Yakuza Kiwami 3: Dark Ties – Last September when announced Yakuza Kiwami 3, RGG Studio also introduced a title that comes with this game, which is Yakuza Kiwami 3: Dark Ties (abbreviated Dark Ties).

Yet with only 3 chapters, Dark Ties makes the writer have a more memorable time Yakuza Kiwami 3.

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

Takes place between Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Yakuza Kiwami 3, Dark Ties revolves around the journey of Yoshitaka Mine – a businessman who owns a technology startup. After being kicked out of the company by the board of directors for not pursuing short-term profitable projects, Mine felt betrayed and lost all faith in the connection between people.

After a drunken party in the red light district of Kamurocho, Mine accidentally got caught up in a violent clash between the Tojo gang and a rival gang. Seeing how Tojo members were willing to sacrifice their lives and block bullets to protect president Daigo Dojima, Mine couldn't help but be surprised.

Why do the yakuza – the dregs of society – have such fierce loyalty? What kind of person is Daigo Dojima that creates such absolute loyalty?

From then on, Mine decided to join the yakuza world to find answers for herself. And the path he chose was to become friends with Kanda – a middle-ranking member of the Nishikiyama family of the Tojo gang.

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Dramatic, elaborate plot

If Yakuza Kiwami 3 controversial because of inconsistent changes compared to the original, then Dark Ties occupies an intermediate position: inheriting the limitations of Yakuza Kiwami 3clearly demonstrates serious storytelling efforts in presentation and character building

The most noticeable difference is the cutscenes – almost “day and night” compared to the main game.

Is completely new content, Dark Ties Not bound by PS3-era animation reuse. The scenes were built from the ground up, with a bold cinematic style with delicate camera angles, smooth editing rhythms and dark gangster movie-style lighting. In particular, the opening gunfight scene is one of the most impressive moments in the entire game, both intense and full of cinematic rhythm.

About the plot, Dark Ties does not try to fill every gap in the main story line, instead, RGG Studio chooses a safe narrative, sticking to what is already there to expand further. The premise isn't too groundbreaking: a disgraced businessman finds his way into the underworld. But the implementation is effective, convincingly highlighting Mine's inner self.

The most valuable point is that players always clearly feel Mine's true desire: he seeks a sincere relationship, where human connection goes beyond monetary value.

Mine's character development is also carefully taken care of. Using the familiar narrative structure of what the main character thinks they want, and what they really need, RGG Studio delivers a solid story about Mine's transformation, connecting seamlessly with the version of Mine in the main plot.

There are limitations Dark Ties What is a beneficiary plot? We will talk about it at the end of the article.

Premise of Yakuza Kiwami 3: Dark Ties not so groundbreaking: a failed businessman finds his way into the underworld. But the implementation is effective, convincingly highlighting Mine's inner self.

Mine's fighting style: speed instead of power!

Mine owns the Shoot-Boxing style of martial arts, focusing on fast, compact, accurate punches and kicks of modern martial arts. Compared to Kiryu – whose style is a hybrid of street fighting and traditional martial arts – Mine clearly demonstrates the methodical and professional nature of modern martial arts in each movement.

One of my combat weaknesses Yakuza Kiwami 3 The attacks lack a sense of power, but with Mine, this is no longer a serious problem. Because his advantages lie in his attack speed, ability to flexibly rotate targets and dodge attacks, the lack of “heaviness” in animation does not reduce the combat experience much.

In addition to his main style, Mine also has a secondary state called “Dark Awakening” – when he lets go of his reason and releases his suppressed anger. When activated, Mine becomes a destructive force in a short time: the attack set changes completely, more brutal and powerful, accompanied by new Heat Actions, clearly different from the default state.

The stark difference between the default shoot-boxing style and Dark Awakening also makes boss battles a bit more fun. In the review Kiwami 3the writer talked about how the new boss mechanism in the game – aura – has become a mechanism that makes boss battles become a loop of “using light attack and dodging to slowly destroy the aura -> aura “breaks”, take advantage of the combo -> aura recovers, repeat step one”.

The existence of the Dark Awakening mechanism is most effective when the boss's aura is broken. The effectiveness of attacks in Dark Awakening mode is increased when the boss is weakened, creating the feeling that Mine is like “Okay, I've been feinting long enough, now let's get mad and counterattack”.

Weaknesses of Kiwami 3 The attack lacks a sense of power, but for Mine this is not too serious. Thanks to the fast attack speed, flexible targeting and good dodging, the lack of “heavy” animation does not affect the combat experience much.

Mine's upgrade system is also more streamlined in comparison Yakuza Kiwami 3. The game does not cut out essential basic techniques to turn them into must-buy skills. Instead, upgrades act as supplements, increasing the depth of combat rather than limiting it from the start.

And finally there is the HEAT Action system. Mine doesn't have many HEAT Actions, but the Heat Actions he has are enough to serve players throughout their short journey. Dark Ties. Mine's HEAT Action moves do a good job of showing off beautiful martial arts skills, but are no less brutal.

If there's a slight flaw in Mine's combat system, it's that his first four combos all end with a backflip. It is true that this move is useful in creating distance to dodge attacks or setting up to jump over another target, but the fact that it takes up 4 out of 7 combo chains is unnecessary.

Kanda Rep and Bro Time – an interesting reversal!

The most notable side activity in Dark Ties is the Kanda Rep system – a series of tasks that Mine must complete to improve Kanda's reputation. If you've ever heard about real-life yakuza organizations doing charity work to polish their image and cover up their dark activities, this system is basically a gamified version of that.

The tasks range from simple things like providing food, water, and medicine to people in need; achieve high results in bowling, karaoke, and picking up toys for children; to the “substories” that tell about the daily life difficulties of the Kamurocho people.

Regarding the “substory”, if Kiryu acted out of sincere compassion, then Mine's motives are completely different. For example, in a “substory” about a charity kitchen in need of support, Mine still helps – but he suspects that the founder only does so to satisfy himself, not truly altruistic. This doubt creates a unique, opposing perspective for Kiryu.

When reaching certain reputation milestones, players unlock “Bro Time” – an interesting reversal mechanism compared to Drink Link in previous parts. If Drink Link's goal is to build a bond between Kiryu or Ichiban with the supporting characters, then Bro Time gradually reveals Mine's… accumulated hatred for Kanda. The more players play, the more they realize: it's only a matter of time before Mine finishes off Kanda in the main game.

Regarding the substory, if Kiryu acted out of sincere compassion, Mine's motives are completely different.

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A bad ending!

Influenced by the new story direction of Yakuza Kiwami 3the end of Dark Ties made the writer feel disappointed.

The change in story direction has made Mine's character development and journey become silly. The writer's feeling when seeing the ending of Dark Ties is an annoyance, as it is a completely unnecessary change.

And for gamers who haven't played yet Yakuza 3 origin, then the end of Dark Ties will certainly once again create confusion, that “Who is this? What does this saying mean?“

Overall, the story of Yakuza Kiwami 3: Dark Ties is a relatively complete experience for a small free expansion, minus the ending.

Story of Yakuza Kiwami 3: Dark Ties is a relatively complete experience, except for the ending