Upon booting up this game, despite learning about its reputation, I anticipated a Devil May Cry 2 or Mega Man X6 equivalent within the Yakuza series with this third installment. However, after playing it, I was pleasantly surprised and kind of enjoyed it. As I continue my Yakuza journey, I expect this to be the weakest entry, but if the worst Yakuza game I've played is still a 6-7/10, it's impressive how consistent this franchise is.
The story and characters continue to give me so much joy, whether it's during lighthearted or intense moments that the main storyline executes so well, keeping my attention and investment. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the same excitement for the substories this time around, unlike in Yakuza 2. There were a few cool ones that caught my attention, but those were the exceptions.
I gotta say, the combat in this game, to me, is enjoyable despite the jank. The only thing that bugs me is how obsessed the enemies are with their blocking move. It can really drag out some fights. But other than that, I still enjoyed smacking down enemies, stringing together combos, and leveling up. Even though I've played Yakuza 0, Kiwami 1, and both versions of 2 before, I still had a blast with the combat in this game.
The graphics in this game have definitely aged, with blurry textures that are noticeable when it comes to things like clothing, backgrounds, or some character models. The one aspect that I do appreciate about the presentation is how the lighting and skyboxes look depending on the time of day (shoutouts to Kamurocho at night), but you can tell it's a PS3 game.
It feels kind of anticlimactic now that I have played this game, and my thoughts are not really aligning with its infamous reputation. I'm not going to argue if it deserves that or not, but from my point of view, it wasn't as bad as I expected. It turned out to be an alright game that I really enjoyed, despite its flaws. Hopefully, Yakuza 4 will be a smoother experience, regardless of how I feel about Yakuza 3.
Here are my other Yakuza reviews:
Yakuza Kiwami 2
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Shamaboy11/review/1444016/
Yakuza Kiwami
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Shamaboy11/review/1130270/
The story and characters continue to give me so much joy, whether it's during lighthearted or intense moments that the main storyline executes so well, keeping my attention and investment. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the same excitement for the substories this time around, unlike in Yakuza 2. There were a few cool ones that caught my attention, but those were the exceptions.
I gotta say, the combat in this game, to me, is enjoyable despite the jank. The only thing that bugs me is how obsessed the enemies are with their blocking move. It can really drag out some fights. But other than that, I still enjoyed smacking down enemies, stringing together combos, and leveling up. Even though I've played Yakuza 0, Kiwami 1, and both versions of 2 before, I still had a blast with the combat in this game.
The graphics in this game have definitely aged, with blurry textures that are noticeable when it comes to things like clothing, backgrounds, or some character models. The one aspect that I do appreciate about the presentation is how the lighting and skyboxes look depending on the time of day (shoutouts to Kamurocho at night), but you can tell it's a PS3 game.
It feels kind of anticlimactic now that I have played this game, and my thoughts are not really aligning with its infamous reputation. I'm not going to argue if it deserves that or not, but from my point of view, it wasn't as bad as I expected. It turned out to be an alright game that I really enjoyed, despite its flaws. Hopefully, Yakuza 4 will be a smoother experience, regardless of how I feel about Yakuza 3.
Here are my other Yakuza reviews:
Yakuza Kiwami 2
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Shamaboy11/review/1444016/
Yakuza Kiwami
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Shamaboy11/review/1130270/