Overview
Maybe you’re having problems with the amount of blocking in this great game,or you just want to get better, if that’s the case, this guide has a few important basic mechanics that will help you get through the hustle
Credits/Spoiler
First of all, I didn’t do all of this, I’m reuploading part of a fantastic guide made by u/SilentEagle3 from reddit, using it as a base and adding to it.
Here’s the link to his work .
Yakuza 3 is a block heavy game. This is how YOU can deal with it. from yakuzagames
I also made use of CyricZ’s Yakuza 3 Remastered walktrough.
Be sure to check on it if you’re ever stuck in the game.
[link]
Before proceding, some minor spoilers, relevant to unlockable abilities and some side missions, are on this guide, but you really shouldn’t worry, they’re minor.
Now, to the actual guide.
How to punch people in Yakuza 3
With the Remastered Collection hitting steam, I’m anticipating the block-heavy nature of Yakuza 3 enemies to trip up many new players. In response, I’ve prepared a guide on methods to get past their guard and deal big damage. Hopefully this can help you push through the admittedly rough 2009 combat and enjoy the amazing story of the game.
Quicksteps
The bread and butter of the Pre-Dragon Engine games. Enemies can’t guard behind themselves. By waiting for the enemy to attack and then dodging behind them during their animation, you can usually get a full combo in.
In the remaster the quickstep was changed and it is significantly shorter than it should be. To fix this check this other guide.
[link]
After some upgrading, you will unlock the Komaki Dodge Shot, an attack that will let you quickly punish the enemy with a new strike right after a dodge. Some times you will be able to connect a full rush combo right after landing it, so if a particular foe is recovering too quickly from his attack and you aren’t fast enough to hit them in the back, you can try the Dodge Shot instead.
Grabs
Grabs are a versatile and effective tool in Kiryu’s arsenal. They work on most enemies (Fat guys break out immediately and bosses usually have a “cooldown” of sorts, you’ll know if they break out instantly), and have several follow-up options with throws and kicks. If the enemy is knocked down, you can grab them by the legs or head. Grabbing an enemy by the legs lets you throw them over and over again in a chain. Grabbing them by the head lifts them onto their feet, stunning them below half health(but only once), and if they’re facing upwards, this can potentially let you get in a back combo.
Whiffing light attacks
The AI in this game is pretty wiffy, to say the least, and it will start blocking after the first hit you connect most of the time. To take advantage of this, you can whiff light attacks (missing them on purpose) and connect only with one of the finishing moves.
One can also attack one enemy and then perform a finishing move on another foe behind you, this way it will connect like in the method above.
Utilizing the environment/Wall bounding
If an enemy gets knocked into a wall from an attack, most easily done with either a finisher, a grab + kick or a tiger drop next to a wall, the enemy will rebound off of it. In this state, you can attack with either a rush combo to deal substantial damage or an unlocked triangle kick to juggle the enemy.
Heat Actions
As in any yakuza game, heat actions are essential to the combat. Make sure to use them as much as you can and check your unlocked abilties from time to time so you don’t pass up on newly aquired heat actions.
If you hold triangle (or Y if you’re using an xbox controller) while performing some finishing moves, you will perform a recovery stance, which will raise your heat meter.
Keep in mind that if you’re drunk your heat meter will go up faster, so if you’re having a hard time, a bit of alcohol might help you. Be aware that this will also make enemy encounters more frequent in the city.
Weapons
If things still aren’t working out, there’s no shame in pulling out a weapon to lay the hurt on. Their fault for bringing fists to a swordfight, right?
You can buy weapons or just check what is in your surroundings, streets are filled with potential skull cracking objects.
Upgrading
Prioritize your tech tree over any of the others.
The tech tree will grant you a lot of interesting and useful abilities, like the Komaki Dodge Shot. But other than that and other abilities, the main upside to the tech tree is the faster combo speed, which will let you punish enemies faster after a dodge.
Train with your masters
Yakuza 3 has three masters that will teach you really useful abilties. They are:
Yonashiro’s trainings: In Chapter 4, as you leave the orphanage to search for a dog, he’ll stop you and challenge you. Meet him down on the beach (he’s on the rocks on the east side) and talk to him and he’ll set up a ring to challenge you using different weapons.
Komaki’s lessons: Kiryu will be able to train with Komaki once he completes the Substory “Return to the Dragon Palace”. Go to Stardust on Tenkaichi and one of Komaki’s disciples will give you a letter addressed from him inviting you to train once again. Go to the Dragon Palace and select “Dojo” to find Komaki.
Mack’s revelations: Late in Chapter 4, Kiryu meets a guy named Mack Shinozuka, a traveler and photographer seeking “that perfect shot”. He teaches Kiryu that much can be learned from great shots, and it therefore follows that if Kiryu finds particularly interesting things to take a picture of, he can then blog about it and learn new moves from the observance.
As soon as you get the opportunity to, LEARN THE KOMAKI PARRY. It has an incredibly generous timing in Y3, works against weapons, has I-frames, and often stuns the enemy. Even when it doesn’t, the pain animation is usually long enough for you to run behind the enemy and get a combo on their back.
Be sure to check on the three of them, since their teaching will be of great help.
Sidestories
Complete as many substories as you can. Not only because they are fun and really worth your time, but all of them will reward you with experience points, which you can use to strengthen kiryu up.
Demonstration
(I’m planning to update this video, since it was made by u/SilentEagle3 and it only showcases the tips he provided.)
Now to punching!
That’s all folks, hope the guide has been helpful, feel free to leave comments and suggestions, I will try to add as much as I can to this guide to make newcomer’s experience better.
Thanks for reading, now back to kicking ass.
