Here’s my Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review from SEGA, which is now available on various consoles as well as PC via Steam!

We’re now on our third adventure with the legendary Dragon of Dojima, Kazuma Kiryu, as he is once again thrust back into the world of intrigue and betrayals as an old ally and father figure joins the dark side and also disrupts the peace that he has built himself (don’t worry, the guy’s peace has always been disturbed with each new Yakuza game up until Ichiban Kasuga.

What’s interesting and something that’s weird for me is that the game starts off with the English dub rather than sticking with the traditional Japanese audio for the game. You’ll immediately feel the difference because you instantly long for the iconic voice of Kiryu’s VA, Takaya Kuroda but I have stuck around the Yakuza/ Like a Dragon franchise for awhile now to actually enjoy English VA Yong Yea’s performance.

The game’s combat has been updated and tweaked as expected for these Kiwami remastered titles. New players getting their fists wet with Yakuza Kiwami 3 will easily get the fight mechanics and combat while old players who just want to play this game for the lulz will also have it easy.

The original Yakuza 3 had some serious pacing issues, which this 2026 release tried to fix, but whether that was a success or not is something we need to dig deeper into.

In Yakuza Kiwami 3 / Dark Ties, we return to the role of the Man, the Legend himself, Kiryu Kazama, aka the fourth chairman of the Tojo Clan and the all-around muscle-y good guy, as he figures into another turf war that also involves friends and allies he made in the past two games. In this new Yakuza war that he has been thrust into, he needs to work with familiar faces like Daigo Dojima and our favorite mad dog, Goro Majima.

Like most of the Yakuza and Like a Dragon games, players are also bounced around different locations throughout the game, this time between Okinawa and our favorite Kamurocho.

Kiryu also has his hands full in this game, as he (and you) need to run the day-to-day operations of this little orphanage in Okinawa with your adopted daughter, Haruka. But unlike the original game, Yakuza Kiwami 3 lets you skip past all the mundane subplots and dialogues and gets you primed directly for the bigger war. It is nice to take a break, though from time to time, and check up on the kids. I have to tell you, though, that working with kids and developing bonds with them also helps in improving your performance in the game. But it’s really nice to have the option to go from Dad of the year to Big Daddy.

It’s also through these subplots with the children that the mini-games in Kiwami 3 really shine. As you bond with these bundles of fun and joy, there are several mini-games that you need to complete to progress and unlock more dialogue. These mini-games range from the ones we’re so familiar with, especially in the last few years’ releases (Infinite Wealth and Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii), like fishing and cooking mini-games, to the newer ones, like a sewing machine game.

Other mini-games and activities you can try in Kiwami 3 include karaoke, which is now easier to play, and the prize catcher.

removes what was one of the most painful aspects of the original release – combat. RGG and SEGA did a fine job of fixing the combat especially the damage output and defenses on enemies making for a more enjoyable experience.

Kiryu also gets two fighting modes, including the very classic “Dragon of Dojima” stance and a second one that lets players enjoy bashing in heads with eight different weapons.

These weapons have their own purpose too, including the shield that focuses on defense and tonfa batons to stun enemies to open up for more devastating grab attacks. And even better is that you can easily shift into the weapons of your choice with a few taps of the main action buttons to inflict as much pain and damage to enemies as you possibly can.

The visuals, including all those gorgeous fighting scenes in-game, have also been updated to suit a modern audience. Remember, the original game came a decade or so ago, so they really needed to up their game and put that “Kiwami” stamp on this baby. This improvement also helped me when it came to enjoying the sun-kissed beaches of Okinawa, one of the main locations for the game’s first half.

The dialogues are still here. It wouldn’t be a Yakuza game without that humongous wall of text and endless stream of dialogue. Thankfully, there’s a skip button, but I seriously suggest you use that sparingly, as there are some nice moments and integral bits that are done through exposition dumps here.

Overall though the story looks tighter if I’m to believe how the original release’s version was. The Kiwami 3 ending is one of the more controversial things for this release with most of the long-time Yakuza fans angry about how RGG Studios made big changes to the ending that have ramifications for future games and directly affect the whole story, creating a big ripple effect for future games. This retcon also seems to rub the fans the wrong way but for me, as a new player and fresh fan, this was serviceable. I patiently await how RGG wants to play this out.

Because this is the third outing for Kiryu, you can also expect to get a very clear and concise summary for the past two Yakuza games and that’s done through the visit to the cemetery where Kiryu’s friends lie in peace.

The iconic Yakuza Substories are also here, but it’s been capped at around 30 or so. According to some quick googling, the original had 100 plus substories. It feels like RGG Studios distilled the substories with the more satisfying ones and completely dropped the repetitive and re-skinned ones.

There’s also the LaLaLa Friends element, where you go around the city and connect with NPCs. It’s a familiar mechanic with the past LAD games, but if you’re new its just adding a bunch of people using your mobile phone and building connections. When you hit a certain number of friends, like 10 or more, you’ll be given a special item that you can later use. It’s pretty fun, but you don’t really have to do this if you’re not hot for it.

If you’re like me and joined in late in the franchise, you’ll know how fun and important the team battles are especially in “Pirate” where a quarter of the game time focuses on finding strong pirate crewmates in Japan and Hawaii to help fight stronger pirates. That is tweaked a little bit and instead of weirdos, we get biker weirdos.In a nutshell the Biker side of the game is a team-building sim where you are tasked to fight, recruit and improve your team, albeit in comedic and nonsensical fashion. Imagine leveling up and unlocking power moves that unleash absurd things like a running bull that runs over your enemies.

If you enjoy Dynasty Fighters style combat as well as the past iterations of this type in previous releases then you’ll definitely have a grand time with Kiwami 3 until it isn’t fun anymore.That’s what inherently wrong with the Biker side of the game. It eventually becomes repetitive like the location for the fights are just reused maps with a little change of theme and color here and there. We don’t really feel like this is a new area. The combat is fun yes it hits a ceiling towards the end and you wonder, is this really it?

It also hurts to note that there’s just not enough time to be a biker. It’s like you’re a biker in name but not really get to experience it through the game. You get a taste but that’s just it, a bite and not a full meal. I would have had fun if I were able to bike around a completely different place, like say Tokyo but alas, that’s only relegated to moving from one warehouse to another.

DARK TIES

Remember the Dark Ties bit? Well let’s talk about that. In Dark Ties you play the role of Kiwami 3’s main antagonist Yoshitaka Mine. Through the game we see what he’s been up to including his alliance with the dirty members of the Tojo Clan and his activies working with the Tokyo yakuza clans.

Of course there’s going to be a lot of beatings to be given as you play Mine in the streets. While restricted to just one fighting stance/ mode there’s a lot of creativity and fun to be had. During fights, players can take advantage of the “shoot boxing” fighting style which has some similarities with Kiryu Kazama’s style. There are a few notable differences however like his “Dark Awakening” attacks, basically super moves that dish out massive damage.

One thing that I found pretty lean for Dark Ties is the smaller amount of upgrades that you can give Mine. But that’s all right because his section of the game isn’t that long. It does feel like if they had to add more stuff to upgrade we’ll be getting the same chapter count for Mine’s story. So I’m good with that.

The other half of Dark Ties lies in developing a good relationship in Kamurocho with its residents and your boss Tsuyoshi Kanda. This ranges from mundane tasks to more important ones.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review – Judgment

I really though that Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties was a fun romp. The updated combat graphics and game elements were top form. The tweaked story also worked and the option to skip through what could have been locked moments with the orphanage was also nice. Dark Ties was a fun segment with the dungeon brawl and the feel-good fetch quest but felt like it was tacked on to add more value to actually buying the game.

This title is a must-have and a must-add to your growing Yakuza/ Like A Dragon collection.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties is now available on Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam from SEGA and RGG Studio!