Yakuza Kiwami 3 Is Out Now: Everything New in the Dragon Engine Remake

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties launched today, February 12, 2026 — a ground-up Dragon Engine remake of the 2009 classic plus a brand-new 15-hour campaign where you play as Yoshitaka Mine. It’s available on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam and Windows Store), and Nintendo Switch 2.

The original Yakuza 3 was the first game in the series to leave Japan thematically, splitting its story between the Okinawan orphanage and Tokyo’s criminal underworld. It was also, to put it bluntly, rough around the edges — enemies blocked constantly, the combat felt sluggish, and several substories and mini-games were cut from the Western release. Kiwami 3 aims to fix all of that while adding an entirely new campaign that recontextualizes one of the series’ most divisive antagonists.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or looking to explore competitive gaming services, here’s what’s actually new, what’s changed, and whether the remake lives up to the “Kiwami” treatment.

The Dark Ties Campaign: Playing as Yoshitaka Mine

The headline addition is Dark Ties — a separate 15-hour campaign that puts you in the shoes of Yoshitaka Mine, one of Yakuza 3’s primary antagonists. Dark Ties covers Mine’s rise within the Tojo Clan, bridging the gap between the Okinawa years and the modern Like a Dragon era.^[1]

Mine fights with a shoot-boxing style — a hybrid of strikes and grapples that plays fundamentally differently from Kiryu’s martial arts approach. The campaign introduces its own mini-game called “Damage Control,” where Mine works as a PR agent managing corporate crises. It’s as absurdly on-brand for the series as it sounds.

The narrative purpose of Dark Ties is to make you understand Mine as a character before encountering him as an antagonist in the main story. Critics have praised the concept — getting inside a villain’s head before the confrontation adds layer to a plot that, in the original, left Mine feeling underdeveloped. Some reviews note that Mine’s combat can feel simpler compared to Kiryu’s expanded moveset, but the storytelling more than compensates.

Dragon Engine Rebuild: What the Remake Actually Changes

This is a full remake, not a remaster. Yakuza Kiwami 3 rebuilds the entire game in the Dragon Engine — the same technology powering Yakuza 6, Judgment, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. That means:

• 4K resolution on supported platforms with completely rebulit environments for both Okinawa and Tokyo
• Overhauled combat that addresses the number-one complaint about the original: enemies don’t block incessantly anymore. Fights flow faster and more dynamically.
• Ryukyu Style — a brand-new weapon-based fighting style for Kiryu using eight Okinawan weapons that can be swapped on the fly and integrated with his traditional Dragon of Dojima style
• Recast voices and motion capture — both Japanese and English voice casts have been re-recorded with fresh motion capture performances. Some characters like Hamazaki, Rikiya, and Nakahara have been visually remodeled to match their new Japanese voice actors^[2]
• Expanded substories — storylines that were cut from the original Western release are restored, and underdeveloped characters like Kaoru Sayama get additional scenes
• Comprehensive power-up system with the largest number of acquirable techniques in the series, plus equippable phone straps that boost battle abilities

New Mini-Games and Activities

The remake adds and removes mini-games from the original. The most notable additions:

• Orphanage activities: Sewing, cooking, and helping with homework — domestic mini-games that tie into Kiryu’s role as a caretaker
• Photography quest: A new photo-based substory system
• Bad Boy Dragon: A biker gang mode where Kiryu leads a crew in large-scale brawls and motorcycle segments. This is the most “Yakuza” addition imaginable — it’s essentially a minigame where you manage a gang and ride motorcycles through street fights
• Damage Control (Dark Ties): Mine’s PR agent mini-game, exclusive to the Dark Ties campaign

Some original mini-games were cut, though the remake doesn’t specify which ones. Given the series’ track record, anything removed was likely replaced with something better or folded into an existing activity.

Early Reviews: What Critics Are Saying

Reviews have been largely positive. The consensus:

• Combat is the biggest improvement — the removal of constant enemy blocking transforms every fight from a defensive slog into an aggressive brawl
• Dark Ties is praised for its narrative ambition, though Mine’s combat is noted as simpler than Kiryu’s
• Visuals are generally praised, with some reviewers noting occasional muddy textures on specific platforms
• Total content exceeds 50 hours across both campaigns, making it one of the meatiest single-player releases of early 2026
• Story pacing retains some of the original Yakuza 3’s slower moments, particularly in the Okinawa chapters — this is the inherent tradeoff of a faithful remake

For series newcomers, Kiwami 3 is generally considered accessible if you’ve played Kiwami 1 and 2 (or at minimum watched story recaps). The game includes a summary of previous events, but the emotional beats hit harder with context.

Platform Availability and Pricing

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is available today on:

• PlayStation 5
• PlayStation 4
• Xbox Series X|S
• PC (Steam and Microsoft Store)
• Nintendo Switch 2

The Switch 2 release is particularly notable — it’s one of the first major third-party remakes to launch on Nintendo’s new hardware day-and-date with other platforms. Performance details for the Switch 2 version weren’t available at the time of writing.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 joins a strong February 2026 release window alongside Marvel Rivals Season 6.5, the Overwatch relaunch, and Civilization VII. If you have any interest in the series, this is the definitive way to experience Kiryu’s third chapter — and the Dark Ties campaign alone justifies the purchase for returning fans. And if the competitive side of gaming is more your speed, Eloking’s LoL boosting, Valorant boosting, and other competitive services can help you climb while you wait for the next big release.

References

1. [1] "Yakuza Kiwami 3 Review". ign.com. Retrieved February 12, 2026
2. [2] "Yakuza Kiwami 3 Review". gameinformer.com. Retrieved February 12, 2026