Ryukyu style offers a parry, as well as the chain attack’s excellent crowd control capabilities I found my style leaning towards this newer style. It certainly didn’t help that with less defensive options in Dragon of Dojima: Kiwami Style, I found myself sidestepping to the back to find an opening, but still being clipped by the opponent’s wild swings…

One of the greater gripes regarding the original title was the pacing of the game. While the main plot focused on a land deal, players were forced to experience slice of life gameplay at the orphanage. Kiwami 3 separates the Morning Glory Orphanage content from the main plot. You get your usual introduction, but once that has concluded you can tackle it at your leisure. A lot of the interactions with the orphans have been adjusted with one of the more problematic scenes cut.

Dark Ties is a brand new experience focused on Yoshitaka Mine’s entry and rise into the Yakuza. We’ll see him ingratiate himself with Tsuyoshi Kanda as the latter eventually becomes the leader of the Nishikiyama family. During the pre-release we were led to believe the mode would be comparable in length with the main game, but in reality Dark Ties would be better compared to Yakuza Kiwami 2’s Majima Saga (while a memorable experience, it clocked in at under 5 hours), but with a couple of mini-game modes added on to extend game time.

These modes are Kanda Damage Control and the Hell Arena. Kanda Damage Control is an odd one, as you have to run around the city doing favors for pedestrians in order to raise Kanda’s reputation. While I’m willing to accept a lot of silliness and absurdity in the series, the notion of having to play game gear games to raise the reputation is a tad too out there. Hell’s Arena is a mash up between the colosseum (which is a mainstay in the series) and the dungeon missions (Last seen in Like A Dragon: Isshin!).

Overall the title is a pretty solid entry, it’s a shame that the studio’s actions and in some cases inaction will probably leave a black mark on this title. I’m not going to pad out this review by rehashing it, so rather I’m going to leave a link to this Kotaku article which summarizes why this title will probably be polarizing to come. For those who haven’t been with the franchise for long, this will likely be a streamlined retelling of the 3rd entry, for long time fans this game will likely mark a horrible divergence from the sacred timeline (You didn’t think I’d forget about that MCU reference I made in the first paragraph, did ya?). As for me, I’m somewhere in the middle, I’m curious as to what the team will be doing moving forward, but a tad weary at the approach. Like a Dragon as a franchise will likely continue indefinitely, but Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties will probably be remembered as an inflection point amongst the fanbase.

Note: Sega provided us with a Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties code for review purposes.

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