Yakuza 3 remastered review: Aged like fine wine

Transitioning from one system to another is never an easy task to do. There’s all new software to memorize, all new gimmicks each system has to offer, and all new games to be played to test them out, mostly new IPs. Thankfully, the PS3 had quite a few returning favorites to come back to help the audience sell on the new system, and one of those games is Yakuza 3, which got remastered a few years ago for modern systems as Yakuza 3 Remastered. 

 

Taking place a few years after the events of Yakuza 2, Kiryu and his adopted daughter Haruka moved away from Kamurocho and settled in Okinawa, opening an orphanage to help raise kids without families. But even though he’s in a new city, the same old problems still follow the Dragon of Dojima, and he is once again drawn back to the fiascos of the Tojo Clan. This time, he’s made friends with the local yakuza and they pitch in whenever they can.

 

Not only do you go back and explore Kamurocho, but you also get to explore a new area of Okinawa. It’s smaller than the two previously explored cities of Kamurocho and Sotenbori, but it means it’s easier to traverse through without the need for taxis, but are still there regardless. There are all the usual suspects of a yakuza game as well, such as side stories, new gimmicks, and the mini-games you love from previous titles making their recycled return, but they’re just as fun the fourth time around. 

 

To note, this is the oldest of the franchise technically since it’s a remaster of a PS3 game, so there is some jank all around, and not the fun kind you see with the dragon engine. The movement feels a bit blocky, the combat is a little stuff with some room for improv. It’s also annoying to point out that a lot of the enemies do block alot, giving this game the nickname ‘Blockyza 3’, so just grab your enemies and kick them into oblivion. Plus, there’s limited space for your inventory, which means you can't stock up like Kiwami and Kiwami 2, which gives this entire game a learning curve.

 

Overall, despite the aged mechanics, Yakuza 3 Remastered is still a damn good game in its own right. We get to see Kiryu being happy with running an orphanage, helping kids who have lost everything, and the exploration aint half bad for a game that originally came out 2 generations ago. It might need more polish that would get the game to run better, but overall, this isint a bad entry to the RGG timeline.

​

8.5/10