For as good as we think Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is shaping up to be – seriously, look at that growing list of included retro games alone – there’s no question RGG Studio has been cocking up.
Recently it made the controversial decision to permanently delist the original PS4 version of Yakuza 0 in favour of its new PS5 re-release, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut. That means, unless you’re able to source an original Blu-ray copy, you have to buy the re-release.
Perhaps burned by the backlash to that, it’s making a compromise – but not an entirely adequate one.
So, you’ll be able to buy Yakuza 3 Remastered from the PS Store up until 12th February when the aforementioned remake releases. After that point, it’ll be delisted.
But you will still be able to get Yakuza 3 Remastered as part of the Yakuza Complete Series Bundle, which costs £114.99/$129.99. It does occasionally go on sale.
Considering the standalone version of Yakuza 3 Remastered only costs £15.99/$19.99 right now, it’s wild to force players who want the original experience to pay so much.
Granted, you do get the abovementioned alongside Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Yakuza 4, Yakuza 5, and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life as part of the bundle – but you may not want to purchase all of those games if you’re simply looking for the original version of Yakuza 3.
This just strikes us as a complete unforced error. Yes, it’s good that SEGA is retaining a way for you to play the original, but it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t see why the remake and remaster can’t co-exist?