I think people exaggerate on the pacing of this game - Yakuza 3 tosses a good number of boss fights at you early on, and there is importance in the orphanage scenes as they establish what Kiryu's priorities are. That aside, while the story has some great moments and an enjoyable cast, the plot goes a bit off the rails at a certain point, especially due to one REALLY dumb twist. As a novelty game, this is still solid and there's a lot of different content to divulge in that makes it engaging.