RGG Studio’s latest Like a Dragon entry is far from your average remake, throwing in a lot more features to keep veteran Yakuza fans satisfied.
Following a three-hour hands-on preview session of RGG Studio’s latest, it’s clear that this revitalised version of Yakuza 3 is set to be a generous melodramatic offering.
Another year, another huge helping of bombastic Like a Dragon madness from RGG Studio. Perhaps not quite as mad as Majima’s high-seas adventure at the start of last year, admittedly, but one still packing plenty of charm and tomfoolery. This time it comes in the form of what publisher Sega is calling an “extreme” remake of Yakuza 3, which also sits alongside an all-new standalone prequel centred on one of that game’s most interesting characters.
Confused? I don’t blame you. But I promise that, at least judging by my recent three-hour hands-on preview session, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is shaping up to be a unique two-in-one game primed to deliver hardcore fans more of the melodramatic beatdown action the series is renowned for. Albeit through a slightly altered lens.
This latest preview slice popped me right at the beginning of Yakuza Kiwami 3’s sunny sights, in the beautiful beachside region of Okinawa. And while previous Kiwami games have already taught us to expect overhauled graphics, added story cut scenes, expanded mini-games, and so on compared to the PS2 originals, it doesn’t take long to realise that this revamp of 2009’s Yakuza 3 could easily be mistaken for a new game altogether.
The intention here has clearly not been to recreate the PS3 original beat for beat, but rather offer new and returning players a refreshed perspective to the time in Kiryu’s life where he aims to relax and hopes to escape his life of gangsterhood by running a children’s orphanage. You know, that old chestnut.
Evidence of Kiryu’s slower lifestyle in Okinawa surfaced almost immediately, with a barrage of new mini-games and tasks now featured as part of the Morning Glory children’s orphanage homestead. A short encounter with his adopted daughter, Haruka, swiftly led to a new ‘Daddy Rank’ mechanic being introduced, whereby helping the children with quizzes and their schoolwork will slowly see Kiryu transition to be less of an uncle and more of a father figure. As for the Morning Glory mini-games themselves, all operated and played perfectly fine but my favourite of the bunch was most definitely sewing.
It’s here where trying to keep the sewing needle in line with the kid’s predetermined design proved more challenging than it first appeared, testing my ability to stay on track while speeding up and slowing down depending on when a turn in the fabric is required. Like most Yakuza mini-games, sewing is far from boring in this way. To the extent that I came to think of it as a new breed of racing game.
Farming, meanwhile, functions in the back of the Morning Glory garden as expected, with crop harvesting further playing into the franchise’s already fun cooking systems and mechanics. Overall, Morning Glory has been made an equally in-depth part of the Yakuza 3 experience here, and I can see how trying to up Kiryu’s Daddy Rank will play a crucial part of his wider motivation.
Elsewhere in the Yakuza 3 Kiwami portion of the preview, I was afforded the opportunity to get back in the swing of the open-world(ish) beat-em-up action. I already knew from playing a previous demo that Okinawa looked beautiful, but here I got to experience its full beauty in RGG Studio’s current engine both in the daytime and at night. Switching between Kiryu’s two fighting styles, Dragon of Dojima and the heavier, weapon based Ryuku style, is still a breeze, yet far more interesting is the way in which Yakuza Kiwami 3 lifts one of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’s most fulfilling combat systems.
Familiar players will know that one of the best parts of Majima’s spin-off adventure was the ability to recruit your own personal quirky crew of sailors, powering them up to raid different islands in a series of epic clashes. And while I admit Yakuza Kiwami 3 could never push the power fantasy that far, it packs in a new take on this mechanic by way of what’s called Baddie Battles.
These are introduced in the story early on after Kiryu gets swept up in a gang war between two biker gangs, at which point he can recruit and buff up new members found out and about in Okinawa. Admittedly, the lack of pirate theming makes them feel less of an event, yet managing and customising your gang appears to be an equally as exciting system. I only hope RGG Studio has found a way to make the actual bike sections interesting, which I sadly didn’t get to play in my preview.
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Way of the dragon
Kiryu’s revitalised third outing is shaping up to be a stunner, then. But the half of this package I’m starting to become less sure about is the Dark Ties of it all. Described as a standalone prequel centred on the exploits of Yoshitaka Mine, it appears to be playing the story far straighter than a lot of recent Like a Dragon media and spin-offs. A fact further evidenced by how it looks to primarily take place in the, at this point, overly familiar district of Kamurocho. It’s definitely set up to be a perfectly decent rags-to-riches crime story, yet outside of Mine’s slightly unique shoot-boxing fighting style, I’m not seeing too many other ways Dark Ties aims to set itself apart.
Outside of exploring familiar city streets, the one distinguishing feature RGG Studio is pushing with Dark Ties are the underground fight clubs, which Mine can enter and compete in any time between significant story beats. Coming in two different flavours, Survival Hell and Brawler Hell, the latter consists of one-on-one fights as Mine works his way up the ranks.
Survival Hell at least wants to be something different, tasking Mine to work his way through underground labyrinths, unlocking chests and taking on increasingly tougher foes in an allotted time before trying to escape. The one example I got to play certainly showed promise, but I do wonder just how much juice there will be in repeatedly fighting through these Survival Hell zones.
I can’t help but feel like my questions relating to Dark Ties specifically would be answered if I knew how big a standalone it actually is. Instinct tells me to expect something smaller than other Like a Dragon spin-offs such as Judgement and The Man Who Erased His Name since it’s being bundled in with Yakuza Kiwami 3, yet by featuring the entirety of Kamurocho to explore, it may wind up being as big as the original two Yakuza titles. Time will tell, I suppose. But it’s still nice to see it included, especially for veteran players of the original Yakuza 3 seeking additional context for the game’s events.
Whatever way you look at it, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is shaping up to be yet another generous package that is far more than just another simple remake. Sure, Dark Ties still remains somewhat of a mystery to me with its unknown size and scope, but it shows promise and could be a nice palate cleanser from Kiryu’s more familiar, laid-back adventure.
That said, Yakuza Kiwami 3 is easily the meat of this package, bundling in plenty of new systems that bring extra meaning and depth to this unique chapter of Kiryu’s story. It may have taken a while to get a Kiwami 3, but it’s looking like far from a half measure.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is scheduled to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 on February 11, 2026 .
