Initial release date February 12, 2026
Platform Microsoft Windows
Genres Action game, Role-playing game, Adventure
Developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher Sega
Series Yakuza
SPOILERS THROUGHOUT
KEY TAKEAWAYS!
- Played on my Nintendo Switch 2
- Mediocre Yakuza game honestly
- Cut content via substories
- Less Morning Glory kids content
- Shorter in length than other Yakuza games
- Dark Ties has too much filler near end
- $59.99 is too high of a price
- Kiwami 3 some good story beats
- Kiryu’s new stances were hit and miss
- Visuals looked washed out on Switch 2
- I expected more got less
Introduction
I started playing the Yakuza series back on my Playstation 3. I honestly forgot which one but I remember the demo and playing as Kiryu. What really got me into the series was Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2.
I’ll cut to the chase here. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is a let down for me. For reference, I did play some of the OG Yakuza 3 on Gamepass a little while back maybe completing half the story. I immediately noticed the cut content in regards to the Kids at Morning Glory as well as some Substories.
Presentation
I played to credits Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties end of Chapter 2. I quit Dark Ties due to the late game padding yet enjoyed Mine’s story and combat mechanics. The game looked washed out on the Nintendo Switch 2 from a visuals standpoint.
Pair the latter with the cut content and you have an arguably worse game than the OG Yakuza 3 which is fair in my assessment. New stances for Kiryu were added which were a mixed bag.
Story
The story goes Kazuma Kiryu (series protagonist) leaves the Yakuza life to start an orphanage called Morning Glory on an Okinawan beach. Things are good until he started getting eviction notices in the mail.
Two powerful politicians want the land to build a luxury resort or a military base. The latter brings Kiryu back into the life sort to speak. He heads back to Kamurocho Tokyo to track down the people responsible. Story-wise I would say this was the weakest Yakuza game I played.
Gameplay
Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties are third person beat’em up games featuring upgrades and story cutscenes that’s linear in mission design. For Kiwami 3 version of Yakuza 3 they give Kiryu a shield and hand weapon which was weird to use at first.
You also have a crew of females called Haisai Girls who are a biker girl gang you can level up by performing Baddie Fights. I don’t know man. This Yakuza game just doesn’t hit hard compared to the others I beaten. Gameplay for Kiryu never felt great.
Visuals
Like I alluded to earlier the visuals looked borderline bad. They were washed up and out, blurry, and lacked crispness Yakuza Kiwami displayed on my Playstation 5 backward compat.
Sound
I really do respect the fact they added english voice lines so I give the dev a lot of credit there. The music though never stood out like in Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2 did for me.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties: It's arguable that this is worse than the basic Yakuza 3 Remaster. Dark Ties could've been good if it weren't for the padding. – Jason
