What the hell is happening with RGG studio... They had one job with Kiwami 3 remake - port the story to Dragon engine with the new combat and maybe fix some rough parts of the original gameplay. While the game itself is decent, there are a lot of incredibly baffling changes compared to the original.

The first thing that I noticed - the playable Ryukyu area in Okinawa is smaller. Uhh, not a good sign. It wasn't really big in the first place. That means some chunk of substories will be missing, but whatever.

In the second chapter the whole part with orphanage kids is missing. They added a new orphanage management game and moved some storylines there as substories for bonds progression with kids, but they are either very shortened versions or entirely different - I don't recognize at least half of it. The original storyline is completely gone. I know that a lot of people didn't like the whole parenting part in original game, but don't cut it entirely, what the hell? Just make it optional through substories!

The whole premise of the Yakuza 3 was that Kiryu wanted to escape the violent underworld, to settle with his daughter Haruka on Okinawa and manage the orphanage there in peace. That's why in the remake we join the biker gang! What? Oh ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥... So yeah, now after they cut out most of the second chapter, they needed to fill it with something else. They introduced a new sidestory where we help Okinawan biker gang to fight against another gang that moved here from Tokyo. The side game itself is fine - it reuses shipboarding and brawl mechanics from Pirate Yakuza. It's fun to play and does its job well. Except the fact that it's IN THE WRONG GAME... I genuinely don't understand the thought process of the writers here. The tone of the Yakuza 3 story is completely different now.

What's up with these characters recasts? I get that original voice actors might be unavailable at the time of development, but why did they need to change the looks of Rikiya, Hamazaki and an old man Nakahara? They were very distinct and unique looking characters, and now they look painfully average.

The majority of substories are missing, even those with Rikiya and Mikio. I think only a few of original substories are left and new were created instead. Sure, there was some bloat in the original game, but there also were a lot of good stuff! Ehh, whatever...

They also removed Komaki from the game. In fact, all original trainers are replaced by some other generic dude who trains you a new fighting style and as well Tiger Drop. New Ryukyu style is weapon based and it's fine I guess, but it feels redundant and I didn't use it at all. But removal of Komaki is such a bizarre decision, because he is an iconic character in the series that teaches you tiger drop and komaki parry every game. It's feels like such a no-brainer to have the new trainer for Ryukyu style and Komaki for usual dragon style, but who am I to question the geniuses at RGG...

But the most ridiculous change and the one that annoyed me the most and prompted to put a thumbs down - they changed the ending. One of the golden rules of writing: if the character very obviously died, they should stay dead. Period. Spoiler: Apparently Mine survives the fall from a rooftop of a very tall building. He also stops Hamazaki from stabbing Kiryu. I couldn't believe what I saw. Why? Who asked for this? Who approved this? Now Yakuza 4 doesn't make any sense because certain someone didn't do a certain something. I just don't get it... I was so irritated by this story change that I didn't bother finishing side content for Amon fights and playing Dark Ties.

It is such a shame because the game itself is good. But for me the story is very important part. And Sega even delisted original Yakuza 3 from Steam, so newcoming players are going to experience this castrated version of the story instead and then confused by the events in Yakuza 4. At least it's still available on GOG.

So... If you don't give a ♥♥♥♥ about story, then you will probably like this game a lot. But at least wait for sale because it's not worth 60€. Otherwise please, play the original Yakuza 3 Remastered instead if you don't mind all its jank. If you already played it, then ignore this remake - you'll only be disappointed. Not recommended.

- soundtrack sucks (except for dark ties)
- recasting fan favourite characters
- did not address kagawa (10000+ signatures to remove him) but somehow addressed lackluster graphics
- only 31 substories when original had 119
- made ryukyu SMALLER than original
- delisted original game behind 100+ dollar paywall
- huge story retcon that doesnt even line up with the next game in the series

this game is godawful please dont buy it

Sono in conflitto, se conoscete la saga alla fine è paragonabile agli altri, come esperienza l'ho trovato sicuramente più godibile rispetto all'originale di cui la remaster aveva già evidenziato i vari problemi.
Il nuovo stile di combattimento "Ryukyu" ispirato alle arti maziali di Okinawa con tutte le sue armi tradizionali non mi è dispiaciuto affatto, come anche la nuova sidequest delle "Haisai Girls", lodabile anche il lavoro svolto con le nuove attività/minigiochi del Morning Glory, che mi hanno coinvolto molto di più nella sottotrama dell'orfanotrofio.
Un titolo piuttosto solido insomma, se non fosse per il fatto che questo "Kiwami" non sia un vero e proprio remake come i primi due.

Chi è appassionato lo sa, non solo il filmato finale è un gigantesco retcon, (neanche scritto bene poi) ma va proprio a contraddire anche ciò che vediamo nel titolo direttamente successivo "Yakuza 4"
Se già da prima fosse difficile per qualcuno di nuovo entrare nella serie visto la numerosa quantità di titoli da recuperare, ora se uno ci prova e va pure in ordine, a meno ché non si è conoscenza del finale originale qui non ci si capisce proprio una sega, se poi oltre a questo ci mettiamo anche la scelta di rimuovere dagli store la remaster di Yakuza 3 come se questo ne fosse un sostituto (come se domani Square Enix rimuovesse l'originale FF7 perché tanto c'è il "remake"), ecco che siamo davanti a un vero e proprio labirinto narrativo da cui neanche loro sanno come uscire.

Non so che dire.. consiglio il gioco? meh, se preso così com'è c'è sicuramente molto di bello, ma la direzione in cui stanno andando non mi piace per niente