Yakuza 3 is a complicated game for many reasons. In its initial context it meant continuing in some way the story that established Kiryu as the main character of the saga and that after the shocking end of Yakuza 2 he saw more than ever that the witness had to pass. In our case and in that of the thousands of players who have landed in the saga thanks to Yakuza 0 and the Kiwami, Yakuza 3 implies returning to a 2009 game. Is it worth doing? We tell you in our Yakuza 3 Remastered review for Xbox One.
Yakuza 3 Remastered is not a remake like the Kiwami, but we are facing a adaptation of the original game to 1080p HD resolution (regardless of whether you play One or Series X | S) and 60 fps. The first obstacle that we will find will be its graphic section and that is that I will not deny that returning to a game from 2009 at this point (despite the improvement in image quality) is somewhat heavy. In addition, this game will be the one you are going to play after Yakuza Kiwami 2, which has the Dragon Engine and graphics at the height of what we expect from a AAA game.
The engine used by Yakuza 3 is not even the Yakuza 0 and the seams are noticeable everywhere but if we manage to adapt in its first hours we will not have more problems.
The other Kiryu
Until now, the saga had revolved around Kiryu and the Yakuza. Yakuza 3 takes many risks and dares to completely change the foundations of the saga for most of the story and it’s something fans never came to forgive. Yes, today we have to consider Yakuza 3 as a necessary game, but if you have loved the saga until now, Yakuza 3 can make you change your mind very quickly.
Make no mistake, Yakuza 3 is not a bad game, but it is a bad Yakuza game. The plot begins a year after a war that almost ended with Kamurocho in which the Omi Alliance and the Tojo Clan fought with everything with Kazuma Kiryu running the Morning Glory orphanage with his goddaughter Haruka.
Kiryu goes from being fully involved in a power struggle between the most powerful and terrifying mafias in Japan to taking care of orphaned children on the shore of a beach. And yes, Yakuza 3 is expressly like that, it is a game that seeks to tell the player that Kiryu is fed up, that he has been through a lot and that now what he wants is to take care of orphaned children As the. He has already lost many companions and with the decisions he made in Yakuza 2 he left the fate of the Tojo Clan in good hands.
Much of the main plot of Yakuza 3 will focus on meeting new characters related in one way or another to him. orfanato Morning Glory, located on the island of Okinawa and to solve the problems that children have. We will also have problems and we will have to defend them, but yes, we must recognize that Yakuza 3 is a bayonet tremendous in that regard.
Of course, then a certain event turns the tables and forces Kiryu to put away the colored shirt and put the suit back on, that’s when Yakuza 3 shines again and leaves us epic moments, but maybe it’s a bit late.
A huge step back in gameplay
The Yakuza Kiwami 2 gameplay has very few drawbacks, in fact the 3 Yakuza that were available so far on Xbox had the most worked gameplay of the saga, but of course, as I mentioned before, going back in the technical also implies in what playable. Yakuza 3 Remastered has not retouched the original gameplay and the truth is that I would have appreciated it.
We are facing a Beat em Up, So if you come from Yakuza: Like a Dragon you are going to enjoy the typical gameplay of the saga, but the truth is that the movements feel rough and the most important fights do not help either. There are too many “tank” enemies that will block each and every one of our attacks and it will be infuriating to defeat them.
On the other hand Kiryu’s skill and trait upgrade is pretty rough (although less confusing than in Yakuza 0) and we do not have as many movements and combinations as in Yakuza 0 and the remakes of 1 and 2. So yes, the fighting in Yakuza 3 is not as fluid and entertaining as in the installments that we had been on Xbox so far.
Still do not worry, although the plot is much looser than what we are used to and the gameplay is rough, Yakuza 3 Remastered content is typical of Yakuza: a multitude of fun secondary schools (special mention of Kiryu practicing English), mini-games everywhere, strange ways to learn skills … The fact is that we are facing a Yakuza with all the letters in that aspect. And yes, we can also fish.
A fair remaster
It is quite peculiar, but one always thinks that older games are the ones that would benefit the most from a remaster, but the reality is that improving only resolution and performance in a 2009 game makes us see the seams present in their day in a way clearest.
It doesn’t matter if you play it on Xbox One or Xbox Series X | S, since the game does not have specific improvements, not even on Xbox One X, so we’ll see limited to 1080p and 60fps. The only improvement you can find on Xbox Series X | S are the reduced loading times, which are already pretty fast on Xbox One.
Unfortunately Yakuza 3 Remastered comes to us, like Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2, in full English with Japanese voices. If I hadn’t bothered you too much before, then neither should I. A pity, since Yakuza: Like a Dragon we can enjoy it in our language.
Analysis of Yakuza 3 Remastered for Xbox One
Yakuza 3 Remastered is the worst game in the Yakuza saga, consequently also from The Yakuza Remastered Collection that has just arrived on Xbox Game Pass. That does not mean that it is a bad game, eye, but it is a very peculiar title that can lose players along the way.
In Yakuza 3 we meet a different Kazuma Kiryu who is not so entertaining, but he is serves to develop the character and lays the foundation for many things to come. Kiryu knows that the life of Yakuza will not end well and wants to separate, grow his family and be an ordinary person, unfortunately we all know that those stories never end well.
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