Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties

Reviews are split. Kiwami 3 rebuilds Yakuza 3 from the ground up — new Ryukyu fighting style, sharply improved boss hit detection, and a complete art overhaul — but it also cuts roughly 70 of the original's 101 substories and removes signature features like the Hostess sidequests. Siliconera's review specifically argues that the remake doesn't make the existing remaster obsolete; you're trading a more consistent modern-feeling game for less of the original's eccentric content. If you played and loved the 2009 original, expect to feel both improvement and loss.

Source: Siliconera review

Yakuza Kiwami 3 is not the recommended starting point. The standard newcomer entry is Yakuza 0 (a prequel that needs no prior knowledge) or the more recent Like a Dragon line. Kiwami 3 sits in the middle of Kiryu Kazuma's storyline and assumes you know Yakuza 0, Kiwami 1, and Kiwami 2 — major narrative beats reference characters and conflicts from those games. If Kiryu's story is what draws you in, play in release order; if it's just the gameplay loop, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a kinder modern starting point.

Source: ScreenRant — Yakuza play order

Dark Ties is a backstory expansion bundled into the main package — not sold separately — that adds 5–10 hours depending on whether you chase optional content. The main backstory chunk runs about 4 hours; reviewers who completed substories, karaoke, and side activities clocked closer to 10 hours. GameSpot's review (subtitled 'Short Fangs') lands on the brief end of that range and frames Dark Ties as a focused side-story rather than a meaty parallel campaign.

Source: GameSpot review

The remake cut 70 of the original 101 substories, leaving 31 — but it doubled down on a handful of expanded side activities. The Morning Glory Orphanage gets its own slice-of-life story arc with bond meters per child, a cooking minigame, and vegetable gardening; the Bad Boy Dragon storyline returns; and there's a Game Gear emulator with 12 playable retro games. The trade-off is fewer one-off vignettes for more depth in a smaller set of side stories — which reviewers received with mixed results.

Source: GameRant — substory guide

Visual polish was a sore point at launch — fans flagged 'dodgy' graphics in trailers and demo footage, and PC Gamer's review specifically called the recasting of major characters an 'abysmally misjudged' choice. There were no game-breaking bugs reported on launch week, but the art direction and character likeness regressions drove visible community frustration. If you're sensitive to character voice or likeness changes from prior entries, that's the heaviest critique to weigh.

Source: Push Square — fan concerns coverage