While originally a massive stepping stone for the series, being the first (non-spin-off) game in HD and with a fully controllable camera, Yakuza 3, due to being left without a remake, is definitely the one game in the series that aged the most poorly.
Its story is enjoyable enough. Although it begins by retconning the resolution to Kiryu and Kaoru's story that Y2 brought along, and as it goes on, it jumps the shark even harder than its prequel did, at the same time, it brings along some memorable characters, such as Mine, Rikiya and the members of the Ryudo clan, that resonate with the philosophy behind the series and its themes of what it means to be a gokudou.
Most importantly, this is the game that introduces the Okinawan orphanage of Morning Glory, which becomes Kiryu's raison d'être for several of the games that follow. During the game's intro, you get to see Kiryu fully dedicated to the day-to-day tasks of the orphanage and the care for its children, who have become his family. It's the happiest his character ever felt in the series, and it sets up a stark contrast to, say, him in Yakuza 5, where hope has nearly left him.
The real reason it has aged so poorly is its gameplay. It's an improvement from the original Y2, alright, but if you're coming from the variety of 0 or the fluidity of YK2, Y3 feels horribly janky and restrained. Kiryu feels heavy in the worst possible sense, making even normal fights long. And famously, bosses are incredibly resilient to basically anything, blocking every attack, not allowing grabs, instantly turning to face you from any angle, and having hyper armor for days. Most fights boil down to whittling them down hit by hit, and are incredibly boring.
Plus, the side content in the game is just... not good? There's a handful of fun stuff, like the revelations, the dad sidequests, and that one substory where Kiryu has to take ice creams back to a family, but for the most part, side content feels dry and unpolished, and minigames like bowling, pool and darts became broken in the remaster when the game's FPS was bumped. Many substories drag because they involve winning in broken minigames, notably the fishing, which pardon the pun, I wouldn't touch again with a ten foot pole.
It's for these reasons that Y3 became a bit of a rite of passage in the series for new fans, separating those who want to get the whole of Kiryu's story from those who want to cut to the chase and get to Y7 and the other more modern games -- nothing wrong with either approach, of course. I do think, though, that if you can spare the time, it's worth going through Y3, focusing on main missions and maybe trying some of more fun substories, as it's an important piece of Kiryu's life.
Its story is enjoyable enough. Although it begins by retconning the resolution to Kiryu and Kaoru's story that Y2 brought along, and as it goes on, it jumps the shark even harder than its prequel did, at the same time, it brings along some memorable characters, such as Mine, Rikiya and the members of the Ryudo clan, that resonate with the philosophy behind the series and its themes of what it means to be a gokudou.
Most importantly, this is the game that introduces the Okinawan orphanage of Morning Glory, which becomes Kiryu's raison d'être for several of the games that follow. During the game's intro, you get to see Kiryu fully dedicated to the day-to-day tasks of the orphanage and the care for its children, who have become his family. It's the happiest his character ever felt in the series, and it sets up a stark contrast to, say, him in Yakuza 5, where hope has nearly left him.
The real reason it has aged so poorly is its gameplay. It's an improvement from the original Y2, alright, but if you're coming from the variety of 0 or the fluidity of YK2, Y3 feels horribly janky and restrained. Kiryu feels heavy in the worst possible sense, making even normal fights long. And famously, bosses are incredibly resilient to basically anything, blocking every attack, not allowing grabs, instantly turning to face you from any angle, and having hyper armor for days. Most fights boil down to whittling them down hit by hit, and are incredibly boring.
Plus, the side content in the game is just... not good? There's a handful of fun stuff, like the revelations, the dad sidequests, and that one substory where Kiryu has to take ice creams back to a family, but for the most part, side content feels dry and unpolished, and minigames like bowling, pool and darts became broken in the remaster when the game's FPS was bumped. Many substories drag because they involve winning in broken minigames, notably the fishing, which pardon the pun, I wouldn't touch again with a ten foot pole.
It's for these reasons that Y3 became a bit of a rite of passage in the series for new fans, separating those who want to get the whole of Kiryu's story from those who want to cut to the chase and get to Y7 and the other more modern games -- nothing wrong with either approach, of course. I do think, though, that if you can spare the time, it's worth going through Y3, focusing on main missions and maybe trying some of more fun substories, as it's an important piece of Kiryu's life.