Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, the newest entry in the long-running series from RGG Studios and Sega, introduces a new side campaign starring fan favorite Mine, one of the major players in Kiwami 3. Like the Majima saga story in Kiwami 2, there’s a lot of trophies tied to this small campaign, including the new Survival Hell dungeons. There are 2 trophies tied to this mode, with To Hell and Back being awarded after successfully finishing all 5 stages. This guide will cover the basics of the new mode, the best choices and builds to make to help you unlock the To Hell and Back trophy/achievement.
As always, be sure to check out our Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review to hear what we thought about the game!
To Hell And Back Trophy Guide
The structure of Survival Hell is simple: You traverse the Kamurocho underground looking to claim 3 gongs, all guarded by a miniboss, and eventually be able to open the exit door and fight a boss to claim victory. The new minigame plays like a roguelite, with Mine being able to change his loadout beforehand with weapons, hire mercenaries, and even get permanent upgrades that last between runs. Whenever you ring a gong, you reset the dungeon, but fortunately, the layout will always stay the same, so you don’t need to worry about figuring out the layout.
You are timed on these, and once the timer runs out, Mine will steadily take damage, so don’t lolligag too much. If you’re struggling after ringing a gong, there are manholes around the dungeon that will take you back to the beginning and allow you to exit, keeping any yen and upgrades that you’ve obtained. For stages 4 and 5, you will absolutely want to exit the dungeon after you ring every gong, as in the later stages, you can take a lot of damage rather quickly.
For the first 3 stages, there’s not a lot you really need to worry about. Just make sure you have a few attack and health upgrades, and you should be able to make it through. If you’re struggling, I recommend hiring a mercenary if you have the cash. Most of them aren’t super helpful, but even just being able to take pressure off of you during some fights can go a long way.
Stage 4 is where you need to start being careful. Lots of enemies here can inflict poison, which will steadily eat away at your health. The final boss arena is also covered in poison, so I recommend picking up some gospels that lower how much damage you take from status ailments. If you are not feeling confident during this, after you ring a gong, head back to the beginning to escape the dungeon. That way, you don’t lose out on any items and money earned, and you can start right back up at full health. It’s cheap, but better to use any advantage given to you!
Once you make it to the final boss, you’re going to want to run to the very back of the arena where the healing boxes are. It’s a small area to fight the boss in, but since the middle of the arena is covered in poison that deals constant damage every few seconds, you’re going to want to stay out of there. If you unlocked the Cold-Blooded Black Cat, she can stun the bosses, allowing you to get in a free heat action or two on them.
For Stage 5, you will absolutely need to grind. I suggest running through all the brawler challenges, especially the Chaos Master Cup, as this will grant you a mercenary that you will definitely want for the final stage. Also, I don’t recommend starting this until Mine has a 450% damage multiplier, or you will struggle. My layout for this stage was to have 3 mercenaries(Kanda, Doctor Heresy, and Cold Blooded Black Cat). The doctor will practically one-shot many of the regular enemies, and Kanda has great damage, Black Cat can stun enemies, and all 3 work great together.
Same as stage 4, you will want to exit the dungeon after you ring each gong; enemies do tons of damage here, and it can go wrong really quickly. Just play it safe. Once you’re ready for the final boss, make sure you have all 3 mercenaries ready to go. I’ll break this fight down into 3 parts.
First Stage:
The first stage of the fight will be against one enemy. He’s not super tricky but he does hit hard, so you will want to avoid being hit in this stage. Kanda and the doctor should wipe him out pretty quickly, otherwise black cat can stun and you can use a heat action to help out. You shouldn’t have much issues during this part of the fight.
Second Stage:
The next part of the fight you’re up against all the former bosses of the previous stages. You’ll have 5 enemies to defeat here, and it’s really easy here to get stuck and overwhelmed. My suggestion is to let Kanda and Heresy do the majority of the damage. Whenever Black Cat stuns one of them, do a heat action. You’ll get some free damage and you’re invulnerable during this. Whenever you’re not performing a heat action, you need to be running circles around the arena avoiding fighting as much as possible. Since stopping can result in you being overrun, you want your mercenaries to do the bulk of the damage here. When they get knocked out, just keep running around until they’re recovered and back in the fight. Once you’re down to 2 enemies left then you can start fighting, but still be on the defensive. This stage will be the longest of the 3.
Third Stage:
The last stage you’ll be against a single enemy again, except this time his sword has a ranged attack that can hit you, that you’ll want to side step away from. This attack usually comes in 3 or 4 at once, so don’t attack until you’re sure he’s done for the moment. He takes very little damage, but between the stunning and Heresy you shouldn’t have too much of an issue here. Once he’s down, watch the next few cutscenes and this will be completed!
If this To Hell And Back trophy/achievement guide helped you, be sure to check out our other guides for Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties!
Having trouble with a particular trophy/achievement in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties? Let us know in the comments below, and join the Gamer Social Club Discord to chat with others about your favourite games, play in community game nights, take part in giveaways, and more!
