Yakuza 3 was the first Kiryu game released on the PS3 and it had mixed reviews. And I can see why. To be honest it feels like the groundhog day, having to come back to Kamurocho to take care of the Tojo Clan problems once again... It's almost tiring. Especially after having to deal with the orphans in a fresh environment. I just want Kiryu to have peace in Okinawa and be happy with the children. Maybe it's just me but those were my favourite parts and thanks to those parts, I feel like I understand Kiryu much better now.

I'll be defending Yakuza 3 anytime, but not for the reasons I could defend any other Yakuza game but for these reasons. It delivers so much about Kiryu in so little time that it's wild to think about it. The problem is that... that's not a big chunk of the story. At all. The majority of the game lies in Kamurocho where you deal with yakuza problems, with too many side content and a very bad combat.
All of it is ultimately related to the orphanage, yes, but the fact they showed us the other side of Kiryu at the start of the game made that I grew so tired of the yakuza problems I didn't really want to know much. It was like a deja vu from Kiwami and Kiwami 2. It's just tiresome.

I didn't like much the game but I appreciate Yakuza 3 for what tells about Kiryu.