Did Shenmue 3 hurt the series?

[Suzaku]

One aberration of modern internet times, is thinking that to give feedback you must be an ultra-negative disrespectul ass, ready to take the battle on a personal level, otherwise you're a fanboy...

People who destroyed Shenmue 3 since KS, only hurted the series and our chance to get a 4th game.
Thanks to them, Shenmue 3 didn't have a fair chance on the market ("look, it's that game from the developer who stolen money on KS", "look it doesn't have RDR2 graphics, why don't they cancel the game already?" etc. ).

 

[mjqjazzbar]

I think some folks misinterpreted some of the 'fanboys' posts as well. Some of us know the game isn't perfect, but also saw the good it created for the fan base and the series' overall health. Trashing every element of the game would accomplish what exactly? Again, Shenmue was basically 100% dead, extinct, dormant, nonexistent, on-another-plane-of-existence until Shenmue 3 was announced. Like it or not, them's the facts. Yes, it could've been the greatest game ever (Shenmue II already accomplished that) and solved world peace but that just didn't happen. Let's try to stay positive and hope they get closer next time? Clearly A LOT affected Shenmue 3's development.

 

[bcdcdude]

It always does amaze me when people think Yu Suzuki and his team are somehow unable to look at feedback for Shenmue 3 on the internet. Do you think he releases the game and then cuts himself off from everything Shenmue related online?

It's even more bizarre when there's already an interview out stating he looked at feedback. Not to mention Cedric and Ryan have already stated the same thing.

Shenmue fans really do confuse me sometimes.

Without Shenmue 3, you don't get a Shenmue 1 and 2 HD or a Shenmue anime. Not to mention all the extra Merch.

 

[Suzaku]

I think some folks misinterpreted some of the 'fanboys' posts as well. Some of us know the game isn't perfect, but also saw the good it created for the fan base and the series' overall health. Trashing every element of the game would accomplish what exactly? Again, Shenmue was basically 100% dead, extinct, dormant, nonexistent, on-another-plane-of-existence until Shenmue 3 was announced. Like it or not, them's the facts. Yes, it could've been the greatest game ever (Shenmue II already accomplished that) and solved world peace but that just didn't happen. Let's try to stay positive and hope they get closer next time? Clearly A LOT affected Shenmue 3's development.

Shenmue 3 haters always hide behind "I have the right to voice my opinions and feedback, for the sake of the series".
A series they actively damaged with their childish behaviour...

Everyone knows that Shenmue 3 isn't perfect and has various defects, and we all voiced our opinion many times, in a polite manner.
What's the point to hammer the same negative rant 24/7 for years, looking for every single forum, social media etc. to spam the same rant over and over, like a maniac?

I know internet is a crazy place nowadays, but some people has some serious personal problems and use the net to release all their real life frustrations.
Shenmue 3 is not the only victim, even games like No Man's Sky had the same toxic people, to the point that some even sent death threats because the game was simply delayed and didn't had the butterflies promised by the developers... (it's not a joke, it's true).

But we made one mistake ourself: we were too soft against these people, we shouldn't have let them be free to damage things that took us 18 years to achieve.

 

[mjqjazzbar]

and No Mans Sky ended up turning into a phenomenal experience. I occasionally pop in. Positivity counts, folks.

 

[danielmann861]

Shenmue 3 haters always hide behind "I have the right to voice my opinions and feedback, for the sake of the series".
A series they actively damaged with their childish behaviour...

Everyone knows that Shenmue 3 isn't perfect and has various defects, and we all voiced our opinion many times, in a polite manner.
What's the point to hammer the same negative rant 24/7 for years, looking for every single forum, social media etc. to spam the same rant over and over, like a maniac?

I know internet is a crazy place nowadays, but some people has some serious personal problems and use the net to release all their real life frustrations.
Shenmue 3 is not the only victim, even games like No Man's Sky had the same toxic people, to the point that some even sent death threats because the game was simply delayed and didn't had the butterflies promised by the developers... (it's not a joke, it's true).

But we made one mistake ourself: we were too soft against these people, we shouldn't have let them be free to damage things that took us 18 years to achieve.

Haters gonna hate. Simple as that really. I stopped paying attention to the haters of Shenmue III years ago and have been happier for it. The game isn't perfect, but considering the budget it had it wasn't a technical disaster (the game is actually fairly polished all things considered). It's even more amusing when you compare it to the 100 million dollar Cyberpunk and all of its many technical woes. Hey, at least Shenmue III didn't get pulled from the PSN/XBL store. At least Shenmue III ran fine and was polished.

Not to mention that the game is still boldly ambitious for being a Kickstarted game with a fraction of the budget that most AAA open world games have. It's one strength and weakness is that it tries so hard to be grander than it has the feasible budget to allow.

For what it is though, Shenmue III is still very much one of my favourite games of that generation and I'll be damned if the haters want to try and take that away from me. I've played through it no less than 3 times now and I'm still just as enamored by what it gets right that I can overlook what it lacks.

I still maintain the ending is the biggest leap forward this series has seen yet (no matter how it was handled in its writing), the feel and mood of Shenmue is very much in tact. I even like the heavy focus on routine in that game. It has a flow to it that I really appreciate with its strict daily routine and regimen. What it gets right is living the life of a disciplined martial artist and I'm still just as enamored by that aspect as I was in the first two games.

So yeah, I can't be assed listening to the Shenmue III haters anymore. I've heard all the same complaints over and over about that game, but you know what is more interesting? Listening to someone who finds something positive to say about the experience. That's the person I want to listen too. Because I'm so tired of hearing the same complaints ad-nausea.

 

[BruceWayne911]

Even though Shenmue 3 wasn't the game we would have gotten 20 years ago I still have a unwavering passion for it. Shenmue 3 is a love letter to the Shenmue community. Instead of just being a Shenmue game the fandom got to be apart of the game.

Some people were capsule toys, some got fishing poles named after them, vendors, guest book, Shenmue museum, 11 man boss fight, etc. All that really means something to me. I can't tell you how many times I've been to the museum to look at my picture. Even friends and family think its pretty cool that I'm inside my favorite video game series.

Shenmue 3 wasn't a perfect game IMO it was below average but Shenmue 3 means everything to me. I'll never forget getting off work and seeing Shenmue 3 was announced at E3. I laughed and just thought somebody was trolling us again. The next site I looked at was the Dojo and thats when I knew it was real. Seeing Yu Suzuki cry tears of joy, people going batshit crazy(me included), the game being funded in 9hrs, did Shenmue 3 hurt the series? Nah son Shenmue revitalized the series.

 

[WuyingRen]

It always does amaze me when people think Yu Suzuki and his team are somehow unable to look at feedback for Shenmue 3 on the internet.

What amazes me even more is that some people seem to think that Yu and his team are incapable of critiquing their own work. I imagine few were quite as disappointed with how Shenmue 3 ended up turning out than Yu himself (super cry bitch wolf being one of the rare exceptions).

 

[~ ひかり ~]

Shenmue III saved the franchise. It is because of Shenmue III that we got Shenmue I and II HD, Shenmue Merch and now the anime, the franchise is alive because of Shenmue III, but if we think about all the problems that happened in the Kickstarter, people feeling betrayed because no Steam version at that time, and all the other things that happened then it did some type of damage.

Some people now even disrepect Yu Suzuki, some people think that the franchise is dead because of Shenmue III as if Shenmue III is the worst game of all time that don't have anything good and much more, i saw this things many times and this is really sad.

About the game... Yu Suzuki said that his score for Shenmue III is 7.5, it is clear to me that he wanted to do more with the game but that he had many problems in the development of the game, it was a kickstarter game, Yu Suzuki is not with SEGA anymore, i really imagine that it was really hard for Yu Suzuki. I really think that the version of the game that Yu Suzuki really wanted to do would have Baisha, but we all know what happened, Baisha is not in the game.

I became a Shenmue fan because of Shenmue III, everything started for me when i saw E3 2015 moment with Yu Suzuki on the stage announcing the Shenmue III Kickstarter.

Before that i wanted to play Shenmue I and II but i didn't had a Dreamcast, i remember even seeing a magazine with Ryo on the cover at that time, i always felt something beautiful about Shenmue even before playing for the first time, i always wanted to play Shenmue but no Dreamcast for me at that time. I remember i even tried to play on the emulator some times.

I think i had problems with the emulator, and was the only way for me at that time so i gave up, but when i saw that beautiful moment of E3 2015 with Yu Suzuki i thought... "that's it, i need to play Shenmue I and II" i played the games on the emulator because was the only way for me at that time, then after i finished Shenmue II i saw the Shenmue Dojo site/forums, now here i am in the Shenmue community.

I love Shenmue III, some things i think could have been better but overall i love the game, Yu Suzuki and the team did everything from scratch with limited budget, what they achieved is beautiful in my opinion, a true Shenmue experience.

So my final answer is... no, Shenmue III did not hurt the franchise, we are even getting an anime, the series is more alive now than it was in the past and this is wonderful. Shenmue III saved the franchise, and i have hope that we will get Shenmue IV and Shenmue V, and this way see the conclusion of this beautiful journey.

 

[bill5499]

Definitely feel the same way. Shenmue 3 did nothing but help the series. Before Shenmue 3 Kickstarter all we had was merchandise and Ryo being playable in Sega All Stars Racing. I wanted Shenmue 3 to pickup right where it left off with volume, action, story and characters but IMO that was never going to be feasible.

The original 2 million dollar goal seemed way to low to ever make a Shenmue game. Even with the 7 million we raised I felt it wasn't enough to match up with Shenmue 2. Shenmue 3 was a little better than I thought it would be. With the success of Kickstarter, Shenmue 1&2 re-releases, Shenmue anime, Shenmue documentary and Phoenix & Dragon edition Shenmue games I believe we will get Shenmue 4.

The assets are already in place and I believe Shenmue 4 will be a true game that Yu Suzuki wants to release, it'll have more substance. IMO Shenmue 4 is the game that has to sell really well for us to get Shenmue 5. With the developer footing the bill this time Shenmue 4 can't finish in the middle of the road. Shenmue 4 might have to sell 500k+ IMO

Shenmue 1 and 2 have the budget of somewhere between 40-70 million bucks. I'm honestly surprised 3 turn out like it did with not even a third of that budget

 

[bill5499]

So what if S3 didn't meet all the expectations of every single fanboy? Even if the game had VF5's combat and a story written by Neil Druckmann, it still wouldn't sell well enough that Sega or Sony would've handed Yu a blank cheque for S4 like the old days because in the end, Shenmue is a niche title and will always be.

Considering what a mess TLOU2 turn out to be I don't think attaching Neil Druckmann's name to the story would be considered an improvement by anyone really.

 

[danielmann861]

What amazes me even more is that some people seem to think that Yu and his team are incapable of critiquing their own work. I imagine few were quite as disappointed with how Shenmue 3 ended up turning out than Yu himself (super cry bitch wolf being one of the rare exceptions).

That’s the thing. I remember that Gameinformer interview before Shenmue 3 dropped and even Yu suggested it was a 7.5 out of 10 game. I think the guy was well aware and knew that it probably didn’t entirely live up to what he envisioned.

 

[WuyingRen]

That’s the thing. I remember that Gameinformer interview before Shenmue 3 dropped and even Yu suggested it was a 7.5 out of 10 game. I think the guy was well aware and knew that it probably didn’t entirely live up to what he envisioned.

I mean, he was forced to cut Baisha, an area that, by his own own admission, was the theoretical heart and soul of the Shenmue 3 experience. With that in mind, I don’t see how anybody could think that he’d be truly happy with the final game.

 

[Eishen]

Just imagine, if Yu-san and the team made a good game and a total Shenmue at heart in the playability with a very limited budget, what they could do with a apropiate budget.

 

[code l name]

The game isn't perfect, but considering the budget it had it wasn't a technical disaster (the game is actually fairly polished all things considered). It's even more amusing when you compare it to the 100 million dollar Cyberpunk and all of its many technical woes. Hey, at least Shenmue III didn't get pulled from the PSN/XBL store. At least Shenmue III ran fine and was polished.

This is often an over looked fact just how polished the game was. While it wasn’t as dense or big as most open world games it had very few bugs, no fatal crashes and was very well optimized. I think the only blemish was in the uncapped frame rate on PS4 so I hope console only users get to replay this at locked 60FPS on PS5 if they haven’t already because the extra fluidity really helps.

 

[~ ひかり ~]

Yu Suzuki: Baisha will show off what Shenmue III is all about.

Where is Baisha in Shenmue III then? sadly we all know what happened, Baisha is not in the game. If i were in the same place i wouldn't be completely happy as well if i needed to cut out an important place for the game.

I imagine that a lot of things that happened in the Fortified Castle in Niaowu was supposed to happen in Baisha, this is why to me the Fortified Castle part feels rushed, i don’t know where Baisha would fit in the game, after Bailu Village or after Niaowu? i don’t know but i think is probably after Niaowu.

I enjoy a lot of things in the Fortified Castle part but it was rushed, could have been better, it was probably this way because Yu Suzuki had to cut out Baisha, so is sad that Yu Suzuki couldn't do exactly like he envisioned, but like i said in my previous post, Yu Suzuki and the team did everything from scratch with limited budget, what they achieved is beautiful in my opinion.

I know some people that became Shenmue fans because of Shenmue I and II HD, in my opinion we got Shenmue I and II HD because of Shenmue III.

If we think about all the problems that happened in the Kickstarter, people even feeling betrayed, and the other things that happened in Kickstarter and even out of the Kickstarter then it did some type of damage, but if we look overall then Shenmue III saved the franchise, and i’m really happy that Shenmue III exists and that this beautiful franchise is alive, and i have hope that with all our support the franchise will continue, LetsGetShenmueIV.

 

[danielmann861]

This is often an over looked fact just how polished the game was. While it wasn’t as dense of big as most open world games it had very few bugs, no fatal crashes and was very well optimized. I think the only blemish was in the uncapped frame rate on PS4 so I hope console only users get to replay this at locked 60FPS on PS5 if they haven’t already because the extra fluidity really helps.

I would agree with that. Especially regarding combat. I don’t know if it was just me but I thought the combat felt a little better on PS5 at the locked 60fps.

 

[Obi_Frans]

Shenmue 3, the game, did not hurt the series. The hype obviously gave enough investors confidence to support the HD remakes, merch, and the anime.

Was the game well received by all? Obviously not, but as someone old enough to experience the hype for the OG game - it all felt very familiar to me. I think divisiveness and hype and all of it kind of comes with the Shenmue name, at this point

Shenmue 3 is in some ways more accessible than 1 and 2, which is it's gift and it's curse (and the anime even more so). I really love it, warts and all.

I think the kickstarter experience definitely turned some fans against the franchise, which is a shame. That's a different discussion though. I think the only time Shenmue has been in the positive environment that it's in now...was before the OG dropped and the hype was insane.

And for transparancy's sake, yes I supported the Kickstarter

 

[code l name]

I would agree with that. Especially regarding combat. I don’t know if it was just me but I thought the combat felt a little better on PS5 at the locked 60fps.

Oh it totally did. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what felt different playing PS4 release at launch compared to my experience playing the demo (I had used Shadow service). This was before I realized the game had an uncapped frame rate but combat and general traversal feel so much better with the extra fluidity which is why I am excited fans get to experience it this way if they haven’t already. Now if only there was a way to hide or make the UI dynamic on consoles.

 

[Thomasina]

People who destroyed Shenmue 3 since KS, only hurted the series and our chance to get a 4th game.
Thanks to them, Shenmue 3 didn't have a fair chance on the market ("look, it's that game from the developer who stolen money on KS", "look it doesn't have RDR2 graphics, why don't they cancel the game already?" etc. ).

None of this is true. People who didn't like the game have nothing to do with Shenmue 4. Shenmue 3 and its quality are what negatively affected Shenmue 4.

It's amazing to still see people furious over the super eye patch wolf guy's review. Who cares, let it go.

And as for my own opinion, I have little faith in Shenmue 4. I didn't like S3 and I have no idea what S4 would offer or what it would be. S3 shattered my perception of what the Shenmue series has to offer moving forward. If S4 turned out to be like S3, I would be done. I think S4 would have to rebuild the series and I think that's a bad place to be.