Dark Ties is an original Like a Dragon game launching alongside Yakuza Kiwami 3.
I think it’s great that we’re getting Yakuza Kiwami 3. A lot of series fans, myself included, have yet to check out this third mainline entry, and a brand new remake of Yakuza 3 feels like a sound way to do just that.
Yet its existence is perhaps one-upped by Dark Ties, a wholly original game set alongside the events of Yakuza Kiwami 3. Far more than a quick side story – a la Yakuza Kiwami 2’s Majima Saga – Dark Ties will be more akin to Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. Meaning, we can expect a more fulsome experience that shows a different side to the story.
This story being that of Yoshitaka Mine, a key character in Yakuza 3, and certainly one that went on to become a fan favorite. Mine is a character at rock bottom, having had his successful startup company taken right from under him. Vowing to make a name for himself, he turns to the yakuza to forge a new life in the criminal underworld.
Mine is a calculated, results-driven person, but that doesn’t make him a slouch in combat. In fact, having recently gone hands-on with Dark Ties at a Sega event, I think Mine might just offer my favorite real-time combat style in the series to date. It’s slick, brutal, and packs a heck of a bloody punch.
