Despite being known as one of the weaker games of the franchise and being actively warned by fans there’s a 50% chance I could be filtered by this I really enjoyed my time with this game. I will agree it’s probably the weakest of the yakuza games I’ve played so far but the story setting and characters really kept me coming back this time round. I particularly loved the setting of Okinawa which I feel may be influenced by growing up in seaside towns myself and while the chapters revolving around this area may feel a bit laid back compared to the other games but i really enjoyed getting to see Kiryu living a selfless quiet life outside of the Yakuza. The writers here really flex the ability to introduce new characters like the orphanages children and Rikiya immediately winning you over i don’t think I’ve seen a studio do this so effortlessly aside from games made by Hideo Kojima. Despite my praise I do agree the combat can be a little goofy and the biggest filter for fans in the early game but eventually managed to get the hang of it around chapter 5. Another issue I kinda have is how fast this story wraps up as soon as the main threat is established the game kinda ends which is a little shitty considering how good these villains are with their terrible engrish.

Ah, the infamous Yakuza 3. Considered by many to be the worst game in the series, and it's easy to see why. Modern players who probably started with 0 and then full remakes of 1 and 2 are suddenly dropped into a slapdash remaster of an early PS3 game. And while they probably expected a less refined experience, they started a boss fight and proceeded to experience more blocks then a Lego enthusiast on a coke binge.

To start off, no, the game and enemy AI is not supposed to function like that. If you don't know, the remaster changed the game from it's original 30fps to 60fps, while not changing things in the combat tied to said framerate, which leads to losing heat incredibly fast the infamous blockuza 3 gameplay the game's become known for. I will say that while the combat at first sucks balls, once you get more moves it goes from annoying to tolerable. The games setpieces where you take down dozens of goons at once still feel great, but the bosses are where the flaws in the remaster really show (seriously, what the fuck was with Lau?) and generally aren't even that hard, more just annoying endurance tests as you try (and fail) to land a single string of hits to the boss as they keep their guard up for like 70% of the fight. But most of the new things Yakuza 3 introduces gameplay wise, I didn't care for. With the exception of karaoke which originally started here, most things were just kind of annoying. Especially chase missions, they were specifically the worst.

But that's enough about the gameplay, because the real selling point of this game is the plot. And god damn, the story's great. The general small town vibe of Okinawa and the orphanage is a great place to start the game, and seeing genuine growth for Kiryu as you help the kids is just really charming, and you quickly learn the kids personalities and relationships through the little quests. It's also great seeing Haruka become the sister that ties everything together. Not to mention the new characters like Rikiya and Mikio, who are also just really solid bros. Yep I got emotional during those scenes near the end.

And the plot is probably my favorite since 0. 1 felt like a standard crime drama that was slightly goofy in places, but still showed a couple growing pains from being the first one. And 2 had a shit romance subplot that didn't lead anywhere, I LOVE FORCING TWO CHARACTERS OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER TOGETHER TRULY. But anyway, the gang warfare was great, all the new captains were great as well, with Kanda being a really enjoyable scumbag, and Mine being a great foil to Kiryu, even if I wish there were a few more scenes expanding on that aspect besides a short flashback, and would have preferred if the game didn't go the 'redemption means death' route at the end. Also thought the CIA stuff was just kind of forced in at times, like they had the plot for another Yakuza game, realized it wouldn't work, and crammed them in here because the CIA guys with guns are really cool okay?

But while the main story is great, the side stories are just kind of...lame. Besides the ones that were continuations of Y2 side stories like the two comedians and the honeymoon couple, I just found the them underwhelming. Several feel like they're about to lead somewhere after antagonizing Kiryu and then just...don't? Like one where a guy leads Kiryu into an alley and tries to mug him, Kiryu beats him up, and then the substory ends. It takes like 3 minutes to do and doesn't lead to anything else. As I'm writing this I struggle to think of any really memorable side stuff besides the murder mystery quest and the urban legends of Okinawa.

But if this review is, for some reason, the deciding factor in whether to play Y3 or skip it like some say you should, I'd say give it a try. The story is good enough to forgive weak gameplay, even if I do recommend not going above normal difficulty, Kiryu's growth here is excellent, the world is charming, and it left me satisfied at the end. If not for how much the remaster screwed the combat up, it'd probably be above Kiwami 1 for me.

(or just wait for that Yakuza 3 Kiwami that's getting announced any minute now...

any minute...

trust me guys)