I have a lot to say about this game, but I think it’s only fair to start with the personal side of it. The part that hits the deepest. Unfortunately, I ended up relating to the protagonist in a way that honestly hurts. Not in the details of his life, but in the feeling underneath it all. When Mine says that line, “I've been alone my whole life. Loved by no one... Needed by no one,” I felt a chill. Of course I’m not like him. I can’t pretend that loneliness doesn’t affect me, and I can’t hide the pain when someone decides to walk away without a word, when a connection just falls apart without any explanation. Sometimes I wonder, if I haven’t hurt anyone, why am I alone? Why is it so hard for me to keep a relationship that isn’t based on someone getting something out of it? I know I’m still young, but it hurts to look back and realize that many of the friendships I thought I had in school, and even some from the beginning of university, were built on something fragile and selfish like personal benefit. I wish I could be like Mine and treat betrayal with cynicism, like it’s something I always expected anyway. But I can’t. It still hurts me. It still happens. And loneliness keeps showing up like this uncomfortable companion that never really leaves. Maybe it’s okay to feel it. Maybe it’s part of growing up. I just hope that someday I meet someone who doesn’t want to take advantage of me. Someone who actually stays. Anyway, putting the emotional catharsis aside for a moment, let’s talk about the game itself. Dark Ties is, above all, a charming little oddity within the Yakuza universe. The series is famous for sticking closely to its big icons like Kiryu and Majima, which makes sense because they’re the fan favorites. But this time the developers stepped aside and chose to explore a character who had always existed on the edges of that greatness: Mine Yoshitaka. The game is short. Very short. I finished it completely in about ten hours, and even so, it still left a strong impression on me. There’s something fascinating about playing as a villain, or more accurately, as an antagonist that the fandom has grown attached to. The first three Yakuza games built some really memorable villains, and Mine always had that something special. That quiet, controlled charisma that made you want to understand what was going on in his head. Dark Ties might be a small game, but it feels like a gift for the people who always wanted more of him. The story is solid, even with its limited length. Unlike the main games, where the yakuza characters are often in the middle of redemption arcs or trying to retire from that life, here we see Mine in the middle of his ambition. He is an active yakuza, focused on building power and profit for his family, climbing the ranks through intelligence and strategy. I also liked how the game approaches darker subjects like prostitution in a more direct way, without the heroic framing that sometimes appears in other entries of the series. The combat is great too. It’s dynamic, smooth, and satisfying. But the real highlight is the character himself. Mine feels refreshing. His cynicism isn’t empty. It’s armor. He acts like nothing matters to him, but every betrayal clearly cuts deeper than he lets anyone see. And even though he behaves like he doesn’t care about anyone, there are moments where he helps people simply because he feels like it. Sometimes it’s curiosity, sometimes it’s a small spark of humanity breaking through his façade. Those moments make him feel incredibly human. It’s honestly a shame that the game is so short, because it had the potential to become a full, rich entry in the series. More hours, more missions, more character development. If the developers had given it the space it deserved, I’m sure it would have ended up as one of my absolute favorites. Even with its limitations, and with an ending that didn’t completely convince me, Dark Ties still managed to do something important. It confirmed that Mine Yoshitaka deserves a place in my personal ranking of characters. Maybe not the first place. But definitely the third. And that’s not a small thing. He's so handsome!