Yakuza 3 Is Probably Up In My Top 3 Favorite In The Series, Something Like That

Yakuza 3 is probably up in my top 3 favorite in the series, something like that

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⠀⠀⠀⠀またね、沖縄の兄弟。 See you later, Okinawa brother.

I finished Yakuza 3.

[ SPOILERS ]

I think it's interesting that introducing Rikiya to the tattoo artist is optional and can easily be missed if you choose not to spend time with him. I've seen people insist this is a silly move because Rikiya's role in the narrative is obviously incredibly important - he is, imo, the emotional core of it, the Haruka of Yakuza 3. If you choose not to experience that, and don't see how he handles pretty much everything that you can see with him in Kamurocho or his dynamic with Kiryu evolve through the optional content, then Kiryu's reaction to his death feels overly melodramatic and can rob the scene of a lot of its weight.

I think that's kind of brilliant, personally. Kiryu cares, even if you didn't, and he cares inherently in a way that leaves you feeling like you missed out on something, because you did.

Still, I wish the whole game was set in Okinawa. I think my dream version of Yakuza 3 is just about lion jiji Shigeru Nakahara (accidentally my favourite Yakuza character so far, if only because he has such strong "retired uncle" energy) and a territorial battle with the far bigger, more cynical Tamashiro family, who want to sell Okinawa out to land developers and hyper conservative rearmament politicians. The whole Black Monday thing -- I don't know.

I guess it was like a vacation in a place I wanted to stay, but if I'm being mature about the series, it's probably for the best that Kiryu isn't able to escape Kamurocho.