When SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio first announced Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, I was deeply curious about how the story of the original Yakuza 3 would be translated into the Dragon Engine. Despite its flaws, the original Yakuza 3 is a game that I enjoyed greatly back on the PlayStation 3, and the series would realize more of its potential in story and gameplay in subsequent entries. After finally playing the remake and ruminating about its new content, I can safely say that Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is a polarizing game in many respects, from the story to the gameplay. At its heart, this is still a good Yakuza game, but whether it’s a solid remake is an entirely different question within a sea of questions I have for this game.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties are two experiences in one game—a remake of Yakuza 3 starring series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and a Gaiden-style game starring antagonist Yoshitaka Mine. Set in the years 2007 to 2009, Kazuma Kiryu is faced with having to bail out the Tojo Clan once more when Daigo Dojima, the sixth chairman, is shot by an unknown assailant who looks just like Kiryu’s adoptive father, Shintaro Kazama. A shady land deal in Okinawa threatens to uproot the Morning Glory Orphanage, where he and Haruka, along with the rest of the children, live relatively peaceful lives after leaving Tokyo behind. In Dark Ties, Yakuza fans finally delve into the backstory of Mine as he’s let go from an IT company and decides to pursue a journey of self-discovery with the Tojo Clan’s Nishikiyama Family. 

There are going to be heavy spoilers from this point on, so I certainly suggest that you have played the original Yakuza 3 before going any further. My entire outlook on Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is, for the lack of a better word, tied to the main story of the remake and the game’s overall content compared to the original. This is a game I both enjoyed and questioned greatly at times, and it’s due to the direction RGG Studio went with this game. By this point, I’m sure a lot of people who’ve already beaten Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties are having the same questions in my mind right now, but let’s really delve into what raises them to begin with.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 is a Wild Remake in More Ways than One

“Faithful” is a word that often comes up when there’s a discussion of remakes, but in the case of Yakuza Kiwami 3, it gets rather ambiguous. Kiryu’s side of the game’s story begins and progresses as one might expect from a Kiwami title, staying true to the story of Yakuza 3 through most of its course. The first chapter is sort of an epilogue to Yakuza Kiwami 2, where Kiryu and Haruka say their goodbyes to the people that supported them, Kaoru Sayama included. There’s a lot more attention to detail and more scenes that make this opening chapter of the game feel more fleshed out and cohesive than the original Yakuza 3, and this also applies to subsequent chapters in various scenes.

There are certain scenes and sequences in Yakuza Kiwami 3 that are still in line with what happened in the original game but are slightly different and offer more context. I definitely appreciate the new scenes that were added, too. Learning about Rikiya’s tattoo and helping him gain the confidence to have Utabori complete it was definitely memorable and added to Rikiya’s character, for example. Many set pieces and scenes from the original game have been faithfully adapted into the Dragon Engine in all their glory, including Kashiwagi getting shot up in the Millennium Tower and Richardson’s “roof (pronounced as ‘ruff’)” comment.

There’s much more to discuss regarding the story, but I do want to touch on the gameplay of Yakuza Kiwami 3 before going further. RGG Studio managed to improve the Dragon of Dojima: Kiwami fighting style while making it feel reminiscent of Yakuza 3’s combat and building on Gaiden’s overall combat improvements. Many of Kiryu’s signature abilities, including the double-handed strike, are back, and enemies offer a modicum of challenge as you make further progress. Combos are really satisfying to pull off with more variation, especially as you upgrade attack damage and unlock more attacks and abilities from the skill tree. Dragon Boost is especially powerful and feels like a vastly improved version of Yakuza 6’s Extreme Heat Mode, too. Kiryu can even wrestle opponents at the end of certain combo strings in Dragon Boost.

Personally, I think Yakuza Kiwami 3 is the most balanced game in the series, and those who are new to the series and have just played Yakuza Kiwami 2 will likely be pleased with the quality of life improvements and adjustments. Kiryu feels like a force to be reckoned with while being quick on his feet, but if you aren’t careful, crowds of enemies can get plenty of hits in, especially on Professional difficulty. Surprisingly, there’s no Legend difficulty this time, which was also omitted from Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. At the very least, difficulty is not locked behind New Game+ like it was in Infinite Wealth, but this game’s similarities with Gaiden don’t end yet.

The new Ryukyu fighting style is very Gaiden-coded, to put it aptly. It’s very reminiscent of the Agent style but with a much heavier emphasis on the weapons that Kiryu uses. Weapons are tied to button presses and button holds, so you could start out using tonfas for heavier attacks and switch to nunchakus to deal damage to enemies that are crowding around you. The trend I’ve noticed from RGG Studio’s action-based game is that one fighting style is more suited for one-on-one battles, while the other is more suited for crowd control. In the case of Yakuza Kiwami 3, Dragon of Dojima and Ryukyu styles are really good in both scenarios, with a slew of abilities that can work well for single-target and crowd-controlling purposes.

Ryukyu is definitely leaning more toward multiple-target damage, but the disparity between what the two fighting styles can do has been minimized to an extent. That being said, I do enjoy Ryukyu style a lot since you can string some swift combos and alternate weapons quite easily without breaking up the pace of attacks. Ryukyu style has some of the most powerful abilities in the game as well, including Tiger Drop. Miyazato, the Ryukyu dojo leader at Chura Bar, will offer Kiryu the chance to learn these abilities after the player reaches enough training points by completing in-game achievements. Once the player has reached enough training points, Kiryu may accept an exam at Miyazato’s dojo, which just involves a boss fight with the dojo’s trainers. Each exam is more difficult than the last, but these fights aren’t too challenging.

If there is one area of combat I wish was better, it would have to be the skill tree itself. The skill tree uses the money and training points you earn throughout the game, but you likely won’t unlock half of the upgrades if you’re playing at a normal pace toward the end. It requires a lot of money, so you’ll be spending a lot of time doing side activities to get the pricier upgrades. This isn’t entirely a bad thing, but I appreciated how past games involved Komaki Training and other methods to unlock abilities. In general, the upgrade system feels very Gaiden-like, as if RGG Studio took cues from there instead of Yakuza 3. There also aren’t that many Heat Actions in the game, which is due in part to the omission of Revelations from Yakuza 3. I only used a handful of Heat Actions throughout the game, and I seriously wanted some of the old ones to come back.

Where Yakuza Kiwami 3 Falters

Regarding the story, the biggest moments of Yakuza Kiwami 3’s main story still play out the same way as the original, with many cutscenes having nearly identical dialogue to the original game. One example that gave me flashbacks was the intro sequence where Kiryu and the crew are at the hospital with Saki to wait on word about Nagahara’s condition, since it plays out exactly how I remembered it. For the most part, Yakuza Kiwami 3’s story follows the same bullet points of the original game, but the execution and structure, and at times recontextualization, are where I raise an eyebrow.

To use an example, the introduction of the Bad Boy Dragon side activity in the story slows down the pacing early on in the game. You’ll be aiding the Haisai Girls gang for about an hour and a half in Ryukyu before you are allowed to get back to progressing the main story. It’s a double-edged sword, because Yakuza Kiwami 3 gives you more incentive to spend time in Ryukyu and explore, but the game makes you have to do side content as a mandatory part of story progression. I think this particular aspect of story progression could have been handled better, but that’s not to say I dislike Bad Boy Dragon, as that’s far from the case. Besides the required Bad Boy Dragon progress and early introductory portions of the game, Yakuza Kiwami 3 doesn’t really drag on.

A story can be defined by its cast, and a big question mark and point of contention going into this release pertains to the updated cast members for Goh Hamazaki, Rikiya Shimabukuro, and Shigeru Nakahara. Personally, I actually grew into liking the new Rikiya and Nakahara, and I thought they were portrayed quite well in Yakuza Kiwami 3. I still felt the same emotions about Rikiya that I had the first time I played Yakuza 3. However, I really can’t say the same about Teruyuki Kagawa as Hamazaki. Rikiya and Nakahara don’t deviate from the originals in terms of characterization, but Hamazaki’s characterization does due to Kagawa’s less-than-stellar performances. Yakuza 3’s Hamazaki was more formidable and intimidating, plus the new Hamazaki is actually much shorter, so he doesn’t even stand toe-to-toe with Kiryu or Rikiya, for that matter.

Hamazaki was a creepy and seedy character in the original, but his character feels flat and uninspiring in this game after the scene in the Chinese restaurant in Yokohama. I just don’t think he’s a great fit for the character, and the controversy surrounding him doesn’t help his case either, since Kagawa’s inclusion is sort of the antithesis of what the Yakuza games stand for. This is one aspect where RGG Studio should have acted on the feedback that players were giving right after the reveal, especially with all the information that has come to light about Kagawa. 

However, there’s still so much more to this that revolves around the story and isn’t limited to it. If you played Yakuza 3, this is far from the ideal remake that makes this game “definitive,” like I’m sure many fans would have wanted it to be. A lot of characters, including Komaki and Mac, simply aren’t present in the game this time. In the case of Komaki, he’s been replaced by Miyazato. Miyazato is actually a really great character, but instead of being an addition to Yakuza Kiwami 3, he directly replaces an ally and mentor of Kiryu that was last seen as far back as the original Yakuza game on PlayStation 2, to as recently as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. 

Substories have intersected with the main story from time to time in the Yakuza series, and when it’s completely missing in this case, it really takes away from some of the essence of the original Yakuza 3 in this case. In fact, Yakuza Kiwami 3 does away with more than 70% of the substories from the original game, along with the hostess club activity entirely. I do know that this isn’t indicative of the main story itself, but the absence of these substories and features, including Murder of Cafe Alps, takes away from the Yakuza 3 experience itself. These substories still play a role in building Kiryu’s character in the setting of this game.

Along with the missing substories, Yakuza Kiwami 3 drops the ball when it comes to the culmination of its story. If you played Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, you’ll know that both Kashiwagi and Richardson are still alive somehow. There’s an element of mystery there, but it didn’t greatly affect the story of that particular game. However, Yakuza Kiwami 3 really hits you with a butterfly effect deal at the very end, now that we know Hamazaki didn’t stab Kiryu at the end of the remake, and Mine is still alive and persuades Hamazaki to join him in the Daidoji Faction, a now-recurring force in the modern Like a Dragon games.

Now, I’m not particularly outraged by this ending, but I do think it does negatively impact those final moments of Yakuza Kiwami 3. Mine’s self-reflection and redemption at the end of Yakuza 3 elevated him as one of the most beloved characters in the entire franchise, and while I do think he’s actually even better as a character in the remake, the new ending really breaks up the continuity of the series as we know it. Kiryu’s stabbing and subsequent recovery, along with Hamazaki’s incarceration, directly lead into the plot of Yakuza 4, so these events not happening really open up a can of worms, especially when the Daidoji Faction is very influential in Kiryu’s life in the most recent games. If we know that the game was going to head into a different direction and not follow the Kiwami model that fans know and love, I wish it had been communicated differently. At the very least, we now know what director Masayoshi Yokoyama meant when he said Kiwami 3 could be the “last Kiwami title” for the series. We may be on an unknown journey of our own, for better or worse.

There are a few more points of contention that I thought were worth bringing up, and those pertain to the lack of an equipment system and the game’s original soundtrack. Personally, I’m mixed on the equipment system’s absence, since the skill tree and phone accessories sort of make up for it as an alternative. However, the equipment system was actually quite useful and offered unique bonuses that aren’t really present in this game. As for the music, I do want to say that Yakuza Kiwami 3 has a lot of great music that remixes some of the classics from the Yakuza 3 soundtrack by the legendary Hidenori Shoji. The Kiwami 3 versions of “Ogre Has Returned” and “Fly” were especially memorable, but various other BGM tracks in this game don’t feel as impactful compared to the original. I know it’s subjective, but I can definitely see others feeling the same way if you compare the two soundtracks. Plus, there are some tracks that are just missing entirely, such as “illtreatment.” 

There’s Still Really Good Content and Features Here

There’s still a lot of good content in Yakuza Kiwami 3 that I thoroughly enjoyed, despite some of the gripes I have. The Life at Morning Glory content is a really fun life-sim diversion from the main story, and it’s quite rewarding when you spend time playing it. Cooking is back from Like a Dragon: Ishin, and there are a slew of mini-games and activities that will help the kids at the orphanage grow closer to Kiryu, including sewing, bug-catching, homework quizzes, and Dragon Reversi. Life at Morning Glory especially hits different now after playing Gaiden and Infinite Wealth, especially with the bonding events where Kiryu begins to help everyone feel more comfortable at home. 

Bad Boy Dragon is also really fun and adds Musou-like elements to the game. As I’ve touched on before, Kiryu will aid the Haisai Girls gang in order to protect Ryukyu and earn some street cred. He teams up with Miyazato’s daughter, Tsubasa, and vows to help them fend off the Tokyo Night Terrors, a ruthless organization of gangs that show no remorse for anyone in their path. To combat them, Kiryu can recruit new Haisai Girls members by completing substories and meeting certain milestones in-game. With squadrons full of gang members, Kiryu will lead them into battle on motorcycles to capture strongholds and defeat gang leaders in style. In essence, Bad Boy Dragon is this game’s version of Clan Creator but with a more hands-on and combat-oriented approach, and it also has its own intriguing storyline, too.

Besides Life at Morning Glory and Bad Boy Dragon, there’s a ton of side activities and content to engage in, including the returning Coliseum, Karaoke, darts, arcade games, and even a vast selection of Game Gear games that you can collect and play. It seems like SEGA and RGG Studio really upped their game when it comes to emulating classic titles, as there’s a collection of classic arcade games to choose from whenever you head to the nearest SEGA arcade in Kamurocho—Virtua Fighter 2.1 included.

There are also a few slightly repurposed features that make a return in Yakuza Kiwami 3, including an outfit menu that lets you dress up Kiryu as you see fit with the number of different apparel found throughout the game. Aloha Links from Infinite Wealth are also back in the form of Lalala Loveland, which is tied to one of the remake’s new NPCs. Early in the game in Kamurocho, Kiryu upgrades his phone at the insistence of Haruka at the Lalala Loveland stand. After getting his new flip phone, players can collect accessories and other cosmetics to decorate the phone and earn some more bonuses in combat, such as improved Heat regeneration. Kiryu can also make friends by aiming his phone at an NPC and becoming a Lalala Friend. Besides the quirky change here, it’s essentially the same feature as Aloha Links, and you’ll be rewarded for doing it. 

Photo Rally also makes a return from Infinite Wealth. Winnie-chan, the young woman who runs downtown Ryukyu’s raffle, will task you with taking photos of landmarks in Kamurocho and Ryukyu to earn prizes. I didn’t find Photo Rally to be as interesting this time around, though, but that’s likely due to how many times I’ve explored Kamurocho at this point. Hawaii in Infinite Wealth felt so new and interesting since that was the first time the series explored that location. While you are searching for those landmarks, you can also pick up locker keys to obtain music CDs from various other SEGA games, along with a number of different bonuses and items, at the coin lockers in Kamurocho and Ryukyu.

The Reapers are back in Yakuza Kiwami 3, serving as optional bounties that you can take on to receive millions of yen. Once more, Kashiwagi tasks you with taking out the Reapers to bring some measure of stability to the Tojo Clan. They’ll appear all across the map in Kamurocho and Ryukyu, with Kiryu simply needed to walk up to them in order to fight and apprehend them. A final Reaper boss fight awaits if you complete all 30 previous Reaper fights, and overall, the Reaper fights are definitely worth doing if you want to unlock upgrades at a faster pace. However, there’s not much of a story with Reapers this time, as the Honest Living Association and Ibuki aren’t involved. You’ll simply get text messages when new Reapers have been located on the map.

Overall, Yakuza Kiwami 3 has a good amount of content to engage in. It’s not to the breadth of a game like Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but it’s definitely more in line with Gaiden and Yakuza Kiwami 2. You’ll probably spend around 45 to 50 hours on the road to 100% completion, and generally, I did have a good time with the side activities and content. Just for the sake of comparison, I spent around 60 hours in Kiwami 2 back when it originally launched, so Kiwami 3 did feel like a shorter game.

Inside the Dark Ties

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is quite a unique release in the series in that it includes two games in one. Dark Ties is much more substantial in its narrative, gameplay, and content compared to Kiwami 2’s Majima Saga bonus scenario and Lost Judgment’s The Kaito Files DLC. Dark Ties is more in line with Gaiden, so I think RGG Studio’s got the messaging straight with this game. What’s more, RGG Studio seemed to have listened to a lot of player feedback over the years and finally implemented some features that the community has been wanting in these shorter Yakuza/Like a Dragon games.

As I touched on previously, Dark Ties is a prequel that focuses on Mine before the events of Yakuza Kiwami 3. The story delves into Mine’s start in the yakuza underworld and his rise up the chain of command of the Nishikiyama Family with Tsuyoshi Kanda, a foot soldier for the family that got released from prison. After being pushed out of his own IT company in Tokyo, Mine drinks his sorrows away in Kamurocho and stumbles into a shoot-out in the middle of town. There, Daigo Dojima is being protected by Tojo Clan members who are putting themselves in the line of fire to protect him. Being a witness to that event, Mine develops an internal monologue about why people would go as far as to give up their own lives to protect Daigo. Mine’s curiosity for Daigo and the need for a purpose in a world that seemingly failed him at every turn are the catalysts for his arrival in the Tojo Clan. This makes for an intriguing premise for Mine’s backstory, and it actually fits his character perfectly. 

The story of Dark Ties is around the length of Gaiden’s story, but it’s structured within fewer chapters. There’s a lot of content that’s jam-packed into a 20 to 25-hour game here, including Kanda Damage Control. In Kanda Damage Control, Mine will help Kanda build up good PR in the Tojo Clan by helping the citizens of Kamurocho under Kanda’s name, with the help of the Nishikiyama Family’s IT specialist, Zenba. There’s a suite of content, including Good Deed Quests and requests scattered all throughout the map, which involve finding lost objects, handing in items, or fighting thugs and yakuza members. Overall, it’s very similar to Gaiden’s Akame Network, but I honestly enjoyed the Good Deed Quests a lot more here. These substories really do a great job building on Mine’s character as an anti-hero who still knows what’s right from wrong, even if he’s lost sight of that at a given point.

I enjoyed Mine’s fighting style just as much as the story, which means to say both are really good for the most part. Mine’s fighting style in Dark Ties incorporates some shoot-boxing along with some of the signature moves that fans might remember from his boss fight in the original Yakuza 3. At first, Mine’s fighting style seems a little on the weaker side due to some initial low damage output, reminiscent of early game Akiyama from Yakuza 4 and 5 in some regards. Once you get some upgrades from the skill tree, his fighting style clicks in and feels really fun to use. Mine has some really good Heat Actions that become even more powerful and devastating when Dark Awakening is enabled. Similar to Dragon Boost, Dark Awakening is a special, powered-up state that makes Mine more deadly. Dark Awakening consumes the Shacked Hearts gauge, which can be upgraded for a total of three hearts in order to extend the duration and deal more damage. Dark Awakening comes in clutch later into the playthrough, especially since difficulty seems to ramp up much more quickly compared to Kiwami 3. 

You’ll get a solid feel of Mine’s fighting style once you have access to Hell’s Arena, a roguelike activity where you battle through underground Kamurocho and clear out objectives within a time limit. As you defeat enemies and open treasure chests, you’ll get damage upgrades and other useful A boss battle awaits at the end of each Hell’s Arena Survival run, and if you win, you’ll earn a lot of money and gain access to a slew of rewards from the shopkeeper for the activity. Hell’s Arena also has its own storyline, and there’s a separate Brawl section for those who enjoy coliseum-style battles. In general, I think this is a solid mode that RGG Studio experimented with, and it could definitely be improved in future games, if they decide to reuse the concept.

As I mentioned previously, RGG Studio has followed up on feedback and changes for features that were highly requested for titles of this scale. Like Kiryu, Mine has access to Karaoke and various side activities that are also in Kamurocho in Kiwami 3. Dark Ties also has New Game+ and Premium Adventure. In short, Dark Ties has the features you would expect from a fully-fledged Yakuza game, avoiding the faults of Majima Saga and The Kaito Files before it. 

I unfortunately have to echo some of the same gripes I had with Yakuza Kiwami 3 in Dark Ties, and that’s again due to what the story means for Mine going forward. Dark Ties does an amazing job telling the story of Mine and Kanda, and the returning Drink Links feature does wonders in making them feel more grounded and emotionally diverse as characters. Daigo also gets his time to shine, since Dark Ties shows how he and Mine got really close as relatively new figures in the Tojo Clan. However, the ending of Dark Ties only exacerbates the issues presented by Kiwami 3’s ending, as it actually shows how Mine survives the fall from the Millennium Tower. I can’t for the life of me defend Mine surviving one of the tallest skyscrapers in Tokyo by falling into shrubs. Sometimes, leaving some mystery is for the better.

Dragon Engine Levels up on Switch 2

Story aside, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is looking really great on Nintendo Switch 2. The game runs at a solid 30 FPS with virtually no frame drops, and the input latency is super low. When playing mini-games and emulated titles, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties will bump the frame rate up to 60 FPS. I especially noticed this in the bowling mini-game, and in general, the game’s frame pacing also felt superb, thanks to DLSS. 

The image quality is also seriously great in docked mode, and I only noticed a few oddities throughout my playthrough. Since DLSS is enabled on Switch 2, there will be some strange fuzziness around hair textures, and I also encountered some graphical glitches in certain areas of the game, particularly when you’re on the elevator at Touto Hospital. I also noticed that close-up shots of Kiryu and the Haisai Girls during the intro sequence for Bad Boy Dragon missions looked extremely fuzzy, too. In portable mode, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties takes a more notable hit in overall presentation, but the performance remains steady at 30 FPS. You’ll notice that Kiryu looks incredibly blurry if you open up the cell phone menu, which is strange since this issue doesn’t occur as you are playing the game regularly in the cities.

Besides that, I had no issues with the Nintendo Switch 2 version, and I’m glad that the pre-launch issues with the demo were solved by the time I started playing. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is another sign that the Dragon Engine is becoming more optimized for Switch 2, and I’m hopefully in seeing Stranger Than Heaven potentially push the hardware even further, though this isn’t confirmation that the new game will be heading to the portable platform.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is the Epitome of a Mixed Bag

After spending roughly 50 hours in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, I can definitely say it’s a mixed bag. I’ve had a lot of fun, but I’ve scratched my head at the design choices and omissions. When I think of the “Kiwami” title, I want a Yakuza title that goes above and beyond as a truly complete and “extreme” version of itself. Although the cuts from Yakuza Kiwami 2 were worthy of a debate, it didn’t change the context of the story or greatly subtract from what Yakuza 2 brought to the table. At the time, I was really pleased and overjoyed with Yakuza Kiwami 2, but I don’t feel the same way about Yakuza Kiwami 3 now, despite what I did enjoy from it.

There’s too much missing from Yakuza Kiwami 3 that is fundamental to Yakuza 3 itself, and that involves content surrounding the main story, the actual implications of the main story for Kiryu, and, at times, the overall presentation of the game with its cast and story pacing. On the other side of the coin, Dark Ties does an amazing job with Mine and Kanda, but the ending falters due to the issues of Yakuza Kiwami 3’s new ending and the issues that it presents for the continuity of the series at the time of this writing. This is in addition to the fact that Yakuza 3 Remastered isn’t available as a separate title anymore, so there’s now a barrier to entry in the series that shouldn’t be there. 

I think RGG Studio could have knocked this one out of the park if they had honored Yakuza 3 more closely and understood that Yakuza fans really do appreciate what that game brought, substories and quirks included. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties does a lot to improve the combat and offer some really fun and engaging new experiences, and while 90% of the remake’s story is accounted for, the 10% can sour you on what is otherwise one of the Yakuza franchise’s most emotional and impactful tales.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties isn’t a bad game, and at its core, it’s Yakuza 3, but it could be so much better. I certainly recommend newcomers play through the first Kiwami titles and the rest of the series before coming to Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties on sale, especially after experiencing Yakuza 3 to understand what the purest essence of that game is. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties does a lot of good to improve on what Yakuza 3 couldn’t, but it’s not at the high standard I expect from one of Japan’s most beloved developers. For better or worse, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is the beginning of a new chapter for RGG Studio, and it’s up to them to recoup some of the goodwill that fans lost. 

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is available now on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.

Disclaimer: SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio provided a review copy of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties for review.