Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has revealed that Dark Ties, the fully-fledged spinoff launching alongside Yakuza Kiwami 3 in February, was originally intended as a movie before being expanded into a playable game.
Dark Ties was announced alongside Yakuza Kiwami 3 last week; while Kiwami 3 was leaked via an accidental listing on the developer's official website prior to the reveal, Dark Ties was a surprise. It's a spinoff that revolves around Yoshitaka Mine, a prominent character in the original Yakuza 3.
In a Famitsu interview (thanks, Automaton), game director Ryosuke Horii says that Dark Ties was supposed to be "something that could be viewed like a video", but that the "best way" to tell the expansion's story would be to allow players to play as Mine themselves.
Additionally, Yoshitaka Mine is, according to series producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto, one of the franchise's most popular characters. Supposedly, he consistently places in the top five when polls are conducted to discover fans' favorites.
Given that Yakuza 3 (and, now, Yakuza Kiwami 3) is Mine's only appearance, the team thought it was the right thing to do to make him playable rather than relegating him to a simple movie project.
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