Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Reviews

There is a lot of fun to be had with Yakuza Kiwami 3. But the cracks are really starting to show with this series, and it feels stale in a lot of areas. On its own, Kiwami 3 is lot less fun than other entries in this series, despite some good new management games here. As a remake, however, it certainly isn't good enough to justify the original being delisted and for this to now be the definitive version of Yakuza 3.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & The Dark Ties is the latest remaster in the Like a Dragon franchise. Unfortunately, game full of missteps that willgame full of missteps that will leave fans disappointed and frustrated.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 + Dark Ties makes plenty of necessary improvements, but some of the changes make it hard to recommend over the original.

They said it couldn’t (or wouldn’t) be done, but the mad lads did it anyway! After the brilliant Kiwami remakes of Yakuza 1 and 2, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have circled back to breathe new life into another of the early Yakuza and Like a Dragon titles with Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, a remixed and expanded version of the PS3 original from 2010.

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.

The World’s Softest Bush

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.

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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.

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

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....

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is the best version of one of my favorite video games. It has some content changed, and some content cut. But that content is very minor compared to the ocean of quality new additions. The highlights of this new package are the Dark Ties campaign and the Life at Morning Glory and Bad Boy Dragon mini games. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties has one of the series’ weaker narratives, but also has one of its best settings. I’m glad Sega are making these Kiwami games, because I worry a lot of newer Yakuza players have only experienced the games after Yakuza 0. These older titles are also classics.

The somewhat controversial Yakuza Kiwami series continues, with its most controversial entry yet. There’s a lot to unpack here, but needless to say the internet has been alight with discourse, with hardcore, longtime Yakuza/Like a Dragon fans clashing with more casual or newer fans over retcons, casting decisions, gameplay changes, and more. The icing on the cake, of course, being Yakuza 3 Remastered’s looming execution date. Is this remake actually a problematic mess, a tipping point for a once strong franchise teetering on the edge of chaos? Probably, yeah. It’s a whole thing. Let’s try to break it down.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 enhances the original with new features and improved visuals, but some changes may frustrate longtime fans. Dark Ties is a fun, if brief, detour starring Yoshitaka Mine.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties is an exceptional entry in the Yakuza series, with a strong story, great combat, plenty to do, and gorgeous visuals.

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.

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.

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 adventure around the final protagonist of Yakuza 3, Yoshitaka Mine. Unfortunately, this duo left me scratching my head and wondering who, exactly, they were made for.

The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series has emerged as one of Sega’s top dogs over the last decade. For more than 20 years, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Japan-set crime-action franchise has delivered gripping narratives with stellar gameplay. Its latest effort, Yakuza Kiwami 3, a remake of the often-overlooked 2010 original that includes a new narrative side-story called Dark Ties, continues the momentum. While not perfect, it delivers the fun and fury of previous entries and features a plot that doesn...

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.

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.