Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties review: the series’ most divisive title, reborn

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 is a remake of what is perhaps the most divisive game in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Like A Dragon franchise. It comes with overhauled graphics, refreshed combat, a more fleshed-out narrative, and, of course, a new separate story – dubbed Dark Ties – which follows the path of antagonist Yoshitaka Mine.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X and Series S, PC
Release date: February 11, 2026 (Steam); February 12, 2026 (other platforms)

A Dragon reborn

Kiryu, Haruka, and Izumi together in Yakuza Kiwami 3 — (Image credit: Sega)

Let’s start by discussing the main game: Yakuza Kiwami 3. This follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu – also known as the Dragon of Dojima – a former Yakuza and Tojo Clan Chairman. Following the events of Kiwami 2, Kiryu decides to run an orphanage on the island of Okinawa. But it doesn’t take long before he’s embroiled in yet more drama.

His orphanage is under threat, due to it being situated on land that’s needed for a government-backed resort plan. The new Tojo Clan chairman is shot by a mysterious figure. And a succession dispute is erupting among the Tojo family patriarchs. The narrative is still gripping, although this revisit does make a couple of changes.

best RPGs, narrative-wise.

Something else that may reduce the impact of the narrative is the newly added English voice acting. I know I’m far from the only one who’s said this, but some of the English voices are poor, especially that of Kiryu himself. There’s a lack of maturity and gruffness to the protagonist’s voice, meaning his iconic personality doesn’t shine through. As a result, I played through the game in Japanese.

Best bit

Kiryu wins the bug catching contest in Yakuza Kiwami 3 — (Image credit: Sega)

One of the highlights for me was playing through the various mini-games at Morning Glory. So when I defeated the grand-champion of bug catching – Mame the dog – I was absolutely over the moon. That pooch puts up one hell of a fight, believe me.

Still, a lot of the other adjustments feel largely positive. For instance, combat feels far better than it did in the original. The new Ryukyu style – which is inspired by Okinawan weapon arts – is brutal and optimized for wiping out swathes of enemies at once. There’s a wide variety of weapons that Kiryu can use in this style, and learning new combos makes it truly devastating.

The Dragon of Dojima style feels excellent too, and perfectly personifies the classic brawler combat Kiryu is known for. You can learn new abilities, including heat action finishers and grabbing techniques – usually, you’ll have to use points earned in battle to do so. Other aspects, like health and strength enhancements, require you to use cash instead. In my opinion, this feels more streamlined and polished than the original upgrade system, and I really enjoyed enhancing my build as the game progressed.

Just generally, combat feels more refined in Kiwami 3. The issue of enemies continually blocking has been significantly improved, battles feel a bit faster-paced, and Kiryu’s movement feels more fluid. I did find that the game was considerably easier than other Yakuza games – at least playing on standard difficulty. As a result, I reduced my use of healing items in battle – but you can select a harder difficulty option instead, if you’d prefer a greater challenge.

Another significant addition is the Lalala Phone, which you can customize to improve Kiryu’s abilities – or just for aesthetic reasons. This is surprisingly fun and provides a real throwback to the late noughties. You can also add friends in Tokyo or Okinawa, and eventually unlock rewards for doing so, giving an actual incentive to use your phone. This has seemingly replaced the original’s Revelations feature, though, which was a source of quirky and often funny cutscenes.

Kiryu gets a new phone in Yakuza Kiwami 3

(Image credit: Sega)

But before I move on to Dark Ties, I want to talk about two other major changes – one that I loved, and one that I was less hot on.

I’ll start with the good: Life At Morning Glory. Here, you can complete a bunch of mini-games, like helping the children with homework, sewing, harvesting crops, and fishing. I was absolutely addicted to these – especially the latter two, as they’re necessary for cooking meals requested by the kids. Cooking is a blast, and it’s really wholesome watching Kiryu bond with the orphans over food. More generally, you see so much more of Kiryu’s relationship with the children in this remake – and although he may be a punch-first, ask-questions-later kind of guy, you get a window into the softer, more sensitive side of him, which is a joy to watch.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t in love with the other major addition, Bad Boy Dragon. In this story, Kiryu becomes chairman of the Haisai Girls and supports them in their aim to protect Okinawa, crush the oppressive Tokyo Night Terrors, and become Japan’s leading girl gang. You’ll fight in turf wars and large-scale battles in order to achieve all of this, and frequently recruit new members along the way.

Personally, I found this part of the adventure to be a little tedious. Fighting in turf wars feels same-y after a little while, and the trope of helping a group of underdogs win against the odds – as seen with Four Shine in Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Real Estate Royale in Yakuza 0 – just felt a little uninspired. The environments you battle through also lack differentiation, making this part of Kiryu’s campaign less compelling than others.

Enter the underworld

Mine and Kanda fist bump in Dark Ties — (Image credit: Sega)

Kiwami 3 definitely adds a lot of good stuff, but not all of its additions work out for the best. But my suspicion is that a lot of players – especially returning fans – will be more interested in the Dark Ties content, which follows Tojo Clan newbie Yoshitaka Mine. Here, you uncover the origins of Mine’s Yakuza career, explore his relationship with the brutish Tsuyoshi Kanda, and explore his desire to learn about genuine human bonds.

This is a shorter style of game, with just three chapters. Dark Ties clocked in at under 8 hours for me after I completed the story, as well as a healthy dollop of side-content. But there’s still plenty of fun to be had.

Dark Ties preview, and for good reason. Mine’s shootboxing style is truly vicious and brilliantly reflects his character – especially when you’re using the souped-up Dark Awakening mechanic. But even his normal moveset – made up of Intense knee smashes, rapid-fire jabs, and acrobatic grabs – makes Mine’s new campaign a blast to blitz through. Seriously, I even found myself enjoying random encounters with street thugs.

Mine battles through Hell's Area in Dark Ties

(Image credit: Sega)

I really took a shine to Kanda Damage Control as well. This sees Mine attempt to boost the reputation of his aniki, Kanda – a man who I’d describe as a disgusting pig if I were feeling generous. In order to do this, Mine has to do good deeds around Kamurocho – after which he always claims to be Kanda himself. It never gets old, honestly. These often involve high-octane battles, but sometimes descend into the typical wackiness that Yakuza is loved for. I spent a lot of time with this, and plan to max out Kanda’s rank in the coming days for sure.

But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Because the other major part of the game – Hell’s Arena – did not do it for me at all. This is basically a dungeon crawler where you have to avoid death, loot treasure chests, and destroy your enemies with the help of various mercenaries and weapons. In a similar vein to Bad Boy Dragon, the dungeon-crawling in Hell’s Arena can feel tedious, and the setting didn’t feel varied or interesting enough to draw me back in.

Story-telling is pretty good throughout Dark Ties, though. Mine is fixated on Tojo Clan Chairman, Daigo Dojima, and the way that the latter’s men will risk their very lives in order to save their boss. I was engaged with Mine’s pursuit of human connection, his conflicting relationship with Kanda, and his rise through the Tojo Clan, ensuring that Dark Ties felt like a worthwhile addition overall.

The Dragon and the Kirin

Kiryu, Mine, Florist, and Date stand around a table in Yakuza Kiwami 3 — (Image credit: Sega)

We’ve spoken in depth about Yakuza Kiwami 3 as well as Dark Ties now, but it’s time to bring them together and look at the package as a whole.

Now, something that has whipped up a lot of discussion online is the graphical quality of the game – especially with regards to Kiwami 3. An update was released during my review, intended to fix “a lighting issue” and “other quality concerns”. This will be available for all players at launch.

HDR active and a few tweaks, I had Kiwami 3 looking pretty solid. RGG Studios’ attempt at ‘tropical lighting’ can make some in-game elements appear oversaturated, though. Some street signs, for instance, looked almost too bright, creating quite the contrast against the original’s grittier color palette.

Just generally, I wasn’t bowled over by the visuals across both campaigns, actually. Some of the in-game textures – stuff like cars and walls, say – just look a bit dated, and lacked the sharpness I’d expect from a 2026 release. Sure, you’re still getting an upgrade overall from the remaster of Yakuza 3, and the game’s visuals aren’t ugly or anything – they’re just not especially impressive.

But back to the good stuff. I was really pleased with the performance of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties on PlayStation 5. With 4K visuals and a smooth framerate, you can expect pretty seamless gameplay with very few hiccups.

I was also loving the soundtrack once again. Yakuza always brings together an eclectic mix of aggressive battle music, smooth jazz, and upbeat tracks to suit every mood or setting, and Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is no different. You can even listen to tunes from other Sega titles, like Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure, Persona 3 Reload, and Metaphor: ReFantazio using Kiryu or Mine’s phone, which I adored.

Mine on the phone in Dark Ties

(Image credit: Sega)

But now I want to return to the questions that I posed at the beginning. Are all of the changes made in Yakuza Kiwami 3 for the better? Well, the short answer is no. On the whole, you’re getting an improved experience, with better combat, a shiny new battle style, and boatloads of new content. However, changes to the finale and the slightly tedious Bad Boy Dragon side-story felt less positive.

Does Kiwami 3 maintain the high standards set by its remade predecessors? On the whole, yes. The more streamlined upgrade system, good performance, and quality of life adjustments are most welcome. But I think RGG Studio could’ve made a more visually impressive game. A few other choices – like redesigning a major character named Rikiya and removing Revelations – may also upset some hardcore fans.

With that said, I was a fan of Dark Ties overall, in spite of a couple of flaws. I wouldn’t say that this helps to propel the overall package to the dizzying heights that other entries in the series have reached, though. And ultimately, I feel that Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties sit in the ‘good category’, rather than the ‘great’ one.

Accessibility features

There’s a pretty comprehensive set of accessibility features to explore in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties. You can set auto quick-time events, swap the left and right sticks, choose between rapid or hold button controls, and customize the camera to your liking. You can also alter subtitle language and text size, map controls to different buttons, and utilize color vision assistance.