Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Combat Mechanics Look Amazing

Last Updated on October 4, 2025 by Dante

SEGA just released a new teaser video showing off the refreshed combat mechanics in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties.

And, they look stunning!

Check it out:

As someone whose played Yakuza 3, I noticed so many changes that make this remix irresistable:

• Kiryu is much faster. In the 2009 version, Kiryu would literally stall if he missed a grab or even perform a combo on empty space if the enemy sidestepped or died. That ain’t happening anymore.
• The Heat animations are amazing. The whole screen on fire really adds some extra oomph while you’re beating some fool’s head in with a golf club.
• There is a nice AOE touch where other guys get hit too when Kiryu is swinging. This means you can approach at an angle and take down several punks without having to defeat them all one-on-one.

For reference, take a look at this boss battle from Yakuza 3 to see what I mean:

I love this game, but the boss fights glitched out way too much.

And fighting La Ka Long:

Was so damn annoying on hard mode.

Anyway, there’s a lot to look forward to in this remake, including a spinoff featuring Yakuza 3’s final boss: Yoshitaka Mine.

Can’t wait to see what his backstory is all about.

We’ll finally get to play on February 12, 2026 for PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2.

You can preorder on SEGA’s official website and receive the ‘Ryukyu Gal Gang: Ichiban Legendary Lad’ DLC.