Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties – Review

When it comes to remaking its older titles, Japanese video game developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (RGG Studio) has it locked down. Known for its long-running action-adventure franchise Yakuza (also known as Like a Dragon), the studio has made strides in reintroducing its earlier titles, like the 2005 original and its 2006 sequel, thanks to its Kiwami (the Japanese word for “extreme” or “ultimate”) remakes, alongside 2023’s Like a Dragon: Ishin!, a rebuilt version of the 2014 original in Unreal Engine 4.

Where most other studios might opt for a simple graphical overhaul and call it a day, RGG Studio has gone one step further when it comes to its remakes, providing the visual boost alongside a suite of not only gameplay improvements, but also tweaked dialogue, or even entirely new story elements to expand upon the Yakuza lore. With this experience in hand, the studio seems more than ready to tackle its greatest challenge yet, with the remake of one of the franchise’s most divisive titles ever, Yakuza 3, in the form of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties.

Released in 2009, the original Yakuza 3 presented a tonal shift for the franchise, moving away from the high-octane action seen in its two predecessors, and transitioning instead to a more heartfelt tale of leading man Kazuma Kiryu as he walks away from the drama of organised crime to run an orphanage… or at least, he tries to. The issue here was that fans expected the bombastic action of prior titles, and while they welcomed an emotional story beat, having much of the entire game focused on the comparatively slower orphanage scenes meant 2009 gamers saw the narrative as boring.

Adding fuel to the fire were the game’s “innovations” when it came to combat. The original team’s intentions were clear, in making the usual button-mashing combat more tactical in its approach. Unfortunately, the team missed the mark when it came to execution, halting combat to a crawl thanks to constantly blocking enemies, making it a drag to sit through and earning the title the infamous “Blockuza” nickname in the process.

That’s where Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties comes in, as not only does it promise a substantial combat overhaul, it also aims to rework the game’s narrative for a more streamlined story experience. Additionally, much like what the remake’s predecessor did with its bonus “The Majima Saga” scenario, Yakuza Kiwami 3 also bundles in Dark Ties, a new story focused on fan-favourite villain Yoshitaka Mine.

And while the remake has largely succeeded in making the original title a much more enjoyable experience, the same can’t be said for most of its newer additions, making the title the definitive, yet still uneven way to experience the 2009 brawler.

Kicking off after the events of Yakuza 2, Kiryu’s third chapter begins with a goodbye, as the hardened ex-Yakuza leaves the familiar sights of Kamurochō to start a new life with his adoptive daughter, Haruka Sawamura, in Okinawa. The pair acquire and takes over an old orphanage, Morning Glory, which has ties to the Sunflower orphanage they both grew up in, with eight children in their care – Ayako, Taichi, Koji, Mitsuo, Riona, Eri, Shiro and Izumi.

Like any Yakuza game, this peace lasts six whole months before falling apart, as Kiryu gets caught in the middle of a high-profile land deal with two ministers on opposing ends. On one side is Suzuki, a well-respected minister who hopes to build a resort on the land to bring more tourism to Okinawa. On the other is Tamiya, who wants the construction of a US military base housing a state-of-the-art missile defence system, a move most locals understandably protest against.

Of course, nothing is ever as simple as it seems, with the deal contested by outside parties behind the scenes, one being the Tojo Clan, where Kiryu once served as Fourth Chairman. They are working to stop the deal to prevent the shuttering of Morning Glory, all while facing a group of shadowy individuals deadset on ensuring it goes through. There’s also the twist as this mysterious group seems to be led by someone who looks identical to Shintaro Kazama, Kiryu’s adoptive father, who supposedly died at the end of the first game.

While the intrigue and mystery are standard Yakuza affairs by now, what sets Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties apart are its slower, more heartfelt moments Kiryu shares with his companions, something the remake greatly improves compared to the original. 

For one, the overall story has been streamlined by removing some of its slower segments, such as the entire plotline where Kiryu deals with a boy named Akira and his helicopter mom, or making other parts shorter, like his training with a sensei for the new combat style or those surrounding the orphanage dog Mame. What this does is remove most of the “filler” seen in the original game, allowing players to get back into the main narrative much quicker, resulting in a story that feels less like it’s dragging on.

On the flip side, the remake also introduces new scenes to further flesh out the bond between Kiryu and another fan-favourite, Rikiya Shimabukuro. Initially opposed to Kiryu moving in on his turf, Rikiya is the captain of Okinawa’s Ryudo clan, who eventually grows to respect Kiryu as an Aniki (a more respectful way to say “older brother” or “senior”), and the remake includes a few key scenes that weren’t present in the original, which helps players better understand the turning point where Rikiya’s opinion on Kiryu transitions from annoyance to admiration.

Of course, Rikiya can’t be mentioned without pointing out the elephant in the room, that his character model and voice have been completely changed in the remake due to the recasting of actor Tatsuya Fujiwara to Sho Kasamatsu. While long-time fans will surely react negatively to changing such an iconic character, they should give Kasamatsu a chance, as he manages to nail Rikiya’s naive, impressionable personality, something complemented by the fact that Rikiya looks much younger this time around.

Moving on to Dark Ties, which puts players in the shoes of Mine, as they explore his origins as the chairman of a start-up who has been stabbed in the back and fired by his executive board. It’s only due to a chance encounter with the Tojo Clan’s sixth chairman, Daigo Dojima, that ultimately places the wealthy ex-entrepreneur into a spiralling obsession to gain something he had never felt before – brotherhood and true loyalty.

With that end goal in mind, Mine uses his (apparently) infinite wealth and manipulative analytical mind to find an in to the Tojo Clan, bribery, and more specifically, pay his way in by befriending Kanda, a simpleminded hothead and all-around scum-of-the-Earth, who is also a member of a Tojo subsidiary, the Nishikiyama clan.

While it’s a brief story spanning just three chapters, Dark Ties effectively fleshes out Mine, offering players a better look behind his motivations and helping them to understand or even sympathise with his actions in Yakuza Kiwami 3. 

Additional narratives and story tweaks aren’t the only thing Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties bring to the table, as RGG Studio has obviously worked hard to overcome the faults of the original. A key component of these improvements lies in the game’s base combat, which, as we have already explored in our previous previews for the title, makes brawls less of a chore and more akin to the franchise’s usual, action-heavy spectacle.

This is largely thanks to Kiryu’s new fighting style, Ryukyu, which sees him pummel opponents with a combination of eight Okinawan traditional weapons. Enemies in the remake still tend to consistently block damage, but any annoyance that comes with this is largely negated thanks to one of the weapons, the Tekkō, a pair of brass knuckles that Kiryu can use to break defences. 

If fighting with eight weapons sounds a little too overpowered, that’s because it is, although the game does try to balance the scales by throwing many more enemies at the player at once. Funnily enough, this is yet again countered by the Ryukyu style, as it also provides tools such as the Eiku oar or the chained Surujin weapon to deal damage to large groups at once. It might be an overcompensation, but one that is much more welcome, as it makes Kiryu feel like a complete badass, just as the Yakuza franchise should be.

It’s not all about the new Ryukyu style, as Kiryu’s base Dragon of Dojima style has also seen notable improvements thanks to an improved dodge system. By timing the dodge at the right moment, this will trigger a perfect dodge, and with the right attainable skills, allows Kiryu to reposition behind the enemy to deal critical strikes for increased damage, or even perform a devastating Heat Action finisher.

Tying Kiryu’s combat together is Dragon Boost, a new powered-up state that can be unleashed by filling up a meter. Once activated, this not only boosts his attack power but also introduces unique grapple moves to his basic combos, which deal even more damage. That’s not all, however, as once the Dragon Boost meter starts to run out, Kiryu can also perform a Dragon finisher, an immensely powerful strike that targets a single opponent.

All these improvements combined make Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties much more enjoyable to play, as players will now be able to power through enemies in a flash of combos and Heat Actions by unlocking new abilities as the game progresses, a far cry from what was once a drawn-out tit-for-tat.

Mine’s fighting style, on the other hand, is much more grounded in nature. With the much shorter playtime of Dark Ties compared to the main game, Mine understandably has only one fighting style, the shoot-boxing style, where he overwhelms a single foe with lightning-fast strikes. Similar to the base game, Mine also has a unique powered state here, Dark Awakening, which he can activate by draining up to three Shacked Hearts, a meter powered by dealing damage. 

Dark Awakening essentially works like Dragon Boost, albeit without the powerful finisher, unlocking new grappling moves for combos and even altering Heat Actions to make them more powerful. While mechanically simpler compared to Kiryu’s arsenal, Mine’s combat style serves its purpose well, offering just enough new mechanics to make it stand out, while also being easy to pick up for those coming from the main game.

While combat improvements are a huge plus, the same can’t be said about some of the major gameplay additions to both Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties. 

Yakuza Kiwami 3 fares slightly better in this regard, with two major new side activities, Morning Glory and Bad Boy Dragon. The former essentially takes some major story beats surrounding the children from the original game and packages them as an optional activity instead, and tasks Kiryu with helping out the children around the house to raise his Daddy Rank (yes, that’s what it’s called). 

To do this, Kiryu must complete various mini-games at Morning Glory, spanning returning ones like cooking and doing multiple-choice tests seen in past titles, to brand-new ones, such as the isometric Bug Catching mini-game or the highlight, sewing, which transforms the “boring” task into a pseudo racing game inspired by Sega’s classic 1986 arcade title Out Run. Doing these fills out an individual bond meter for each of the eight children, leading to heartwarming yet simple tales for each that help to further showcase Kiryu’s journey from hardened ex-Yakuza to a family man.

Bad Boy Dragon, however, doesn’t provide nearly the same satisfaction. Essentially an inferior copy-paste of the pirate crewmate recruiting in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, this side activity sees Kiryu going around town recruiting members to join his gang. From there, players can assign members to one of three squadrons and take part in Bad Boy Rumble, an all-out battle set in an arena that sees players go from base-to-base on the back of a motorcycle, cleaning out enemies in each before culminating in a final showdown with a boss and his minions.

Initially giving off the same excitement as those felt in Koei Tecmo’s Musou games (Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors), the hype quickly wears off once players realise they are practically doing the same thing repeatedly, with not much progression between each battle to make the mode something to get invested in.

While this would be fine if Bad Boy Dragon were strictly kept as an optional activity, it unfortunately isn’t the case here, as the main Yakuza Kiwami 3’s main narrative forces players to sit through a huge chunk of the mini-game, locking story progression behind the time-consuming and, honestly, boring task of going around participating in repetitive battles to recruit gang members, and even requires them to clear a certain Bad Boy Rumble milestone before they can proceed in a later part of the game.

This same issue is also seen with Dark Tie’s new side activity, the Colosseum, a pseudo-roguelike mode (which you can check out in the video above) which sees Mine traversing a maze-like arena in three increasingly difficult phases before facing a final boss at the end. Along the way, he will be faced with enemies around every corner, alongside chests that contain combat manuals, stackable items that boost his stats for the entire Colosseum mode.

This sounds fun in theory, and, at least for the first few rounds, it is, but the mode once again suffers from a lack of satisfying progression. Mine will constantly face the same types of enemies throughout a run, making it no better than a series of constant battle arenas, just with additional steps in between.

Players will be able to unlock powerful weapon-based abilities or even hire mercenaries to help them in a run as they progress through the mini-game, but this doesn’t change the fact that each round is essentially the same thing over and over again. Thankfully, unlike Bad Boy Dragon, players are only forced to participate in a minimum of two rounds, so clearing all the stages isn’t required to progress the story.

It seems like the decision to make at least the beginning of these new side activities mandatory was a way to pad out Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties’ runtime, which was understandably shortened thanks to the aforementioned narrative tweaks. It’s a curious one for sure, and frankly, feels a little lazy, and the game’s pacing would surely have benefited from less filler.

RGG Studio might have experimented a bit too much in terms of its gameplay additions, but at least it knows what it’s doing by now when it comes to boosting an ageing title’s visuals. Once again utilising the studio’s proprietary Dragon Engine, Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties looks significantly better than the original game, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the almost 17-year gap.

The game’s graphics aren’t just better, but also still faithful as well, recreating the many cutscenes of the original almost shot-for-shot, meaning most scenes play out just like fans would remember, just with a new shiny coat of paint. Things aren’t perfect, with some low-resolution textures spread throughout that stick out like a sore thumb, particularly with regards to background shots of the environment during cutscenes or some of Kiryu’s clothes, like jeans, but these instances don’t detract from an otherwise stunning remake effort.

When it comes down to it, Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties is a mixed bag in conflict with itself. For a title that goes the extra mile to ensure pacing is improved with regard to its narrative by eliminating filler, it’s strange to see it adding filler right back in with the addition of its mandatory side activity completion. It’s unfortunate, as this does put a damper on an otherwise excellent remake that improves upon almost all aspects of its divisive original. That said, Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties is still a superior way to experience the 2009 brawler, just don’t expect an absolute improvement.