The lack of story/character development is a difficult thing to qualify since it's hard to say how to do it better, in what areas etc. since we don't know where the story is ultimately going.
I liked the Shenhua conversations but I also feel like they could have done more to flesh her out and allude to things to come. Although I can't really say what I'd do better.
For me it really comes down to the question why does Shenmue need to be so long? Why does it need 5 installments to tell its story. Shenmue 3 didn't set up enough or fill enough gaps in the large threads that were already developed (as seen on numerous story threads) to make it seem like this story is very big. While there are a lot of unanswered questions the importance of them feels understated compared to the minutia of the game. I think this adds a subtle undercurrent to how we're all feeling but are not able to articulate that Shenmue 3 didn't have "enough" story in it.
It really comes down to what is important. A lot of people say S3 really felt like a Shenmue game, and in some sense it did. But for me Shenmue is about exploring these story and character moments like Shenhua's past, the Shenmue tree etc.
I would like to see these things grow and expand more in the next installment.
I liked the Shenhua conversations but I also feel like they could have done more to flesh her out and allude to things to come. Although I can't really say what I'd do better.
For me it really comes down to the question why does Shenmue need to be so long? Why does it need 5 installments to tell its story. Shenmue 3 didn't set up enough or fill enough gaps in the large threads that were already developed (as seen on numerous story threads) to make it seem like this story is very big. While there are a lot of unanswered questions the importance of them feels understated compared to the minutia of the game. I think this adds a subtle undercurrent to how we're all feeling but are not able to articulate that Shenmue 3 didn't have "enough" story in it.
It really comes down to what is important. A lot of people say S3 really felt like a Shenmue game, and in some sense it did. But for me Shenmue is about exploring these story and character moments like Shenhua's past, the Shenmue tree etc.
I would like to see these things grow and expand more in the next installment.