Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review (Switch 2)

I’m of the opinion that there are no bad Yakuza games. Although the series has definitely fluctuated in quality over the years, they always offer up something to keep me engaged and satisfied. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is still a decent entry, but it’s also bloated, poorly paced, and marred in controversy surrounding the recasting of a key character. Frankly, I’d argue that RGG’s prolificacy is starting to have an impact on the quality of its games, and it might be time to take a break.

Much like the previous Kiwami titles, this is a remake of the 2009 PS3 original, continuing the story of protagonist Kazuma Kiryu as the story shifts over to the new location of Downtown Ryukyu in Okinawa. The new setting offers a nice change of pace, leaning more towards a kind of tropical, resort-style environment. At a glance, it’s lovely to look at with the series’ signature attention to detail all intact, though you might be wondering whether the lighting issues from the demo have been addressed.

Well, the good news is that they absolutely have in a pre-release patch. There was a particularly egregious issue in which the area around Kubochi River looked genuinely awful, with the river itself showcasing a bright blue colour that somehow made the environment look worse than the original. This has been fixed, and it looks pretty good now. I did notice a weird bug early on in which some code was displayed in the dialogue subtitles, but this seems to have been a one-off, and otherwise it's a pretty polished experience.

Overall performance on Switch 2 is also as solid as you'd hope. The bump up to the Dragon Engine means we're looking at 30fps, but it remains pretty stable throughout. Resolution can also look a touch fuzzy in handheld mode, as you'll no doubt see in the accompanying screenshots here, but its overall a really handsome-looking game.

As for the gameplay, you’re looking at a familiar mix of melee combat (lots of melee combat), exploration, side activities like bowling, darts, and karaoke, and some light customisation features.

Focusing on combat first and foremost, Kiryu’s iconic Dragon Style makes a return, and it’s just as satisfying as ever. What’s more, the devs wisely made it so that your enemies no longer block incessantly, making emergent fights as you explore the environment much less irritating than the original.

New to Kiwami 3 is the Ryukyu Style, which focuses on weapon combat like scythes, shields, and all sorts of weird and wonderful objects that Kiryu just happens to have stashed in his pockets. The basic functionality is the same as the Dragon Style, with standard attacks mapped to ‘Y’ and stronger ones mapped to ‘X’, combinations of which result in some pretty sick moves. Overall, I still tend to prefer the Dragon Style, as the dodging mechanic is a bit more immediate and satisfying, but both are valid options.

Like previous Yakuza games, random gangs can start fights with you while you’re out and about, but you can avoid these if you wish. What’s new here are Baddie Battles, which are large-scale scraps with a bunch of goons and one stronger foe as part of the new Bad Boy Dragon mode. This also sees you take over parts of Okinawa via motorbike skirmishes, and overall, it’s a fun little distraction that leans heavily into the series’ penchant for absurdity.

Other side missions focus primarily on the new Morning Glory orphanage (yeah, it’s not a good name, I know), during which you raise your ‘Daddy Rank’ by helping out the children in various minigames like cooking and fishing. The original release made a lot of the orphanage section mandatory to progress the story, but Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has wisely restructured the flow of the narrative to make this stuff more optional.

That said, Kiwami 3 still suffers from poor pacing throughout. At its height (Yakuza 0), the series has managed to strike a decent balance between story progression and side content, but here, there’s just simply too much stuff. You’re constantly being bombarded with cutscenes and random pedestrian dialogue, to check out features for your phone, buy some new threads, and much more. Some might relish all of the extra content, but in my opinion, Kiwami 3 tips the scales too much, and it often feels like a chore to play.

You’ve also got the completely new side campaign called ‘Dark Ties’, and this stars the fan-favourite antagonist Yoshitaka Mine as he goes from ousted chairman of an upstart company to ruthless Yakuza lieutenant. In contrast to the main story, this takes place almost entirely within the iconic Kamurocho, and so feels like a more 'traditional' Yakuza experience compared to Kiryu’s narrative. It's also a little more streamlined, offering a nice antidote to the bloated main story.

Mine is a compelling character, too. His calculating, no-nonsense attitude remains engaging throughout, though I have to admit that his task in raising the reputation of fellow clan member Tsuyoshi Kanda is disappointing given just how unlikeable the latter is. You’ll need to complete a bunch of missions to raise Kanda’s rank, including dealing with street bullies, accompanying him to a local brothel, or even just winning a plushie on a UFO catcher.

During combat, Mine is noticeably more brutal than Kiryu, with slightly slower movement balanced by hard-hitting punches. Building up a gauge will also eventually let you unleash Dark Awakening, which can be boosted two or three times in one go if you’ve managed to build up enough energy. Naturally, this increases Mine’s strength further and introduces a few cinematic finishing moves which, honestly, never get old. Overall, his fighting style is a delight, and I think I might even prefer it to Kiryu’s Dragon Style.

You’ll need to make good use of Mine’s abilities, too, since a key feature within Dark Ties sees you navigate a series of labyrinths in the Hell’s Arena underground fight club – yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. These are stuffed with treasure to find and bad guys to vanquish, all leading to a thrilling one-on-one fight with the labyrinth’s leader. It’s good stuff, and it makes for a nice break from the persistent jobs you need to complete on the surface to help out Kanda.

I mentioned Kanda is unlikeable, and this is largely because his introduction sees him forcing himself upon a woman in an alley. As Mine, you have to intervene, which makes their subsequent alliance somewhat repulsive. I bring this up because RGG Studio made the decision to recast a key character in the main game, enlisting actor Teruyuki Kagawa to provide the voice and likeness for antagonist Goh Hamazaki.

The reasoning for replacing the original actor, George Takahashi, is unclear. However, in 2022, replacement actor Kagawa admitted to accusations of sexual misconduct from 2019, leading to massive fan backlash over his inclusion in Kiwami 3.

Now, if Kagawa's inclusion here means you decide to skip this entirely, I wouldn't blame you in the slightest. The series often deals with themes of horrific men being terrible to women, so his addition feels hypocritical of RGG Studio, and it did affect my enjoyment of the game every time Hamazaki shows up.

Ultimately, however, even if this wasn't an issue, Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is still the weakest entry for the Switch 2 so far. It feels like we're being bombarded with new titles in the series recently, and I genuinely wonder whether RGG should just pull back slightly and focus on what made it so great to begin with.