History YMMV / SaintsRowTheThird

** A better example would be it's port for the Nintendo Switch; as the closest thing that Nintendo has had towards it's own version of Grand Theft Auto (which for various reasons, has never seen any of it's 3D era games ported to Nintendo systems), the game gained a new generation of fans wanting their criminal-centric open sandbox game fix for Nintendo.

* CriticalDissonance: The game outsold ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' and was critically acclaimed, with many critics preferring the series shifting from semi-serious gang warfare to being full-on DenserAndWackier. The game also boosted the series into the mainstream, later being ported onto the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and being remastered nine years later. On the contrary, fans of ''[=SR2=]'' were disappointed by the game leaving the Dex storyline hanging, and found the wacky style to be detrimental to the plotline, with some fans accusing Volition of not remastering the previous games to focus on ''The Third''. For what it's worth, though, there is a mod in the works that promises to fix the [[PortingDisaster PC version]] of ''[=SR2=]'', which also includes all of the DLC that was otherwise exclusive to the console versions of the game all for free.

* PolishedPort: The UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS versions of the remaster are probably the best way to experience ''Saints Row: The Third'' on account of them supporting 4K HDR while running at a native 60 FPS.

*** While several of the shows the songs come from continued running for several years afterwards, whether still airing new episodes like ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' (which only ended in 2018) and ''WesternAnimation/{{Squidbillies}}'' (which is still making new episodes to this day), the station's host is Jon from ''Series/{{Delocated}}'', a show that ended almost six months later. Many of the others also come from shows that had already or have since ended, including:

*** Angel is a former wrestler who claims the Boss isn't tough enough to fight Killbane, even though they've dived into a plane, took on ''the army'' and ''won'', and killed countless gangbangers. When Angel actually faces Killbane, he's thrown out of the ring, leaving the Boss fight him instead. The fact that, after making a big deal about simply killing him is pointless and beating him will be enough, he then pressures you into going after and killing him later, making you choose between killing him and saving Shaundi. Another nail in his coffin is that, unlike Zimos, you can take out him and his entire story from the game and it would lose nothing. Being played by Wrestling/HulkHogan (see WTHCastingAgency below) also isn't doing him many favors, with Angel's character hardly really using Hulk Hogan's potential ham.

* WTHCastingAgency: For some reason, THQ[=/=]Volition decided to cast Wrestling/HulkHogan, who's about as American as apple pie[[note]]The Hulkster, real name Terry Gene Bollea, is of mixed ancestry that includes Panamanian, but it'd be a huge leap to say he's Latino[[/note]], to voice Mexican luchador Angel de la Muerte. Hogan [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent makes no attempt to put on any Latino accent]], and has a reputation of being a shitty actor (even though his performance in this game was pretty decent all things considered). Some argue that it would have been more appropriate for Hogan to voice Killbane instead, since Killbane's character rivals [[{{Heel}} Hollywood Hogan]] in many ways. (They're both older, balding blond wrestlers who turned on their best friends/tag team partners out of spite, became leaders of "gangs", are obsessed with their wrestling personas and have egos the size of Canada.)

* EvilIsSexy:
** The [=DeWynter=] Sisters. Bonus points for Viola being voiced by none other than Sasha Grey, a former adult film actress.
** [[PerkyGoth Matt Miller.]] Little wonder why he goes through a HeelFaceTurn come ''[=SR4=]''.

*** While several of the shows the songs come from continued running for several years afterwards, whether still airing new episodes like ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' (which only ended in 2018) and ''WesternAnimation/{{Squidbillies}}'' (which is still making new episodes to this day), the station's host is Jon from ''Series/{{Delocated}}'', a show that ended almost six months later. Many of the others also come from shows that had already or have since ended, including:

** Pierce's reaction when he realizes that he's been lured into a HoneyTrap during ''Trojan Whores''. In case the mission name wasn't already being [[JustForPun cheeky enough.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: Kinzie's and Oleg's ShipTease in this game (particularly Oleg's LoveConfession during ''Three Way'', which Kinzie may or may not have heard). [[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV Oh,]] [[DroppedABridgeOnHim boy...]]

** The Penetrator. Taking the phrase "dick-slapping" to a whole new (and literal) level. Shout-out to [[CovertPervert Kinzie]] being [[ADateWithRosiePalms in possession]] of one if the intro cutscene to ''Learning Computer'' is any indicator.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The Boss' personality mellows out a bit in this installment, and s/he gets a bump from full-on VillainProtagonist in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' to a less cruel, but still dark AntiHero with a better sense of humor, addressing fan complaints that the previous game made The Boss a little bit ''too'' hard to root for.
** The Quasar SUV, a car popular in its own right, was infamous for [[CommonplaceRare how rare it was]] in the previous game. This issue is fixed in this game, where it spawns commonly throughout Steelport.

* GameBreaker/SaintsRowTheThird

** By extension of being the leader of the Deckers, Matt Miller is easily the most popular of the enemy gang leaders, especially among fangirls. He even comes back in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'' as an ally. The fact that, despite being something of a {{Jerkass}} to Kinzie in particular and having a hand in nearly getting Boss and the other Saints killed, he's the TokenGoodTeammate of the Syndicate, is voiced by Creator/YuriLowenthal, and comes off as {{Adorkable}} for his obsession over ''[=NyteBlayde=]'' (which is taken UpToEleven in the next game) probably helps.

* GameBreaker:
** Incendiary ammo for the TEK Z-10 SMG. It instantly sets everyone it hits on fire, continues to deal damage even if target is incapacitated, enemies set on fire start running around making other enemies catch fire as well (except for Brutes, which attack as normal, but are still damaged by fire). It also functions as a DiskOneNuke, as it's very easy to upgrade an SMG since it only requires spending around $40,000 and can be done before any mission in Steelport (with some money gathering). Since it's an SMG, it has high rate of fire, large magazine, large ammo reserve and, later in game, can be [[GunsAkimbo dual wielded.]] The only downside is that you can also catch fire, but much later, with your Respect level around 46 or 47, you can buy total immunity to fire damage, eliminating the only real downside of incendiary ammo.
** You can buy immunity to a number of damage types, especially [[ImmuneToBullets bullets]]. While you do need a really high Respect level (around 47 or 48) to even get the opportunity to buy it, the game is a cakewalk after that, save for the mission where you kidnap Josh Birk where it suddenly doesn't work, or anything that relies on keeping a vehicle intact, since you still die if it explodes before you get out. Yes, even with immunity to explosions.
** To a lesser extent, the .45 Shepard. Once you pay a measly amount to bring it to Level 2 to make its fire rate not painfully slow, is quite a potent weapon at little cost, with very common ammunition, since one headshot is enough to down most mooks, it still hurts Specialists and Brutes quite a bit with said headshots and can be [[GunsAkimbo dual-wielded]] much sooner than [=SMGs=]. By comparison, the KA-1 Kobra fires much faster initially but deals noticeably less damage when even the mooks don't die from single headshots. And when you upgrade the Shepard all the way to Level 4 and obtain the exploding bullets, you find it's surprisingly effective at taking out vehicles, especially those pesky helicopters.
** Oleg Kirrlov, once he's available as a homie after Act 1. You know how Brutes are a pain in the ass to fight? [[CatharsisFactor Now imagine having one on your team this time.]] Just try not to accidentally hit him (which can happen too easily if he charges at the same guy you're trying to kill), or else he'll leave and likely turn against you.
** Get the Challenger tank delivery upgrade, and you can suddenly fend off entire armies of rival gang members without a sweat. Even Brutes become nothing to fear with its fast-firing main cannon and a machine gun that's just as powerful as their miniguns, but [[BottomlessMagazines never runs out of ammo]]. You can even turn standard Mayhem into Tank Mayhem with it and rack up the damage goal in no time!
*** On a related note, if you use the infamous Rim Jobs glitch (mentioned below in GoodBadBugs), you can turn much of [[ThatOneSidequest Trafficking]] into a cakewalk by taking any variant of the [[LightningBruiser N-Forcer]] (particularly the Saints N-Forcer, which is a snazzy Saints variant that you get after ''the third mission in the game'' if you have all of the DLC or ''The Full Package''), souping its stats up to the max, parking it around the corner from the starting point, getting out of the Dealer's initial car, and then getting into your N-Forcer. The only downside is that the N-Forcer's turret can overheat, but at least it's better than getting constantly blown up on the harder Instances or running out of ammo. Especially since even if you've got unlimited ammo for all of your weapons, the only thing that will even have that at all times is your starting pistol, which is usually the [[ScrappyWeapon KA-1 Kobra]].
** If you tend to run without homies backing you up (and henceforth avoid the Homie Hostility alluded to in ScrappyMechanic), then Explosive Rounds on your starting pistol(s) are your best friend. With fully upgraded ammo capacity and dual wielding, these humble pistols become capable of bringing down almost anything STAG can throw at you, and are spectacular at crowd control, especially if you're good with headshots.
** [[DeathFromAbove The Reaper Drone and Airstrike.]] The Reaper Drone is [[DiscOneNuke unlocked during the Saints' first mission in Steelport]] and can utterly destroy anything in the game with just a few hits. The only real downsides are its strict ammo limit and the fact Boss is left wide open while using it. The Airstrike isn't given to the player until about the halfway point in the game, but once they have it it makes outdoor missions MUCH easier. Best of all, it doesn't leave the Boss helpless while firing like the Reaper Drone does. Just aim, put the trigger, and run out of the attack radius. Even at the lowest level both these weapons wreak absolute destruction upon foot soldiers and unarmored vehicles, making gang operations and survival missions almost insultingly easy.
** The [=D4TH=] Blossom SMG when fully upgraded, can depopulate vehicles with ridiculous ease, ignore the riot shields on some enemies, and at the same time does more damage per shot ''and'' shoots faster than the other SMG, the [=TEK Z-10=]. The only downside is that it shoots ''too'' fast and will likely run the player dry if they don't control themselves with ammo.
** The "Penetrator" and liberal use of the run/roll and special attack buttons means that a savvy player can roll, run or rampage on a group in no time. This is great when you have barely any ammo during survival and are just waiting to use the heavy stuff for the brutes (and this is only to kill them off quicker than the micro damage done by melee).
** Some of the [[BribingYourWayToVictory DLCs]] count:
*** The "Unlockable Pack" gives the player access to all rewards in the story regardless of choices made... right at the start of the game. This means that the player gets the [[OneHitKill Apocafists,]] [[KillItWithFire Killbane's Mask,]] AND a [[TakeOverTheCity STAG city takeover before STAG even shows up!]]
*** The "Bloodsucker Pack" gives the player bonuses to all cash AND respect earned which makes the early parts of the game insanely easy. It also changes the player's NeckSnap move into a neck bite that fully restores their health, which means that as long as a mook (or even just a normal citizen) is nearby it's pretty much impossible to run out of health. To top it all off this DLC is one of the cheapest available at only a couple of bucks.
*** The "Special Ops" vehicle pack grants access to military-grade vehicles, such as the Tank and VTOL, right out of the starting gate (so long as there's access to a garage and heliport), well before the STAG forces show up with said technology. These armored nightmares can be used to cheese through certain missions or are just handy to get around with.
*** The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Invincible Pack"]] does this ON PURPOSE! All it adds are several cheat codes ranging from classics like God Mode and unlimited clips all the way up to things like Super Saints (stronger homies) and bigger explosions!
** Level 4 Molotov Cocktails have the uncanny ability to ''one-shot most vehicles instantly'', making them more like RPG rounds you can throw in an arc.
** The larger vehicles like flatbeds and semis are usually fairly innocuous and innocent...unless they've been upgraded to have maximum durability, at which point activating the nitrous will cause enough vehicle damage to instantly take out other vehicles, turning them into short-lived tanks. Add in enhanced bumpers at they practically become rocket-propelled bulldozers.
** The Notoriety Wipe consists of two upgrades that unlock the ability to ask for a complete reset in the {{Wanted Meter}}s (there's one upgrade for the police meter and one for the gang's one). Once bought, the Notoriety Wipe can be used anytime. Most of the Vehicle Theft's difficulty comes from the game ramping up the player's notoriety once the target is stolen, forcing either the police or one gang (depending on the vehicle) to actively chase the player until the stolen vehicle is delivered to its destination. Did we mention the Notoriety Wipe can be used anytime? Yes, it includes "during a Vehicle Theft"; resetting the Notoriety Meter also results in the opposition stopping to chase you, which turns what is intended to be a high-adrenaline car chase into a very easy fetch quest.

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: The jingle that plays when you complete a mission and/or activity, especially wonderful if it was a particularly difficult one.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: The existence of STAG seems out of proportion until you remember the amount of force and power the Saints alone have, much less other gangs. You'd think the government would have stepped in ''much sooner.''