Nothing can beat the burden of being a remake or a remaster. Besides providing an enjoyable experience by itself, a remake or a remaster constantly has to justify its own existence: Why did this piece of media need to be rereleased? For some, it’s a no-brainer, such as the ongoing Final Fantasy VII remake series. For others, it’s a lot less clear, such as the many, many times there’s been an uber-mega-definitive edition of The Last of Us and Skyrim.

Now the third of its kind, Yakuza Kiwami 3 is inching perilously close to a point where it’s hard to justify why we need another remade Yakuza.

Continuing the series

Yakuza Kiwami 3 is a remake of the third entry in the Like a Dragon series. The original Yakuza 3 was the first one in the entire series to be developed for the PlayStation 3 era. Compared to the first two games, it features a lot more content and, on its own, can be considered a modern RPG by today’s standards.

Story-wise, it’s also a turning point for the series. Though Kazuma Kiryu already took the young Haruka under his wing by this point, Yakuza 3 is the first where the series protagonist tasted a life outside of the criminal underworld.

Being such an important milestone for the franchise, a Kiwami remake seems like the best or the worst idea.

(For reference, “Kiwami” refers to an ongoing series of remakes that rebuilds the classic Yakuza games with a new engine that began in Yakuza 0.)

When a new coat of paint doesn’t really help

Yakuza 0 came out in 2015. That means the studio has been using the same engine for over ten years. The engine is starting to overstay its welcome, especially in the Kiwami series.

Despite being built with PlayStation 3 technology, Yakuza 3 still had its limitations. For one, 1080p was just becoming a standard by then. Cutscenes had to be smaller and, thus, more tightly shot. But ultimately, the limits resulted in a more cohesive game that maximized what it worked with. Yakuza 3’s Kamurocho feels alive, and you never know what’s waiting behind the next corner.

Sadly, Yakuza Kiwami 3 does not take advantage of better hardware to update how the game feels. Cutscenes were splashed with a new coat of paint, but the composition remains the same. As a result, they look so empty with so much white space.

They could have added some clouds.

The “improved” Kamurocho also doesn’t feel all that updated. There’s a palpable sense of sameness as you explore through the game. Even Okinawa looks like just an extension of Tokyo. In the more modern games, exploring was rewarding. Even if the game tells you where missions are, there are new sights and new stores to just look at.

Kamurocho is a central piece of every Like a Dragon game. But I don’t think it has to be static, even if it’s just a remake.

That, and I’m just tired of seeing the same character models every time I boot up a Yakuza game.

A few controversial model changes

To be completely fair, the main characters did get some updates. And, of course, there are a few elephants in the room.

First up is Rikiya, the upstart yakuza from Okinawa. From other media, Rikiya is listed as being around 20 to 21 years old. Now, I’m not a good judge of age based on looks, but the old Rikiya from the original game really doesn’t look like he’s in his early 20s.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 has a new model for Rikiya, one based on Japanese actor Sho Kasamatsu. Others have criticized this decision because the new models looks so different from the original. In my opinion, the change just makes sense; he looks much younger and brasher, just as his character dictates.

Mine also looks like a Japanese George Russell now.

The other change, however, goes beyond just narrative disagreements. Hamazaki, one of the main antagonists in the game, also received a dramatic change. In contrast to his more thug-like looks in the original, the new Hamazaki looks smarmier and more cunning. The problem lies in their choice of actor, Teruyuki Kagawa, who’s had sexually charged issues in the past.

Strangely, the studio hasn’t responded in a way that’s consistent with how they responded to similar issues in the past. Previously, they halted sales just to deal with an issue with a voice actor. This time, the studio’s response boils down to: “Hamazaki is a creep, so we got a creep to play him.”

*shrug*

A pared down experience

Anyway, on to the gameplay.

Despite the concerns I’ve had with how this remake played out, I still had so much fun. My total playtime, according to Steam, is just a little less than 60 hours. This is also the first review game that I’ve earned all achievements for, before its release. It’s inaccurate to say that it’s a bad game because it hasn’t justified itself as a remake.

Compared to the original, Yakuza Kiwami 3 offers a shorter but tighter experience. While the old one had over a hundred and a dozen substories, the remake has only 31 substories to its name.

The remake is perfectly paced. There are hardly any points when I felt that the game was an endless grind.

Dark Ties, the secondary game focused on Yoshitaka Mine, is just as balanced. It has only three main chapters, 13 longer substories, and around 50 bite-sized activities. The story itself just tells how Mine got into the yakuza life and his relationship with Tsuyoshi Kanda (but we’ll get into the story later).

Mine’s fighting style feels smoother than Kiryu’s. He uses quick jabs, kicks, and grapples, similar to Judgment’s Yagami. For me, it’s more enjoyable to beat people up, compared to Kiryu’s slower beat-em-up approach.

Character-wise, Mine is also much colder. Seeing him go through the usual shenanigans of Yakuza’s insane substories is funnier and is much more refreshing because I’ve seen Kiryu go through the same schtick so many times in the past. It’s even funnier that his main goal is to help Kanda rebuild his reputation by doing good deeds around town while pretending to be him.

The side content is much better

As with every Yakuza game, Yakuza Kiwami 3 has secondary game modes that can suck in hours of your time. This time, the main game has two new ones: Morning Glory and Bad Boy Dragon.

Morning Glory is a Stardew-Valley-type mode where Kiryu manages the orphanage of the same name. By doing various minigames, such as sewing and cooking, he increases his reputation as a dad with the kids under his wing.

In the past, I’ve had problems with the franchise’s more laidback game modes, such as Infinite Wealth’s awful Animal Crossing island game. This one, however, is a perfect length. There’s a bit of a grind, but it’s short enough to be completed in one or two sittings.

Morning Glory feels more fleshed out.

The same goes for Bad Boy Dragon. In this one, Kiryu helps a female biker gang become the best biker gang in all of Japan. The gameplay is very similar to Pirate Yakuza’s Pirate Showdowns. It’s all about beating stronger and stronger gangs in combat.

Dark Ties has its own side content called Survival Hell, a dungeon crawler mode. Enemies get stronger with every level, so you have to collect “Gospels” that bolster your strength while inside the dungeon. Once again, it’s much shorter than previous modes of the same type.

All of them are enjoyable without dragging too much of your time. It also helps that you can earn big money by completing these modes. For example, completing Survival Hell’s hardest dungeon can net you over 25 million yen at least.

But, again, do we need the remake?

These are all well and good, but we still haven’t answered whether or not Yakuza 3 really needed a remake.

As I played through the game, it became clearer why we’ve gotten to this point. There are subtle to not-so-subtle changes to the story. For one, a new epilogue, without giving out too many spoilers, explains why a certain character might have popped up in Infinite Wealth.

Ultimately, it helps with the continuity between games. It’s like the Rebuild of Evangelion but for the Yakuza franchise. However, I can’t help but wonder if fan service was a stronger motivator than building a more cohesive story.

For example, one of the new substories in the main game involves a fortune teller. When she tells Kiryu’s fortune, she references a major plot point in Infinite Wealth, a game that’s set so far into the future from the events of Yakuza 3. It feels a reference just for the sake of making a reference.

The franchise is getting to the point where there are more references and tapping into old wells than introducing new stories and characters.

Is Yakuza Kiwami 3 your PlayMatch?

As its own game, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties works well as its own game. By now, the franchise has perfected the Yakuza formula. It knows how to deliver an enjoyable experience. I wouldn’t have spent 60 hours on it, if it was a bad game.

However, with a reskin that doesn’t stand out from its predecessors and all the self-references, the game struggles as a remake. If you haven’t played the original, the remake is good to get you up to speed with the franchise’s story. However, if you enjoyed the original, there’s hardly any compelling reason to play through this pared-down version again.

Well, except maybe for the Dark Ties content.