Well, it’s not much of surprise considering they accidentally leaked news of it a couple of days ago, but we are in fact receiving a Yakuza Kiwami 3. What actually IS a surprise, is the Dark Ties bonus scenario.
I sincerely apologize for the English dub, once I find a Japanese trailer I’ll replace the video. Though on the topic of voice actors, we do get a reprisal of the legendary Takaya Kuroda as series protagonist Kiryu Kazuma of course, as well as Shido Nakamura returning to voice fan favorite villain Yoshitaka Mine.
It’s always a treat to hear Kuroda’s voice acting, and it’s great that they’ve remained faithful to most of the cast, especially in the case of Mine, who is receiving an expanded role as the protagonist of the Dark Ties expansion.
Yes that’s right, Dark Ties isn’t a subtitle, it’s an entirely separate game from Kiwami 3 where you take control of Yoshitaka Mine in the events leading up to Yakuza 3, and you can tell he’s down on his luck and not evil yet because he hasn’t slicked his hair back yet. As I said, Mine is a fan favorite character for a single appearance antagonist. Perhaps not on the level of Nishikiyama or Ryuji Goda but still with a sizable fanbase and said fans will no doubt be happy with an entire separate game exclusive to him and packaged with Kiwami 3.
If you’re interested in how the Dragon Engine has changed since Yakuza Kiwami 2’s infamous performance in combat, where everything bounced around like they were full of helium, RGG also released a gameplay trailer for us to watch, and the gameplay looks a lot less floaty thankfully, and there are some real fun looking new additions to the gameplay as well.
Overall, Ryu Ga Gatoku Studios has continued to truck along as strong as ever. They’ve always been consistent in their releases and this year was no different. Releasing two games for the price of one is an ambitious, and generous, way to provide for the community and Yakuza 3 is definitely a game that needs some love and attention for the Kiwami series. Things are looking up for RGG fans!