With Yakuza Kiwami 3, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio isn’t just polishing an old game like they were with the 2019 Yakuzu 3 Remaster. By rebuilding the title on modern technology, reworking its most criticized systems, and pairing it with an ambitious new story expansion, the studio is finally giving fans what they always wanted out of Yakuza 3; a ground-up remake with the Kiwami badge.
Here are 15 details well worth knowing about before buying Yakuza Kiwami 3 + Dark Ties on its February 11th release date.
A Ground-Up Remake of 2009’s Yakuza 3
Yakuza 3 originally released in 2009, and both the original version and its later remaster are often considered the black sheep of the franchise. Common complaints ranged from its clunky, block-heavy combat to the stilted pacing of the orphanage chapters. Kiwami 3 appears designed specifically to address those points, and then some. Built entirely within an upgraded Dragon Engine, the remake features modern HD visuals, improved animations, and entirely original modes. Cutscenes have been re-done and certain story beats have been restructured for more even pacing. On top of that, the game introduces a brand-new side story campaign in Dark Ties, which stars a fan-favorite character.
Orphanage Simulator
While the orphanage busywork was a pacing killer in the original Yakuza 3, these sections are completely overhauled to be more optional and engaging in Yakuza Kiwami 3. First, the minigames actually look feature-complete and, well, fun now. You can test Kiryu’s cooking skills in a Cooking Mama-like minigame, join the kids in a sewing battle, go fishing, and more. There’s a new bond system appropriately called ‘Daddy Rank’ too. As you complete these activities, you unlock substories for each child resulting in new cooking dishes and crafted items to sell at the market. In short, it’s a sim-like layer that contrasts the darker story to the game.
Motion Capture and Recast Voices
Helping enhance the dark tone further are some new reworked cutscenes. Now, we don’t quite know the placement of these new scenes or how the pacing will result from it all, but the overhaul signals a direct response to criticism of the original game’s uneven storytelling. Both the Japanese and English voice casts have been recast, with fresh motion capture performed by the new actors. Several characters, including Goh Hamazaki, Rikiya Shimabukuro, and Shigeru Nakahara, have been visually remodeled to resemble their new Japanese voice actors. This decision has understandably sparked some debate among longtime fans.
Bad Boy Dragon Mode
Another huge side activity that we will easily find ourselves lost in is the Bad Boy Dragon biker gang. In a similar vein as Pirate Yakuza, Kiryu leads the charge of a crew of, not pirates, but biker girls. Gameplay combines massive brawls against waves of up to 100 enemies with high-speed motorcycle segments where you capture enemy territory. You can recruit new members, upgrade bikes, and strategically organize a gang of over 20 units. The emphasis on scale and positioning should appeal especially to fans of musou-style games, adding a tactical layer to the familiar Yakuza combat loop.
Hell’s Arena
Accessible through Mine’s separate campaign, Hell’s Arena introduces multiple combat-focused modes. I’m especially intrigued by the new Survival Hell dungeon race. As the title suggests, you race through a perilous dungeon filled with traps and treasures. There’s a boss waiting for those skilled enough to survive the gauntlet, so you’ll need to pick up treasures and special survival weapons along the way to succeed against the last hurdle. Organizing a group of mercenaries helps your odds too. But the underground fight club is actually the main attraction of Hell’s Arena. These are composed of one-on-one brawls knocking out an opponent within a time limit. I’m all for a goofy tournament fighting arc, so Hell’s Arena should provide on that front.
Combat: Miyazato Dojo
Kiryu’s story unfolds primarily in sun-soaked Okinawa, And with the new territory comes new ways of fighting. Kiryu must enter the tutelage of master Miya-san at the Miyazato Dojo. It’s here where you learn the Ryukyu fighting style, which includes a whole fresh progression system and technique. Part of the journey to becoming a Ryukyu kobujutsu master is acing the exams set by Miya-san. Do this and you’ll eventually learn secret techniques that will prove useful throughout the rest of the game.
Combat: Ryukyu Style Explained
But what exactly is Ryukyu fighting? It’s essentially Kiryu’s new weapon-based fighting style for the game. There’s 8 Okinawan weapons featured in this style. These are shield (tinbe), spear (rochin), tekko (knuckledusters), tonfas, nunchaku, and even a wooden oar. These aren’t just pieces of equipment though, they’re baked into a dedicated system. Weapons can be swapped on the fly using hotkeys, allowing players to chain attacks seamlessly in a way reminiscent of Sea Dog Style. This fluidity stands in stark contrast to the slower, more defensive combat of the original Yakuza 3.
Merging of the Two Fighting Styles
You won’t just be weaving between weapon types, but fighting styles in general. The familiar Dragon of Dojima fighting style can be swapped seamlessly with the new Okinawan Ryukyu style. Dragon style has been enhanced with new finishers and loads of additional environmental destruction elements that you can use to your disposal against foes. To unleash the new finishers, you must charge up and activate Dragon Boost, a new powered-up state for Kiryu that essentially turns him Super Saiyan. Everything from ground-breaking pile drivers and long-distance throws are enhanced during a Dragon Boost.
Loads of Combat Techniques
Of course, merging between these two fleshed out combat styles brings with it a ton of variability. By combining two fully realized fighting styles, Yakuza Kiwami 3 boasts what the developer has described as the largest library of attack techniques in the franchise’s history. The sheer variety encourages experimentation and makes combat encounters far more dynamic than before.
New Minigames
Of course, not everything in the original Yakuza 3 has been preserved for the remake. A number of minigames have been removed, but in return, many more take their place. You’ve got your established minigames like karaoke, batting cages, billiards, darts, and various arcade games like UFO Catcher. The big additions are the orphanage minigames and dedicated photography quest. Mine has his own set of minigames to have fun with too. Mine’s campaign introduces Kanda’s Damage Control, where you act as Kanda’s PR agent. Kanda’s Damage Control is structured by an overarching ‘Good Deeds’ story, civilian side quests, and a checklist of accomplishments within the ‘Damage Control Challenge’.
A New Story Expansion
Dark Ties is a full story expansion centered on Yoshitaka Mine, one of Yakuza 3’s most compelling antagonists. Not only can you play as Mine, which has been a pipe dream for fans for years, but you explore his past through an even seedier underground district of the Kamurucho. It’s going to be fascinating to watch his descent into the criminal world and see from his point of view before his meeting with Kiryu in Yakuza 3 proper.
From Short Film to Game
Mine’s popularity prompted the studio to expand what was originally envisioned as a short film into a fully playable side game. The developer has been on record citing Mine as a top 5 favorite character in the series. This campaign is described as one of the darkest stories in the franchise to date, deliberately contrasting Kiryu’s more hopeful story in Yakuza 3.
Mine’s Unique Combat Style
In fact, Mine’s story is so dark that his combat style needed to be called ‘Dark Awakening’. Well, maybe there’s a different reason for the name, like high-risk/high-reward precision strikes so emblematic of Mine’s style. The swift aerial strikes stand out the most with this fighting style, but the Dark Awakening State push him into overdrive with extraordinary speed and precision. Mine’s fighting reminds me of a dragoon/ninja, and I couldn’t be more stoked to try it out.
Start Selection
Upon launching the game, you can choose whether to begin with Kiryu’s main story or jump directly into Dark Ties. This flexibility allows returning fans to experience the new content immediately, while newcomers can save it as a companion piece after completing the core narrative.
Dark Ties Spans 8-11 hours
Based on developer comments and hands-on previews, Dark Ties is expected to run between 8 and 11 hours, depending on side content engagement. Its scope is comparable to The Kaito Files and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, which offered similarly focused, standalone narratives. According to a developer interview cited by Sportskeeda, Dark Ties is roughly the same length as Like a Dragon: Gaiden, positioning it as a substantial expansion rather than a brief add-on.
PC Specs
On the lower end, Yakuza Kiwami 3 remains fairly accessible for modern PCs. First, you’ll need to save up 58 GB of space for memory. The minimum requirements require an Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 3 2300X paired with 8 GB of RAM and a GPU of either a GTX 1650, Radeon RX 6400. Higher-end setups require the beefier Intel Core i5-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, alongside 16 GB of RAM, and GPU of RTX 3060, Radeon RX 7600.
