Yakuza 3 was released 5 years ago

I'm currently playing Y3 and I kinda like it (first one for me btw.)

The story recaps were quite confusing in the sense that they feature lots of characters, organizations and twists. However I feel that the stuff is not _that_ impotant for the story of Y3 and the game itself provides a diagram with the most important people, what organization they belong to abd how they are related to each other. It really helps quite a bit.

I liked the orphanage part since it really felt like a slice of life tv show. There were also some touching scenes tbh. But so far, the game didn't really grab me and I dunno why. Cutscene direction is a strong point of this game, though.

The gameplay is perhaps the most disappointing aspect. While kinda fun and diverse, it quite often feels like a jack of all trades, master of none. The gameplay aspects all feel a bit clunky and don't offer much in terms of depth, especially the combat.

I have Y4 sitting here and am interested in seeing whether it lives up to all that praise it gets. Part 3 so far is okay but not amazing imo.

Stealth edit: I'm getting a lot of Shenmue vibes from this game. It's really close to being a spiritual successor, apart from the Yakuza stuff.
 
It's probably not the best Yakuza game, but I have such fond memories of the long beginning phase that takes place in Okinawa.

The setting was a huge change compared to the neon-lit streets of Kamurocho. For me, the first 5 hours of Yakuza3 were the most "Shenmue-ish" thing I've played since 2001. Running an orphanage, going into town to run errands, taking care of the kids and doing fun side activities like fishing or billiards.

Yakuza3 made me realize that what I liked the most about Shenmue (and the Yakuza series) was the life-like setting and taking in another culture as a videogame-tourist, not necessarily the game-play itself.

A lot of people think the first few hours of the game are a chore and I can totally see why. If you don't like it OP, be assured that the game changes a lot in pace and intensity after you've completed that part.
 
I was expecting hilarity to ensue when I came into this thread but then realised it was about Yakuza 3 :P
 
Amazing game even with all the content that was cut. After Y2 it was a nice change to come to Okinawa and i loved exploring the town.Kamurocho also felt more alive than the PS2 version and this time i was even more immersed in the town's vibe.

Normally i'm not really into games with lots of cutscenes and QTEs but the Yakuza series is the only exception i can think of since they make me feel like i'm in Japan (a country which i love) and the stories are really well done.Also Kiryu has to be one of the most developed character in video games ever.
 
Poor ducky. He couldn't play the most heartwarming and Shenmue like of all the yakuzas. :)

I thought the game was fugly and super subhd but I absolutely loved the plot. It definitely doesn't look like a last gen game though. It's far more detailed.
 
The slow buildup of this game with the orphanage in Okinawa is probably among one of my favorite slow buildups in any game ever. Love it.
 
Y2Kev said:
Poor ducky. He couldn't play the most heartwarming and Shenmue like of all the yakuzas. :)

I thought the game was fugly and super subhd but I absolutely loved the plot. It definitely doesn't look like a last gen game though. It's far more detailed.
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duckroll is dead to me :(

BONES demise and Level 5's resurgence twisted his soul :(

I want my old duck back.
 
Y2Kev said:
I thought the game was fugly and super subhd
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Really?Coming to the game almost right after i finished Y2 on PS2 i thought it looked phenomenal.The jump actually made me wonder what they could do on next gen hardware (but now Ishin doesn't look as that big of a jump).

Then again before i played Y3 i hadn't played many other PS3 games.:p
 
sublimit said:
Really?Coming to the game almost right after i finished Y2 on PS2 i thought it looked phenomenal.The jump actually made me wonder what they could do on next gen hardware (but now Ishin doesn't look as that big of a jump).

Then again before i played Y3 i hadn't played many other PS3 games.:p
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Well, it didn't help that it came out 2 weeks after Heavy Rain in the West.
 
Tizoc said:
Yakuza3boxart.jpg
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I'm pretty sure the game would have sold more if this was the cover.

Good job, Sega. You can't even make your products look interesting.
 
And even after owning this for 4 years still not beaten Tetsuo. Then again I'm pretty awful at Virtua Fighter so trying this on hard was probably asking for trouble.
 
Xux said:
The Two Best Friends Play Yakuza 4 thing made me super interested in this series. I initially dismissed it as a Japanese themed GTA but, now that I've actually seen some of the games, I might track some down soon.
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Yeah I'm glad people are coming to like the series now, its an acquired taste but once you get into it, its great. Although Pat is.....hmmm Pat is just weird, a fan of the series but didn't know until episode 21 that Saejima's first name is Taiga and when the announcer in the underground coliseum said it when its been said since we first get introduced to him.

What a stupid asshole lol.

Anyways on topic, while not my first Yakuza game or PS3 game, this game did make me create a JP psn account to play the demo and when I heard the game was coming to the west but had content cut, I hated that fact because it did ruin a lot of the aspects that makes the series in general great, plus it made areas useless like Le Marche, hostess clubs and mahjong and shogi clubs. I'm glad Sega chose not to cut content like that for the future releases(though they did cut the question x question game but I suppose if something had to be left out, its that). There was some doubts whether or not this would have been localized when the previous and first PS3 title Kenzan didn't and wouldn't(yeah I know the reason why) but I'm glad it did and gave people their first foray into the world of Ryu Ga Gotoku.
 
I've just completed my playthrough of my Japanese copy a couple of days back. I got it just before the English version was announced but held off on playing it because the English version was coming.

I wasn't too bothered with the cuts until I actually played my Japanese copy. It felt like quite a bit was cut, some really nice side missions (two with Akimoto), a number 1 hostess mission (which was bizarrely addictive) and of course the proper hostess stuff (which is good, but 10 hostesses was about 5 too many for me - it got a tad repetitive after a while). I never cared for Shogi and still don't now but I'm liking Mah Jong more and more.

Graphically its aged. Bits still look great - especially the main character faces/models but other bits don't look all that nice (some textures, lack of anti aliasing etc.)

I really liked the story though, especially the boss battles like
Lau, Mine, Kazuma, Majima
etc. Playing on Hard mode was also much better than Normal difficulty, enemies actually began to feel threatening and I got to use more of Kiryu's moves (I was countering pretty much everything after 60 hours of gameplay!). The soundtrack is fantastic as well, again especially for the boss battles.

Its a great game in the series, I didn't enjoy it as much as Kenzan! or RGG5 but if anything I enjoyed my replay of the game more than when I originally played it through on release. I can't wait to play my copy of Ishin that's just arrived and I really want to see what they do for the next mainline game in the series.
 
The weakest entry in the franchise for me and I didn't appreciate the cuts that Sega made to the game - missing staple elements of past entries really hurt the overall experience for me.
 
My second favourite Yakuza, after 2. I love the way it starts, with about 3 hours devoted to Kazuma running the orphanage and helping the kids out with their individual problems. I suppose if you're new to the series, then trudging through all of that stuff is akin to watching paint dry, but for Yakuza veterans, it was heartwarming stuff to see that side of Kaz. This scene in particular...

q-noscale.jpg


... was all kinds of feels.
 
sublimit said:
Man i also loved the soundtrack.I actually bought the actual cd before i bought the game (i didn't knew it would include the ost).:p
Fly is such an incredible theme.
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Agreed. I was actually really surprised the Euro version came with a decent OST for free (that game actually had some decent extras). I forgot to mention Amon's theme, probably my favourite theme of the game (I loved that it was reused for Yakuza 4 as well).

I really liked the introduction of Karaoke as well, its now one of my favourite mini games in the series especially in Dead Souls with Majima and Goda's songs. Ishin's drunken singing looks to be another awesome inclusion as well...
 
Shadowman16 said:
Agreed. I was actually really surprised the Euro version came with a decent OST for free (that game actually had some decent extras). I forgot to mention Amon's theme, probably my favourite theme of the game (I loved that it was reused for Yakuza 4 as well).

I really liked the introduction of Karaoke as well, its now one of my favourite mini games in the series especially in Dead Souls with Majima and Goda's songs. Ishin's drunken singing looks to be another awesome inclusion as well...
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Me too!Kamurocho lullaby was fantastic.Such a manly song lol. :p
 
Machine Gun Kiss>>>Kamurocho lullaby

Man the start of Y3 is so different from any other game love it then way it escalated such a blast
 
Yawnier said:
The slow buildup of this game with the orphanage in Okinawa is probably among one of my favorite slow buildups in any game ever. Love it.
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Absolutely, I absolutely loved seeing that side of Kaz and it shows through wonderfully. One of my favourite starts to a game.

The one thing that I love about the series is that they don't even try to be realistic about the fights/battles. You shoot people, stab people, stamp on their faces and then afterwards they just stand up and bow for forgiveness lol.
 
Big_Al said:
Absolutely, I absolutely loved seeing that side of Kaz and it shows through wonderfully. One of my favourite starts to a game.

The one thing that I love about the series is that they don't even try to be realistic about the fights/battles. You shoot people, stab people, stamp on their faces and then afterwards they just stand up and bow for forgiveness lol.
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The best part about the battles is when in Okinawa, you can toss them off the bridges and into the water OR FROM THE 2ND FLOOR OF THE SHOPPING CENTER.
That was one of my fav. parts of the game when in Okinawa XP.
 
This is probably my favorite one, though 4's mixing things up was highly necessary. I think this has the best soundtrack in the series, though I haven't played the latest two.
 
That box art in the States was pretty horrendous!

I spent 80ish hours with the game, and got midway through it. And then my PS3 at the time yellowed, and I lost everything. It was pretty disheartening, and I hope I'll revisit it soon. I bought Yakuza 4 the day it came out, and I transitioned to playing that while always wondering if I'd get back to it.

With the lack of 5 and Ishin, I'd say I'll get there. I loved the Orphanage bits. Feels, and serenity.
 
Yakuza 3 is my personal favorite Yakuza game. Loved everything about it. Can't wait until I'm done DKC and Bravely Default so I can start my copy of Ishin. =)
 
dreamfall said:
I spent 80ish hours with the game, and got midway through it. And then my PS3 at the time yellowed, and I lost everything. It was pretty disheartening, and I hope I'll revisit it soon.
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I feel you.I have also lost my 100+ hours save file since my phat PS3 YLOD'd and i didn't have a back up save but at least i had finished the game.:p Maybe i'll replay it one day since i don't think we'll get any more Yakuza games anyway.
 
I think I like Yakuza 3 more for the improvements it brought to the series over 1 & 2, but story-wise I have to tip my hat to Yakuza 4 for a pretty interesting, twist-filled story (Yakuza 2 is a close second).

And as much as I like Fly from the Yakuza 3 OST, I find For Faith from Yakuza 4 to be just as good. I'm really hoping that Sony, Atlus, or Sega come through with another game (Ishin, Yakuza 5, or both) though. I'm giving them until E3 before I import them. Love this series!
 
Catching that Tuna is still my greatest accomplishment in that game.


I actually finished Y4 3-4 days ago, and man, I really enjoyed that epilogue.


Well Sega, I officially allow you to announce Yakuza 5 coming to the west now. It's cool, and thanks for waiting for me to catch up!




Oh wait, I don't have Dead Souls. Damn, I better go find a copy
 
I wish I could find the song when
Rikiya dies in Yakuza 3
. Absolutely love that song... I'm both surprised and sad that it wasn't included in the OST as well. =(
 
DJIzana said:
I wish I could find the song when
Rikiya dies in Yakuza 3
. Absolutely love that song... I'm both surprised and sad that it wasn't included in the OST as well. =(
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Well it was mainly a piano version of Fly although yeah it was fantastic and it was a shame it wasn't included in the ost.
 
sublimit said:
Well it was mainly a piano version of Fly although yeah it was fantastic and it was a shame it wasn't included in the ost.
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Yep. Even still... I find myself watching the end of a certain playthrough just to hear that version of the song. It's too good! xD
 
I have question about this game's DLC. In North America there is only one DLC pack on the PSN Store that lists the 2-player games and extra costumes. But there seems like there are additional DLC packs like Battle for Survival, All-star Tournament and Haruka's request was this DLC never released in North America?
 
SatoAilDarko said:
I have question about this game's DLC. In North America there is only one DLC pack on the PSN Store that lists the 2-player games and extra costumes. But there seems like there are additional DLC packs like Battle for Survival, All-star Tournament and Haruka's request was this DLC never released in North America?
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DLC packs for Yakuza 3? I don't believe so, but it's been a long time since I played 3 so I might be correct.


since there are people with the music posting in here, what are the songs that they use in the epilogue fights? Are they on the OST?
 
Oh ya the game Segac super cheaped out on an butchered. Bravely Default well before BD was a thing! I'd have never played Y3 had it not been gifted to me. The cut missions made it feel more grindy cause missions have always given more exp & moneys then random battles. Plus they ya know include funny bits or updates on old characters an so on. Shutting down like half the businesses in Okinawa/Kamurocho also really made each place feel that much emptier. But thats enough about the bad.

I wish Okinawa had been bigger an the whole game taken place there cause it was a totally loveable location! The scenery was different, the people were different an it all felt so fresh! Plus Kazuma finally got some fashion sense an dropped his usual blechy suit, at least for awhile. The new characters, orphanage stuff, an story overall were great. Plus this game introduced the iconic new way of learning moves via cellphone sillyness!


edit: here on gaf it also had the best OT title changes with how more and more of it'd disappear as we further learned how much Segac had axed from the game.

"Yakuza 3 | Official Thre"
Never forget!
 
Yakuza 3 is possibly the game I enjoyed more in this gen. I spent like 3 months playing only this game, and I did all the missions, secrets, ...

I enjoyed Yakuza 1 and 2 too. But with 4, I played it in a wrong way. I thought each character has its own tutorial, and then you get them reunite, and then the game ends :(. So, the tutorial is really the real game.
 
I bought Yakuza 4 around its release, not having played any of the others, and the shop added Yakuza 3 for no additional money.

It's hard for me to remember where things are in open world games, so I liked Okinawa, except for the market area.
 
I truly love this game.

Maybe it isn't the best of the series or a perfect game in gameplay or graphics, but it's so damn immersive and interesting. I love the setting on this one two, and it is the yakuza that gave me more feels :p

I played 1 and 2 in a row, a few months later 3 an 4 too and never got bored of it. Still want that 5 and possibly Ishin.
 
I only played the first game on ps2 about 4 years ago and then stopped, but I decided to come back to the series when the english version of Y5 was finally announced! So I did Y2&3 back to back, and like many people here on GAF I like Yakuza 2 better.

3 isn't bad at all, but has some really really bad design choice that make some parts of the game feel like a chore to play through. I'm thinking mostly of the awful chase battles. They're not funny, they're not challenging in a good way, they're just frustrating. And, to add insult to injury, they're often placed after a big fight sequence, without giving you any chance to save in between. I also wonder why the game gives you the chance to improve your running stats (making the aforementioned sequences a lot easier) AFTER having suffered through them.

The combat is lots of fun and, picking the hard difficulty level from the start, challenging... but some of the boss is really boring, like
kazama shintaro's brother
. Even with the cut content there's plenty of sidemissions, activities and minigames to deal with, some is fun, some is atrocious (ufo catcher, anyone?). I really like NOT completing all of them but just the ones I felt like to: in open world games I like the feeling of being part of a fictional world that has more to offer than what I've seen in my playthrough... and this game has lots of this stuff.

Storywise there's some overused tropes that is really starting to be annoying at this point: as more than one people already pointed out before me,
how many people does stupid Kiryu have to see die before learning to fully incapacitate an opponent before turning his back on him?
. It happens way too often.

BTW is a good entry as a whole and let me interested enough in the series to make me want to continue with 4&5... which should also be much better games!
 
I beat Yakuza 4 off of PS+ the other week and now have this game coming from Amazon :) Excited to play it. Is the general consensus that it's better than 4?
 
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