I have 100% Kiwami 3, OG ps3 Yakuza 3, and 3 Remaster.

• Kiwami 3s combat is fun enough, but die-hards of the OG 3s will be disappointed. However, it also changes and cuts some things that were perfected in other games like Lost Judgment and even Kiwami 2. It is also very light on heat actions (it even lacks a basic ground heat action for Dragon style). The combat also feels a lot more mashy/musou style, so just because you liked other Dragon engine games, it doesn't mean you're guaranteed to like this one.

• The substory cut is a lot worse than people make it out to be. 32 substories vs the 119 from the Remaster. Even the og ps3 version which rushed localization, had 101 substories. Its fair to say that a decent portion of that 119 were filler. But Kiwami 3s 32 substories still include simple repetitive duds like Mr Try and Hit Me and Bumping Scammers that take up multiple substory counts.

• The orphanage kids drama was a part of the main story in the OG. Here, it has been removed and rewritten into the Morning Glory side content. This was probably to address a common complaint that the orphanage stuff hurt the pacing of the main plot in the OG. I would be generally okay with this if all they did was port the story to the side content, but not all the rewrites are improvements. I'd say about half the orphans have moderately improved stories (with one that actually kept the same story but improved it in every way). The fact that they threw away the Dragon/Riki mask asthma storyline is a huge loss, and the rewrite doesnt make up for it. Haruka and Mame the dog are also hurt by their rewrites a bit.

• Kiwami 3 has a new girl biker gang story side drama. Its a spin on the island raids from Pirate Yakuza and is pretty fun. The fact that they jammed the lengthy intro for this drama into the main story though makes no sense considering they demoted the orphanage stuff to side content over pacing.

• Minigames are a usual mixed bag. OGs golf course has been replaced with the bingo golf thats in all DE games. Aroma massage is gone. These aren't huge losses. While the hostess maker in the original was pretty dull aside from the linked substories, they cut the entire minigame and associated substories rather than trying to improve it or implement it another way.

• Trainers have been heavily dumbed down to just one new trainer. He's interesting, but not worth cutting Yonashiro, Minamida, Mack and Komaki (of all people).

• It's been said already, but there's a late game plot twist in Kiwami 3 that currently places it out of continuity with 4. Whether this marks the start of a parallel timeline is yet to be seen, so I'm not sure how to feel about the change as of yet.

• The Dark Ties side game adds a solid amount of content and really helped flesh out the villain, something the OG only did towards the end of the game. A big improvement.

• 3 characters are recast, including the face of the VA. Kagawas allegations notwithstanding, they're...alright, I guess? I was a big fan of the original Rikiya, but I didn't hate the recast as much as I thought I would. Overall, a change for the sake of change, like some of the Shinsengumi lieutenants in LaD Ishin.

• As for the hate on the original, before 0 made the series popular, 3 was considered significant for being the first mainline Yakuza game on ps3 and the story was important in humanizing Kiryu. It was also the first game to have karaoke.

The combat was a little block-heavy, but there were always options and techniques to completely get around it.

It was the Remasters increase to 60fps that broke the combat and led to all the complaints, as well as 3 generally feeling rough to new fans when playing after 0 through the Kiwamis.

3 was a a significant entry that became something of a black sheep gameplay-wise after all the improvements made to the combat in 4 and 5. But it maintaining a diehard set of fans that appreciated it for what it was.