- Joined
- Jul 27, 2018
My issue with the game is that it's trying to emulate a Shenmue experience instead of trying to be its own thing. It's like there was a big "Shenmue" checklist that was about "Side activities" "Gacha" "Arcade" "Shops" and such. The disappointment doesn't come either from a lack of answer and more of like what the game is offering.
I understand where this is coming from, and I can't say I disagree about some of your criticism. In fact, I admit the writing is lacking and most of the characters have been under-developed.
What I disagree with though, is your analysis of the "side activities" and "the game trying to emulate the Shenmue experience."
In my opinion, it's not an emulation. It's Yu Suzuki's evolved vision of the Shenmue experience. What he tried and mostly succeeded to build, is a coherent and interconnected world, to some extent, a daily life simulator. And it's probably the most interconnected world I've ever played with Niaowu being the most dense location of any video game coming to mind. With a better writing and a better use of the many characters encountered throughout the game, not to mention more memorable fights that matter, it would have been (again, in my opinion) one of the best game ever made.