At Tokyo Game Show 2025, SEGA showcased an exciting new release for Yakuza fans: a two-part package featuring Yakuza Kiwami 3, a full remake of the third game, and Yakuza 3 Gaiden: Dark Ties, a brand-new story starring Yoshitaka Mine. We got our hands on a 20-minute demo at SEGA’s booth that let us jump between both games, and here’s what we experienced.

Right from the start, the visual upgrades are noticeable. Both Kamurocho and Okinawa look much more detailed and alive in the remake. The city streets have better lighting, and the colors feel more natural and realistic. Just walking around captures what the series does best: showing normal everyday life that can suddenly turn violent at any moment. The random events and interactions on the streets are still there, keeping the series’ traditional feel intact.

Combat Changes

In Kiwami 3, Kazuma Kiryu keeps his classic “Dragon of Dojima” fighting style but also gets a new Ryukyu Style based on Okinawan martial arts. This new style works better when fighting groups of enemies and gives players more ways to approach battles. Switching between styles and landing attacks felt smooth during the demo, making it easy to adjust to different fights.

Dark Ties puts you in control of Mine for the first time, and his combat is noticeably faster and more mobile than Kiryu’s. The standout feature is Dark Awakening: as Mine deals damage, he fills up “Shackled Hearts,” and when full, he can activate a powered-up state that boosts his damage and unlocks new moves. The demo showed off some unique techniques, like using enemies as jumping points to keep combos going. The combat looks flashy and flows well. While we didn’t face any really tough enemies in the demo, the hits felt satisfying and impactful.

Content and Scale

Dark Ties takes a completely different approach to the story by focusing on Mine’s background and how he went from businessman to yakuza. It lets players see the events of Yakuza 3 from the viewpoint of a former villain. The demo featured confrontations between Mine and characters like Kanda, creating immediate tension. Rather than just being a small side story, the Gaiden looks at the original game’s events from a new angle and adds more depth to them.

The demo gave us a peek at side activities and minigames, with series favorites like karaoke and photo booths making a comeback. The developers mentioned that Dark Ties is about the same size as Like a Dragon Gaiden, which means it’s more than just a small add-on. For Kiwami 3, the remake keeps the original story while adding new scenes and content, going beyond just a graphics update.

Final Impressions

The demo showed a good mix of familiar elements and new ideas. Mine’s perspective and the Dark Awakening system stood out, while Kiryu’s new combat style and the improved visuals brought the remake up to modern standards. That said, the demo only showed a limited portion of the games, so we didn’t get to see later systems or harder fights. This leaves some questions about how deep the combat will be and whether it will stay engaging throughout.

The balance between staying true to the original and adding modern updates will likely spark discussion among fans. Still, based on what we played, there’s plenty of reason to look forward to Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties.