Yakuza Kiwami 3 marks the latest entry in the Kiwami remake series, following the successful reimaginings of Yakuza 1 and Yakuza 2, originally released on the PlayStation 2. As the first title in the franchise to debut on the PS3, Yakuza 3 holds a pivotal place in the series’ evolution, and now returns with enhanced visuals, revamped gameplay, and a compelling new side story titled Dark Ties, which explores the origins of antagonist Yoshitaka Mine.

We sat down with Game Producer and Director Ryosuke Horii and Series Chief Producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto to discuss the creative direction behind Yakuza Kiwami 3. The duo shared insights into the redesigned battle system, the emotional depth of Mine’s character arc, the future of the Like a Dragon universe, and how Kazuma Kiryu’s journey as a father shapes the heart of the game.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Interview

A Younger Kiryu

Yakuza Kiwami 3 features a much younger Kazuma Kiryu as compared to his much more mature counterpart in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. This greatly affects the creative decisions with his fighting stances and keeping the combat fresh but familiar, as commented by the creators:

“The most recent Like A Dragon titles have two battle styles that players can swap between. We wanted to do this for this game as well. So far, the Dragon of Dojima Kiwami style, what we had in mind was that the Yakuza Kiwami 3 Kiryu is younger than the ongoing series Kiryu. We wanted to show off his rough-edged youthfulness that he has, so the Dragon of Dojima Kiwami style reflects that.“

“For the Ryukyu style, we considered the setting for Okinawa. We wanted to utilize that motif. We did some research and found out that there is an ancient martial technique in Okinawa that uses weapons. So we thought that would be a fun type of style to implement. So we decided to go with that.”

When asked about some new mini-games that players can engage in using Kiryu, the creators commented that many of the substories have been modified for Yakuza Kiwami 3, and the addition of the Morning Glory Orphanage side quests will also be added.

“We are deeply involved in the creation of the karaoke as it is one of my favorite mini-games. But we have changed substories from the original game, and there’s not any substory that we just put in that’s completely similar to the original. The largest change is the Morning Glory Orphanage, and in the original game, we did have some required storylines that the player would go through, but this time, we wanted to add some gameplay into where Kiryu builds up his bonds with these children.”

“And this time the player has to go through building relationships with the children, and they also get to experience Kiryu’s growth both as a parent and as a man, and so we thought this would be like our one chance to show this off, so that is a part we put a lot of effort into.”

“It was not in our playable demo, but a Kiryu does do some sewing for the children, like he makes bags and cleaning rags for them, and it’s gonna be crazy. It does not sound crazy, as I’ve just explained, but it is this sort of hectic minigame, so please look forward to that.”

The Darkness of Mine

The Dark Ties Gaiden is similar to titles like The Man Who Erased His Name and Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. However, this time, it features Yoshitaka Mine, the main antagonist of Yakuza Kiwami 3. It was a bold choice featuring a lesser-known character compared to featured characters like Kiryu and Majima. The creators explain the choice for that.

“After making Pirate Yakuza, we did want to start to decide on how to go on making Yakuza Kiwami 3, and Mine is a very iconic character in that game, and he only appears in Yakuza 3 and Ishin. Yet he still has many fans, so we thought it would be a great chance to delve deeper into his history and background, and we also have some experience making spin-off Gaiden titles now, so it was pretty easy for them to imagine what kind of Gaiden they could make with Mine as the focus.”

“For Dark Ties, Mine is the head of a startup at first, but gets betrayed by the other members and starts to go into the world of the Yakuza. He is like a cool and composed character on the surface but he has this sort of twisted fire and the loneliness inside him and he we feel that this is something unique that we don’t have similar characters to this so he thought it was a chance to depict some unique situations for him so that is something we put effort into.”

Mine has a unique fighting style that is quite similar to Kiryu’s Brawler mode in the original Yakuza Kiwami, as well as a “Chained Heart” mode that can be activated up to three levels to boost his capabilities. We inquired with the creators about the specifics of this combat in Yakuza Kiwami 3.

“The basics of combat don’t really change for Kiryu, but we do like to show the yakuza-like roughness and grittiness that is the center of it, but for Mine, we do want to show off a more stylish or sophisticated and cool type of vibe, and we do want to show the contrast between those styles as well.

“Regarding the Chained Heart mode, so that mode is put in to embody Mine’s character, so as he said previously, he’s very cool and composed but is sort of twisted on the inside. So that mode shows how much pain he has built up within, which he deals in kind.”

When asked about packaging both Yakuza Kiwami 3 and the Dark Ties story, the creators commented on how similar games were released in separate packages.

“For The Man Who Erased His Name and similarly Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii were big titles that we’ve released before, so this time we wanted Dark Ties to be the bigger title to hook in people, and then we do also say that it is a side story.”

“Dark Ties is a very dark story, it’s not really a happy ending. Everyone is sort of the bad guy, and so Mine gets pushed around in the midst of that, and we see him grow as a person of the underworld, so we thought that Dark Ties is a very fitting title for that story.”

“So, previously, yes, we have done the side stories as a separate package, and at first, Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties would be separate, but we wanted to surprise our fans a little bit. We decided to do this so that the players who have previously played our mainline titles and the side stories could be satisfied and have a positive experience, so we have released these in a package.”

The Future of Yakuza

When the creators were asked if there was some “Like A Dragon Fatigue” as a new title is announced every year, they assured us that Yakuza Kiwami 3 is part of a larger plan to continue bringing quality titles to fans.

“So even though we release one game each year, these titles are being developed at the same time together, so we don’t make them one game at a time. The Dragon Engine is being consistently improved, and we have high hopes for all the titles we’ve put out, and they are released on a schedule that lets us work on all these games at the same time instead of releasing one title every three years.”

“We have been making this game series for 20 years, so when making Yakuza Kiwami 3, we never thought we’re gonna just make an HD version of the original game. We understand the characters the best, so when we do a remake, we want to delve deeper into the character to the players or feature a new kind of gameplay that will make the game easier to play for everyone, like so it’s those kind of very pure ways of thoughts that we put in when we do remakes.”

The creators conclude with a final message to the fans eagerly awaiting Yakuza Kiwami 3.

“We are making Yakuza Kiwami 3 despite the fact that Yakuza 3 Remastered is playable. We don’t think there would be a point if we were putting out basically the same game. It’s not just improved visuals, which are of course available, but also new visuals for the characters and revamped stories and substories that will provide the freshness equivalent to a new title that players have played previously. Every game that we put out, we do focus on what’s the best experience we can provide, and we do not cut any corners when developing Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties.”

“Yakuza 3 fans, they might have feelings about some of the changes, but we don’t want to erase the past game. We feel that once you get to play the game, you will be able to enjoy it as a separate new title from Yakuza 3. For Dark Ties, it has dark and gritty themes, but it’s something that everyone should be able to comfortably enjoy, so please keep your high expectations for that too.” 

“There is a need to know Yakuza 1 and 2, and that’s an issue that every series title faces. But our Yakuza fan base are consistent people that came into our fan base at some point. It’s pretty rare that someone’s been a fan for the whole twenty years. We make everything available as an entry point for anyone. So this game will be playable for new players too. We would love it if completely new people who aren’t familiar with our series will get that love too.”

A very special thank you to Ryosuke Horii and Hiroyuki Sakamoto for sharing their experience and time with us.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties will be launching on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC on February 12, 2026.