EDGE Magazine Cover Story: Shenmue 3

Some fair points, but I assume - and hope - that Yu puts his own twist on those aspects and makes them fit into the Shenmue world in a way that only enhances the series. To be honest, I am pretty happy Ryo will now be able to eat (and drinking now has a purpose), because that's something I always wanted as a kid waiting for Shenmue 3 after playing the first two games. I wanted him to keep trying to make the world more detailed and the FREE aspect more and more in depth. I just hope it doesn't feel cliched, 'game-y' and micromangement-y as other games have tried that kind of thing before.

I imagine the affinity system will be similar to the Fangmei birthday quest and will feel natural within the game.
 
I like the affinity system the random NPC's will now react instead of being lifeless dolls that only respond by telling you exactly where to go or just to say "I don't know". This system fits more into a RPG something Shenmue has always been.
 
Ahhhh Rikitatsu. I'd almost be disappointed if you weren't "that guy" at this stage.

I'll leave the stamina stuff because that can be massively subjective in the same way people either loved or hated stamina being included in, say, Zelda. I think I'm going to be fine with it personally, and the big emphasis on training sounds great.

The Affinity System is definitely an improvement to the investigation gameplay though. Standard talk to person A to find person B stuff will be transformed by having to take into account other player behaviours and choices. It's not extra legwork for the sake of it, it's genuinely probably one of the best ideas Shenmue III has in lifting it above its predecessors.

The strategy in combat comes in two ways from what I can tell; your overall stats determined by your play style or dedication (or lack of) to training, and having a sufficient moveset to counter and combat multiple exotic martial arts styles. I don't think it'll be like "oops, you don't have this move so you lose", but encounters may get harder or easier on how you spec Ryo and his moves out.

DoubleO_Ren said:
Nice work, I'll wait for ya.
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It's up.
 
Spaghetti said:
Ahhhh Rikitatsu. I'd almost be disappointed if you weren't "that guy" at this stage.

I'll leave the stamina stuff because that can be massively subjective in the same way people either loved or hated stamina being included in, say, Zelda. I think I'm going to be fine with it personally, and the big emphasis on training sounds great.

The Affinity System is definitely an improvement to the investigation gameplay though. Standard talk to person A to find person B stuff will be transformed by having to take into account other player behaviours and choices. It's not extra legwork for the sake of it, it's genuinely probably one of the best ideas Shenmue III has in lifting it above its predecessors.

It's up.
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Like I've said, it will come down to how they will execute it. If it's something more natural like Fangmei as Reprise mentioned, then that would be great. If you hit a wall in the game and the only way to get your information is by buttering up this guy with completing tasks, that's when it loses the sense of realism.


Running out of stamina while exploring and having to repeatedly gulp "food" from your inventory sounds absolute poo though. I have less of a problem with it being in combat, as that may play into the strategic aspects... But running around? Do they realize how much running is there in Shenmue? It's basically most of the game..
 
Someone please PM me the link. The info on Reset Era is great but it doesnt go into enough details. I don't mind being spoiled. :)

EDIT: Never Mind found it
 
Rikitatsu said:
Like I've said, it will come down to how they will execute it. If it's something more natural like Fangmei as Reprise mentioned, then that would be great. If you hit a wall in the game and the only way to get your information is by buttering up this guy with completing tasks, that's when it loses the sense of realism.


Running out of stamina while exploring and having to repeatedly gulp "food" from your inventory sounds absolute poo though. I have less of a problem with it being in combat, as that may play into the strategic aspects... But running around? Do they realize how much running is there in Shenmue? It's basically most of the game..
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Fair enough, though the magazine does explain there are multiple ways to raise an Affinity level if needed. I don't think it'll be as rote as "go do thing to make the meter fill".

Important distinction to make about the exploring and stamina bit - the magazine says sprinting.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think Ryo will have a faster movement speed other than walking, a jog or something, and that sprinting will be a commoditised and upgradable (through training) top speed option for bolting around like Sanic.
 
Rikitatsu said:
Like I've said, it will come down to how they will execute it. If it's something more natural like Fangmei as Reprise mentioned, then that would be great. If you hit a wall in the game and the only way to get your information is by buttering up this guy with completing tasks, that's when it loses the sense of realism.


Running out of stamina while exploring and having to repeatedly gulp "food" from your inventory sounds absolute poo though. I have less of a problem with it being in combat, as that may play into the strategic aspects... But running around? Do they realize how much running is there in Shenmue? It's basically most of the game..
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I don't see how that affects realism at all humans are natually greedy and mostly unhelpful so by buttering them up or improving their community somehow they gain trust in you and are more willing to help. This is how a lot of con men operate they gain trust in the community and strike once they have that trust. It is very natural and realistic.
 
Spaghetti said:
I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think Ryo will have a faster movement speed other than walking, a jog or something, and that sprinting will be a commoditised and upgradable (through training) top speed option for bolting around like Sanic.
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If Ryo doesn't sprint with his arms flung backwards I'm refunding my pledge.
 
Spaghetti said:
Fair enough, though the magazine does explain there are multiple ways to raise an Affinity level if needed. I don't think it'll be as rote as "go do thing to make the meter fill".

Important distinction to make about the exploring and stamina bit - the magazine says sprinting.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think Ryo will have a faster movement speed other than walking, a jog or something, and that sprinting will be a commoditised and upgradable (through training) top speed option for bolting around like Sanic.
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Who wouldn't use the top speed though?

Have you played the recent Yakuza games? They have something similar, you can't sprint for extended period of time, you stop to catch your breath. It's one of the most infuriating aspects about the game, but at least it had a purpose to make random thugs encounters more threatening when you try to escape them. Not sure what's the intended purpose is gonna be in Shenmue 3.

Jigen said:
I don't see how that affects realism at all humans are natually greedy and mostly unhelpful so by buttering them up or improving their community somehow they gain trust in you and are more willing to help. This is how a lot of con men operate they gain trust in the community and strike once they have that trust. It is very natural and realistic.
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Most people won't like or trust you if you just do tasks for them, as it will be clear you have an ulterior motive. Gaining affinity based on that alone sounds unrealistic.

Spending time with people and interacting with them on a daily basis like Fangmei is how affinity is built in reality, and I'm hoping that how the Affinity system would mostly work in S3.
 
I don't think the magazine article was too spoilery at all. Just seems to cover the day to day lifestyle you can expect in the game. My hype level just increased tenfold though. I've tried to keep my expectations in check, but from the information gathered, Shenmue III has already surpassed a lot of my expectations already.
 
Rikitatsu said:
Who wouldn't use the top speed though?

Have you played the recent Yakuza games? They have something similar, you can't sprint for extended period of time, you stop to catch your breath. It's one of the most infuriating aspects about the game, but at least it had a purpose to make random thugs encounters more threatening when you try to escape them. Not sure what's the intended purpose is gonna be in Shenmue 3.
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We'll have to wait and see how it's applied. It may be to encourage players to take in the detail and get accustomed to the landscape early on, but allow them to dart through during the late-game once their stamina is high enough.
 
Rikitatsu said:
Like I've said, it will come down to how they will execute it. If it's something more natural like Fangmei as Reprise mentioned, then that would be great. If you hit a wall in the game and the only way to get your information is by buttering up this guy with completing tasks, that's when it loses the sense of realism.
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I disagree... that sounds pretty realistic to me, having dealt with office politics...
 
The way I’m thinking about the affinity system is that it is akin to living in a small country town. If you’ve ever lived in a small country town (which I have when I was a child) then you’ll know that it can be very communal. They accept their own and those who make the effort while remaining distant to outsiders. They’ll be friendly enough but they’ll never really accept you as one of their own. They’ll keep you at just enough arms length.

That to me is how the affinity system sounds. It sounds like you have to earn the trust of a community in order to be accepted. To me, it sounds like an evolution of something they were trying to explore with Fang-mei.

One of my favourite things about Shenmue II was organically building a friendship with Fang-Mei. If the affinity system seems like an evolution of that on a grander scale then I will be extremely happy as I’ve always felt that was one of the most interesting things about Shenmue II but maybe not fully realised due to the limitations of the Dreamcast hardware at the time.

But I think the affinity system sounds really interesting, it really does sound like you are going to have to earn the trust of this small communal town. And that sounds Shenmue as all hell to me.
 
Could well be that sprinting drains the stamina meter, but it's barely at all noticeable and would rarely make the difference where you need to be eating food, and most of the stamina draining comes from more strenuous tasks like training and fighting. At any rate I don't think it's much to worry about until we see how it works.

But one thing I will say is that eating is realistic and if applied in the right way I feel could definitely add to the depth and nature of the Shenmue 3 experience. The fact that it's mentioned eating prior to training specifically is already a good sign it has a proper implementation imo.
 
I want to go in blind myself, so I'm not reading the article, but I'm incredibly happy and excited to see a real bonafide Shenmue 3 Edge cover. I've been an Edge reader for half my life and have dreamt of a Shenmue 3 Edge cover for about as long. Shenmue 3 feels even more real now, and very close indeed. I know it's been nearly 4 years or something since it was announced, but I still have to pinch myself from time to time and remind myself that Shenmue 3 is soon to be a reality, an actual thing that will exist and be able to sit on my shelf. Crazy.
 
delta_reg said:
Could well be that sprinting drains the stamina meter, but it's barely at all noticeable and would rarely make the difference where you need to be eating food, and most of the stamina draining comes from more strenuous tasks like training and fighting.
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This is what I'm expecting.
 
Jesus wept @mue 26 how the hell are you?

Also @Rikitatsu I thought this would have made you not be " that guy". I am not getting at you either. We all have our opinions and I could be wrong also... I was going to type up a more specific response and quote a few of your points to talk about but it's proper late, and I've a christening tomorrow, so I will keep it short.

I honestly just read the things you mentioned as extensions and evolution to the Shenmue we know and love, and with Suzuki and a lot of the core team still at the helm, it's common sense to think that.

For example, the food v stamina thing. I just thought of the 70 man battle, and how it would work better if you were forced to fight good, and not be up against 1 hit baddies, or able to cheese behind a corner forms while to regain health. Or, like when you run away from Pedro Warren, only for Ryo to hunker over out of breath, and get dropkicked in the back. The food adds another dimension to something like that, and I think it sounds good. Food and stuff can help you out. Change your strategy. Make you think. Shenmue evolving.

With the affinity system... I think a few people have touched upon it but Shenmue was one of the first to offer full NPC interaction, with different responses based in circumstance. Naturally, technology limited that to story points but now... We have a Shenmue where it actually knows how friendly you are with the person?? This is NPCs here right? Not scripted cutscenes. I can't think of a single game in 2019 where it does that! Witcher 3, Skyrim, Horizon Zero Dawn... You can't even initiate a conversation with them, yet they are supposed to be proper open world's? Yu Suzuki revolutionised the genre with his vision of an open world, and with the Kickstarter, we all had our doubts about if he still had it. If he could create an open world to rival today's GTA and God of Wars. Everyone's too busy looking at the size of the map and ways in it, but from the sounds of this affinity system, it's not the size of the world that's making it real, it's the people! Talking to NPCs and getting different responses... Maybe different notebook entries and paths.... That's actually insane! Again, Shenmue evolved.

The devil is in the detail and the saying does stand; quality, not quantity. We have waited for Yu Suzuki to present us with his modern day technology, open world game, and whilst all of us are looking to unlock the next section of the huge map with pretty buildings and objects, he is focusing on the people inside those. THATS what's grabbed me by the balls and smashed me off the ground! This game sounds nothing that I could have imagined. Whilst I could be wrong, I hope I am not, and even I can say I didn't see this coming.
 
Rikitatsu said:
Most people won't like or trust you if you just do tasks for them, as it will be clear you have an ulterior motive. Gaining affinity based on that alone sounds unrealistic.

Spending time with people and interacting with them on a daily basis like Fangmei is how affinity is built in reality, and I'm hoping that how the Affinity system would mostly work in S3.
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Yeah, I kind of have to disagree. Having lived in a small town for a portion of my life, I learned that it was all about lending a hand to the community that won you the most favour. Whether it be baking something to sell at a community fair for the benefit of the township or just lending neighbors a hand if they needed it.

Being an active part of a community and lending a hand goes a long way with small town folk and them accepting you and helping you in return. You scratch my back, I scratch yours is the basis of most country townships because it shows that you’re willing to be a part of that town as opposed to being aloof.

Everyone I know who has ever lived in a small town has said the same thing.

If anything, they become more suspicious if you don’t try to make an effort and will continue to cater to their own and treat one as an outsider. They’ll be friendly to you but they won’t help you.

If Shenmue III manages to find a balance between this then that could be very interesting. Like say if you play as someone who learns to take a part in the community then it might make your goals a little easier...or if you remain aloof, you can still get to your end goal but it will make things harder.

That could be very interesting if they find a way to make that work. That sounds like what the affinity system is to me.

My one fear is I hope it’s not all fetch quests. I do hope it’s a blend of both social interaction and maybe a few fetch quests or odd jobs (like maybe a new take on the taking out the books section from Shenmue II)

But yeah, from my experience, I’ve found that being active in the community and helping people out wins you far more favour among people in a small town then being aloof.
 
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