Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review

After the success of last year’s adventurous Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza set in Hawaii, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku is now focusing on improving one of the Yakuza series’ more controversial entries. Although Yakuza 3 was well-received upon its initial launch in 2009, its slow combat and inconsistent story pacing have caused it to fall behind as the Like a Dragon series has evolved with innovative turn-based gameplay and unique spin-offs. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties aims to rectify these issues, enhancing the excitement of combat and refining its narrative, resulting in a delightful return to the often overlooked setting of Okinawa – though not all modifications and additions leave a lasting impact. Despite receiving an HD remaster in 2019, I hadn’t revisited Yakuza 3 since its original PlayStation 3 release, primarily due to the frustrating enemy encounters that felt overly defensive. The majority of foes seemed impervious to Kazuma Kiryu’s attacks, making it challenging to progress through combos; instead of relishing in the thrill of battle, I found myself struggling to get anything done. Fortunately, Kiwami 3 addresses these concerns, significantly enhancing the pacing of battles and providing Kiryu with two adaptable combat styles that cover all his fighting needs. His primary stance is the iconic Dragon of Dojima, which blends powerful combo attacks with wrestling-style grapples that deliver a satisfying impact. However, I often favored his secondary stance, which allows him to wield eight various weapons. These include tonfa for stunning enemies, scythes for inflicting bleeding damage, brass knuckles for breaking guards, a shield for deflecting attacks, and nunchucks for stylish combat. This versatile fighting mechanism turns Kiryu into a rapid, stylish warrior, and it's remarkably easy to master. There’s no cumbersome inventory management; weapon usage is fluid and triggered through intuitive combinations of button presses, enabling seamless transitions from striking enemies with a wooden oar to throwing sharp sai without interruption. While the original Yakuza 3 offered a broader range of weapons, they tended to break quickly, making Kiwami 3’s adaptable arsenal a much more effective way to unleash chaos. In addition to smoother combat, Kiwami 3 boasts a more visually appealing experience. Like previous Kiwami remakes, this installment updates the graphics, aligning the visual presentation with more recent releases. The enhanced character models and vibrant particle effects accompanying Kiryu’s punches add a new layer of excitement. The revamped environment, particularly the reimagined Okinawa featured in the first half of Kiwami 3, is a welcome change, showcasing a part of the Yakuza universe that hasn’t been explored much in recent titles. The sun-drenched coastal atmosphere provides a refreshing contrast to Kamurocho’s bustling city life, reminiscent of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s Hawaii, albeit on a smaller scale. In terms of storytelling, Kiwami 3 largely follows the original plot, which revolves around a bitter turf war in Okinawa. However, the developers have given the narrative a significant overhaul, improving its pacing and engagement. The original game often confined Kiryu to the Morning Glory orphanage for extended periods, resulting in tedious text-based conversations with the children. Thankfully, Kiwami 3 allows players to skip these sections after an initial tutorial, giving the option to either bond with the kids or dive back into the action outside. Surprisingly, in Kiwami 3, I found myself more invested in the orphanage children’s stories than I had been in the past. This shift is thanks to engaging mini-games that turn mundane tasks into fun activities. You can tackle the kids’ math homework against the clock, go fishing, and prepare meals in a Cooking Mama-style frenzy, or even navigate a sewing machine circuit reminiscent of Super Hang-On, leaving both me and the tote bag onscreen in stitches. Completing these tasks helped me form a genuine connection with the children, raising the stakes once Kiryu’s past inevitably catches up to him. However, Kiwami 3 doesn’t completely resolve the original’s narrative issues. There are still lengthy conversation scenes that stretch the attention span, including a particularly drawn-out meeting in the ninth chapter that offers players the chance to take breaks. There’s also an unexpected twist in the post-credits epilogue that might surprise longtime fans, although it didn’t particularly resonate with me. Overall, though, Kiwami 3’s main storyline has been improved, keeping me engaged for the 17 hours it took to reach its explosive conclusion. Another significant addition is the Bad Boy Dragon storyline, where Kiryu transitions from caring for orphans to fighting rival biker gangs. This feature draws inspiration from the Devil Flags subquest in Pirate Yakuza, tasking players with rescuing gang members from bullies and leading them into brawls against other motorcycle clubs, ranging from local thugs to formidable opponents from Tokyo’s Night Terrors. Players can enhance their gang’s abilities, customize colors, and unlock special attacks, adding depth to the experience. However, I found that the novelty of Bad Boy Dragon faded quicker than I had hoped. Unlike the diverse experiences offered in Pirate Yakuza, Kiwami 3’s biker gang battles quickly became repetitive, mainly consisting of similar skirmishes in indistinguishable environments. Despite the biker theme, actual motorcycle gameplay is minimal, lacking the thrill of classic road combat.