Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is a top-notch package brimming some great new content, with the Dark Tide side-story worth the price of entry alone. There's some questionable changes and additions to Yakuza 3 that will irk some longtime fans, but overall, this is a brilliant remake and easily the most ambitious in the series to date.

When Yakuza 3 launched in 2009, it divided its audience. Players admired its ambition, especially the move to Okinawa and the focus on Kazuma Kiryu’s quieter life at the Morning Glory orphanage. At the same time, many struggled with its slow pacing, block-heavy combat, and abrupt tonal shifts between domestic calm and violent gang conflict. For veterans, it often felt like a powerful story constrained by rough mechanics. For newcomers, the contrast could feel jarring rather than compelling....

Absent the aforementioned retcon, I found the updated translation and script in Yakuza Kiwami 3 to be a noticeable improvement, and Dark Ties’ entertaining Hell’s Arena sweetens the deal. Without it, I’d arguably still recommend the game, albeit with the caveat that curious fans might want to carefully weigh their list of preferences before committing. The unique substories and activities are worthy, as are the new gameplay modes, all of which secure Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties' role as an ideal entry point into this epic series, which now looks better than ever on modern hardware.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 is a great way to experience one of the more fun stories in the series thanks to the new and improved gameplay.

When Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties has me gunning for max daddy rank or using over-the-top brawling moves to smash gangster skulls on behalf of my orphan children it's a sunny adventure like little else. Many great remake choices shine, but a few hold them back, like an edgy and dull bonus campaign that adds very little to the narrative or the series in general.

In the eight years since Yakuza Kiwami 2 gave us the showdown between the Dragons of Dojima and Kansai, SEGA and the Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, six remasters/remakes and eight new titles in the series have graced all of the major platforms (with even Google Stadia getting to experience Judgment Remastered). Now, the third numbered title (and fourth chronologically) in Kazuma Kiryu's ascension as the most valuable member of the Tojo clan is here, bringing us to Okinawa and some unusual casting choices.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 is a successful retelling of one of the series’ less-understood titles, massaging it into something that's a touch homogenous but ultimately more agreeable. But some off-putting choices and a fumbled focus on Mine in both the main game and Dark Ties stop it from sticking the landing.

I’ve been playing the Yakuza games for a long time now, having been drawn into them when they were still niche PS3 action games that needed fan petitions to get localised. Now, the series has become SEGAs biggest property with yearly releases that each manages to be larger and longer than the last. Some of these entries have been spin-offs set outside the main continuity, while others have been entire remakes of the oldest games in the series. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties manages to be both at one – a two-pack where one game is a modernised remake of Yakuza 3, while the second weaves a prequel ...

SEGA has kept its Yakuza franchise in the spotlight throughout the years, and the latest entry to get a remake is coming up for release this week. Featuring not only a remake of Yakuza 3, but also a brand-new adventure starring Yoshitaka Mine, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio promises tons of content. Read our Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties review to see if this two-in-one remake is yet another hit in the making.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is a solid action-packed package that impressed me with its cathartic, overhauled combat. Performance is consistent, the fleshed-out Morning Glory content is addictive, and the Dark Ties episode offers a comprehensive look into the motivations of antagonist Yoshitaka Mine. However, some underwhelming side content, graphical quirks, and questionable narrative changes stop this entry from hitting the heights of other titles in this phenomenal franchise.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is a good remake marred by unsavoury and baffling decisions by the studio, making it a hard game to recommend despite its technical competence.

A polished return to okinawa that struggles with its own shadow.