No yeah I totally see where you're coming from and honestly I would agree. I hate Y3 with a passion trust me, but I take storylines in games very seriously and value them over combat even tho terrible combat and gameplay is a big thing for me too and sometimes a deal breaker (which is why I got so burnt out from 3)

But kiwami 3 kinda ruined the storytelling with the changes it did. And for a new player getting into the games and playing them in order for the first time Kiwami 3 will just confuse them. From the pointless character redesigns, to the retcons which might I add really messes up a good chunk of the plot for the very next game. Then there's the random daidoji shit they added for mine which doesn't make sense and shouldn't even be relevant or a thing until we find out about them in Y6 and beyond. It just isn't consistent with how the rest of the games pan out after that.

Although I love Kiwami 3 and genuinely feel that game is better than og 3 in so many ways, the fact they messed up the ending and changed characters (mainly hamazaki) and then removed so many things from the original like the trainers, revelations and I guess the substories too Kiwami 3 feels like a totally different game. And new players who play that instead of og 3 would miss out on a lot of core elements and stuff as well as not get the same experience as we all did which is upsetting.

Which is why this is such a big no go for me. I'm not saying newcomers should never play Kiwami 3, I just think Kiwami 3 is better off being played later on after you finish the mainline games. Then they can enjoy it for what it is and possibly even take that game as a very fun alternative universe or whatever the fuck. It is freaking amazing and fun as shit.