Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review
Kazuma Kiryu vs. Corporate Greed
Yakuza 3 was the first game in the series I ever played, and even reviewed for the site . It holds a special place in my heart for being the first, even though it is considered by many to be weaker than other games in the series. Following the Kiwami remakes for the first two games, the third game is finally getting the remake treatment in the form of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties . The remake offers a lot of new goodies in the form of side content and a whole new story starring antagonist Yoshitaka Mine as he moves up the ranks in the Tojo Clan. However, the game ends up feeling quite bloated, the main story's pacing takes a huge hit, and a lot of the changes made for Yakuza Kiwami 3 simply don't land.
Picking up where Yakuza 2 left off, Kazuma Kiryu has "retired" and moved to Okinawa to run the Morning Glory Orphanage with his adoptive daughter Haruka. While the war between the Omi Alliance and the Tojo Clan has ended, Kiryu enlists the help of Goro Majima to assist the Sixth Chairman, Daigo Dojima, in his newfound role. Six months later, Morning Glory Orphanage is receiving eviction notices from the Ryudo Family's patriarch, Nakahara, who owns the land. When Kiryu confronts the Nakahara, who soon learns that the land has been purchased to create a seaside resort, with the "purchaser" being of a rival clan. In light of these shady dealings, the shooting of two important individuals, and the appearance of a mysterious man who bears a resemblance to his adoptive father, Kiryu is forced to re-examine both the Okinawan families and the Tojo Clan's involvement in the land deal.
Meanwhile, back in Kamurocho, the Nishikiyama family is starting to rebuild its status, buying up properties and bullying other families into submission. With Daigo having been shot, three different patriarchs come out of the woodwork, all vying to become the seventh chairman of the Tojo clan. The new Dark Ties storyline follows Yakuza 3's antagonist Yoshitaka Mine and provides a glimpse into his not-so-humble beginnings of how he became a member of the Tojo Clan. Players learn about his former corporate life, how he became part of the Nishikiyama family, and his relationship with Tsuyoshi Kanda, another of the main game's major antagonists. It is essential to note that while this content can be played immediately, it's best experienced after completing the main game, as many spoilers from the main plot are revisited here.
[caption id="attachment_182734" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Kiryu appears to have a problem with hiding his dirty magazines...[/caption]
Yakuza 3 has a very large and intricate overarching story that relies heavily on players having some prior knowledge of the previous two games. While players can get a refresher of the first two games, there are still so many connecting elements throughout. The intrigue, the politics, and the inner corruption remain at the forefront of the story, though the pacing suffers from how the new content is integrated. For example, out of nowhere in Okinawa, Kiryu is forced to help out a struggling girl gang that wants to protect Okinawa. It doesn’t fit into the main plot at all, but it’s highly entertaining, given that players can recruit so many different weirdos to the gang, but then sadly have to play the same three levels over and over again to take down a bigger boss, which takes from that joy. The Morning Glory content is similarly mixed, giving players enjoyable special bonding events with the kids, but also forcing them to play grindy minigames that aren’t particularly fun. It's a shame, too, given that both the Girl Gang and Morning Glory plots end wholesomely, but the grinding-heavy nature of it ends up throwing the pacing off of the actual main story, especially given that it is mandatory in some areas. While it's definitely not a new thing for the series, the whiplash from goofy to serious takes a hard turn here.
The side stories also have some unfortunate changes, as some of the original ones are removed in favor of new ones that integrate characters from Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth , with a net loss in number compared to previous versions of Yakuza 3 . Some of the new substories are actually pretty fun, though some of the ones removed were also very memorable as well. Even with fewer substories overall, there is an overwhelming amount of content to partake in, from minigames and the colosseum to meeting people on the streets and connecting them through Lalala Mobile. While they are distractions, there is too much vying for the player’s attention and none of its truly compelling.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 makes a few changes to the gameplay of the original, offering two different combat styles. The Dragon of Dojima Kiwami Style focuses on brawling, allowing Kiryu to get up close and personal with his enemies, while the new Ryukyu Style is initially based on the tinbe and rochin, a traditional shield and short spear. Kiryu can also wield nunchucks, tonfa, tekko, and more as the playstyle develops. Kiwami 3 also adds a new feature in combat, Dragon Boost, which boosts Kiryu's attack power for a brief period while the gauge is active. Once the gauge has depleted, Kiryu performs a devastating Dragon Finisher, which is the cherry on top to finish things off. There are a plethora of new Heat actions as well, including but not limited to Kiryu choking the enemy with nunchucks. Both styles of combat feel fluid and fun; the Kiwami style truly feels like Kiryu is dishing out heavy hits on his enemies. The Ryukyu Style also has surprising depth, as it adds a layer of versatility to weapon-specific combat throughout the game. While most of Kiryu's problems can be solved with bicycle-related murder, being able to stab enemies with traditional Japanese weapons has a lot of appeal as well. While Yakuza 's action-based combat can get fairly repetitive, the Ryukyu style feels like a welcome addition to Kiryu's already vast combat repertoire.
[caption id="attachment_179225" align="aligncenter" width="640"] DRAGON FINISHER![/caption]
With the addition of a new combat style, the growth systems in Kiwami 3 see a major change. While most of Kiryu's base stats can be upgraded with cash, a lot of the speciality skills require players to engage in a lot of the game's side content to earn Training Points that can be spent on new abilities. Earning Training Points can be as simple as eating all the food at a specific restaurant, engaging with some of the minigames, or completing tasks for the Girl Gang and Morning Glory side stories. Players will easily earn Training Points hand over fist, as there are so many ways to get them, making it easy to obtain all of Kiryu's skills by the end of the game. While the combat difficulty is adjustable, having all abilities unlocked by the endgame due to the abundance of training points does remove a bit of the game's challenge towards the end.
The Dark Ties content focuses on the villain, Yoshitaka Mine. This addition shines more light on his rise and fall in the Tojo Clan and his relationships within it, particularly with Kanda. However, none of it is particularly good. For starters, Kanda is literally in jail for sexual assault, and working with him introduces an uncomfortable starting point for the story. Mine's special content is called "Kanda Damage Control,” in which he does good deeds as Kanda to raise his reputation around Kamurocho. Looking from the outside in, this is a huge misstep on Ryu Ga Gotoku's part, given how the game's narrative so easily sweeps Kanda's misconduct under the rug, and players are forced to raise their ranks to make Kanda look like a god to the general public. Not only does giving a character like Kanda such a presence feel highly problematic, the content itself is also just boring and uninspired, mainly doing fetch quests for people around town, or it's rehashing minigames from the original Kiwami 3 with its own version of the coliseum. While the content can be easily finished in under six hours, it doesn't add much of a unique perspective, as the only interesting bits story-wise come from Mine's admiration of Daigo Dojima. However, the few interesting moments are so minor compared to how much bad feeling comes from being forced to spend time with Kanda.
[caption id="attachment_176921" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Mine's not so humble beginnings in the Tojo Clan.[/caption]
Dark Ties 's gameplay is also uninspired, as though Mine’s Dark Awakening combat style is fast and hard-hitting, it has so many limitations, including not being able to use nearby items. Given previous Yakuza games, having Mine unable to pick up objects in the environment seems like such a bizarre choice, given it is such a staple of the series. There is little flexibility or variety in his adventure sections, including his lackluster side stories, in which the game attempts to make him sympathetic, yet it comes across as forced and fake. While the Dark Ties content could have been a slam dunk, it just feels half-baked, lacking emotion and its own identity, and comes across as an easy cash grab.
Compounding the issue with Kanda, Kiwami 3 recasts Hamazaki with actor Teruyuki Kagawa, known to be a sexual predator. It adds such an uncomfortable layer that hangs over the game and constantly reminds players of it. His portrayal isn’t even particularly good, especially compared to the original game; it's devoid of threat, sounding like a nasally weasel. The new performance for Rikiya Shimabukuro is also notably bland, especially for a character who has so much energy and intention. A lot of the recasting in Kiwami 3 does not help the game, which is a shame given that everyone else in the Japanese main cast really does a great job of bringing their characters to life. Visually, the game looks great in cutscenes, though there are some collision issues amongst NPCs who really love walking into walls. During the exploration sections, the graphics are decent but nothing extraordinary, though Kamurocho and Okinawa are vibrant and wonderful to wander through, feeling very lived-in, which makes exploring them a treat.
I am struggling to fully reconcile my feelings about Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties . I have nostalgia for the original game, even if it’s not rated highly within the series. However, while I enjoyed some of the changes made, such as the side content with the Morning Glory Orphans and the silly Okinawa Girl Gang, those rose coloured glasses come off when I realized that the story feels quite messy, content from the original has been removed for questionable reasons, and everything in the game feels bloated. Coupled with following some of the worst characters in the series, it's hard for me to say with confidence that this is the definitive version of the game, because it’s honestly a substantial step backwards.
Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher.
The post Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review appeared first on RPGamer .
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