On the RGG Summit livestream tonight, Sega announced Yakuza Kiwami 3, a ground-up remake of 2009’s Yakuza 3. As with the previous “Kiwami” remakes, Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2, Kiwami 3 gives the game’s visuals a massive upgrade, fleshes out story details with new cutscenes and action sequences, and also is set to offer a wealth of new side content.
In the later RGG Direct, game director Ryosuke Horii elaborated on some of the game’s additions. Besides additional story scenes, several of the cutscenes and voicelines from Yakuza 3 have been completely redone for Kiwami 3. The environments of Okinawa–a distinct feature of Yakuza 3–have also been completely remade. Combat sees similar revamps, with Kiryu being able to switch between his classic “Dragon of Dojima Kiwami” fighting skills and the all-new, Okinawan-martial-arts-inspired, weapon-heavy “Ryukyu Style.” And to top it all off, the “Dragon Boost” powered-up mode gives Kiryu’s hard-hitting, face-smashing, ruffian-hurling techniques even more of a ferocious edge.
All-new minigames were also showcased. A new game mode called “Life at Morning Glory” shows the softer side of Kiryu as he manages the Morning Glory orphanage and interacts with the children under his care. Another new mini-game, “Legendary Baddie: Bad Boy Dragon,” sees Kiryu teaming up with a posse of female Okinawan biker gang members and helping them in their turf wars against rival groups.
Additionally, the game will feature a brand-new “Gaiden” story taking place just before the in-game events of Kiwami 3. This story, called Dark Ties, will focus on Yoshitaka Mine, Yakuza 3’s primary antagonist. Mine will be a fully playable character in this story, allowing players to get a deeper look into the life and motivation of one of Yakuza 3’s most endearing characters. This story will be part of the core Kiwami 3 package, and you will be able to choose whether to play the main story of Dark Ties upon starting the game.
Gameplay in Dark Ties is similar to that of Yakuza 3, and it focuses primarily on the familiar ground of Kamurocho. He fights with a mix of boxing-style techniques and acrobatic aerial strikes, and also has a powered-up “Dark Awakening” state he can enter into for increased brutality. The Dark Ties campaign features numerous mini-games and sub-stories, including “Kanda Damage Control”–where you attempt to launder the reputation of the notoriously noxious gangster Tsuyoshi Kanda, and the “Hell’s Arena” underground coliseum.
Digital edition pre-orders have gone live on Steam and PlayStation Network, where the game is listed as having a February 11, 2026 release date and a $59.99 price tag for the standard edition. A Digital Deluxe edition with various extras is also available about $74.99.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.