I would give this 10 stars if possible!
Part GTA, part RPG, a lot of Shenmue and all Japan!
I've been gaming for 20+ years and Yakuza 3 is one of the best, most polished games I've ever experienced.
It seems crazy that Sega hasn't (yet) brought this to the rest of the world but if you can't wait, I recommend you import this! The graphics are amazingly detailed and bring Japan to your living room, like Shenmue you can play the game at your own pace, exploring the city and doing heaps of side quests (and fun mini games) or go straight to the story where you will experience great action gameplay and some brilliant acting and story telling. I could go on and on...

WOW!
I lived in Japan for 5 years. This game nails the atmosphere of Japan very well. I love the story and the action is good as well. I hope an English version comes to the U.S soon. However if you can't wait I recommend the import version.

English version on the way
"- Sega confirmed that Yakuza 3 [Ryuga Gotoku 3[ will be coming to North America and Europe. The Japanese version sold over 500,000 copies."

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!
(but wasn't yakuza 4 just announced?? and what about kenzan??)

Good buy
This game is great but entirely in japanese. ThePatrick wrote a guide for english players on GameFAQs so definitely look into that if you buy it!!

Love it
Awesome game, if you're thinking of playing a game that can kill time, then this is the one.

Too much side quest to do and lots of fun.