I One of the things about Shenmue 1 is that whenever Ryo got home, he took off his shoes. From what I recall, he doesn't do this at any point in Shenmue 2 (correct me if I'm wrong), even when he was at Shenhua's house. In 3, he takes off his shoes as he steps into the living area to converse with Shenhua. It seems like a minor thing, but it is one of those little touches that makes his living situation more cozy and intimate, like he can gain a small sense of home after all the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong and Kowloon.
Also, he's styling on everyone with the S3s. I would happily wear those.
I've played for around 8 hours today, I feel like im near the end of the village, and I'm completely satisfied so far. I love how all the systems intergrate together, get up, play a few arcade games, go fishing, gamble, train, spar, do a bit of story etc. Every day feels like a 'proper day'.
Theres a real sense of character progression. I'm a much better fighter both in my ability to control Ryo and his ability in all of the new skills I have unlocked. I have money in my pocket, without running out every day. I know the village layout like the back of my hand, and the personalities of the villagers. I've found out new information about characters who were introduced years ago. I really love the ambience of the place, especially at night. It will be sad to leave. And that's Shenmue to a tee
Booted it up for the first time today. Glad I am playing Shenmue but some of the presentation elements are quite distracting so far and not in a good way. I immediately noticed the cuts during conversations are awkward. You are speaking with Shenhua an every second almost the screen is going black and continuing the conversation from a different angle or location. Someone has already made a thread about this.
I also am debating to myself whether Corey Marshall is a bad voice actor or the script is just bad. Ryo seems to question everything;
Ryo - What's that?
Shenhua - A Dojo
Ryo - A dojo, huh?
Furthermore, there just seems to be way too much filler dialogue or Ryo speaking when he seriously doesn't have to. It's like that awkward moment when someone is not really being involved in a conversation but tries ever so hard to force themselves in it by saying "oh yeah", "I agree" and so on.
Also, some conversations with NPCs just don't make sense. I spoke to one in the very beginning and it went something like this.
NPC - Are you from Japan
Ryo - Yes
NPC - Though it is a small country, Japan has a lot of streams (in a nice voice)
Ryo - You won't be wrong about that (at this moment, I am smiling because it's Shenmue and I love the interaction until....)
NPC - I don't speak to people who don't like fishing (in an angry voice)
I am just sitting thinking WTF?
Things like the above are not down to budget problems, just the people outside of Yu Suzuki just not being the most talented when it comes to writing, acting and developing the game.
And then there is the fighting... Just had my first battle and thought it was a little weird that the instructions were "try pressing buttons". I initially thought it was them being clever and basically saying you're going to have to figure this out and master it yourself but because of everything else so far, it seems like they were genuinely the instructions given. Combat seemed a little off and is comparable to something like Skyrim.
With all that said, I am just happy I am playing Shenmue III. Better get news of a Shenmue VI within the next 2 years or I'm gonna go mad.
I also am debating to myself whether Corey Marshall is a bad voice actor or the script is just bad. Ryo seems to question everything;
Ryo - What's that?
Shenhua - A Dojo
Ryo - A dojo, huh?
Furthermore, there just seems to be way too much filler dialogue or Ryo speaking when he seriously doesn't have to. It's like that awkward moment when someone is not really being involved in a conversation but tries ever so hard to force themselves in it by saying "oh yeah", "I agree" and so on.
That's how Ryo always talked in the games. For me it's part of the charm. I'm delighted the dialogue is still cheesy like the first two games. I wouldn't want it any other way. I think Corey tried to match how he sounded in the first two games which was 100 per cent the right thing to do. As soon as Ryo said "I See" in reply to someone I knew I was right at home.
That's how Ryo always talked in the games. For me it's part of the charm. I'm delighted the dialogue is still cheesy like the first two games. I wouldn't want it any other way. I think Corey tried to match how he sounded in the first two games which was 100 per cent the right thing to do. As soon as Ryo said "I See" in reply to someone I knew I was right at home.
I don't think it translates very well to English, but I always loved Ryo's stoic and somewhat oblivious style. It's just kind of cute, plus it makes a great avatar for the player.
The story presented here was very sparse and lacked deep characters for a game meant to grab newcomers for future sequels.. and YES even fans will notice the lack of dramatic scenes and oddities like characters showing up for only one cutscene then surprisingly never being used again. I dare say that this is the least memorable game of the series for story & characters.
Combat is.. my personal favorite of the series. The key word here is "difficulty". Shenmue 3 had me training, learning button combinations and practicing spacing.. things I barely did in the originals because it wasn't really necessary. Shenmue 3's combat is what sparked the most emotion out of me whether I'm rage throwing my controller or screaming over a narrow victory.
Music is hit or miss depending on whether hearing remixed tracks from the original Shenmue games for most of this game ticks you off. Low budget, nothing they can do.
Overall, the finale left interested enough to go in for a second playthrough but no more than that. I'd rather re-play the originals while waiting for Shenmue 4.
That's how Ryo always talked in the games. For me it's part of the charm. I'm delighted the dialogue is still cheesy like the first two games. I wouldn't want it any other way. I think Corey tried to match how he sounded in the first two games which was 100 per cent the right thing to do. As soon as Ryo said "I See" in reply to someone I knew I was right at home.
I don't think it translates very well to English, but I always loved Ryo's stoic and somewhat oblivious style. It's just kind of cute, plus it makes a great avatar for the player.
Same here in regards to the Ryo's voice, but the performance was still much better in the original games. The bad parts that stood out for me in the original Shenmue was Ryo saying "excuse me" at the travel agent and "waaaay uncool" with Goro. These moments are pretty much constant in the first hour of the game.
Same here in regards to the Ryo's voice, but the performance was still much better in the original games. The bad parts that stood out for me in the original Shenmue was Ryo saying "excuse me" at the travel agent and "waaaay uncool" with Goro. These moments are pretty much constant in the first hour of the game.
I think Corey Marshall has always been terrible. I found his voice acting terrible in shenmue 1 at the time but it was just more acceptable to have bad voice acting then.
+Love the new training mechanics. It adds style and substance to the game.
+Love how the environment in seemless and you don’t need to load a new screen to a next section
+You do feel in-tune with Bailu village (about to finish Bailu village but want to try other things before I leave) as you interact with the locals and participate what you can do there
+Love that you can now eat food to maintain health
+Love the new characters
+Love how it progresses the story and while it’s predictable to understand why Iwao was in China, it’s nice to interact with characters who knew him
-It takes awhile to see QTEs
-The new battle system takes some adjusting for me since I prefer the VF system
-The struggle to make money LOL
-I miss how NPC’s demonstrate and explain how to do a move, and you have to “translate” the controls (unless this happens later, please don’t spoil)
Just got to the big city. I love how Ryo has the most personality he’s ever had in any of the games (the whole Face Off game is ridiculous, but adorable).
I’m really trying to get better at the combat. I do find it fun for what it is, but I can’t shake the fact that it could (and should) be more.
I finally left Bailu Village yesterday and I am in the city now. I really enjoy the new einvironment so far. I also encountered a relativ of minor Shenmue 2 character ( I Just say left Right, left Right,) and it was really fun. I also bought some phone Cards at the hotel.
The character development of Ryo is just amazing. At first his interactions with Shenhua, in Bailu, and then the call with Nozomi. A far cry from the first game. Really cool.
The only thing I did not like so far is the fact the did not used the Chai Theme of S1 when encouting the character. Would have made his apperance way more scary.
I was also about to complain about the missing Shenhua theme, but at the end of Bailu section it was finally used.
I left Bailu village last night after spending around 30+ hours there trying to do everything I could. I am absolutely loving the game and have really felt invested in it once again (exactly as I did in Shenmue 1 and 2).
However I do feel Yu Suzuki may be cutting content from his original vision and story - this I can fully understand given all the circumstances, but its just upsetting that we will probably never see the original full story vision he had.
Although saying that I just amazed, happy and grateful we are all sitting here playing Shenmue 3 and enjoying it!
There are at least two introductions of characters, one towards the beginning of the game and one at the tail end of your stay in Bailu, that I REALLY wish had a bit more cinematic or narrative emphasis. The first character may not be totally important to the story, but his connection with Iwao seems pretty significant. I may have missed bits of the dialogue during his cutscene with Ryo, but I was left not even knowing the guy’s name. I only found out who he was after checking the notebook the day after.
The second character really should’ve had more of an impact on Ryo, considering he was a major player in the first game. I’m really disappointed that he just kind of “shows up” and Ryo barely acknowledges his return. I guess I built up the character’s return to the series a little too much for myself.
I made a few phone calls to past characters last time I played. It was great, but man was it weird to not hear original voices of these characters. Nozomi sounded like a totally different person, and Ine-san didn’t feel like “home” to me. What a shame.
I can play most games on very high settings, but for some reason I need to put the game on medium or otherwise the frame rate drops massively and it's not smooth and just not playable. I hope a patch comes out to better optimise the game.
In terms of gameplay though, the little bit I did, it's looking promising so far.
I was so happy to see them walk out that cave, it brought back memories of me all those years ago looking at that ending screen. In my mind, I literally saw my younger self sitting in front of my old TV as I was playing. It was a feeling of happiness but some sadness too, as so much time and so much has happened in between.
I only just made it to the second area. I've probably put 20 hours into it so far and I get the feeling the game has basically just begun. Checking my inventory to see what's opened up and there's just an insane amount of stuff to collect/unlock here, I can't imagine rushing through it!
Only complaints I really have going by Bailu is the following:
Music not being in every area. Even some lower ambient stuff like the FREE tracks from 1 would have been nice, just weird also to have certain tracks stop playing after 5pm for some weird reason (doesn't seem like a glitch as it happens without fail at the same time each day in certain areas)
SOme cutscenes having pretty weird cuts. The story itself is super interesting but sometimes a bit janky to watch.
QTEs are definitely a tad to fast, I've managed most fairly ok but some felt legit impossible on first try.
Side stories triggering at certain points in the story - I stayed two extra days in Bailu because it seemed that the stories triggered after a vital point which is basically at the end of the part, which was a bit weird (poor Shenhua was left waiting!)
General lack of NPCs in certain areas, lack of NPC idle animations - so Chobu's intro is cool but feels a bit barren at the moment. Which is weird as you get the feeling its a pretty fancy shopping area which should have Shenmue 2 levels of people here... Bailu is great the more you play because people have routines and certain places get busier at certain times, but for example - in the fields at Sunflower Grove, it'd be nice to have the NPCs (the workers) actually look like they are working (one is milking sometimes but that's it). Its a small complaint but it would help the game world feel a little more alive.
Oh, as for story complaints, I don't quite get the complaints (at least, for the first half). I mean, we got some further backstory on
Iwao training, though they are still not giving up just what went down, though I get the distinct idea that's because its a reveal by the Chi You Men at a later point in the series. But its really cool to reach the area where he trains, and meet the masters that trained with him and get these slithers of info.
Meanwhile the treasure/mirror plot has already moved forward in a significant way pointing you to Chobu, and like any good treasure hunt I can't imagine the game giving up the goods before the end to this game, it surely has to have a few more twists yet? As for what is going on with the whole history side of that, I can imagine only Shenhua's father really knows.
Granted I'm only around 50?% of the way through 3, so more twists are probably going to happen. Can't help but wonder what people expected? As a series its definitely a martial arts journey type game with revenge and a treasure hunt as the background. And seeing that the game is only 40% of the entire series plot, I imagine there would still be yet more to come in the future, so getting some huge game changing revelation yet seems unlikely? I mean, I've not finished the game so I don't know, but I've been super satisfied with how the plot has moved forward so far. There's one thing I won't know until I finish the game, but I'll post about that when I get through the second half.
I am a few hours in. I've basically completed my first two fights with enemies. One of my mine gripes in the whole losing health when running which puts me off taking things slowly and exploring a little more. I am also finding a predictable trend that is becoming a bit frustrating. That is speaking to 5 different people who keep fobbing you off until you find what you want. For example, you need to find a kung-fu master. You ask two of the obvious ones, they don't know any, one refuses to train you and the other you have to do a fetch quest. There's no story or sense to this aside from filler.
At least with the original Shenmue there was some thinking behind it dragging some sections on. Sailors come at night so you have to wait til the evening, I'll sort your ticket out tomorrow etc. Here, just feels like the story is being padded out.
I've taking it slow playing on the hardest difficulty, dissecting everything as much as I could. Not gonna lie, the first in-game day was very rough and I was starting to feel hugely disappointed with the design as the game played by itself basically. But as I kept going on, I believe I even like S3 better than S2 as of now (still on Bailu Village). I'm surprised that the fighting in this game got this much depth and I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's better than ever if a player puts the time to properly learn it.
I just reached the second area (about 12 hours in) and, apart from a few less-than-ideal elements, I'm loving every second of this game.
A couple of simple things they could improve with a patch that are, quite frankly, baffling:
repeated dialogue should be skippable, all the time! This would make a huge difference to the flow of the game. Heck, new dialogue should be skippable, too
QTEs are way too hard on Normal difficulty. QTEs shouldn't be that hard -- they're supposed to make you feel like a badass -- but instead I'm failing almost every one, which just spoils an otherwise cool scene. It's like Command QTEs all over again
...and another minor one: you should be able to pause during cutscenes!
Anyway, they aren't huge gripes in the grand scheme of things. In general the game is amazing.
I'm a new Shenmue fan as I recently started playing the series thanks to my brother for getting me into it. Still taking my time playing through Shenmue 3 but I love every bit of the game. It feels exactly like the orginal games but with a modern touch. It just feels good to explore around the environments to see all the details that they put in the game.
I'll admit that fighting was very unusual when I first started since I was so used to the way S1&2 played but the more time I spent with it, the more I actually enjoyed and wanted to keep finding ways to learn the mechanics. The minor complaints is that some moves may feel a little delayed and it doesn't have that hard hitting impact like in 1&2. Other than that, it's solid.
The stamina thing is a 50-50 for me because I really don't think it's that bad and it isn't too different from games like Harvest Moon or games that require you to keep up with weapons similar to Dark Cloud. Personally, I'm used to games that require you to keep up with stamina and to use it efficiently. However I definitely understand why some people just don't like it. I recommend using the black garlic especially if you're low on money.
In Bailu village, it may seem a bit restrictive and small for the first few hours but at some point in the game, there's so much activities, I didn't even know where to start.
Overall, I love the game and it's impressive that they manage to fit so much in a tight budget. I'm also hoping that we can get a Shenmue 4 some in the future!
I can't help feeling that after 18 years and all the hype, that we really should be more pissed by the lack of plot, the slow pacing, the padding and the bait and switch of the floating sword and mystical elements hinted at the end of Shenmue 2.
I don't really understand what Yu Suzuki meant whenever he has said he couldn't rush through the story any quicker than he has with Shenmue 3. I mean, what is he on about? Nothing of importance has happened within 95% of the game so far. You learn a bit about Iwao training in Bailu and a bit of history on the mirrors, both of which is great, but you spend forrrreeeever looking for thugs that are after stonemasons - that I could frankly not give a fuck about - and looking for Shenhua's father - who, again, sorry Shenhua, but I really couldn't give a fuck about. I mean, they even drag it out across two different areas. Compare it with the plot and pacing of the second game.
I actually, reluctantly, somewhat agree with some of Yu Suzuki's critics who say they think he would drag on the series forever if he could and probably doesn't even know how to resolve most of the plot points he has been building up over the course of the last few decades.
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) and it was really fun. I also bought some phone Cards at the hotel.
