It has been one week since the release of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties. Some discussions around its controversies have died down, while others are only just beginning. More and more details see the light of day as fans dive deeper into the storyline and gameplay.
I’ve played for 25 hours, completing most of the new content and witnessing about half of the main story.
While the core of a beloved RGG Studio franchise is still there and is still fun to explore, I can’t help but echo the community’s growing pessimism, at least to some extent. Yakuza 3 Kiwami is a lackluster remake.
While it attempts to modernize combat and expand Mine’s story through Dark Ties, the remake struggles to preserve the emotional weight and pacing that defined the original. The new content ultimately fails to compensate for it.
What’s New in Yakuza 3 Kiwami & Dark Ties?
Combat Adjustment & New Fighting Style
Combat of the original Yakuza 3 was dubbed by the community as the worst in the series, mainly due to enemies’ constant blocking and no clear window to perform Kiryu’s dodge or Tiger Drop.
The Kiwami version changed the game’s combat to a style known from all Dragon Engine installments, starting with Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. On modern platforms, performance remains stable, although I had some issues with textures pop-in.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has introduced players to a new fighting style: Ryukyu Style. It’s built around using a variety of weapons and switching them depending on the enemies the Dragon of Dojima is facing.
However, the wide variety is also Ryukyu’s biggest downside, as it feels overcomplicated and most of the tools lack power. Ryukyu should also have a progression system, as Yakuza 3 was the first game in the series to introduce weapon modding.
New Storyline: Dark Ties
The storyline follows the main antagonist of Yakuza 3, Yoshitaka Mine, on his rise to power. It gives interesting look at his motivation, relationship with Kanda and obsession with Daigo Dojima.
However, it ultimately feels underdeveloped, especially in comparison to The Majima Saga from Yakuza Kiwami 2 or The Kaito Files from Lost Judgment.
Morning Glory
The main side activity in Yakuza 3 Kiwami revolves around taking care of Morning Glory and deepening bonds between kids and Kiryu. The first part of the task is entertaining, as someone who spent countless hours on Dondoko Island in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and found comfort in cooking minigame of Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii I felt right at home.
The latter, however, feels unnecessarily rushed. Longer sections of getting to know kids from original entry were condensed into a few short interactions plus one final cutscene. That’s not enough to build a meaningful connection between them and Kazuma, making that scene in The Man Who Erased His Name far less significant.
Bad Boy Dragon
Kiryu Kazuma joins a girl biker gang to help them defend Okinawa against rivals from Tokyo. Gameplay follows the footsteps of Pirate Crew Showdown from Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, without adding much to it.
Yakuza 3 Kiwami & Dark Ties Controversies
Recasting Of Beloved Characters
RGG Studio decided to recast three of the most memorable characters from Yakuza 3 – Rikiya Shimabukuro, Shigeru Nakahara and Goh Hamazaki.
While the first two can be written off simply as a questionable casting decision, the actor who portrays Hamazaki, Teruyuki Kagawa, has been accused of sexual assault.
As of now, Sega has not issued an official statement, only game director, Ryosuke Horii, spoke about the matter in an interview with the site GAME Watch, which IGN translated:
“Hamazaki is a sleazy, persistent, and militant yakuza, right? Since he isn’t an explosive character like Kanda, when we tried to think of someone who makes you go, “This guy’s a creep,” naturally it was Kagawa – that was the main factor. Kagawa’s acting is fun to watch. Even when he’s chopping a pig’s feet off with a chef’s knife, it has a slimy feel. That feeling permeates his performance, so it brings a freshness to the scene and made it feel really fun.”
Substories Replaced And Rewritten
Many of the original substories got replaced with versions similar in design to the ones featured in newer games, with recurring gags and returning characters.
Most of the community backlash focused on the two important ones: “Talking to Me”, featuring a trans character, and “Murder at Cafe Alps”, being one of the most unique substories in the series.
Mixed Reviews: Is This The End Of Kiwami?
Yakuza 3 Kiwami & Dark Ties currently has 907 reviews on Steam, with 62% positive. On Metacritic, it has a 75 score and a 5.4 user rating. The mixed reception highlights how divided players remain on nostalgia-driven remakes and whether they should preserve the original vision or reinvent it for modern expectations.
The path forward is uncertain. During a livestream, RGG Studio Director and Executive Producer Yokoyama said that the Kiwami series would end with the newly released Yakuza 3 Kiwami.
During the Yakuza Kiwami 3 launch event in Malaysia Horii commented on the matter during an interview for Slimepress:
“We haven’t decided yet whether we will go from Kiwami 3 to Kiwami 4 or 5.”
Do you prefer the original Yakuza 3 or the reimagined Kiwami version?