If you ever played the original Yakuza 3 on the PS3, you may recall its notoriously slow start.
The game spends several hours in Okinawa, with seasoned protagonist Kazuma Kiryu retired from the Yakuza lifestyle and running his Morning Glory orphanage. (As an aside, it was renamed the Sunshine Orphanage in the Western versions of the game, for perhaps obvious reasons.)
It’s a cute change of pace for the franchise but it feels a little lightweight, which is perhaps why SEGA has decided to go back and beef out the opening chapters.
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In the upcoming remake Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, there’ll be a variety of minigames for you to engage with, all feeding into different sub-stories.
For example, Kiryu will start out as a lousy chef, only capable of making the most basic of meals: Japanese curry. But as you progress and level up your skills as a stand-in parent, you’ll learn new more complicated recipes, which are all part of a cooking minigame.
The protagonist will need to master other domestic skills, too, like sewing and helping out with homework.
You’ll then be able to trade any items you earn at the Okinawa Market, where you’ll be able to turn a tidy profit.
It all looks like a smart expansion on the tried-and-trusted Yakuza formula, and the side-content doesn’t end there.
In the new Dark Ties campaign, you’ll be spearheading a PR campaign for disgraced ex-convict Kanda in a mode brilliantly named Damage Control.
Here you’ll take on various quests and missions to raise the Yakuza’s rank from ‘Actually Trash’ to ‘Actually God’. Along the way you’ll unlock Drink Links which will deepen your bond with the character.
So, it looks like there’s tons to sink your teeth into here alongside the beloved storyline of the original Yakuza 3.
The remake’s due out on 12th February, so you don’t actually have to wait too long to get your hands on this.