Enemy's guard spam isn't that much of a problem since it only starts in the mid game and by that point you should already have tiger drop and komaki parry (which is busted in this game), unfortunately the sidequests (save for few exceptions) were rather poorly done and the random encounters were annoying.
however all of this is (mostly) saved by the godsend that is the plot, won't spoil very much but it's genuinely great and I didn't have any issues with the slow-burn almost slice of life start, on the contrary, it was one of the strongest points in the game.

I had pretty low expectations coming into this after hearing it was the worst of the series, and I was not looking forward to the technical downgrade from Kiwami 1&2 to this being the oldest in the franchise

I will say I am pleasantly surprised! The game is so damn chill. Going from defusing 33 bombs to save the city of Kamarocho, to gathering up the kids for dinner. The city of Okinawa is such a breath of fresh air after being in Kamarocho and Sotenbori for 3 games straight. I love the summer aesthetic. Plus I didn't feel like it was a huge technical downgrade despite the games age, it runs well and feels at its core like every Yakuza game. Great time

I fucking love Osaka in this game. one of the coziest places I've ever been to in a digital world. I... also love Kiryu, so seeing his soft family oriented side was a high point. I actually enjoyed all of the silly little quests you get (except the one with the dawg...).

that said, pacing was a bit weird. my gf was watching me play when I got to the part of the game where you sit in a room and talk with a guy for I kid you not 30 minutes.

also can we talk about how the running minigame has the most badass song ever?

either way, yakuza 3 deserves more respect!

I've learned to get good and love this game, faults and all. Contrary to the common take, I love everything involving the orphanage. It just warms the soul seeing Kiryu do what he was always meant to. I only wish that the game was entirely about Okinawa and dealing with it's Yakuza instead of having the Tojo get involved. Also for the love of god play the remastered version. The OG NA release has not only one of the worst box art covers I've ever seen, but it's also missing 20 sub stories and a couple mini-games.

SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE GAME

When I first played the remastered version some months ago, I thought it was a pretty ok game and continued with my life. But for some reason, the game stuck in my mind for a long while, like it had something special in it that I couldn't wash off. Now, it allured me to play the original version this time.

After playing Yakuza 2 and comparing the two, you can feel how important this game was for the series. I have yet to play Kenzan, and I know it was the first step in introducing this saga to the more realistic approach using the PS3 engine. But from what I've seen from it, Kenzan walked so Y3 could run. This game reimagined the whole aesthetic. Kamurocho goes from this gritty, dark, kinda noir vibe that PS2 games had to a sharp, stylish, and more flashy design. The city is more dazzling than ever and adding that it was the one to introduce minigames (a whole lot of them) makes up for this "Sleepless Town" essence. Kamurocho is just a LOT of fun to be running around.

-- Narrative --
My main problem with the game is the overall writing of the criminal plot. Coming from Yakuza 2, which manages to maintain its mysteriousness, unwrapping little by little and keeping you engaged with meaningful events, this one was kind of a letdown. The premise is so interesting, but it could have been handled a lot better. All the enigma and threat that Joji represented as a character ends up disappearing since he's just... a good guy👍; They don't even try to give both Joji and Kiryu more time on screen, to at least poke at the wound of a living picture of the most important person in his life that passed away being there, someone that knew more of him, get that emotional side of Kiryu, no.
Also, the lack of Black Monday presence throughout the game and the way they don't really show or try to create a menacing aura around the organization makes you not really care that much about all that stuff at the end not gonna lie.
Anyway, I'm not going to expand much else into it. The ending, though... I really, really like it since it makes a certain parallel with the previous 2 games in terms of Kiryu's existential journey and makes it feel like the actual END of a trilogy. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. Even if it's not intentional, when I realized this, I was kinda blown away.

Both in Yakuza 1 and 2, Kiryu's afterward moments after dealing with the "main" conflict of the plot, usually ending in tragedy, he gives up; We tend to see a very stubborn, angry Kiryu that makes his way through purely with this raw violence, not really thinking things twice and is given either a reason or another chance to live by someone else. In Yakuza 1, he loses all the most important bonds of his entire life, destroyed by the yakuza world, Reina, Shinji, Nishiki, Kazama, and Yumi. Staring silently at the void, prefers to get arrested for life since nothing is left for him out there, nothing worth living. Date reminds him of Haruka. Try living for the girl.
He decides to keep going.
In Yakuza 2, he doesn't even try to escape, in this case, Kaoru reminds him ... Haruka is waiting for you, but even so, he accepts that she will never be safe with him. After all, she has been kidnapped multiple times for his past and constant engagement with the Clan's activity, so he decides to just die, right there, while everything blows away. He knows Haruka will be safer with someone like Date by his side. Even so, Terada, the very person who betrayed him "gives" him another chance to live, one that he would not regret.

In Yakuza 3, you can feel all of this in Kiryu's character, the way he talks to people, to his children, he's full of hope and wisdom from a very rough life, and he's finally trying to live a real life, one away from the yakuza, and he tries to pour all of his knowledge, values and experiences into his kids to give them a better life, one that he never had.
The situations in Morning Glory are kinda silly, and a lot of times oddly specific; But every time, at the end of these little mundane problems, Kiryu's speeches hit you in the gut, because they are messages filled with such love and a kind of complexity that surprises you coming from him, a very flawed man. Every time Kiryu watches his kids do good, smiling, it warms my heart.
I didn't remember Rikiya's death scene being so well done, I honestly think it is one of the more memorable scenes RGG has done, even if his sacrifice is not that "well" staged. First time in the whole saga Kiryu completely breaks down as he cries and his voice cracks, yes he also cries when his father dies but, this time is so much stronger as if a channel of all his reprimed emotions hit him at that specific moment like a fucking train; I also think this moment is particularly sad since his death represents a direct consequence of his yakuza past getting up to him, he remembers he can't escape and all his loved ones can be taken away from him.
Mine acts as a "what Kiryu could have been." You could even say he's the personification of Nishiki, and he's standing in front of him, once again, but Kiryu is not the same. He has grown; now it's his time to give purpose to someone's life, and he does, resulting in what we see as Mine's ending. He thinks he's too far gone to keep living but decides to end it all with a pure reason not born from hatred.
This game has an odd connection to blood relationships and orphans. Kiryu is an orphan, Mine is an orphan, obviously, all his children are orphans. An orphan is a representation of a human being left stranded, deprived of the first connection to LOVE that a person CAN (not always) have, Mine is a representation of one possible outcome, resents others, resents relationships, and is distrustful since he was taken away of this so early in life. Kiryu on the other hand, recognizes this fact and builds bonds around him, he had the luck of always having caring people by his side. ODDLY SIMILAR TO GAARA AND NARUTO... wtf, crazy.

Kiryu is stabbed at the end; he falls on the ground as he bleeds, staring at the sky, with the possibility of just dying right there. And that's when he says, "Even in your final moments, you can still learn to believe in someone." I know this is directly related to Mine, but I think he's at peace because now he has something to live for, and he won't surrender like he has done when facing death. He smiles; he has a family waiting for him at Morning Glory. All is going to be okay.

Yakuza 3 was the first game in the series which really made me fall in love with Kiryu's character, The whole orphanage arc just amplifies Kiryu's struggles and really become a driving force for him for the rest of his saga. You can see Yakuza 3 as the starting point of Kiryu's never ending escape from the infamy that the Dragon of Dojima's legend has brought him.

The game's combat is a point of contention amongst the fandom however in my case Yakuza 3 really was where the combat clicked for me, The games that came before this could be played by just stocking up on Staminans and mashing your way through the game, Yakuza 3 makes breaking your opponent's guards a key gameplay mechanic which has in turn resulted in it earning the title of "Blockuza" amongst the fandom. While I do think that this sudden change in the eb and flow of combat can seem jarring at first it really opens you up to try new strategies which end up making the game a lot more fun.

As always Yakuza 3 continues in Like a Dragon fashion having a really strong ensemble of characters that really make you care about them and their struggles, One of them being the main antagonist of the game Yoshitaka Mine who is one of the more interesting villains in the series.

The Dragon's Legend Wanes.

Un peu mitigé sur celui-ci. Mon Yakuza préféré au niveau de l’histoire, au niveau du développement de Kiryu, au niveau de l’évolution des personnages de manière plus générale. Mais largement celui que je déteste le plus au niveau du gameplay, et qui m’a probablement empêché d’apprécier le jeu un petit peu plus. J’ai pleuré sur beaucoup de scènes, la fin est géniale aussi, les musiques n’en parlons pas puisque j’aurais trop à dire tellement elles subliment chaque scène. Même la scène post-crédit profite d’une musique magnifique. La relation avec Haruka, et les autres orphelins aussi m’a énormément touché. Et malgré ce que les gens peuvent dire, c’est vraiment un Yakuza génialissime, et il ne faut pas se laisser décourager par le passage de Kiwami 2 à Yakuza 3, au contraire !