Yakuza 3

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JaySevenZero
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Yakuza 3

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Yakuza 3 for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
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AndrewElmore
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Re: 504: Yakuza 3

Post by AndrewElmore »

Most people these days tend to start the series with Zero, followed by the Kiwami remakes, and I agree that that's the way to go. However, it can be a bit jarring to shift immediately then to Yakuza 3, remastered or otherwise, given its comparative drop in scope and polish. I've known a few folks for whom this was quite a barrier indeed. But given the state of larger Japanese games at the time, and the early days of the PS3 in general, not to mention the state of Sega's difficulties, AND how much ground-up work RGG would've had to have done regarding both the engine and asset generation on the new hardware, and honestly I think what they managed to achieve is astounding!

It's difficult for me to talk about Yakuza 3 without talking about 4 and 5 because they form a loose trilogy of sorts, and all feel like different acts in the same narrative throughline to me, but suffice it to say I love what they've done with the place, so to speak. Ultra-dad-mode Kiryu in permanent vacation attire running a quiet little orphanage on the beach down in Okinawa is an inspired mood. His character and personality really began to both deepen and broaden in this new context. Downtown Ryukyu is also a delightful change in scenery, shifting focus from the eternal nightlife of Kabukicho/Roppongi in Kamurocho's setting to a smaller, more easygoing seaside town. It feels personal, and cozy. In Kamurocho, helping random strangers in side-quest format feels like being a capital-p Protagonist in a particularly chaotic Big City full of particularly strange strangers, and there's a tremendous value in that! But side quests in Ryukyu feel like Kiryu is something of an (albeit hypercapable) everyman who's quite often simply helping his neighbors and supporting his community. You know, on top of all the other wacky happenings, of course. I love the new characters, the way all the larger threads start intertwining, the dramatic weight that comes along with Kiryu putting his old red-and-silver superhero costume back on to return to Kamurocho, and most of all I love the way so much of the main story stays small in its stakes. At least for a while.

Anyway I had to go help with the kiddos for a minute and came back and completely lost my train of thought so I'm just going to press the submit button now. Much love.
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rmachell
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Re: 504: Yakuza 3

Post by rmachell »

This one breaks my heart to write. In the 2020 lockdown, I started this series. I played Zero, and it was an immediate all time favourite. Played Kiwami, great entry. Kiwami 2, another all time favourite. Judgement, brilliant game. Then I played 3...

I'm not gonna say 3 is a shit game. It was fine, and getting to play around with my homeboy Kiryu in Kamurocho was again awesome, and seeing the world and characters evolve as time goes on is what separates this series for me from most others. This game however was the first that really left a very lukewarm impression in a series that up until this point has blasted its way into my heart. The combat was very stilted and slow, Okinawa was my least favourite location so far, I never really cared for the kids in this series, and the story left me with absolutely nothing at best and genuine confusion at worst.

It was my fault. I understand that I played this series out of order of release, and going back to an older game after so many newer ones, I should have been aware that this one might feel different to what I had come to expect. But in 22, as someone who has finished every game RGG studios has released (aside from the PSP games), this one sticks out very clearly as the worst game in the lineup. The worst game in my favourite series, so take that as you will.

3WR: Kiryu's CIA Uncle?
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ColinAlonso
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Re: 504: Yakuza 3

Post by ColinAlonso »

I played Yakuza 3 on release in 2010 and while I liked the characters and worlds enough to complete it, I wasn't that excited by the combat. So I didn't intend to return to the series until Yakuza 4 was added to Playstation Plus in 2015 and allowed me to give the series a second chance.

TWR: More golf please.
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Our next podcast recording (29.1.22) - 504: Yakuza 3

Post by Jobobonobo »

This surprised me with how comparatively short it is compared to its predecessors. Even messing around with minigames and substories I finished the game at just over 40 hours. Considering I could spend weeks on a single chapter in 0 due to the minigames alone, that really is a massive difference. And you can certainly feel the age of this title compared to the spruced up Kiwami games. Controls, particularly in narrow spaces, can be stiff. Leveling up your skills seemed to take forever making progress slower and thus fighting was less dynamic as a result. The cabaret club minigame is a massive step down from what came before. You have a much more constrained budget so you are more limited in customising your hostess; only one hostess is available to recruit and you are just wandering around the club and changing her style to get more customers to like her. I hated it honestly, just a tedious exercise with little incentive to keep going. But the things that really disappointed me were the absence of the small touches. The lack of a little ditty announcing the start and end of a substory. Kiryu barely ever saying “NANI?!” throughout the entire adventure. It just did not feel like the Yakuza I grew to love.

And yet, it still is exactly that. The story and character development in this were really enjoyable for me. Kiryu been a dad to orphans is such a great progression for his character and I really enjoyed the more mundane moments of just sorting out the kids’ problems. Yakuza has already built up its characters and world to such an extent that this slice of life approach can be accepted by many players as you want to just catch up with Kiryu and friends and see what stage of life they are at. The sheer amount of time spent at the orphanage made its destruction near the end of the game that much more of an emotional gut punch when it happened. Okinawa itself is a nice new locality to play around in and definitely has a more laid back vibe than Kamurocho. Substories were also still an enjoyable affair with particular highlights been Kiryu learning English, helping Date avenge his former police partner and solving a murder case. I also enjoy that substory characters from previous games make an appearance here and add to the general world building that this series excels at.

While Yakuza 3 has definitely aged quite a bit in terms of graphics and control and I was personally disappointed with how it implemented some features, I overall still enjoyed it immensely due to still capturing what makes Yakuza the series it is and adding more depth to established characters. The series still has its claws in me and I want to know how Kiryu’s journey ends. A flawed but fun title with heavy narrative importance, Yakuza 3 is a delightful time and one I am glad I got to experience.

3WR: Not enough Nani
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ThirdDrawing
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Re: Our next podcast recording (29.1.22) - 504: Yakuza 3

Post by ThirdDrawing »

I recently started Yakuza 3 after receiving the remastered collection for Christmas.

After playing Kiwami 1 and 2, I was a bit shocked at how primitive Y3 felt in some respects, especially in combat. Though from memory, the combat improved from the original PS2 games.

That being said, I was pleasantly surprised at the narrative and Kiryu's growth as a character in the game.

The setting was a real breath of fresh air after two games set in claustrophobic city areas, and I was hoping we'd end up staying in Okinawa for the whole game, though I knew it wasn't likely.

I'm not quite finished yet, though I hope to be by the time the episode for this game airs. I didn't even mind the children. They felt like actual kids, rather than caricatures or stereotypes.

So far however, I'm really enjoying the game and really looking forward to seeing how Kiryu's story continues to the end of this game and into the next one.
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