I enjoyed this one, but... I didn't really feel it all too much. I think the game is too overwhelmingly big for my tastes. Too much to do and way too much game even for Yakuza standards.
If you play this game, play it for Shinada. He has the best story in the game and he's the only playable character originating from this game, meaning you don't really need to know much from the other games to enjoy it. This game's story isn't as bullshit as Yakuza 4, but is still more bullshit than Yakuza 2s.