However, when small independent Chinese game developers can create combat systems on par with Devil May Cry and Ninja Garden, (Lost Soul Aside which ironically was funded by Sony after the Internet was impressed with the original trailer and Black Myth Wu Kong) then why should I excuse the forefather of Virtua Fighter?
These are action combat games, ergo a significant portion of development resources went on the combat as the central premise. Shenmue had many other plates to spin to be even a relatively complete experience.
Black Myth Wu Kong developer Game Science are looking to *increase* their existing staff by 19 after their vertical slice (and that's what it is, it may look polished but the release is pencilled in for 2023 and may slip, which indicates that's basically all they had) went viral.
Lost Soul Aside has 20 people working on it, but it's also been almost four years (i.e, the entire duration of Shenmue III's development) since it was picked up by Sony. Not since development started, *since it was picked up*, and it's unlikely to release this year either.
For context, planners and programmers (broadly responsible for implementing game design) on Shenmue III amounted to barely 25 people overall - including freelance contractors at Historia Inc. That's for *everything* we got. In the original Shenmue, 12 people are credited as being specifically assigned to the combat, working over however many years.
It's fine to have an opinion, and especially when we know YsNet themselves thought they didn't get the combat where they wanted it (one of the Dojo interviews with Ryan Payton), but I think a bump of reality is needed once in a while when the circular talking points start up, and the counterfactuals about other devs in different situations are introduced. Just as a reminder.
At least they've got a place to start from next time, which is more than could be said when Shenmue III began development. If we're lucky they'll have a better environment for mo-cap, better *tech* for mo-cap, and enough development staff to silo off a team specifically dedicated to combat scenarios. About a dozen people working on it for a few years could make something pretty great.