Reality vs Expectations (warning: spoilers within)

[danielmann861]

After 18 years and developed on a uneven Kickstarter/Outside Investor Budget...could it ever truly live up to expectations?

I have mixed feelings on the game as a whole. I'm currently sitting down to try and write a review and process my thoughts now having completed my first run through. I've been thinking about this in context to what I'm gonna write.

Could it honestly have ever lived up to our full expectations after so many years?

I generally liked the game but I have some misgivings about a couple of things. The story beats and translation woes are two of my biggest misgivings. It still really bothers me that they fucked up the English translation about the Scroll in the Temple in the end. But that's the pedantic Japanese student in me coming out.

But I've got to ask...could it ever truly live up to the expectations you had in mind for it for all of these years?

 

[Rikitatsu]

Bailu part lived up and even surpassed my expectations.

Shame about the last third of the game though

 

[ShenSun]

I loved it. Sure it was lacking in certain areas, but what suzuki did on a small budget starting from nothing is amazing.

I think alot of people's frustration is the story aspect and how things didnt progress as rapidly as shenmue 2 in the last 1/2 of shenmue 3. Its a fair concern as we have no idea if Shenmue 4 will be released. Saying that though, theres tons of teasers in shenmue 3 about shenmue 4. The Hd collections continue to sell and there is a push from Epic and Deep silver for Shenmue 3. I think we'll get the sequel. Its almost as if suzuki is trying to tell us something with all these teasers without directly saying it

Shenmue 4 is where things should ramp up big time. The foundation and build up has been established in shenmue 3 both in story and assets, models, engine etc

Other areas like combat etc, they did a good job and the best they could. Suzuki was tasked with an impossible job and he delivered with a massive disadvantage. No team, no publisher, no unreal engine experience, out of game development for 20 years, hardly any money etc. I take my hat off to him big time.

The real test begins now i think.

 

[code l name]

I think the most accurate answer to your question is it depends on what those expectations were.

The reality is we went from one of the most expensive, groundbreaking video games from that era, developed by a legendary director that was given carte blanche by Sega to a Kickstarter funded project, that had archaic design elements from director who hadn’t released a game in almost two decades. There was always going to be a disconnect.

I was pretty sour when I first finished the game. The more I reflected I realized how much I enjoyed the game despite some major flaws. It’s small miracle the game especially Bailu and early part of Niaowu was as good as it was. For that I am eternally grateful.

 

[ComfyBeats]

I think alot of people's frustration is the story aspect and how things didnt progress as rapidly as shenmue 2 in the last 1/2 of shenmue 3. Its a fair concern as we have no idea if Shenmue 4 will be released. Saying that though, theres tons of teasers in shenmue 3 about shenmue 4. The Hd collections continue to sell and there is a push from Epic and Deep silver for Shenmue 3. I think we'll get the sequel. Its almost as if suzuki is trying to tell us something with all these teasers without directly saying it

Outside of YS Net finishing up on shipping the DLC, I wont be surprised if Shenmue 4 is already in the planning/writing stages. With how Shenmue 2 apparently had some beta version of Bailu Village and Shenmue 1 seeming to be a far larger game initially, I wont be surprised if he considered doing the same thing again.
I also forget when they started accepting pre-orders, but I'm guessing with all the CEs and copies of the game in the wild its likely they've made money off a diehard fanbase.

 

[jsh020]

Some aspects of the game are a bit more on the directing side of fault than budgetary reasons, like budget isnt the reason Bailu feels like its so uneventful, that's purely cause nothing really happens there in the script.

 

[Amir]

The heart and soul of what was supposed to be Shenmue III was cut out in favour of fan service.

 

[Niaxi]

I think it is hard to know exactly what my expectations for the game were tbh. 18 years ago I would have been looking for a game that built upon Shenmue 2 and continued to push boundaries on a lot of fronts. Fast forward 14 years and when the Kickstarter was funded and it properly sank in that we would actually get a third game, I actually sat a thought about what I wanted from it. If Yu-san had a massive budget and team, he possibly could have pushed boundaries in many different areas. However, had he done so, I genuinely think we could have ended up with a great game, but it would not have been Shenmue. Even to this day, I personally feel that Shenmue is a unique experience that no developer has ever managed to replicate.

In that regard, I did not know how Yu-san would manage to strike a balance between the Shenmue 3 he would have made 18 years ago and the one he could theoretically have made now. In the end, despite what issues might exist with the last portion of the game and the overarching story/character development, Yu-san somehow managed to produce a game that felt every bit as Shenmue as the previous ones. And I think above all, that is what matters most. Within meer minutes of entering the village square in Bailu, I felt that spark of magic that I had not felt in a new game since the first Shenmue (I played 2 first). I knew that I was playing Shenmue.

Yes there a some issues with the game, it's not perfect, but the vast majority of them are due to the budget constraints and ones I fully expected and that did not colour my view of the game. Even when taking into account the story/character issues, Shenmue 3 is still a miracle in my opinion and one I never thought I'd get the chance to play. Like everyone else, I can now only pray that Yu-san is able to make Shenmue 4. For even if it takes another 18 years, no other developer is ever going to make something that feels like Shenmue.

 

[DarksideHazuki]

I had fairly middling expectations, and for me, it completely blew them out of the water. I thought the game was absolutely brilliant, and almost everything I had been dreaming of since 2001. The whole Niaowu chapter just felt so "Shenmue" to me, I loved it, and the final battle(s) was almost shot-for-shot what I'd been dreaming of for decades. The Lan Di showdown was just utter perfection. Personally, I'd have it at around a 9/10, and it's definitely up there with Shenmue and Shenmue II for me.

Sure, there's a few things I didn't like, or that I think could have been done better, but I expected that on such a measly budget. I'm genuinely quite shocked at the negative reaction toward the game, on here especially. I can't really fathom people that have actually been waiting 18 years like I have playing through Shenmue III and coming away from it disappointed.

As soon as I finished the game I came on here pretty excited to see what everyone thought, and was honestly gutted at some of the reactions.

 

[danielmann861]

I had fairly middling expectations, and for me, it completely blew them out of the water. I thought the game was absolutely brilliant, and almost everything I had been dreaming of since 2001. The whole Niaowu chapter just felt so "Shenmue" to me, I loved it, and the final battle(s) was almost shot-for-shot what I'd been dreaming of for decades. The Lan Di showdown was just utter perfection. Personally, I'd have it at around a 9/10, and it's definitely up there with Shenmue and Shenmue II for me.

Sure, there's a few things I didn't like, or that I think could have been done better, but I expected that on such a measly budget. I'm genuinely quite shocked at the negative reaction toward the game, on here especially. I can't really fathom people that have actually been waiting 18 years like I have playing through Shenmue III and coming away from it disappointed.

As soon as I finished the game I came on here pretty excited to see what everyone thought, and was honestly gutted at some of the reactions.

This is why I ask the question. I think in some ways we let our expectations ride too high and were inevitably gonna be disappointed no matter what (those of us who are)

I don’t hate the game. I just really wanted more from the story

 

[DarksideHazuki]

This is why I ask the question. I think in some ways we let our expectations ride too high and were inevitably gonna be disappointed no matter what (those of us who are)

I don’t hate the game. I just really wanted more from the story

Yeah I don't wanna be like "you guys hyped it up way too much" because there's definitely flaws in the game, and I can see why people would have gripes with certain things, but yeah I have to admit my expectations seem to have been a lot lower than a lot of others' on here. I kicked $1,500 into the kickstarter, and after the 20th or 30th update, I was pretty convinced the game was going to be an absolute trainwreck, and I've basically just pissed that money away (I still didn't regret contributing that amount, it's fucking Shenmue III regardless!)

My expectations pretty much remained at rock bottom right up until maybe the prophecy trailer, and then definitely the Walmart trailer spiked them up a touch and I had luke-warm feelings at that point. Then I went completely dark a few weeks after that. Still, even going to pick the game up last Tuesday, I was pretty set on the game being kind of shit and just a shadow of I & II, and as I say, I was absolutely blown away. Thought the game was absolutely fucking amazing for what Yu and Ysnet were working with.

 

[hyo_razuki]

From a technical and gameplay standpoint it absolutely has lived up to my expectations, surpassed them in many ways even.

From a story standpoint my opinion on this game gets worse the more I think about it. With a little bit of actual story the game would be lifted from a 7/10 (I agree with Yu on the rating) to a 9 or even 9.5/10. And that could easily have been done by giving a handful of characters each 3 minutes of meaningful dialog with Ryo. For instance Grandmasters Sun and Feng, Shenhuas father, the priest of Huaxiao Temple, perhaps even Lan Di.

This is absolutely not a budget problem. If you have time and money to implement a stupid face game with Shenhua

 

[shredingskin]

It depends, if expectations you mean "all that I imagine shenmue could be", then obviously not.
But I had quite low expectations, I was one of the guys that thought that the animations would be kept as we've seen, the models, I wasn't even sure the environments would be that big and well done.
So my expectations for the game were far exceeded. It just that both times we were changing locations it felt that it left so much low hanging fruit to be done that really tainted the overall great impression I had playing 90% of the game.
It permeates the perception that the sour parts were at the last parts, so it ends up muddying that most of the time spent with the game was pure joy.

Some aspects of the game are a bit more on the directing side of fault than budgetary reasons, like budget isnt the reason Bailu feels like its so uneventful, that's purely cause nothing really happens there in the script.

Part of it was having most "big moments" spoiled in trailers.
But I agree with the directing side, the Ren vs kick guy would be awesome if it wasn't in front of Lan Di (and why would he have such pansies around).
Or for example the cut to Niao Sun burning the place down just before the Lan Di fight, immediately sold it as a bogus fight that would end when the fire started to spread.
But overall I'd say that it exceeded my expectations.

 

[hyo_razuki]

After 18 years and developed on a uneven Kickstarter/Outside Investor Budget...could it ever truly live up to expectations?

I have mixed feelings on the game as a whole. I'm currently sitting down to try and write a review and process my thoughts now having completed my first run through. I've been thinking about this in context to what I'm gonna write.

Could it honestly have ever lived up to our full expectations after so many years?

I generally liked the game but I have some misgivings about a couple of things. The story beats and translation woes are two of my biggest misgivings. It still really bothers me that they fucked up the English translation about the Scroll in the Temple in the end. But that's the pedantic Japanese student in me coming out.

But I've got to ask...could it ever truly live up to the expectations you had in mind for it for all of these years?

Oh, they fucked up the translation? That's why it nade zero sense what Ryo said in the end after all.

CCan't say I'm surprised. Yu didn't seem to give a fuck about the story so why would some translator?

CCould you or Switch give us the real translation please?

 

[danielmann861]

Oh, they fucked up the translation? That's why it nade zero sense what Ryo said in the end after all.

CCan't say I'm surprised. Yu didn't seem to give a fuck about the story so why would some translator?

CCould you or Switch give us the real translation please?

Sure thing. So this is the line that stuck out to me like a sore thumb.



That’s the line that threw me for a loop when I first read it. That line, in regards to the temple, makes it read and sound like they found the scroll at said temple. Which we all know didn’t happen. They found the scroll at Bailu.

But the above is NOT what Ryo said in Japanese. I went back and relistened to it without reading the subs (because its hard to process both at the same time)

This is what he said in Japanese

“Maki o mi ni atta tera ga...”


Japanese is backwards so let’s break it down and in the case of grammar it sounds more like this.

Tera = Temple
mi ni atta = seen on
Maki = scroll

Put it all together and the translation should read more like this

“That’s the Temple we saw on the scroll.”

Which makes complete and utter sense given that they did see the treasure on said scroll.

Now how the fuck do they get:

”That’s where we found the scroll” from what he actually said in the dialog?

I’m an amateur at this language and even I picked it out after listening to it.

Makes me wonder how many more translations like this went through? I noticed little liberties here and there, like they took liberties with the repeated use of “Sou Ka” (I see), but this was the first big one I noticed that actually sat wrong with me.

Sorry, that annoyed me.

 

[hyo_razuki]

Thanks a ton, dude! So this was the only tiny little bit the game contributed to the overarching plot and they released the game with a translation error.

Have you sent an email to Deep Silver? This has to be patched.

 

[Try Asking Sumiya San]

I think part of people’s disappointment is due to them waiting 18 years. You can’t wait 18 years for a game and it not feel a bit flat when you get it.

I would say the story in 3 is as good as 1 and 4 will hopefully pick up the pace like 2.

I am pleasantly surprised yu has managed to make a proper shenmue game in 2019.

 

[ShenSun]

Glad others enjoyed it. I thought i was the only one who liked the ending lol

Very good work @danielmann861 . I assumed thats what it meant but its good to know for sure. I hope they can patch that but i dunno how since the voicework is already done.

 

[ShenSun]

Ill also say shenmue 3 is more of a setup/building chapter similar to shenmue 1. I reckon shenmue 4 will be like shenmue 2 but even more insane

 

[spud1897]

This is only based on me finishing Bailu and only doing small bits of Niaowu but overall I'm happy.

Positives:
Story so far has interested me.
Fighting feels good
I really like training
Mini-games are fun
Environments look great.

Negatives
Odd editing style
Some models looks meh
Some texture loading present in shops as you enter but nothing major
I'd like to have found out more about Iwao and the training he undertook in Bailu. Theres more to that I'm sure. Then again I've not finished the game yet so I'll reserve judgement.

Overall its met my expectations. It's a Shenmue game that I've been able to lose myself in when playing it. Theres tonnes to do as well. I think some people/fans have had wild expectations for a game that's been developed for $10-$12 million and have, as a result, been disappointed.

Again only based on what I've played thus far.