What if a Yakuza remake gave you wholesome chores, a fresh fighting style, and a pocket arcade inside the hero’s bedroom?
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, due February 12, is doing exactly that. The remake modernizes the much-loved (and often awkward) 2009 entry with the Dragon Engine, injects new story beats and minigames around Kiryu’s island life, and tucks a surprising trove of retro Sega games into the package — playable while you loaf around the Morning Glory orphanage or poke around Kamurocho.
Dad Mode and the orphanage
If you remember Yakuza 3 as the soft, slow chapter where Kiryu tries to run an orphanage in Okinawa, Kiwami 3 leans into that in ways the original only hinted at. New “Daddy Rank” progression turns what used to be an occasional bit of atmosphere into a proper set of systems. Help with homework, sew a bag, cook dinner, harvest from a garden and fish for ingredients — each minigame raises Kiryu’s bond with the kids and expands how you interact with them.
These aren’t throwaway diversions. The sewing minigame, for instance, asks you to trace a narrow stitch path under a timer; the homework segment borrows the bite-sized quizzing style seen in Like a Dragon’s vocational school; cooking becomes a frantic, multi-pan rhythm test. Small cutscenes make the payoff feel genuine: Kiryu’s seriousness about being a lousy-but-devoted dad is quietly charming. Developers say this younger team at RGG wanted to confront the original’s rough edges rather than lean on nostalgia, and those changes show — the orphanage now plays like its own cozy slice-of-life game embedded inside a larger remake.
Of course the remake hasn’t lost the series’ teeth. Okinawa produces classic Yakuza contrasts: tender home scenes followed by Kiryu throwing bikes at a mainland gang called the Tokyo Night Terrors. New Ryukyu-style moves nod to local martial traditions and give Kiryu a quicker, more agile toolkit than the later, slower portrayals of him.
Dark Ties, Mine’s Damage Control, and combat
Kiwami 3 also bundles a brand-new spin-off: Dark Ties, which puts you in the shoes of Tojo lieutenant Yoshitaka Mine before the events of the main remake. Dark Ties splits between quest-based detective-style plays (the amusingly named “Kanda Damage Control”) and coliseum-style battles. Instead of polishing Mine into a misunderstood hero, the mode leans into him cleaning up after the terrible Tsuyoshi Kanda — raising Damage Control rank by doing favors, subquests and schmoozing civilians with wildly funny rank titles like “Super Trashy.”
Combat-wise, Mine feels distinct: combo-heavy, shoot-boxing-inspired moves and a “Dark Awakening” burst that temporarily reshapes skill inputs to simulate instinctive fighting. Coliseum segments echo the series’ past arena-style experiments, but Mine’s aerial kicks and aggressive flow stand out against Kiryu’s stellar-but-familiar Dragon style.
A built-in Sega arcade — Game Gear and Model 3 oddities
If you needed another reason to poke around Kiryu’s room, Yakuza Kiwami 3 hides a lovely retro surprise: a collection of classic SEGA titles playable in-game. On top of in-world arcade cabinets, the remake includes 12 Game Gear ports (many with local split-screen support) and at least three standalone arcade originals.
Confirmed Game Gear titles include:- Columns
- Fantasy Zone Gear
- Galaga 2
- G-LOC: Air Battle
- Mappy
- Pac-Man
- Puzlow Kids
- Sonic Chaos (Sonic & Tails)
- Sonic Drift
- Streets of Rage
- The GG Shinobi
- Woody Pop
The arcade trio revealed so far are Emergency Call Ambulance, SlashOut and the delightfully oddball Model 3 release Magical Truck Adventure — a 1998 on‑rails co-op romp where you pump a hand crank to race a magical cart and guide two kids, Roy and Alma, through wild obstacle courses. It’s the sort of surreal throwback that fits neatly into Yakuza’s affection for weird side attractions.
Not everyone’s thrilled that these ports are tied to Yakuza rather than released standalone; some fans wanted them as separate digital re-releases. But there’s also something special about discovering Sonic Chaos or Streets of Rage on a Game Gear while Kiryu stares melancholy at a sunset.
Making a remake that isn’t a shrine
Producer-director Ryosuke Horii has been candid about the remake process: the original Yakuza 3 had “rough edges,” and a good remake required not romanticizing the past. The studio’s youngest development team leaned into modernization — updating combat, reworking pacing, and bringing the title’s systems up to the level of RGG’s recent releases so players can enjoy Kiwami 3 without fighting outdated mechanics. That approach is evident in the smoother fights, added minigames, and fresh side content.
Kiwami 3 launches on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5 and 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2 — the latter arriving amid growing momentum for Nintendo’s next console. Nintendo’s revised outlook for the Switch 2 and the platform’s expanding third‑party support help explain why a Switch 2 version is part of the plan; developers and players alike are treating the new handheld-home hybrid as a serious platform for big cross-gen releases (see coverage of Nintendo’s Switch 2 sales momentum and forecast and the evolving Switch 2 release schedule and third‑party support).
If you’re building a machine for the big day, there’s even a commercial tie-in for console hunters: the PlayStation 5 Pro Console continues to be discussed among prospective upgrades (availability and specs vary by region).
Whether you come for Kiryu’s new dad duties, Mine’s bruising prequel, or the tiny arcade tucked into a bedroom, Yakuza Kiwami 3 looks like a remake that respects the original while refusing to be a museum piece. Expect the familiar emotional swings — the domestic warmth and the sudden, glorious violence — but served with cleaner systems, new modes, and a handful of retro distractions you can play between chapters. If you loved Kiryu’s quiet life before, you might find this one is the coziest brawl yet.