So now that I've had a few days to ruminate on the story and characters of Shenmue 3 I wanted to post some some of my thoughts and questions.
I think fundamentally looking back at the story the real issue I had wasn't that large overacting mysterious were not tied up in the game i.e. Did Iwao killed Zhao Sunming? What are Shenhua's 'powers', the meaning of the mirrors (Although we get more detail on that).
I felt the game suffered from lack of stakes, characters that felt much more shallow than previous entries, odd pacing and repetition. It would be an understatement the haphazard last area due to it's length, lack of challenge and rushed elements left a bad taste in my mouth. So while some of this may sound overtly critical, reading impressions as new players have started playing this has reminded me how much I loved a lot of parts of Bailu and Niaowu.
So in no particular order;
- This will be a revolving complaint but did anyone feel Grandmaster Feng was severely under cooked as a character? I mean here you have someone that knew about both Iwao and Zhao Sunming. In addition was familar with Lan Di and his real identity. Yet to my knowledge had a very brief role and never really gets questioned in terms of what he knows, outside saying he's sure Iwao wasn't capable of murder
- I'm struggling to understand the timeline and chain of events in Bailu of the thugs. Obviously they were sent to gather the stone masons and look for the mirror. I admit the details could be fuzzy but when exactly was Yuan's kidnapped? I'm assuming it was shortly after he wrote the letter to Shenhua but was this after the rest of the stonemasons got attacked? I mean they turned Hermits nest into their base while they held Yanxin (Yuan's apprentice), and according to Shenhua continued to look for the mirrors. Were they also planning on handing him over to the Red Snakes?
- I've said this earlier but I feel like Chai's inclusion in this game was purely for fan service reasons. His involvement is confusing at best but nothing really benefited from his inclusion
- I absolutely loved the whole training section and character of Mr. Sun (In my opinion one of the games high point). Hearing NPC characters talk about how miserly he is, the relationships he's lost because of him skipping out on bills. It's endless and it's all fantastic. Then when you meet him as he teaches you Rooster Steps, commanding you to chase and pick up chickens. All while feeding his alcohol and food needs. I also thought it was a cool moment how much more self reflective and aware Ryo was that he speculated some of the menial tasks he was asked to do would ultimately help him learn Bodycheck
- Some of my favorite moments in the game was talking to Shenhua in the evening. I thought similar to Disk 4 in Guilin it did a lot to flesh out and humanize Ryo. That element is curtailed in Niaowu and honestly Shenua integration felt like an almost after thought and I was surprised how minimal her role was. I remember seeing her character just standing stationary outside the entrance of Blossom Road. Based on all the balcony chats I had with her it's clear they used the character to provide hints and tips for elements in Niaowu but in terms of narrative she is sort of just there
- Another element that felt completely under cooked was the Red Snakes themselves. I mean for a big chunk of Niaowu you essentially encounter just two members of the gang. Yet you are told of them destroying stores, temples among other places but rarely see any of this destruction take place. I mean they honestly felt like a phantom group, where as in previous games they were slowly built up and you encountered different elements and characters of said group (Think of Mad Angels or even the Heavens gang). Then when you think about the Yellowheads in comparison, they just don't stack up. Particularly when you see them get comically dispatched by your sidekicks in the Old Castle finale.
- I felt the story really dropped any sense of stakes and danger. I mean I've heard Shenmue overarching story is meant to emulate those of Wuxia stories and I've certainly watched my fair share of kung fu films. I understand it's a trope of the genre to be beaten up and essentially told your skills aren't up to par. Yet in previous games although it's not shown, death is insinuated in the case of Mark's brother and the Yellowheads certainly were out to kill you. Yet here as it happens twice in Bailu and then Niaowu you are soundly beaten and essentially are allowed to survive and leave. It kind of took away any dramatic tension there could be
- I feel that brings me to one of biggest issue I had with the game and that's essentially repetition of story beats. The way you overcome thug boss in Bailu is essentially the same with Mr. Muscles even down to performing the same move (I understand one is a reverse). Unlike the former where you had this amazing training sequence with Sun, Grandmaster Bei again is another character than gets very little development and learning this counter just doesn't feel earned
- By Li Feng's second scene I knew something was up with her and based on the Shenmue premiere video of Niao Sun I speculated it was her in disguise. What disappoints me was there was really no pay off. What she does behind the scene may be explored in future games but again because it's done off screen the revelation losses a lot of its impact
- The scene as Ryo strolls towards the harbour ready to take boat to the Old Castle and is surprisingly joined by his compatriots could have been this really powerful scene. Yet the underdevelopment of these characters again reduced what should have been this really triumphant event. Don't get me wrong I don't profess to exhausting every dialogue tree or have seen every side quest but to my knowledge your interaction with Mr. Hsu and Shiling (Shrine maiden) is relatively minimum. You can spar with Mr. Hsu and I completed a pretty basic side quest for her returning a scroll. I would love to know if there's more detailed interactions or events possible because as it stands both characters get the bare minimum of development
- Ren’s part in Shenmue 3 feels inconsistent to say the least. I have a lot to say about him so maybe I will leave it for another post
- I’ve already posted pretty lengthy breakdown about the
Old Castle so I’m not going to repeat what I said. I did find it peculiar that after saving Shenhua that her and Ryo don’t share a scene thanking or even acknowledging just what went down. I mean after all those lengthy conversations in Bailu you think a little moment shared together would be cathartic but again whole end feels rushed.
So unanswered questions that immediately come to mind
- What exactly did Shenhua do to the thug in Bailu by herself? Hypnosis, mind control or something that doesn’t have a supernatural/magical connotation?
- The scroll you get in tower in Bailu the last image includes mountain cliff, where we are told the hidden treasure is likely buried. The last scene with Yuan he says Chi You Men have taken over temple there, I assume that’s where Ryo and company are traveling right at the end?
- We are told Dragon is emperor and Phoenix is empress. I find it interesting Lan Di has the Dragon mirror and Niao Sun has Phoenix mirror. Is that a coincidence?
- Niao Sun handed mirror to member of Chi You Men. Was he taking it somehere? To Tentei?
All in all I enjoyed the game I just wished the story wasn’t as under developed as it was. Love to hear what others thought too.
