Shenmue III doesn't have that. I understand the criticism around that I really do, there's plenty of story elements I wanted more of. However think of this for a moment, had they gone sod it, story story story would we have been sat here criticizing the game for being too linear/boring/not having enough Shenmueness about it? You can bet your bottom dollar we would be because as great as the Shenmue story is, the game is more than that. It is about atmosphere, feeling the world, living thorugh it. Shenmue III even with its sometimes lacking for story did that.
However would the backlash have been as potent? I doubt it. It also may have made some mainstream outlets perk up and take notice that, hey these people who have been clamoring for 18 years kind of have a point, this story is pretty interesting. Unless, you know, the story is actually really bad and wouldn't that be the biggest twist of all?
Yu Suzuki created a game true in spirit to the previous ones while giving us a story, albeit in some eyes not enough. Did I want more? Yes but the game captured the same emotion (maybe not as often) as the previous entries for me, if it's doing that then they're doing something right.
I wish I could share this sentiment, I really do, but imo YS changed too much. I don't like the kung fu level (I remember a time on this very dojo where the thought of Shenmue having an RPG style leveling system was heresy), I don't like the stamina system, I don't like the constant need to grind for money, etc. I think that from a pure gameplay perspective, if they had done nothing, and left all of S2's systems intact, it would be a better game. Where Shenmue 3 feels most like "Shenmue" to me is when Ryo remembers his father by the tree in Ternary Spring, the talks with Shenhua, and if I squint a little, what the ending castle could have been.
I'll pick one moment from S2 to compare:
(Time is 26:29 if that didn't work) That's Ren and Ryo high-fiving after being chased by Dou Niu's transsexual lover wielding a chainsaw. First of all, that single sentence is more interesting than almost anything that happens in S3 but more importantly, that moment is
earned. Ren spends the whole game treating Ryo like shit and nearly getting him killed, and Ryo doesn't seem to like him much but over the course of the game, they learn to respect and even like each other, culminating in that awesome no-look high five. I could talk about Ren and Ryo's relationship throughout S2 for literally hours but suffice it to say that Ren has nothing to do with the main plot, literally every scene he's in could be considered "filler"; has anyone ever complained about that? Furthermore, is there any character introduced in Shenmue 3 that even comes close to earning that kind of moment?
Even if everything about the game was perfect, without moments like that, it's just not Shenmue to me.
