What a disappointment

adom11800 said:
It's sad and a real shame what some people expect from games these days. I totally agree that Shenmue 3 could have been better but the game was so good for the most part. It feels like some gamers only like a game if it's the way they want it, not for what it is.

It's doing well on Metacritic from the users score so hopefully Yu can finish the series one day. All the best for Shenmue. Regards.
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Isn't there a whole thread dedicated to inflating the user scores? I just came from a discord where they're doing the same...
 
I'm hoping that there's a lot they can learn from developing S3 that S4 can be a lot smoother. A lot of tech, systems, etc are mostly in place at this point and probably ate into a lot of the dev time in creating S3. There are some changes I would like to see in S4 for a smoother critical path and QOL improvements as well, but all in all I still like the gameplay loop and it's still pretty unique in what it offers. I agree on the fanservice point, but I hope that was done because it was a kickstarter game.

I think if Shenmue going forward is a "7.5" until the end, that's perfectly fine with me, as long as the story is told in a better way than S3. So that being said, I'm here till the end ;)
 
I'd prefer it not die, but I kind of accepted 3 isnt gonna do too hot and the possibility of it ending here and now is a real possibility. I think 4 can learn from the flaws of 3 and really give us the game we want it to be, but its possible that the game also might not get the funding it needs and fall short.

All that said, I'd rather shenmue die than see 4 be a phone game.
 
Don't hate the game at all....think some people are being very hyperbolic about it.

It's about an 8 out of 10 for me...had a great time playing Shenmue III even if I do have some misgivings with the story. Shenhua and Ryo are the heart and soul of the game for me.
 
Shenmue was all about the mystery for me. I was 12 when i played S1 and now im 31.

The years between 2 and 3 was all about reading about the series from time to time, check online and then youtube for the last 11 years...

I sort og have come to the conclusion that Shenmue was not just Yu but the whole AM2 team. Shenmue 3 simply dosent work for me, and i think its party because the fanatasism about how deep the third one would be. 18 years of theories and roaming around the first 2 to catch a new conversation or even a new cutscene. All in the name of finding new clues.


The third game simply does not deliver in my opinion. When i played it i was disapointed of the plot holes but clinched to the dialogs with shenhua to piece together new hints of where this is heading.

The sword became a dagger and the bad guys became generic thugs that i didn even bother with learning their names.
Xuying became martial arts masters with little information and the yellow head buildings became the castle...


I dont care if its a indy project. I dont care if its low budget.

What i care about is progress in ryos story and the empty town simply didnt deliver.

Shenmue 3 is a massive disapointment in my view, and i actually cried a bit the night i finished the game.
 
I’m 33. I was 15 when Shenmue II came out. If my passion has diminished, it’s just because of my current life situation. I don’t think any video game will impact me the way a game did when I was still a kid. Maybe you guys are different. I enjoy the pace and feel of Shenmue and hope Yu Suzuki and others can make “dated” games for those of us who are still into it.

I also think it’s crummy to say you’re happy the project might have failed. It could spell the end of the creator’s career.
 
I just finished the game like 30 minutes ago
and i only have three problems with the game:

1. The technical / engine side, for example how long it takes until NPC characters are visible
and how unstable the framerate is. The technical side feels like it got stuck somewhere between 2001 and 2010.
I dont really care about the best skin textures or how realistic characters look, if it has the best rain effects ever and so on.
I have no problem when it looks like a good looking Xbox 360 game for example.
But then at least the performance in general has to be on point and thats where Shenmue 3 fails.
(played on a PS4 Pro)
Thats why i have to subtract 1 point from 10.

2. The whole Niaowu part. I like the city, i like the shops, i like the atmosphere.
But the story progression i just ... weird. I mean you have to visit every important spot like three times,
go to A, then to B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J ... back to I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A ... go to C, A, E, B, I, D,
now grind some Kung Fu levels, now grind some money, it goes on and on and on and on ...
okay, but ... what about the story? Nothing happens? There is a whole new city
and all you do is asking about the Red Snakes.
Thats another point i have to subtract.

3. And then the ending, especially the writing ... it was all over the place.
Suddenly out of nowhere Shiling, Hsu and Bei are our friendly allies, Niao Sun appears for like 60 seconds
which includes a very strange twist and absolutely no information what her position is or anything,
5 seconds ago Ryo still had to learn basic martial arts techniques
but now he can knock out three masters with one move each. Shiling, Hsu and Bei are unstoppable machines
who follow Ryo and Ren but they never encounter Niao Sun and they never reach the top part of the castle.
Whats the point? Why are they even there? Lan Di is about to kill Ryo and then doesnt care anymore.
And then everything ends in 2 minutes and again without any information. It felt very very rushed.
All these new people and absolutely no information about anything.
Thats another point i have to subtract.

10 - 3 = 7/10 ... 7.5 with fan bonus. Thats fair i think. And dont get me wrong, i think its a good game.
I was never bored, i was happy to explore everything with Ryo again. I loved the dialogues between Ryo and Shenhua.
I played on hard mode and i liked the challenge and how you have to level up moves and everything.
The Shenmue atmosphere was 100% there.
Without the performance problems and with a better Niaowu mission design
and better writing at the end, my fan rating would be probably a 9.5/10.
But i cant ignore these things.
 
mjqjazzbar said:
I’m 33. I was 15 when Shenmue II came out. If my passion has diminished, it’s just because of my current life situation. I don’t think any video game will impact me the way a game did when I was still a kid. Maybe you guys are different. I enjoy the pace and feel of Shenmue and hope Yu Suzuki and others can make “dated” games for those of us who are still into it.
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I did a replay of S1 and S2 before coming into S3, and as I was playing I kept thinking that I probably haven't played anything like this since they originally came out. The rush of the Yellow Head Building set piece followed by the tranquility of Guilin was pure magic in Shenmue 2.

Yes, all the factors to recreate this 20+ years later for Shenmue 4 will be difficult, but I'm on board to continue following the series and see how far they can go.
 
I was never okay with the idea of the series being dead.. Until Shenmue 3. Now I'm almost indifferent.

I love this series but I didn't wait 20 years just to play with capsule toys or marvel Shenhua's flat voice actor (though intentional).

We'll see if Shenmue 4 can pick things up (if 3 didn't sink the series again) but my interest has lowered simply because I question Yu Suzuki's judgment after his intentional storytelling decisions this time around.
 
I have stated in the past that I am loyal to Yu Suzuki's Shenmue to the very end. If the time comes where Shenmue dies, then I will go down with that proverbial ship. However, I think it is a bit ironic to give up on Shenmue in a week after we fought for eighteen years to make Shenmue III a reality.

Now I have not played through the entire game yet, so I cannot comment on it. However, regardless of whatever faults the game may have, these can be rectified if we can get a Shenmue IV. All we have to do is to let Suzuki-san know what your issues are. I am pretty sure if fans make a loud enough noise he will surely listen.

At the end of the day, I would love to see Yu Suzuki back in a role of major prominence. I believe Shenmue is one of the few franchises that actually deserves a AAA budget. Shenmue III may not be at its peak in comparison to the first two games. For me though, it still has its soul which is all I want. So I will hope, fight, and wait for a Shenmue IV.
 
I am 100% behind the series continuing with Shenmue IV and hopefully beyond. In the intervening years between II and III, I have not found any game that has the same magic as Shenmue I and II did. And for me, Shenmue III recaptured that feeling. While I understand that some people's tastes will naturally have changed over the years, I know mine have (I was predominantly an fps and 3ps junkie for years until my tastes changed to rpg's), Shenmue III brought back that magic that no other game can or probably ever will. Hell, not even the Soulsborne games, of which I am a massive day one fan of, could manage it. Shenmue is unique and so long as Yu-san can continue to ignite that spark of magic, then may he continue the series until such a time as it reaches its natural end.
 
It’s sad so many people here are acting like the team not executing perfectly on your dream game, an impossible standard to meet even with bottomless pockets, is the death of the franchise. They didn’t stick the landing perhaps. I said in another thread they at least proved they’re capable of making a good Shenmue game with limited resources. That won’t guarantee a sequel. I wholeheartedly agree. I’m not sure a great AAA Shenmue 3 would’ve guaranteed that either. This clearly isn’t an experience that is mainstream or easy to sell to the uninitiated.

I mean, look, I’m probably not gonna give them another $1,500 to make Shenmue 4. I just can’t imagine getting that excited again for the reasons I stated in another post. I get where you’re coming from to an extent, but I would be really bummed out if the series stops dead in its tracks again.

I want to see where this series is headed and I want more Yu Suzuki games in my life. I don’t find any joy in watching someone fail. I think the next game, with many of the systems introduced here already in place, would definitely see more of an emphasis on the story. If not, at least it’d be an experience I’d probably personally enjoy since I am a fan of the Shenmue experience in general. I don’t play hundreds of games a year and will likely slow down the older I get, so it’s nice to know there’s someone out there still making games for weirdos like me.
 
I got into Shenmue, at its release. I was 18. I'm 38 now. Shenmue was my first genuine gdrom, once here in Brazil, games costs a fortune, especially back then. Had 2 copies, since my nephew destroyed the first one. Lost track of how many times, i just turned the DC on, to see that magnificent opening scene. Usually i see it and turn it off. Lost track of how many times i finished it. Really don't know how many hours i invested in building up my moves, just to see their evolved animation. Just sold my DC, to buy a Xbox, to play Shenmue 2. I just bought for it. With Shenmue 2, another dive in. A deeper one. There wasn't a single game that made me give Shenmue 2 a rest. I was like an addict. Need at least once a week play one of my 3 save games. Had one before climbing the yellow head building. One before facing Master Baihu and, one starting in Guillin. I did that for 18 years. I did play some other greate games such as RdR... The last of us. But no one came closer the love I have for these games. That being said, I really consider my self, a die-hard fanatic fan. I can do all the moves, especially the hard ones. Have the grip of beating Master Baihu till the 17th level, knowingly the last one. I still do this with the HD collection. I need to address, how hard it is to see something you love to death, sadly going into oblivion once again. I just lost everything I had dreamed for this game to be. Shenmue 3 is a huge disappointment for me. Lacks in almost everything I loved on the previous games. I'll never be fine with Shenmue being dead for sure. Because for me, there's nothing like it. It's quite unique. And feeling that, makes me devastated.
 
mjqjazzbar said:
It’s sad so many people here are acting like the team not executing perfectly on your dream game, an impossible standard to meet even with bottomless pockets, is the death of the franchise. They didn’t stick the landing perhaps. I said in another thread they at least proved they’re capable of making a good Shenmue game with limited resources.
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Exactly - I would never argue that no one has a right to dislike the game, and wouldn't use the dreaded "E" word. But to abandon the series because a kickstarter game that launched at $60 to a 70+ metacritic after 18 years and didn't quite stick the landing is a bit of an overreaction, regardless of whether of not it provided a satisfying story throughout.

I've been trying to make a bunch of points that pretty much always fall on deaf ears regarding the lack of story in S3 and how that likely wasn't the plan and can be improved in S4. Because if "I wanted the thing and didn't get the thing!!@!", they don't want to hear it.
 
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If Shenmue II is a perfect 10 for me, the original would have to get a 9. This is based on the fact that I played Shenmue II first and so the original felt slightly lacking in comparison. Granted had I played it first, I would probably have scored it a 10 and then had to give II an 11, as it improved upon the original in every aspect. As for III, it certainly feels more like II. The world is larger and more open than I and with many more things to do. Where it falls down is in the story and character development and the limitations of the budget. However, it would be harsh to dock points for Yu-san trying to make a AAA game on an shoestring budget. In that respect, it gets a solid 8.5 for now. I'm docking a mark for the story issues and half a mark for the lack of character development in the secondary cast. It would have been a full mark, but I loved the conversations with Shenhua that much that it salvages the half point. This rating is still provisional as even though I'm on my second playthrough, it'll be a long time before I know how often it'll pull me back into it's world like I and II still do.
 
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