spud1897
Administrator
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2018
- Location
- England
- Favourite title
- Shenmue II
- Currently playing
- Destiny 2, Shenmue HD ;)
- PSN
- spud19870
So having finished off Shenmue 3 I wanted to give some thoughts about the game and also moving forward, not just game wise but from a community perspective. Before reading my thoughts on the game I wanted to leave this here so if you don't read the review please read this!
Community and moving forward
Now this is something I hold personal but wanted to share. Overall this community is the best around, I’ve been lucky enough to meet people that I’d consider friends for life. However this experience from Kickstarter to release (yes I know there’s been some quite rightly gripes, communication issues, marketing and the like) has shown me a side of the community I didn’t like. Just to be clear I’m not tarring everyone with the same brush as 90% are amazing it’s the vocal minority I’m talking to.
Since release I’ve seen comments such as Yu Suzuki doesn’t deserve to make another game, Shenmue 3 sucks, it’s not what I was promised, I wanted this, I wanted that. I’m sorry but when did we become so entitled? We shouldn’t even be playing this game, it was a dead pipe dream but we made this happen so to see a vocal minority jeopardise the future of the series on social media is beyond comprehension. The “outrage” culture has wormed its way in and this needs to stop if we want a Shenmue 4. I’m not saying people can’t be critical, I have been below but I’m saying that this game, Yu Suzuki’s vision, is bigger than any one community member who has a gripe about something trivial. One valid criticism I’ve seen is they’ve focussed too much on mini-games/padding out and not enough on the story. Fair enough, but then in the same breath this has then been met with oh but the story sucked anyway so why bother expanding it. This kind of comment/person is the kind that quite frankly needs a reality check. You can’t have things your own way all the time. This game was made in the vision of its creator and if we start dictating how that should look then this is all over. That said I’m more than aware that without the vast majority of us we would not be playing Shenmue 3 and I would not be writing this.
Some need to realise that all they’re doing is harming the future of the series by going off on these “outraged” rants, overreactions to everything and shoving that down everyone’s throats. You do not represent the whole of this community (nor do I either) but get off your high horse and stop acting like you do!
As for Shenmue 4 this is what I feel needs to happen short term:
Now the review, the game was played on Hard and I've put things in spoiler boxes for ease.
Community and moving forward
Now this is something I hold personal but wanted to share. Overall this community is the best around, I’ve been lucky enough to meet people that I’d consider friends for life. However this experience from Kickstarter to release (yes I know there’s been some quite rightly gripes, communication issues, marketing and the like) has shown me a side of the community I didn’t like. Just to be clear I’m not tarring everyone with the same brush as 90% are amazing it’s the vocal minority I’m talking to.
Since release I’ve seen comments such as Yu Suzuki doesn’t deserve to make another game, Shenmue 3 sucks, it’s not what I was promised, I wanted this, I wanted that. I’m sorry but when did we become so entitled? We shouldn’t even be playing this game, it was a dead pipe dream but we made this happen so to see a vocal minority jeopardise the future of the series on social media is beyond comprehension. The “outrage” culture has wormed its way in and this needs to stop if we want a Shenmue 4. I’m not saying people can’t be critical, I have been below but I’m saying that this game, Yu Suzuki’s vision, is bigger than any one community member who has a gripe about something trivial. One valid criticism I’ve seen is they’ve focussed too much on mini-games/padding out and not enough on the story. Fair enough, but then in the same breath this has then been met with oh but the story sucked anyway so why bother expanding it. This kind of comment/person is the kind that quite frankly needs a reality check. You can’t have things your own way all the time. This game was made in the vision of its creator and if we start dictating how that should look then this is all over. That said I’m more than aware that without the vast majority of us we would not be playing Shenmue 3 and I would not be writing this.
Some need to realise that all they’re doing is harming the future of the series by going off on these “outraged” rants, overreactions to everything and shoving that down everyone’s throats. You do not represent the whole of this community (nor do I either) but get off your high horse and stop acting like you do!
As for Shenmue 4 this is what I feel needs to happen short term:
- We get out there in our masses on social medial and let the world know how good the game is, focus on the positive aspects.
- Stop this negative shite on social media. All that is doing is putting off potential new players, of which many have picked up 1 and 2 & are showing an interest in Shenmue 3. This will kill the franchise.
- Support Yu Suzuki and YSNET in getting a 4th game. Of course discuss and suggest ideas but be respectful of the creator of this wonderful franchise.
- We need to unite, we don’t know what final sales will be and this battle for Shenmue as a whole is far from over. I promise you that as long as I’m around (and many others here share the sentiment) I will never give up on Shenmue 4 unless Yu throws in the towel, which we know he’s not. He wants to make a 4th game.
Now the review, the game was played on Hard and I've put things in spoiler boxes for ease.
Both settings were completely stunning. Bailu was everything I wanted and Niaowu reminded me of Hong Kong. The colours in Bailu are something that doesn’t often occur in games these days. Yes I found some pop-in of NPC’s, maybe not as many NPC’s in Niaowu as I’d like but overall these were great.
Overall fantastic though I noticed some off placement of tracks and also some sections with none at all. Anyone moaning about not enough new music needs to get a reality check. Recording multiple arrangements costs a fortune. I was in a band for years and to record 5 instruments to a decent standard was easily upwards of £1000 for a 4 track EP. So imagine needing literally hundreds of tracks and multiple instrument arrangements. The cost would spiral very quickly.
This seems to be an issue for some and I do get where people are coming from. I’d have liked to have found out more about Iwao, the mirrors etc. However the ending piece was intense (maybe slightly rushed) but it left so many open questions, Lan Di is being played, the politics in the Chi Yu Men, the mystery of Shenhua, the mirrors etc. Also it looks like they’re going to Baisha (just my thought) in the ending credits. Anyway my point being every story has a lull where it doesn’t move on much. The focus of this game was the beginning of Ryo’s improving ability, his study of Bajiquan, the need to train, the need to focus. Also what happens now the mirrors are in the hands of the Chi Yu Men? It’s also established systems that will allow for Shenmue 4 to match Shenmue 2 in story and content IMO.
Once I got used to the dynamics I really enjoyed the fighting. The multiman battles are very good. I do feel it lacks a little impact sometimes and some of the detection is a little off but this can be refined. I know throws were an issue (see latest IGN video with Yu Suzuki) but if they come back in and they tighten the system then this will be great. QTE’s were tough but overall enjoyable, maybe a little hard in parts
Loved all the jobs, I didn’t do much fishing this time around but will next play. Forklifting was good fun and wood chopping was addictive. I found myself having little routines to ensure I had money, was trained to a high enough level. Training games were fine, one-inch punch the favourite. I do get the criticism around the need for money in the game and it was a repeat of some gameplay loops from Shenmue 2, however I didn’t find this an issue as I always made sure I had funds and enjoyed the games. Arcade games were good fun too.
I touched on this earlier but apart from Ryo and Shenhua there wasn’t as much as maybe I’d have wanted. However I see the logic behind this, Ren comes into the game. We know him and his character so not much is needed yet. I sense more will come. The temple maiden and grandmasters etc seem to be one and done characters and while I’d like to have known more about their motivations I can see why this wasn’t expanded upon. We didn’t get a Xiuing type set-up because they’re not pivotal to the final plot, I know we got more of this in Shenmue 1 and 2 (Joy, Wong etc) but I sense they had to sacrifice this a little. She will come back and her character arc has been frozen but with the background of previous development in Shenmue 2.
Overall I was happy to wonder around and not use the fast travel options. However I do think these should be included throughout the whole game. They’re around in Bailu but not Niaowu which seemed off. Dialogue skip is something that I think we would all appreciate.
Also one personal issue was move scrolls. There needs to be a system that ticks off in shops when you already own a scroll to stop us buying duplicates. It didn’t ruin the experience but is a minor annoyance.
Also one personal issue was move scrolls. There needs to be a system that ticks off in shops when you already own a scroll to stop us buying duplicates. It didn’t ruin the experience but is a minor annoyance.
I’d give the game an 8/10 I enjoyed it and the ending has left me with more questions that I want answered in Shenmue 4 if it happens. Now Shenmue 4, well 3 IMO has served a purpose that you can create this sort of game for the limited budget ($12 million if IGN Japan are correct). The core systems are there, the story is set-up, the team have experience with Unreal now. Providing Shenmue 4 gets green-lit and they direct the story into answering these questions (I feel Yu should have some support with this maybe) then I reckon we will get a game on par or better then Shenmue 2. I’d class Shenmue 3 on a par with Shenmue 1 but not as good overall as Shenmue 2. Shenmue 4 could easily define the series if done well and I have confidence that it will be