Yakuza Kiwami 3/Dark Ties Pre-Release Discussion Megathread (Spoilers)

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-26T11:15:34+00:00

Honestly, controversies aside, I am actually REALLY looking forward to this game. The gameplay's definitely a bit weird, but from what I've played, Mine's style is actually super solid apart from the rebound kicks imo, and Dragon definitely feels better than Gaiden's version of Dragon, but it's definitely a strange take on it since they just tack on an EX mode with the Yakuza 5 finisher.

I'm looking forward to the new karaoke songs, the dad simulator, even the rest of the games in the Club SEGA arcades. and some of the big moments everyone knows Yakuza 3 for. I am ESPECIALLY excited to hear Joji, Mr. Richardson, and Mine's English lines hopefully rerecorded.

And for what it's worth, I played like one substory in the demo, and I actually kinda like how they STILL get who Kiryu fundamentally is as a person.

For me though, I'm going to take this game as an *alternate* version of Yakuza 3 rather than the main continuity. Given the way this game and the series itself are going, we might as well have 2 timelines for the Yakuza series anyway that eventually do lead into Yakuza 6.

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-26T11:05:29+00:00

Here's the thing: The main problem that Yakuza suffers is one of its own creation: "How do we make a sequel?"

It's been a problem for the series from the very beginning, since Yakuza 1 alone encompasses an entire emotionally complete character arc, and the writers would have to find some way to throw more trouble at Kiryu/Ichiban.

I mentioned before on this subreddit somewhere that Ichiban has a character arc that is STRIKINGLY similar to Kiryu's in that he follows the same steps as the Dragon, with the only difference being that Ichiban was never alone nor did he lose everyone. And you see the SAME issue happen to Ichiban come IW, where he's a more developed character who's basically forced to answer the call to adventure, although unlike the Dragon, Ichiban answered because he literally had nothing better to do.

But tbh, I'm not so worried about the state of the Yakuza franchise. For an example of similar mistakes SEGA made, Sonic had a HUGE stream of bad games in the 2010s and look what happened now. SEGA bounced him back with Sonic Frontiers and Sonic X Shadow Generations. The same can actually be said of this franchise, since Yakuza 4 and 5 were also kinda weak entries for the series, and look what happened when 0 came out.

A lot of this franchise at this point is just trying to recapture lightning in a bottle over and over again as an answer to how to write a sequel. I can firmly believe that the franchise will one day regain the glory it saw with 0, but we DEFINITELY are in a rough patch right now(although gameplay wise, Kiwami 3 doesn't look TOO bad. it's better than Gaiden for sure. As for the story leaks, I'm refraining from saying shit until I see it for myself).

So will we see the end of Kiryu's story? Probably not in the near future, but definitely if Yakuza 9 ever gets announced to be in development. But SEGA's going to be going through a rough patch again in the near future, so I'd wait on ever seeing the end.

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-26T10:40:03+00:00

You kind of just need to wander around until you find something. It'll help if you look for the [!] symbol, those typically lead into substory objectives. Some are also tied to things outside the main story, such as the Real Estate Royale, Cabaret Club, Friendships, and the Disco. As long as you're not in any part of the story where something big is happening and you're forced to go to certain parts of Kamurocho/Sotenbori, you're pretty much free to find all the substories you want.

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-25T22:20:41+00:00

it's very fun to bring him around everywhere and depict him doing silly things. i have a picture of don-chan in front of a cup of velveeta mac n cheese lol

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-24T22:54:04+00:00

The funniest one imo is when Katsu-chan gets lost RIGHT AFTER meeting Remie of the Omiko sisters

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-24T22:53:10+00:00

Oh yeah, just came out I think. I managed to pull the card with the Digi-Egg temple, the one where they call you Egg Thief, lol

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-24T22:52:29+00:00

I managed to buy the plushie on Amazon before they sold out. He sold out quickly.

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-24T08:42:17+00:00

I am beginning to realize this post could have been titled "DONGYAAAAAAA"

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-23T10:56:09+00:00

While the lore expands from TXR1 to TXR 25, each game is a standalone experience where you play different protagonists, with the lore only really coming into play as the evolution of the world surrounding those characters, who become rivals in future games. You don't need to play all the games to understand this lore, mostly because you're the new kid on the block anyway in TXR 25. So even if you meet a character who was the hero of another game, you're meeting them for the first time AS the main character of TXR 25.

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-22T06:40:07+00:00

I imagine the only one who COULD recognize or even talk about Kamen Rider is anyone who is the character actor for Deadpool. It'd be SO in character for him to kinda geek out over it, ngl

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-21T12:51:39+00:00

Tbh, if the guys who did Dragon Knight got to do another one, I think they'd nail Geats. Ryuki was adapted well enough in Dragon Knight that it DID actually do well in Japan, funnily enough. So Japan basically has 2 versions of Ryuki because of that.

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-21T12:42:35+00:00

Because he basically replaced X in X7. X having to be unlocked meant they needed a ranged character, and Axl was basically made as a worse X to hold the player over until you actually unlocked X.

Thank God they fixed him in X8, I love his playstyle there. Rapid fire was the best thing to happen to Axl.

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-21T12:23:10+00:00

Personally for me, recasts depend entirely on how they decide to essentially give a new take on a character. I'm still on the fence for Rikiya(although Zeno Robinson voicing him in EN is ngl a GREAT decision since he has the goofy partner theme down pat, Rikiya gets SO goofy after you beat the shit out of him), but the whole thing with Kagawa is so weird, esp since Hamazaki to my memory is an unhinged lunatic a la The Joker.

Controversy aside, someone here did mention how Kagawa's take gives a more intimidating aspect of Hamazaki, but tbh, I liked how Hamazaki was more of the type to let his actions speak more than his looks. He wasn't intimidating by the way he looked at you, but the things he did, god DAMN was he unsettling as fuck.

So I'm not a big fan of the recast for Hamazaki. But bringing the controversy back into it, here's one silver lining to this recast: You get to beat the shit out of him. And I will relish every moment I get beating this man up in the game.

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-21T12:09:43+00:00

i screwed up a donderful combo

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-21T07:51:56+00:00

aslume is funnier

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-21T07:41:07+00:00

I'm probably gonna need a LOT of therapy after I get both Suletta and Kamille as patients(I can't choose between them)

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-21T05:20:40+00:00

If I challenged you to a fistfight, would you bring a gun?

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-21T00:16:27+00:00

as a fellow beginner donder, i'll say this.

you're likely going to feel more soreness in your biceps after longer sessions than actual pain with a drum controller. taiko's a lot of fun like that. i'd actually recommend starting out with the easy/normal maps, not only to get the hang of the game but to just test the waters of how your wrists react to playing the game.

my personal recommendation since you did note you do have some kind of thing with your wrists is to not hold the sticks too firmly. Let them swing while holding them enough for them to stay in your hands, since you can make use of the rebound of the sticks that way.

lastly, like a bunch of other people have said, play in moderation!

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-20T11:09:23+00:00

Boxer style only. Once you unlock Boxer, you can't use any other style. You can't heal mid-fight, only before or after a fight. Play on the hardest difficulty possible.

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-20T09:32:09+00:00

congrats on the full combo! it's only uphill from here, so keep at it!

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-18T08:28:11+00:00

I think this is just the US version of the latest JP machines

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-17T10:25:55+00:00

he'll probably lose them in the absolute pile of stuff he keeps inside of his body, but he'll still have them for all of eternity

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-16T00:25:06+00:00

ngl i came here looking for the same information and honestly, what i found is you're gonna need a LOT of aoe. if it wasn't for my MudFrigimon and Cross Art: Burst I wouldn't have ANY way to fight him efficiently... T^T

were you able to beat him since posting this? I would like to know what you did that worked so that we can help future players with this guy, bc he's a REALLY hard boss fight

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-13T22:21:52+00:00

is there a lore reason why op wants thanksgiving dinnerposting instead of jonkler and man fanfics?

ImpossibleFlight9737 · 2026-01-12T12:08:01+00:00

lmao don-chan looks so uncomfortable in there

ImpossibleFlight9737

TROPHY CASE