In the days following the release of Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties, publisher Sega and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have been seeing quite a bit of criticism from players. The PC version on Steam currently sits at “Mixed user” reviews, with only 62 percent being positive. While many of the reviews praised some of the new additions, like the exploration of Yoshitake Mine’s story through Dark Ties, there have been plenty of subjects for criticism as well.
One review, as written by Steam user JigenDaisuke, has called the release “creatively bankrupt” due to the retcons that were made to the story of Yakuza 3. “The retcons made to the story of RGG3 with Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties are absolute abominations and an insult to the original game, the entire Kiryu saga, and any fan with even an ounce of critical sense,” they wrote. “Not to mention all the content removed in favour of reused minigames from other more recent entries (a Kiwami classic) and the recasting (another Kiwami classic).”
Another user, jack, has called out the studio for having cast Teruyuki Kagawa in the role of Goh Hamazaki, since the actor has been accused of sexual misconduct, while also criticizing the studio for having made too many changes to the story. “Sexual assault allegations from one of the cast members,” they wrote. “Changing too much stuff from the original and leaving too much out. Rushed and unpolished, frequent crashes on my system. IDK how to feel about this, but it’s not great.”
On the other hand, there are also quite a few positive reviews. As noted by Steam user Slifer Slacker, Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties is “a mixed bag of good and bad, not gonna lie. [sic]”
“Story-wise is divisive, I have no qualms with it,” they wrote. “It definitely took a hit with the way it’s promoted; it won’t get much flak if it were advertised as the start of a new timeline. If not, the tweaks cause a lot of problems for the next games, especially 4.90% definitely was an improvement except the epilogue, which causes lots of problems since it’s different from the OG.”
Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties was released across PC, PS5 , Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, just last week. As its name might imply, it is a remake of 2009’s Yakuza 3, bringing up to modern standards through the Dragon Engine, which was first used for Yakuza 6: Song of Life. Along with a retelling of the base story, it also features Dark Ties, which gives us a deeper look into the motivations of Yoshitaka Mine.
Interestingly, executive producer at RGG Studio Masayoshi Yokoyama has said that we won’t see any more Yakuza games with the Kiwami titles moving forward. While it doesn’t mean that we won’t see remakes of older games like Yakuza 4 or 5 down the line, he has said that they will no longer fall under the Kiwami label. This is because the studio is taking a new approach with the overarching lore of Yakuza.
“Some of the games we’re working on have already been announced, but including the ones we’ll be making going forward, I think Yakuza Kiwami 3 will be the last one, and the Kiwami line will come to an end,” said Yokoyama last week. “I don’t think it’ll continue as the Kiwami series anymore. I think a different series will begin.”
For more on Yakuza 3 and Dark Ties, check out our review.
