I went hands-on with the recently revealed Yakuza Kiwami 3, And my first thought was that the game felt like a refreshingly well -off experience. Especially outside the back of the crazy Like a dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii and the irreverent turn-based shenanigans of Like a dragon: infinite wealth.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 is a modern remake of Yakuza 3, which was originally released for PlayStation 3 in 2009. An Action RPG with a serious emphasis on brutal fist battles and a strong element of virtual tourism thanks to developer Ryu Gotoku Studios’ married realistic map design, you do everything from downing Goers in the street to the troubles of the local population.
And if you do not discover political and criminal conspiracies in the main story, you are more than welcome to take a break by participating in Kamurocho or the many pleasures of Okinawa. This includes arrows, swimming pool, shogi or participating in the many Arcade games of Club Sega.
The original Yakuza 3 is the only game in the series I had never played before, but I love Kiwami 3s Glow-up so far. As with previous Kiwami Titles, a lot of new ones have been offered here in addition to a graphic upgrade, so let’s dive into it.
Ryukyu -Meester
The Yakuza Kiwami 3 Demo I played started with a movie close to the start of the game. As in the original, main character Kazuma Kiryu travels to Okinawa to save the orphanage that he is running from criminal interests. After a short tutorial fight, which also introduces the brand new Ryukyu -Vecht style, we were released in the streets of the island prefecture.
Kiryu is able to exchange between two different travel sets in battle. His traditional style is accompanied by the new Ryukyu style, inspired by Okinawan Martial Arts. Ryukyu uses eight (yes, eight) different weapons and/or household objects, all allocated to their own button. Surprising triangle (heavy attack) can, for example, sweep groups of enemies with a large belt. In the meantime, holding the circle (usually the grab button) ensures that Kiryu waves a threshing flail in a wide area. And that is just stuff on the surface, because Kiryu also has Nunchaku, Tonfa, Tekko and more at his disposal.
Some of these can be chained for different comboes, which go from weapon to weapon while you do damage, although I didn’t have enough time to find out the most optimal combinations. Ultimately, the style ‘Dragon of Dojima’ by Kiryu feels better configured for single-target fighting, while Ryukyu is effective in keeping several enemies at a distance. Pretend Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii And Like a Dragon Gaiden: the man who erased his name” This double style system supports swapping between the two at any time during the fight.
Ryukyu is very nice, and certainly different from the usual repertoire of Kiryu, are a man who usually answers calls to fight with his fists. On the other hand, Ryukyu feels like a wonderful addition to Yakuza 3s Shift in tone. Especially for Kiryu, who tries to lead a quieter, rustic life in the orphanage.
Keep
Fight is not everything in Yakuza Kiwami 3, But it would not be quite like one Yakuza game without dozens of optional secondary activities. In an extremely beautiful pang of nostalgia from the late 2000s, Kiryu has a stylish Flip telephone that you can adjust with stickers, stones, color schemes and wallpapers.
You can also change Kiryu’s view of clothing stores. As in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, You can save different sets of clothing here, from the casual to completely ridiculous. And don’t fear, if you are not from Kiryu’s standard Hawaiian shirt geup, you can turn into his iconic suit at any time.
Regarding other side activities, the Sega Arcade club returns. It has the usual UFO Catcher machines (which are still an absolute scam), as well as a handful of classic Sega Arcade titles. In Kiwami 3, There is nothing new here – where the selection is met Judgement – but it is a great small set in Virtua Fighter 2, Fighting Vipers, And Motor attack.
Elsewhere you have the usual Yakuza Suspects of golf, darts, billiards and of course karaoke. I didn’t have time to taste all here, but you can probably expect them to be their usual implementations here, perhaps with a few spins on the formula as we saw Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
Generally my time with Yakuza Kiwami 3 Unfortunately was quite short, but it made a great first impression. Visually the game looks fantastic, although I certainly can’t help, but the feeling that it looks a bit during the day. It could be the monitor that I played the game on, but this can be one that you want to weaken the brightness on a touch or two.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 was set to launch on February 12, 2026 PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.
It will be accompanied by the whole new one Dark ties game that is bundled with Kiwami 3 And offers an original story with fan favorite Yoshitaka mine as the protagonist.
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