Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review

Yakuza 3 has always been the entry people skip, and most of the reasons were mechanical. Enemies blocked everything, the fights were a wall, and Kiwami 3 repairs that: blocking is readable, the new Ryukyu style brings area attacks and guard breaks, and the Okinawa half now plays as well as the Kamurocho half. The orphanage material is still the best thing the series has written about why Kiryu wanted out, and it lands harder when the combat between the scenes has stopped being a punishment.

Dark Ties is the argument for buying it. Under four hours as Yoshitaka Mine, the antagonist of the original, watching a man talk himself into what he becomes, with a fighting style built on speed rather than Kiryu's weight. It is also the problem, because under four hours is short for a headline feature at a full price. The remake runs on visuals that look their age next to Infinite Wealth, some original substories are gone, and parts of the script have been altered in ways longtime players noticed immediately. Necessary work on the series' weakest link, sold as rather more than it is.