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Shenmue III - What Happened?
- Thread starter IbizaPocholo
- Start date
- Opinion Analysis Trailer
Fbh
Member
Haven't played III but shenmue was, IMO, always boring as fuck.
The biggest appeal of the original games was that in some ways the world felt more advanced and ahead of its time than the competition. But we've gotten plenty of cool detailed open worlds since then and , based on videos and reviews, Shenmue 3 was simply doing more of the same with nicer visuals.
So the franchise that once felt like it was leading open worlds now feels like it's stuck in the Dreamcast era
The biggest appeal of the original games was that in some ways the world felt more advanced and ahead of its time than the competition. But we've gotten plenty of cool detailed open worlds since then and , based on videos and reviews, Shenmue 3 was simply doing more of the same with nicer visuals.
So the franchise that once felt like it was leading open worlds now feels like it's stuck in the Dreamcast era
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Abriael_GN
RSI Employee of the Year
25 minutes of that incredibly patronizing tone were nearly insufferable. 
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Never played Shenmue. But always heard about it and YT'ed many videos of the classic game. Got to be among the most boring big name franchises I've seen.
It did have scope, so if someone likes playing a big soap opera with canned QTE fights it was something unique. At that time, how many games were like Shenmue? Don't know. Might be the only one like it.
The Chairman
Member
As a huge Shenmue fan who played the first two games when i was a kid on Dreamcast, i have zero hype to play this third game because i got what i wanted from the Yakuza games, they are just like Shenmue but ten times better, also it doesn't help that the old Shenmue games looks better than this third game.
Great Hair
Banned
funkygunther
Banned
Unreal engine, kickstarter and Yu Suzuki happened
Kagoshima_Luke
Gold Member
What happened? They made another Shenmue game, which everyone thought they wanted because they hadn't actually played a Shenmue game for nearly two decades.
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
A Shenmue 3 remake by RGG Studio and AM2 would help... in every way.
Captain Toad
Banned
They made a Shenmue game. People forgot Shenmue isn't good.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman
leads to fear. Fear leads to xbox.
Yu Suzuki is not as good as people remember him to be, his game design aged like milk.
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
"Toshiro Nagoshi was also very integral into making Shenmue come to life. Although the credits only tell us he was a supervisor; he has revealed the development story. He was called by the CEO at the time to get the game finished, and as a result, he had to serve as producer and director on the final months of development. He recognized that as one of the turning points in his career."
Courtesy : Sega Retro
Shenmue 1 was great.
Yakuza games are great.
Shenmue 3 = Lakshya without Nagoshi and Sega Studios. Cannot reach the same level...
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Zambatoh
Member
What? Just about every game he has ever worked on has in some form or another become the very basis of modern game design. Aged like milk is like saying gaming as a whole aged like milk.
Sir Vilhelm
Member
They teased Shenmue III on the Sony e3 stage as an exclusive so fanboys way over hyped it as is the standard.
Ragnarok
Member
What an awful hot take
Alan Wake
Member
I loved Shenmue and Shenmue II is probably my favourite game ever. It's at least the most influential one since it got me hooked on China at the time which lead to me learning the language and finally meeting my wife there. So after giving up on a third game I was thrilled when they announced the Kickstarter. I backed it with a substantial sum and expected something much smaller but with that special Shenmue feel to it. Most of all I expected the story to progress.
We got a 25 hour adventure with environments that weren't that small, tons of mini games and practically no story progression whatsoever. Although I as a fan of the series did have some fun with Shenmue III, it was overall a disappointment. I waited 18 years for these baby steps forward in the story. Yu Suzuki clearly mishandled the time and resources he got, creating mini games, a Save Shenmue temple and forgetting all about the story. Now we're back to where we were in 2001, waiting for the story to continue but seeing no one out there who want to fund it.
We got a 25 hour adventure with environments that weren't that small, tons of mini games and practically no story progression whatsoever. Although I as a fan of the series did have some fun with Shenmue III, it was overall a disappointment. I waited 18 years for these baby steps forward in the story. Yu Suzuki clearly mishandled the time and resources he got, creating mini games, a Save Shenmue temple and forgetting all about the story. Now we're back to where we were in 2001, waiting for the story to continue but seeing no one out there who want to fund it.
SlimeGooGoo
Party Gooper
.
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Brigandier
Member
As someone who hated Shenmue III even after putting over $600 down towards the Kickstarter I have to say it was utter trash, But your post is even more trash... What a fucking awful take.
LordBlodgett
Member
As someone who was a huge Shenmue 1 & 2 fan back when it released I wasn't that impressed with Shenmue 3 because it just provided more of the same. What made Shenmue great in the first place to me was the sense that you could do anything on the world. But of course we have had much bigger and better open world experiences over the last 20 years, so nothing Shenmue does feels revolutionary anymore. I'm playing through the Yakuza series right now and it feels like a better version of Shenmue in every way..... I'm not sure Shenmue 3 stood a chance just due to the high expectations and nostalgia tied to the first two games....
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lachesis
Member
The biggest gripe is the battle system for me. I can look the blind eye to other short comings - but that loose battle with no depth really was disappointing.
I am a backer, and I still support the series though. Even though it came out to be the by far weakest of all 3, I'm glad it did happen.
Hope things will get better in Shenmue 4, if there's going to be any.
I am a backer, and I still support the series though. Even though it came out to be the by far weakest of all 3, I'm glad it did happen.
Hope things will get better in Shenmue 4, if there's going to be any.
This game did nothing right for anyone. It didn't refine any gameplay from the previous ones, the combat greatly regressed and that's being kind, and the story that some have been waiting a decade for had nothing added to it.
He really needed sega's combat system.
Brigandier
Member
I felt the horrific story and lack of progression were the main problems, Most players felt they learnt nothing and was being told things they already knew, The cutscene at the end with Shenhuas father felt like it was pretty much the same as the scene with Zhu Yuanda.
Recycled themes - Mr muscles v1 and v2 learn a special move to defeat them from a stubborn master... Please...
Dreadful combat system.
Supporting characters that had as much depth as an evaporated puddle of piss, Like what were there names again...
At the end of Shenmue II any player that liked Shenmue would have felt Ryo was becoming a legit martial artist and had improved tremendously from Day 1 of Yokosuka.... He had defeated tons of thugs and triad like members, Defeated very tough Street Fighting champions then Smoked Master Baihu then defeated the hulk Dou Niu with a move he never uses again the counter elbow assault.
It's like Ryo lost all his skill and toughness and become a top tier pussy who gets beat down by Thugz.
I personally feel Yu Suzuki lost/forgot a lot of the story and absolutely forgot how tough Ryo actually was at the end of chapter 6, Yu Suzuki also never once replayed Shenmue or Shenmue II to refresh himself of the characters which is absolutely appalling.
He focused far too much on mini games and arcades all over the place it was so dumb.
Anyways rant over lol I loved Shenmue II more than anything I was lucky to get it on Dreamcast as I live in the UK but after 18 years that was beyond mediocre it was an insult and 100000% put the nails in Shenmue IV's coffin.
Alan Wake
Member
Couldn't agree more. Especially the bolded part, which is a bit baffling when you think about it. The fans seem to have had a clearer view of the story than Yu Suzuki himself! Incredible. The only part when the story felt like it was progressing somewhat was when we were told about the bridge, but after that it completely halted. And we better not mention the DLC at all.
SuperBabyMethod
Member
It’s a good game. Maybe too Shenmue for Shenmue (if that makes sense). The criticism towards the story is warranted, though, as it felt like a Saturday morning cartoon episode rather than an epic conclusion to Ryo’s story.
SonicJams
Member
I spent a lot of aus dollars on the kick starter and can tell you what happened:
• graphics and animation are bad and ruin the story immersion.
• the story is gone.
•dialog between characters and their characterisations were uninspired.
• the fighting system felt like it was made on dreams.
• graphics and animation are bad and ruin the story immersion.
• the story is gone.
•dialog between characters and their characterisations were uninspired.
• the fighting system felt like it was made on dreams.
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Alan Wake
Member
It was never intended to to be a conclusion but we all expected a progression at least.
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
Member
Great video. Thanks OP for sharing it.
I have a special love/hate with Shenmue 3, something I had with Shenmue 2. I really, really, really love the 1st one and that's it.
It's great to see Shenmue back. It's not the way it did. I liked it because I played it like if it were Shenmue 2.5, not a real sequel since it was not made with SEGA.
No one could have done better with so little money. Ys really has done a really great job considering the budget. I know we wanted something like Witcher 3 but with so little money it could never have happened. Still, Ys should not have over promise and be more honest about it.
Still, I'm ready for Shenmue 4. Please, make it real.
I have a special love/hate with Shenmue 3, something I had with Shenmue 2. I really, really, really love the 1st one and that's it.
It's great to see Shenmue back. It's not the way it did. I liked it because I played it like if it were Shenmue 2.5, not a real sequel since it was not made with SEGA.
No one could have done better with so little money. Ys really has done a really great job considering the budget. I know we wanted something like Witcher 3 but with so little money it could never have happened. Still, Ys should not have over promise and be more honest about it.
Still, I'm ready for Shenmue 4. Please, make it real.
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Alan Wake
Member
I'm not sure about that. I read that The Medium had a budget of about 7 million, if that's true it just adds to my feeling that Yu Suzuki wasted the resources he got on the wrong things. Time obviously ran away from him, Baisha was cut completely which made the end feel rushed and unsatisfying. No one expected The Witcher 3, we all knew this was going to be a smaller and more limited Shenmue experience. The size and the scope of the game is not its main issue at all.
Brigandier
Member
They had a bigger budget than people think.
After deductions they had about 4.5m from KS, Sony helped them set up a studio and were prepared to publish it which saved huge amounts of funds or rather freed up funds... Deepsilver came on board and put money into the pot, Shibuya Productions the original investors to Yu Suzuki and Shibuya private investors put money into the game aswell.
It was a piss poorly managed game with way way wayyyyy too much time and resources spent on fan service.
Mini games and stores everywhere, gacha capsule machines all over the place, Fork life job and warehouse at the docks, the save shemmue house....
It was not a good game, and was terribly developed.
The only positives i can say from the whole debacle is if S4 is greenlit they have a studio there now and assets from S3 all made that can be improved and reused etc and the many developers who worked on the game have gained valuable experience and hopefully they and Yu Suzuki will have listened and taken on board the criticisms that Shenmue III faced.
Naked Lunch
Member
Worst post in NeoGAF history.
Easily.
PleaseDontBanMe
Banned
Shenmue ran so that Yakuza could walk
or something like that
or something like that
Hudo
Member
Outrun, Hang-On, After Burner I and II, Virtua Fighter 1 to 4 and Virtua Racing are all fairly playable, IMHO. Well maybe except the first Virtua Fighter, which looks like shit (like many early 3D games).
Alan Wake
Member
I don't see much of that I'm afraid.
xrnzaaas
Member
Shenmue was developed in Japan, right? It's definitely more expensive to make games there (within the same budget) than in Poland. Tbh I never found the kickstarter money to be an impressive sum considering they had to make the third game from scratch (games like Yakuza rely a lot on reusing the same locations and character models) and keep it (semi)open world.
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Marcus Aurelius
Banned
The games were always overrated. It was a cool tech demo 20 years ago but that's it. Also lots of nostalgia that blinded the fans.
Yakuza is much better.
Yakuza is much better.
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Brigandier
Member
Sadly he is finished, still a legend but in terms of todays gamer he is too stubborn and old school.
BLAUcopter
Gold Member
Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment!!!
Beer Baelly
Al Pachinko, Konami President
Never forget
Marcus Aurelius
Banned
Never forget
JetSetJustin
Member
Sleeping Dogs and Yakuza happened.
Camreezie
Member
I made it one minute in25 minutes of that incredibly patronizing tone were nearly insufferable.
nowhat
Member
Sleeping Dogs 2 was apparently supposed to be a thing, but it was cancelled, which makes me sad. Also I have an urge for a pork bun now.
Alan Wake
Member
Sure. But we have to take into consideration that they likely had much more than 7 million all in all due to support from other companies as well. My point is that they did not use the resources they had in the most efficient way. That's on Yu Suzuki.
Alan Wake
Member
The sad truth.
ManaByte
Gold Member
Imagine someone saying this about Miyamoto. Because Yu Suzuki is on the same level.