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[Azelover]

I really like the new ending..

 

[Karmic Raze]

I loved the first two games, but I’ve yet to finish 3. It just seems like a huge disappointment after waiting for so many years just to get that. I’ll eventually complete the game and probably still want Shenmue 4 and beyond, but right now I can’t help but feel like the series has taken a turn for the worse and that’s coming from about as a die-hard Shenmue fan you’re ever going to find.

 

[Chiggs]

First one sucked too.

"Oooh luck I can open a drawer and drive a fork lift"

Fuck you

I swear to God this is one the greatest posts I’ve ever seen on the Internet.

A tip of the hat, good sir.

 

[TooLateMate]

That's actually what people wanted to be able to do in "games of the future", back then. Or at least they thought they wanted that, so it's important that some game devs truly did it so we can say "oh, so it's possible... only it's kind of boring so I guess we don't really need it in most games after all".
It's like the common expectation, "I want to roam a big city and be able to enter any building at any time". When some games tried to do that (at least partially), we realized that most of the time it was pointless. Or devs realized it wasn't worth the effort.

but that wasn't what made shenmue a beloved or good game though, you do undertsand that right?

 

[Naibel]

I backed and played Shenmue 3, and it's neither terrible nor did I feel I "wasted my life" playing it. It was okay. Good at the beginning, average at the middle, good again at the end.

The story does not progress a lot which is a bummer, but the interactions with Shenhua where wholesome and great. I knew it wouldn't blow my socks off, and even though some parts were disappointing (the rapidly depleting health at the beginning, the subpar combat system), the graphics I found were pretty impressive for such a low-budgeted game. The face animations on the NPCs were appalling though.

It's a Shenmue game made for hardcore Shenmue fans and no one else, which is both a blessing and a curse. A nice time capsule that gives the player a very nice, cozy feeling. I mean, the village part man, I wanted to stay there forever !

So yeah, It's not because I backed Shenmue 3 that I'm excusing the game's numerous shortcomings, they do exist. It just so happens that it gave me what I wanted, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Alx]

but that wasn't what made shenmue a beloved or good game though, you do undertsand that right?

As a matter of fact it is part of what made people love it. The attention to details, immersion into a small Japanese town... It's the reason why people said Shenmue is unique, while newer games had better graphics, plots or gameplay.

Spoiler

You do understand that, right ?

 

[Geki-D]

Feels like I wrote this review. Pretty much everything is spot on and his biggest criticisms all come through in what I originally wrote here on GAF after beating the game:

So I finally got round to beating this. Man, that was disappointing. I can get over the dodgy gameplay, broken QTEs, no more grab in fights, the bizarre move queue in combat, the awful voice acting, the stiff animations, ridiculously slow draw in, the lack of Sega arcade games...

-Ryo, after learning so much, overcoming such powerful foes in S2, comes across some random-ass thug leader who is more powerful (and by proxy is therefore stronger than everyone Ryo has beaten till that point). But don't worry guys, learning one new move get's him by it.

-Oh shit, in Niaowu there's another random-ass thug leader who is even strongerer guiz. But don't worry, learning one new move get's him by it. Again. Power level raised! I can't wait to see how Ryo will beat every other guy in the next game, maybe: Meet foe -get beat - find master - learn move- beat foe -repeat.

So we save Shenhua's father but what did we actually learn? the answer is absolutely nothing, the whole game is just a stop gap and it was so bad we can be sure we'll never see a sequel.

Only thing I didn't have an issue with was gaining money... Because I saved scummed the fuck out of gambling. But yeah, doing it legitimately is an utter joke. Just bad game design.

 

[SkylineRKR]

The combat is explained well in the video, it lacks skill and accomplishment. Its all about raising your stats and auto battle through it with ease. If you're stats are too low, you'll get 2 shotted by anyone. There aren't throws or counters either. The counter elbow assault is in, but it has no reason to be. Shenmue 3 probably has the worst combat I have ever played or its up there, with specials assigned under dial a combo inputs. It feels so unnatural that I always forgot the moves. I don't see whats wrong with the system in 1 and 2. The framerate and movement could be better but I wouldn't forget FF,KK or BF,P inputs and the results felt natural. What did they think, make it casual friendly? Shenmue is a hardcore series and almost no casual bought it or funded it. The stamina system was terrible, as the video explained you're likely run into a surprise battle with only 3 dots of health. wtf were they thinking.

All this game needed was a skill factor. Ryo should be able to beat them without resorting to raising stats as was also possible in 1 and 2. Remember Chai in the arcade in 1? You could beat him with proper parry timing and throws. If Ryo was bound to lose in 3, then make him lose to a very high up Chiyoumen, or to a corrupted chinese martial arts master. A grind for a faceless roid punk is just ridiculous, and you know what, lets repeat this entire process in the second half. Then again, I think there are 6 different enemies in the entire game. You have the 2 copy paste roid dudes, and a few of the village goons also show up in the city.

Not only the fact random faceless goons beat Ryo (who has become considerably stronger during 2) comes off as weird, but also the fact this takes place mere weeks after 2 and Ryo is acting as if he hadn't seen Chai in a long ass time. Chai already explained his motives in 1, and they fought on the boat before 2. Its not that long ago in the games narrative. In fact, every revelation has already been done in 2, and Ryo acts surprised through all of them. Way to go if you aren;t certain 4 will be greenlit. This game is in about every level a spit in the face. Worse yet, they retconned the supernatural elements and it seems it boils down to an ordinary treasure hunt. And the new thing in 3? Niao Sun, her character development is like 'hahaha i kill you all and take over'. Shenmue 3 sucks ass.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

It’s disrespectful to the people who worked on that game to throw such a clickbait title, and pathetic to resort to these YouTube tactics to keep the audience engaged and hopefully earn a dime from it.

The game has its flaws but no one expected it to be a masterclass of game design and it’s a miracle it even exists. The criticism may be valid but it could be introduced with a more tactful title.

 

[DiddyKongRacing69]

Is it really a surprise though? The Shenmue series has always been poorly aged trash propped up by Sega Fanboys who can't let go of the fact that Sega is not what it used to be.

 

[Gamezone]

I could easily have dealt with the gameplay as long as it took me somewhere. Instead you are running around doing nothing for 20 hours with barely any story progression, and the small progression at the end is really underwhelming. I'm a huge fan of Shenmue by the way.

 

[Codswallop_]

I finished and enjoyed it, but it's not for everyone. It's basically a game from 1999 esurrected in the modern era with better graphics, but few other quality of life improvements. I'd probably give it a 6.5-7/10, a bit of a disappointment but still glad it exists and nowhere near the worst game I've played this gen.

 

[Geki-D]

I could easily have dealt with the gameplay as long as it took me somewhere.

Yeah, I could overlook a lot of the bad gameplay elements & mechanics but the fact it was utterly worthless in terms of the overall story made it feel like an utter waste. It's just a whole load of nothing.

 

[deriks]

First two were like "this is how games will be", and some of them became that. Shenmue III was 20 years later and felt like a 20 years game just came out. It's bad direction

 

[TooLateMate]

As a matter of fact it is part of what made people love it. The attention to details, immersion into a small Japanese town... It's the reason why people said Shenmue is unique, while newer games had better graphics, plots or gameplay.

Spoiler

You do understand that, right ?

theres a difference between acknowledging world building and immersion, and basically writing off the fascination of the game only as gimmicky interaction/tech features for the time.

also the overall storytelling itself, carried the game also. especially in the first iteration

 

[TooLateMate]

Is it really a surprise though? The Shenmue series has always been poorly aged trash propped up by Sega Fanboys who can't let go of the fact that Sega is not what it used to be.

one of my favorite games and i could care less about sega...especially at that time lol

one of the few truly non-video gamey games ive really played.

 

[Spaceman292]

The game is good for what it is. I really enjoyed it. Happy with it as a backer. Bring on Shenmue 4.

Do people like you really exist or are you just an AI created to annoy people?

 

[Dave_at_Home]

A game like this will always have its audience despite its execution. Of course as long as it still has its unique brand of strange. With that said, this game sold poorly to say the least and don't know how they'll raise money for the next iteration. Final chapter on mobile platforms?

Edit: I've never played Shenmue because standards, but understand why fans love it and glad something like this exist at all.

 

[ajim]

Do people like you really exist or are you just an AI created to annoy people?

I genuinely enjoyed it. Certainly wasn't perfect or mind blowing, but man, if it wasn't nice playing Shenmue again and experiencing some of my fav characters ever again.

I also think the world is pretty attractive.

 

[ienjoyrawfish]

I agree with the video title (even if it is a little sensationalist and clickbaity). Shenmue 3 was a massive disappointment and not a very good game. Not just from the point of view of "not good by today's standards" it's simply not good full stop and an inferior game to Shenmue 1 and 2 in just about every way.

Having said that, what really grinds my gears is when dumbass 14 year olds on the internet use that as an excuse to shit on Yu Suzuki's entire legacy. Every Youtube video goes the same way for me. I always tell myself I won't read the comments. Then I always read the comments anyway. Then I get triggered by how unbelievably retarded they are. Every. Single. Fucking. Time. When will I learn?

 

[Dorohedoro]

My god. Yu Suzuki would have to pay me to play this farce, which hurts to say as a huge fan of I and II. Not a single thing about it looks appealing. Just tedious as hell even for a Shenmue game. Had a sinking feeling it was gonna be ass when it had a broke boi budget compared to anything decent nowadays. It wasn't gonna take place in more urban environments, as expected, and instead we got these boring little villages instead, yawn. Voice acting straight out of 2000, why would anyone actually want it like that, it was a meme that got out of control. I don't like the shitty looking character models, they couldn't even get Shenhua's outfit right from where II left off and Ryo's shoes don't look accurate but I'm nit-picking there. Don't even get me started on the ending.

I still have a lot of respect for the man for bringing us the original games, among other arcade classics like Out Run and Space Harrier. Virtua Fighter was great too. Hang-On is the Dark Souls of 16-bit racing games. I was rather proud of myself when I finally beat that one and earned the certificate. The Engrish written on it was hilarious too. They weren't perfectly ported over but I'm glad we at least got HD versions of I and II because fuck spending hundreds of dollars on a Dreamcast and overpriced copies. I think you even need a special disc just to get II to work on a US Dreamcast. Luckily it worked just fine when I unknowingly ordered a burned copy back in the day, lol. Anyway, they still remain some of my all-time favorites. I'll never forget watching Shenmue I gameplay for the first time in 2000 when my older brother was playing it. Just walking around a realistic looking game world where you can interact with almost everything and everyone, and something as simple as knocking on every door was astonishing for me as a 10-year old kid. Fell in love with the series right then and there but I think it ended at II for me unless a miracle happens and Yu Suzuki makes Shenmue IV, then an even bigger miracle happens and it's actually good, but probably not.




Sorry Suzuki-san, but in the meantime, take this stiff Shenmue III

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Seeing complaints about the lack of Sega connection. Is Yu Suzuki even involved with Sega anymore? Otherwise I can't see why there wasn't anything Sega related in there.

 

[GreyHorace]

The first and second game's saving grace for me was the combat. Hearing that 3 screws it up bad makes me averse to playing it.

With respect to Yu Suzuki, but if he can't bring anything new to the series then why should anyone bother? Why play a game with dated mechanics like Shenmue 3 when Ghost of Tsushima is there?

 

[Goro Majima]

It's my own fault but I backed Shenmue 3 after just hearing that it was similar to the Yakuza series. Never looked up a youtube video or anything. Also bought the Shenmue 1+2 collection.

Except the problem is that it's like Yakuza but worse in every conceivable way. It's obviously an ancestor of the series but it really just hasn't aged well at all.

 

[xrnzaaas]

The amount of archaic or annoying mechanics Shenmue 3 seems to have is mind blowing for a bystander like myself (I've watched several reviews and gameplay videos). It's like no one had the courage to tell Yu Suzuki to make some significant changes so that the gameplay feels more modern. I'm not saying that Shenmue 3 should start looking and playing like all other modern action-adventure / rpg games, but there are some bad mechanics and ideas which should be definitely left in the past.

 

[Gamezone]

I skipped Shenmue 3 because of the Epic deal. I was going to pick it up on Steam and avoid any spoilers, but after watching this I'm glad I didn't waste my time.

 

[Vawn]

Sounds like two seperate issues with one being much more significant than the other.

 

[Enjay]

Absolute trash in video game form. Yu Suzuki may be the greatest conman in an industry of conmen.

 

[TooLateMate]

Absolute trash in video game form. Yu Suzuki may be the greatest conman in an industry of conmen.

how is he a conman lol he came out with an idea and some people found it to be one of the best games of all time. and predictably some people need more video gamey-ness in their video game.

 

[Sub_Level]

lmao

 

[The Shepard]

I prefer yakuza, by quite a bit. Sega should have got that team to make shenmue 3.

 

[bargeparty]

People need to learn about fucking perspective. I'm not defending 3 cos I got bored of it in about an hour (times have changed and so have I). But back when 1 and 2 released? It was groundbreaking for gaming - 10 years ahead of its time, maybe even more than that. So don't shit on the series cos you played it now, or even a few years back. You missed the boat.

Who are you talking to?

 

[Life]

Who are you talking to?

Try reading the posts maybe?