70%PlayStation 4

Still the weakest game in the main series, but the PS4 remaster is excellent - smooth and restored.

70%PC

Vindo de ambos Kiwami 1 e 2 eu esperava encontrar em Yakuza 3 um jogo bem travado e datado. Me surpreendi, este não foi o caso. O combate é bem mais simples desta vez, mas continua funcional. Não senti o tal do "Blockuza 3" que tanto falam a respeito desse jogo (joguei na dificuldade normal), de longe tive mais problemas com isso no Kiwami 2, jogo em que é impossível combar seus inimigos no endgame. As heat actions são um pouco mais limitadas aqui, existe pouca variedade. Além disso, a heat gauge drenar durante as lutas é simplesmente horrível. O sistema de level up não ficou legal, ganhar XP demora, e quando vamos aumentar o nível das habilidades não ganhamos nada de significativo na maioria das vezes.

A história é decente, mas senti um pouco menos de apego aos personagens desta vez, principalmente em relação aos vilões. Toda a parte de Okinawa é muito boa, nos mostrando um lado mais compassivo do Kiryu, vivendo a vida que sempre almejou. O capítulo 4 foi o maior blue balls que eu já senti com essa franquia, Kiryu precisava ir desesperadamente para Kamurocho mas sempre aparecia uma criança com um pedido besta lol.

A trilha sonora é um ponto positivo. Yakuza 3 tem algumas das músicas de batalha mais memoráveis da franquia até então.

Um ponto negativo deste jogo é a falta de direcionamento para fazer as substories. Muitas sequer aparecem no mapa e, sinceramente, não tive paciência de sair procurando.

80%PlayStation 4

A bit slow at times, but still a great addition to the overall plot of Yakuza. It was nice getting to know the kids and hang with them.

85%PC

this game is brought down by its dated, janky combat and overall gameplay, but besides some postgame completionist grindy stuff, it's nothing egregious for a first-time playthrough, and i still think it holds up.

it has a much stronger narrative than yakuza 1 and 2, and much better characters, too. its presentation can be funny sometimes with the early ps3 graphics, but it doesn't take away from its gripping story. don't skip this one if you're playing through the yakuza games, it's worth it. 8.8/10.

60%PC

This is the entry where the games start to really pick up and the combat mechanics really started to click for me. The pacing of the story also felt better than prior entries and I enjoyed spending time with the kids in morning glory. The plot didn't feel as confusing as prior entries either.

80%PC

Nice Yakuza game overall.
Liked how you can demolish thugs in this game compare to newest games lol

80%PC

only kiryu could be part time yakuza part time father of eight

60%PC

The worst Yakuza game I’ve played so far, but still true to its core. The story’s completely over the top with some great cutscenes, but the combat feels clunky. Most of the substories are decent, though a few are just plain bad. Despite all that, I can’t bring myself to hate it, but I also don’t see myself ever replaying it. A lot of the issues come from it being a remaster when it honestly deserved a full remake.

60%PC

Story: The story is an enjoyable time. Seeing Kiryu in Okinawa taking care of orphans was a welcome change of pace from the last 3 Yakuza games. The pacing of the game however was horrendous. The Yakuza games generally aren't paced well but this one was bad. We start the game with an interesting cutscene of Daigo getting shot by "Shintaro" Kazuma and I was immediately hooked, who is this, why did they do this, etc. But then the game takes 5 chapters before Kiryu sets out to Kamurocho. I enjoyed doing the mundane things like fixing the kids problems but I don't understand why it took 5 of the 12 chapters of this game. Those chapters could've been used better to establish the Black Monday group and Mine. Also the nearly 45 minute long exposition scene in the diet building was the most painful part of this game. That was nearly 1/12th of my total playtime.

Gameplay: Gameplay was a painful downgrade from the previous games. The combat was painful to get through, its the entire reason I played on easy rather than normal/hard (what I usually do). Enemies feel so spongy and heat attacks do no damage. Whats worse is that enemies just keep blocking and when they are blocking they take no damage. There is no counters to blocking as well, only blades and guns can but those are super hard to get compared to Kiwami 2 where you could store them. Kiryu can grab enemies so my first instinct was to grab blocking enemies but they would just quickstep away every time. The camera in this game is hands down the worst camera I've ever had the displeasure of using. There is no way to change the sensitivity so every little movement on the stick just flings the camera 90 degrees.

Graphics: Obviously coming from Kiwami 2 this game was going to look terrible but its somehow looks better and worse than I thought. The environments in the game don't look terrible but all the characters look uncanny especially Haruka. The original game came out in 2009 by that point we got a crap ton of games that have aged quite well graphically like, Batman Arkham Asylum and LFD2 just to name a few. The remaster came out in 2018 and it looks like they put zero effort into porting it over, games like Hitman 2, and Monster Hunter World were released the same year and look 10x better.

Additional notes: I really liked Majima in this game. Ever since I played as him in Y0 i've started to dislike him more and more. The serious version of Majima is great and you see a return to that here.

While playing this game I just wished we got a remake of it in 2018 instead. This game desperately needs a Kiwami 3 treatment. Better gameplay and better story pacing would make this game go from a 6/10 to a 8/10 easily. The game needs to focus way more on Black Monday and fixing the horrible combat.

90%PlayStation 3

Juegarral

40%PlayStation 3

So far out of the 3 games I have played, Yakuza 3 is the weakest in the series. Which I heard is the general consensus.

I certainly hope so, because I don't want it to get worse than this. So far Yakuza's biggest problem overall is keeping a focus on a central story. The first two games had their lapses, but at least there were overarching plots that held intrigue and mystery.

Yakuza 3 on the other hand doesn't bother. On top of all the fannying about there is to be had in substories (sidequests) and minigames, even the central story is so tedious to have nothing going on until about halfway through the game. And even then, it's not really interesting. I think its biggest mistake was focusing on political drama, when Yakuza's central focus should be on crime.

Basically, Yakuza 3 is SUPER GODDAMN BORING. So boring I eventually gave up doing the subtories and just went on the critical path. And while stuff technically happens and there are some silly moments, overall it's just such a tedious story that is HORRIBLY paced. One chapter literally has you sitting in a room listening to a boring figurehead for about 30 ACTUAL MINUTES.

I sincerely hope things improve from here on. Oh... and I'm also so fucking done with hostesses. In any capacity. It is a MIND-NUMBINGLY BORING "minigame", and EXTREMELY padded-out.

85%PC

Totalmente injustiçado. Achei que seria uma bosta já que todo mundo fala mal, mas na realidade é um jogo bom. O único problema acredito que seja a gameplay que é inferior aos jogos anteriores porém longe de ser horrível, o real problema dela é só o bloqueio do inimigo que não quebra nunca.

80%PC

Хорошая часть серии.
Из плохого — игра немного устарела, и её боевка не самая лучшая (деревянная какашка), а также некоторые механики в мини-играх плохи.
В остальном игра хороша: отличный саундтрек, персонажи, приколы, хостес (Нанкурунайса). Сайд-квесты есть крутые, есть не очень. Сюжет в принципе хороший. За рыбалку — минус.
А в целом я бы поставил лайк — ведь именно с неё «Якудза» стала такой, какая она есть: с этими караоке и прочим.

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Итоговая оценка: 81/100

70%Xbox One

Yakuza 3 accuse sévèrement le poids des années, avec des visuels datés, des environnements vides et une animation rigide qui nuisent à l’immersion. La musique conserve une belle énergie pendant les combats, mais les thèmes d’exploration sont oubliables. Le gameplay reste fidèle à la formule Yakuza, avec ses combats beat'em up dynamiques, mais le rythme est cassé par des mécaniques dépassées et un contenu secondaire trop envahissant. Le scénario, centré sur un Kiryu plus calme gérant un orphelinat à Okinawa, apporte une touche d’humanité bienvenue, mais le rythme général est inégal, avec une montée en puissance trop lente. Le contraste entre la vie paisible et les affaires mafieuses reste intéressant, même si le découpage narratif est parfois maladroit. Graphiquement, on est clairement face à un remaster minimal, avec peu d’améliorations notables à part la résolution. C’est un épisode important pour l’histoire, mais un des moins accessibles aujourd’hui sans la nostalgie en

70%PC

Yakuza 3, apesar de não ser um jogo necessariamente ruim, é de longe o pior yakuza, os gráficos são feios, o mapa de okinawa não é interessante, o jogo é muito lento, até pros padrões yakuza, o combate é ok e a história também não é lá grandes coisas. Apesar de serem personagens bons, que você se importa, as crianças do orfanato quebram muitas vezes o ritmo do jogo, você ta la empolgadão pra ver a história, mas precisa ficar cuidando do nego ney sofrendo bullying. O combate é melhor que o Kiwami 2 na minha opinião, mas não se compara com o 0 por exemplo. Se você gosta muito da franquia Yakuza, vale a pena, se não, é um jogo ruim.

75%PlayStation 4

Yakuza 3 is a very slow game in terms of its combat and story. But we do get to see a side of Kiryu we don't really see due to the orphanage and that's what makes the game great. bb-Blockuza 3

80%PC

The combat is kind lame.
The story has some narrative tropes, as expect
But thats the game with various cities, and the Okinawa family is kinda awesome.
Worth it

85%PC

Mieux que Yakuza Kiwami 2 ! Je sais que ce Yakuza 3 est très, très détesté par la communauté mais je l'ai trouvé très bien écrit et assez touchant, et sa fin (+ son antagoniste) sont vraiment vraiment oufs.

Bref aucun regret de l'avoir fait, juste pas touché aux quêtes secondaires plus que ça car j'avais pas la motiv, peut-être un jour :)

70%PC

Pros:
- Good moments in the story, especially those set in the orphanage, which reveal a new side of Kiryu.
- Cool new city to discover.
-Solid combat that, despite its age, remains satisfying.

Cons:
- The weakest entry in the mainline series (excluding the original PS2 titles), due to dated design choices and technical limitations.
- Outdated mechanics.
- Some side content feels weak and boring.

My score scale:
10 - Masterpiece
9 - Amazing
8 - Great
7 - Good
6 - Okay
5 - Mediocre
4 - Forgetful
3 - Bad
2 - Awful
1 - Repulsive

60%PC

Played on easy almost no side content, still the first half was a chore to play through. Mine was a fine character, the main antagonist dying at the end of every game is getting really tiring and overplayed, it felt really forced at the of 3 and was already weird at the end of 2nd game.

70%PC

It's hard to go into this one after coming off of Kiwami 2, which was excellent. The stuff on Okinawa was the best part of the game, by far – it was great to see Kiryu develop some meaningful relationships. Rikiya's death was foreshadowed a mile away, but seeing it happen still sucked.

30%PC

One of the worst games I’ve ever played. It has a good story, but the combat is awful and feels extremely repetitive and boring. The upgrades do little to improve the combat, making progression tedious. I only stuck with it because I loved Y0, K1, and K2 and wanted to play the following games.

70%PC

Not the best Yakuza game. Story was ok but nothing compared to 0, 1 and 2

85%Linux

It's Yakuza. I love this series. The cutscenes, Kiryu, his orphanage and interactions with the kids, it's all sublime. Not to mention the world feels so alive as well, with tons of activities to take part in and meticulously detailed shops and restaurants. That's not to say everything is fun to do; but even being given the option is super rad. I always fall into a pattern of doing too many substories and getting bored before getting into the next main story beat. Gotta remember to pace myself better. The substories are goofy fun as usual, but there's not a whole lot of substance typically, and they're all mostly forgettable. Fodder to gain XP. The story is also pretty shit in this one: why does Kazama have a younger brother who is a copy of him appearance wise? That doesn't detract from the interactions that Kiryu has with his kids however, which is legitimately top notch. Overall, I had fun, and the Okinawan setting and returning to Kamurocho for the first time in awhile was really well done. It's a great game, in spite of its usual Yakuza shortcomings (frequently fighting thugs, walking everywhere gets tedious, limited inventory was VERY annoying, blocking was also super annoying lmao). Kiryu is one of the GOAT gaming protagonists and I can't wait to play 4.

55%PC

The weakest Yakuza entry I've played so far. Story was meh, combat was weak (and yeah, I know it's the oldest one available on Steam, but let's call a cat a cat, I played on easy and enemies were such health bags), some chapters were a bore to play (I understand the point of the missions for the orphans (making you closer to them), but it's executed too poorly and is a time waster), and the ending made no fucking sens: bulls, "redemption of the poor villain" and the instantly cancelled stab at the end, seriously WTF (all when the yakuza serie up until now had good writing)?. That's a shame as I liked the setting (okinama is rather colorful and refreshing) but it just falls flat.

60%PC

At this point, I don’t feel like I’m buying a game... it feels like I’m just buying the third season of an anime!

　Yea, now I get it, why they call this the beach episode, even though there aren’t any waifus in swimsuits here. Well, technically there is one, but it’s just part of a silly substory, like usual in Yakuza games—but okay then.

　Anyway, before you dive into this game, be aware that all Yakuza remasters have some optimization issues. If you want more details, check out my full review guide below.
_
Steam Review　:　https://steamcommunity.com/id/RensAgatha/recommended/1088710
Follow My Steam Curator　:　https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35820949-My-Stupid-Review

Read In-depth review!

　This is an extended version of my Steam review. Since Steam and HLTB have limitations, I've created an Guide on steam for the review. It also available on my Patreon. Take some time to pay a visit.
_
Extended Review on Guide　:　https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3392082264
Extended Review on Patreon　:　https://www.patreon.com/posts/118698285

95%PC

Game rocks. That's it. That's the post.

Kidding, anyway: 4 games into the series, it's getting hard to actually write about Yakuza a bit without going full-send into story territory, being limited to features and whatnot. The games are massively similar as far as mechanics go; so yes, to keep it simple: Kiryu does punch good. Story is awesome. Substories are cool, and Kamurocho is pretty. Game good.

Yakuza 3 had me feeling super anxious & excited to play it, the game is notoriously divisive for newcomers coming off of Kiwami 2, and is generally disliked from what I've observed, lots of accusations of "clunk" and being dated, but in my experience? Couldn't really be further from the truth, to be honest.

The major points of contention are around difficulty, particularly the rate at which enemies block attacks, and the pacing in the early game. I don't really know what to say about the blocking thing. I played on normal, enemies blocked maybe a bit more than I remember? But nothing insane to deal with, and blocking enemies have a bunch of counterplay to them. Weapons, throws, guard breaks, etc etc. In 25 hours I died once, I really don't think the game is that difficult, blocking enemies or not.

The pacing in the early game? I would honestly defend with my life. I love my 3 hour long slice-of-life beach dad simulator, seriously, I think it's genius. Yakuza 3 is genuinely at it's peak when the game is building the world through small interactions in Kiryu's new life, you learn about all of his kids, help them with the stuff in their lives. Helping with homework, bullies, finding a lost dog; it's cute. And it's a huge juxtaposition to the foot-on-the-gas pace of prior games, but I think it was a welcome and necessary change of pace to flesh out Kiryu and his ideals. The orphanage portions of the game are the most potent theming the game has to offer.

Luckily with the introduction of Okinawa as smaller region to explore, things are pretty fresh. The rendering of the scenic beaches, and portrayal of the comparatively smaller-town suburbs of Okinawa is really nice, the vibes are immaculate, and it's one of my favorite additions to the game.

I think this game probably has my favorite ensemble so far, both supporting/antagonist sides have new and recurring characters, new faces to keep it interesting, and old faces to add more texture to the story, it's a really nice way to keep the story engaging that's both new and familiar. Rikiya is my fucking GOAT. I love that guy.

Yakuza 3 is a gem, a really damn good one. It's pretty sad to see that this game is so divisive to the point that people will straight up skip it. If anything, it's a reminder to try things out for yourself, rather than let forumtrash make up your mind for you. If this is the "worst" the series has to offer, I feel like I'm in pretty safe hands.

60%PC

This is a game I'm very conflicted on, but there's a lot of problems that tanked the score. I understand why a lot of players skip this particular game in the series. I understand why players may even resort to the usage of modifications to "fix" the problems that developers have refused to address. Hell, I even understand why people want a Kiwami 3 after playing this game.

Positives. The story, some new mini-games, and some side content trying to make the content engaging. If it wasn't for the warm-hearten story of Kiryu taking care of orphan children (with Haruka) and bonding with new members, then I would've considered skipping this game myself. The story is actually worth it. The new mini-games introduced into Yakuza 3 and side content made the game enjoyable, despite some glaring flaws with jank mechanisms.

Negatives. The combat and jank mechanisms. I've seen people try to justify this game's obnoxious combat with "get good" and "stop spamming the same combos." Fights that might've taken 2 or 3 minutes in the previous games almost takes 20 minutes on the harder difficulties, because you're trying to either roll around or break through their constant blocks. I had the Amon fight crash my game twice (after spending 10+ mins on getting to his last health bar) because he landed a specific sequence of mechanics on me. Let alone, some mini-games are jank and requires you to disable the right joystick's horizontal axis. This wasn't a problem in Yakuza 0 or Kiwami 1, so why wasn't this issue addressed by the developers?

50%PC

Disappointing. Soulless. Rushed to finish. What a drop of quality this game is coming from Kiwami 2. They should’ve remade this in the newer engine; you can definitely tell it’s from a ps3 era. A story you can see coming a mile away. Everything about this game felt barebones. Combat feels so archaic and it’s literally button mashing X even with a lot of tech and heat abilities unlocked. I rushed to finish the game without exploring any subsidies or minigames, that’s how dull it was.

Only saving grace is the Orphanage related things, it was nice to see Kiryu acting like a dad to these little ones. If the next game is like this in terms of gameplay, I might have to just watch the plot on YouTube. 5/10.

80%Xbox Series X/S

Yakuza 3 is a weird game. I loved a lot about it, yet I also hated a lot about it.

The story, in large part, was excellent. Some of my favorite moments in the series came from this game. I thought everything with Joji Kazama was great. Mine was fantastic in his scenes, as was Rikiya. Those two, Joji especially, were a couple of my favorite boss fights of the series so far.

However, there was a lot of bad. The substories, aside from a select few, were boring and I could not even complete all of them. The bowling minigame is broken and bowling a 200 game (a requirement to unlock one substory) is damn near impossible, I ended up just giving up.

The combat is largely terrible. The excessive blocking sucks, the stun-locks are ridiculous, the amount of thug encounters is annoying. The Tamashiro fight at the beginning of the game was one of the worst experiences in a game ever. There were several other bosses who sucked too.

There were also some things that I didn't like in the story. Mine's death is at the top of the list, it just seemed completely unnecessary. Mine could have been a mainstay of the Tojo Clan for years to come. Kaoru's disappearance to America at the beginning of the game was also super disappointing. She was built up for all of Yakuza 2 and seemed like she was gonna be with Kiryu going forward, then she just up and leaves with a super half-assed explanation.

I did enjoy the setting. Aside from the annoying fights in the streets all the time, Okinawa was a cool setting. It was a much more relaxed city than Tokyo and Osaka in other games, and had much more of a small-town feel despite still being a city.

Overall, I did enjoy Yakuza 3. I definitely hated some parts, but there was a lot to like too. It's a complicated game to score because of just how different the experiences are in different parts of the game. 8.0/10

85%PlayStation 4

While playing Yakuza 3 after Kiwami 2 is a tough step at first, holding onto the passion for the saga made me eventually enjoy it. However, a 'Kiwami 3' is necessary. Mechanically, it’s outdated, and technically, there are many aspects that could be improved—not so much the graphics, which also need work, but rather things like the animations.

That being said, the game offers a very important story for the saga, placing more emphasis than any other on Kiryu’s humanity, as he runs nothing less than an orphanage and has several children to take care of. The story is fantastic, with good twists and a great ending. However, due to the negative points mentioned earlier, there are moments that slow down the pace significantly, making it feel tedious at times. I have no doubt that with some tweaks in a remake, it could possibly become one of the best games in the saga.

70%PlayStation 4

Decent

80%PC

Really enjoyed the story and the characters. Can't wait to play the other episodes of the franchise.

70%PC

Yakuza 3 is the definition of an HD PS2 game with a remaster that doesn't really do anything to improve the experience. The only way that this can be considered a good remaster is if it put up against the original English release which had a worse script and several missing features, although the boost to 60 fps is nice it seems to have broken some QTEs. Those missing features being all of the extremely Japanese minigames which aren't even that good but it is good that they're here regardless, most of the minigames this time around are actually kind of mediocre. The best example of this is the cabaret minigame which was the first in the series and you can tell as it doesn't resemble it's 0/Kiwami 2 counterpart but you can clearly see the foundation that those game use in this one. It's like that for the combat, quest, and design of Kamurocho as well, they are all the most basic forms of what can be seen in the later game and the game kind of suffers for it through no fault of it's own (except only having 3 taxi's that is entirely this games fault). The combat doesn't have styles yet and isn't that fun until you do Mack and Komaki's training, following these tutors are so important to the games combat that it makes no sense that they are optional. Although it is still fun once you get trained up and the boss fights here are great except the boss of chapter of 8 who is easily the worst boss in the series so far and really exempliefies this games issue of having enemies block all of your attacks. Substories are beginning to tell there own stories but not many manage to leave an impression and this isn't helped by the game's main story. Lastly, Kamurocho feels barren as the map isn't that populated with the stores yet, which kind of makes the city seems like a bunch of connected hall ways and weirdly some regions of the map just simply don't have enough in them. The story of the game is good but not great, it's nice to see Kiryu being a father but when the game pauses the story so you can help there problems so late in the game, it just feels like filler instead of how it felt at the start of the game, making you wonder why these weren't just substories. The new characters are cool but they're all wasted on weak writing that doesn't spend enough time with them to leave a lasting impression, except Mikiya but most of his stuff is confusingly optional, but it is weird that important characters like Kashiwagi and the Kazama look-a-like are moved on from so quickly. The game is still good but it could be so much better, it leaves you weirdly wanting more even though the game has some sections that feel like filler, although the fact that this seems to be the series low point should be a testament to Yakuza's quality as a franchise.

100%PC

Underrated Yakuza game, combat system is the only meh part of it. Can't wait for a Yakuza Kiwami 3!

60%PlayStation 4

this was a pain to get through. i've found that i don't really enjoy the ps3 era yakuza games gameplay wise. the story, however, was incredible. i cried with kiryu when you know who died. :(

70%PlayStation 4

Welp, I guess not every game in the yakuza series can be bangers. Yakuza 3 man, it really needs a remake, the combat is really clunky and would like it a lot more with quality of life changes cuz of those UNPAUSABLE CUTSCENES HELLO??? Half the game forgets this is a yakuza game and its just a dad simulator lol and the combat is just so much worse than 0, kiwami, and kiwami 2 that i had no motivation to do basically any side content, for the most part blasted through the main story which is really good when its the actual serious yakuza stuff and not the orphanage dad sim. Decent game but I wouldnt revisit until kiwami 3 happens. As always some great plot twists and turns and lovable returning and new characters. Can be a slog at times but its a yakuza game still and the story still hooks me every time so cant rate it too low all things considered.

90%PC

Дуже недооцінена гра серії.

75%PC

오키나와....스토리는 참을만했는데 전투는 진짜...ㅅㅂ

75%PlayStation 4

An entry in a remarkable series with a couple things working against it. Frustrating combat, and mid sub-stories aside the main plot of this game is still incredible. The dynamic of Kiryu at the orphanage and parenting the kids around is a breath of fresh air in the gritty dark world of the Yakuza franchise. This title also has one of the most underrated antagonists in the series. Graphics are definitely rough at times though.

75%PlayStation 4

Audio-visual: 8 Gameplay: 7 Story: 8 Enjoyment: 8

70%Xbox Series X/S

It was pretty good. My least favorite so far in the series. I’m playing through chronologically. The story had some good moments and I liked the characters well enough. The story, overall, though was a little weak in comparison to the others. Still enjoyed it though because a weak Yakuza story is still a good one.

The substories were a lot better than I thought. Some made me laugh, and some amazed me with a pretty decently told story like Murder at Cafe Alps and Date’s Pride. They were pretty well done at times. A fair amount of them were dumb but it was worth doing most of them to find the good ones. I also loved the revelations. They were so comical

60%PlayStation 3

Goofy ass game
Good story that falls of a cliff
Actually worse gameplay than PS2
So much lollygagging

70%PC

Technically this would be the fourth game if you were to play them in (the recommended) chronological order. It's a PC port of a PS3 game and in an ideal world this would have been remade in the new game engines as RGG did with Kiwami and Kiwami 2. Going from the remakes to Y3 is honestly a little rough. A lot of the newer QoL changes, balances and combat options are missing here and at times it feels clunky and can be generally a bit of a slog to get through.

Gameplay aside, this is a great game that continues the Kiryu story and I'd recommend it to fans of the series. There's a wide range of missions from the yakuza and tojo clan life, the almost seemingly endless mini games and the latest addition being Okinawa where we learn about what Kiryu has been doing in his retirement from yakuza life. The new city is a great addition and, while its not everyones cup of tea, I really enjoyed the "slice of life" sections that were dotted throughout the story. We're introduced to lots of new characters and these missions where we learn more about them were some of the highlights for me.

For completionists: HLTB has this the main story taking on average 16.5 hours to complete, whilst going for 100% would take well over 100 hours. In the previous games I have tried to get to as close as to 100% achievements as I possibly can, but I didn't even bother with it in Yakuza 3 as some of the mini games are missing the QoL changes to make them as painless as possible. The hostess mini game for example is designed very poorly and is such a drag. There's many other nitpicks but as completion is more of an optional part of the game anyway, these can be ignored mostly and do not impact the main story. As always, unlock the komaki moves and get tiger drop/parry ASAP, once I had those the combat became significantly more enjoyable and attempting things like the coliseum actually become possible.

For fans of the series I'd recommend just going through the main story and as many substories as you can handle. Going for 100% or all achievements in my opinion is not worth the frustration.

70%PC

Very interesting game, but you can definitely see that this is a remaster, not a new game like Kiwami games. Non the less game is very enjoyable, in may opinion little bit easier then 0 or Kiwami games.

80%PC

stop hating on this smh

90%PlayStation 4

Story is ridiculous but has great heart to heart moments, combat can be frustrating at times, but Not gonna sugar coat it R1 + Triangle

80%PC

game's story is really enjoyable while having slow burn beginning. Took a while to get into it but when it starts it gets better.

70%PC

Story wise, this is a solid addition to the Yakuza series and keeps drama and the way the story unfolds consistent from previous entries. There are also some really good characters that are added to the series. I personally really liked one of the main villains of the game and thought they were perhaps the best villain added so far.

They do a good job as always of creating shock moments and pulling emotion out of the player.

Unfortunately, the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired, and there are some choices made in this game that really hinder it.

First off, the first 4 chapters and most of chapter 10 mostly involve Kiryu running pointless errands for his orphans. I understand the need to build into the story the relationship Kiryu has with them and to make you care about them, but the consistent chores that could have easily been made substories had the opposite effect and I found myself button mashing to get through the annoying dialogue.
Chapter 10 especially was a slog. I am trying to solve a mystery here why do I care if Haruka may be going on a date. Why did they randomly make a kid have an asthma attack. It was very annoying.

The substories that I did felt extremely pointless and as usual, I did not find the need to do them. They are also littered everywhere throughout the game. Over 100. Way too much.
There were no major mini games that I felt the need to play. The hostess clubs were just a waste of money and most other mini games are carried over from previous additions, so you know what you are getting into.

Open world random encounters in this series have ALWAYS annoyed me. You can't walk from A to B without having to be chased by 7 different guys. In this game, they made it excruciatingly worse. Not only do you get random encounters when you're going around the overworld, but now they are almost completely unavoidable. You never know when one will jump out at you and they are way faster than you so you basically are being forced into these fights. And they are constant. Sometimes 3 times just going down 1 street. Beyond infuriating and annoying.

The combat in this game, I felt, was not very good. The combat wasn't varied much at all and every. single. major. enemy. blocks every single thing you do, so you either have to cheese it with heat items and weapons or you have to sit there mashing B B Y; YYB, BBYB, over and over and over chunking 2% health for what feels like an hour. It was very boring and frustrating.

I realize this is a dated game and hasn't really been updated, but coming into it after playing 0 and the two Kiwamis really enhances the issues. I look forward to more up to date games.

I enjoyed the story for the most part, and that's mainly why I play the game, so I'm still giving it a solid score. If you are playing the series for the first time and get to this one, I recommend just blowing through the story.

For me, on to the next one.