“Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties” is a compilation that comprises the action-adventure games “Yakuza Kiwami 3” and “Dark Ties” which are set in Japan. “Yakuza Kiwami 3” follows Kazuma Kiryu, a former yakuza whose peace in running the Morning Glory orphanage is shattered when he is drawn into a conspiracy besetting the facility. “Dark Ties” revolves around Yoshitaka Mine, a rising yakuza in the Tojo clan who searches for a bond which transcends material gains but attracts the scrutiny of rival forces.
The game is rated M18 for violence and coarse language.
Played from a third-person perspective, the protagonist will explore various landscapes and locales to complete a series of objectives. Gameplay involves fulfilling quests, battling enemies, playing mini-games and viewing cinematic scenes. Melee and ranged armaments like guns, bladed and blunt weapons, and items found in the environment can be used to strike and defeat opponents. These attacks can be supplemented with special moves that inflict further damage on enemies. Combat victories reward cash and upgrades in abilities and equipment, while eating and drinking recovers health. There are dialogue and action choices that can be made, sometimes requiring the player to react to onscreen prompts quickly. Such choices influence the reactions of characters and advance the story.
Combat can be frenetic as the protagonist frequently encounters enemies while traversing streets. During fights, the player executes combo attacks against foes such as gangsters, thugs and yakuza, which result in flashes of light, sound effects, and blood spurting and staining surrounding surfaces. When enemies are struck, their health bars will deplete until the point of defeat, upon which they collapse onto the ground. Stronger depictions of violence show characters getting shot in the head and body with copious bloodletting. Other scenes of violence include characters who are implied to perish from an explosion or strangulation. There are also some references to sexual assault and suicide. Under the M18 Classification Guidelines, “depictions of realistic violence, such as killing, maiming or causing other serious injury to humanoid characters” are permitted.
The game contains some use of the expletives “motherf**ker” and “f**k”, as well as swear words like “shit”, “hell”, “bastard”, “bitch”, “damn” and “goddamn”. Under the M18 Classification Guidelines, “frequent use of strong coarse language” is permitted.
Some suggestive content can be encountered during the game, such as a cutscene which depicts pole-dancers in revealing attire performing in a club but without explicit details shown. Other suggestive innuendoes include a man who is implied to be engaging in sexual activity with a woman, references to sex workers and sexual inferences during dialogue.