If I were a player who only spammed square + square + square + triangle in every Yakuza game, you would hear some major complaints from me, but thankfully for me I don't tend to completely ignore the other fluid combat mechanics just because I want to cheese the combat and make things easier for myself.

So, we're starting with talking about the gameplay. Severely overhated, honestly criminally and blatantly talked smack about. Whoever came up with the term "blockuza" is an absolute fucking idiot, I never ONCE had a significant problem with street thugs constantly blocking my attacks, probably because I actually utilised the combat mechanics. I will say, though, some of the bosses are a bit too comfortable with blocking, but hey, have you ever heard of the glorious thing called evading attacks? Did you know you can completely go behind a boss, lay it on him and fuck his shit up with this simple mechanic? It should come as glarying obvious how to deal with this issue but for some reason certain aspects of this fanbase are completely incapable of laying off on the criticisms a bit, but I digrees. The combat is honestly not half bad and I actually preferred it in some aspects over Kiwami 2 which I did not have the greatest time with.

The narrative, oh boy, what a fucking ride, it very almost by the skin of it's teeth topped Yakuza 0's great story telling, however falling just a little behind but earing a spot above Kiwami 2. I loved every second of the story, from chilling in Okinawa to exploring Ryukyu and returning to Kamurocho once more, there was honestly never a dull moment except for in the 9th chapter which felt a little filler at some points. A star studded cast of characters, some great introductions such as Rikiyia and Mine respectively. Absolutely gut wrencing at some points, some pretty fucking dark moments wonderfully mixed with wholestome story telling. Absolutely stellar, I can't praise it enough.

This would have very easily have been a 5 star game if the minor issues I had were non-existant, I really do want to give it 5 stars but I just don't feel like certain aspects were as well done as Yakuza 0. I had a ton of fun with that game, with 3 there wasn't as much variety in exploring as 0 which kinda holds it back a bit too. The cabaret club I stayed the absolute fuck away from, wasn't a fan of darts here but in fairness, the base game is pretty old by today's standards so some of the mechanics were literally only just introduced to the series and are a little rough around the edges.

At the end of the day, though, a great experience well worth over the 20 hours I put into it that honestly went by like nothing because of the impeccable pacing. Great Yakuza, great game in general, definitely overhated to the moon and back.

Yakuza 3 is an odd one, especially the remaster.

I suppose had I played 1 and 2 in their original state before their ‘remaster’/‘remake’s the combat and gameplay would feel way more natural to me, but, it annoyingly felt … outdated.

Now, as I’ve said in all of my Yakuza reviews - the story is absolutely 90% of what matters when you start a Yakuza game. The gameplay is almost secondary - but this one just irked me. Why do enemies just block constantly? Every single fight was a chore trying to break their blocks and get maybe one attack in before they blocked again.

I did enjoy yet another new area to explore, even if I just want to spend eternity within Kamurocho.

I don’t think this entry will be one I return to quickly, unfortunately.