Impressions on the plot and the ending (only read if you finished the game)

I didn't follow the kickstarter that closely, so i wasn't aware Baisha was changed to Fortified Castle.

I really wanted Baisha :(
 
Well, the game storywise was quite underwhelming. There were basically 2 plot points in the whole game, rescue Shenhua's father(which was kinda established in SII and in interviews) and the whole ending twist with Niao Sun.
I don't really mind the lack of plot points, hell Shenmue I disk 1 and 3 are just padding (all you need of disk one is Zhu's letter, getting the mirror and knowing that Lan Di went to Hong Kong, most of that is developed on disk 2), in Shenmue 2 the main narrative driver is finding Zhu, and the whole Guilin segment.

But in both games stuff happens, in SI you learn the mythology of the mirrors, learn that Lan Di is part of a mafia, you save Nozomi, learn about the secret past of your father in China, you get scammed, you have to get a job, you take a full gang.
In Shenmue 2 same, you learn about the Wude, you learn about Xiuying's brother, you befriend Ren, you take the yellowheads and learn they were working for Lan Di, you meet Shenhua, etc.

One of the problems in S3 narrative is that it's incredibly artificial, the game progress is basically "defeat that guy that is overpowered" (even if gameplay wise I was beating their ass), and I don't think the games makes you earn that moment.
Both are gated behind a paywall, Sun's segment makes it work it a little bit more because the character is a little more developed (even if it's the drunk master cliche), but then the fisherman segment... the way of mastering kung fu is... buying a scroll... That is almost the same as the move taught by Sun...

Compare it with Shenmue 2 teaching of wude, the not-blind musician, catching leaves, they all felt like life lessons, and the last move of Ryo clearing his mind feels deserved, and show's Ryo growing as a martial artist but also as a person.
In S3 the end boss is muscle guy (I can't remember his name even), and that is basically the whole definition of his character (which is also the same definition of the previous boss, but with goofy hair).

That drives me to the other point which is that S3 simply doesn't have many good characters, hell side characters like the rich couple are more developed that the main characters, "fat guy" "broom girl" "fisherman" "the guy that knew Iwao and Zhao but dissapears", there was this amazing world that I was hoping for something to happen and develop the characters, but it never happened. There was this amazing temple on the water, grab a paper (that as far as I know doesn't do anything), you meet the broom girl, and there's that for the whole place, go to the next temple, look for names, and get a scroll by a guy that apparently also knew Iwao, and nothing happens ever again, what was the point ?

There were so many beautiful places in Niaowu, but storywise not much happens, it was great for sidequests and stuff to do and look at, but the whole S3 story and characters feel underdeveloped.

Not only that, but that the trailers basically spoiled all the "good parts", I knew that the boat girl was Niao Sun the moment I saw her, but even then it, from a narrative point, doesn't matter in the least (Shenhua could have been kidnapped by anyone IMO).

I liked the development that Ren took in the game, specially towards the last part, despite what many of here think, I like him sticking out for Ryo and showing he's actually a good fighter (he's the leader of the Heavens after all), he showed a little bit of that side at the end of S2, while still being kinda lazy and arrogant, maybe I like him because it was more Guizang-like.

But yeah, I feel that most characters were just really underdeveloped, even minor characters like shozo feel less one-dimensional than the main characters of S3. The only one that felt more developed was Shenhua (even it hinted more about the game in throwaway conversations at the end of the day than most of the main plot).

It's weird, because I think that the game is actually great, I think it was a great balance between Shenmue 1 and 2, even there were many improvements, but the narrative wasn't up to par. While I was enjoying the minute to minute gameplay, the moment it said I was leaving Niaowu made me sunk in how little of the story I was told, and I felt like it was 80% padding with little narrative output and made me wonder what I "really" got of it, and I feel that condensing the story would have made the overall feeling of the game better (of course, if we got more of it).
 
I have to agree that its lacking in its characters compared to 1 and 2, but it's not horrible I dont think. Im hoping future playthroughs and discoveries will give some more insight into certain NPCs. One of the characters I really found myself liking was the girl you can spar with in the sunflower area. Shes very determined and always willing to learn, yet a little weird. Later you learn that she and Shenhua are actually quite close, and that she (so sorry I cant recall her name at the moment) doesnt really care what other people think and respects those who are strong. I always found myself visiting her everytime I needed to spar to level up. It reminded me of my first playthrough of Shenmue 1 where I'd call or visit Nozomi just to check in and say hi. I havent had that kind of feeling in a game in a long time, and for that I am geateful.
 
What if the shopkeeper in the old castle is actually one of the Chi You Men bosses or even Tentei in disguise? Because it made no sense to have a shopkeeper in a restricted area.
 
Overall, I loved Shenmue III. OST is amazing, graphics are not bad at all and the battle system was quite good.

Bailu Village is probably the part I loved the most, especially Sun's part. I just wish we'd learn more about some characters like Master Feng.

Choubu was amazing too. Huge city, many things to do, game design was well done on this one.

However, the last part of the game was disappointing and felt rushed. Like most of you, I absolutely see no point of having a shop in there (ain't like you're coming back) and not even sure why they'd put a quest.

Rolling on the enemies, not fighting Niao Sun at all was such a let down.

Here's how I thought it'd be :

- Bailu : you save Shenhua's father, get to know more about the cave and mirrors before heading to Choubu

- Choubu : you keep training your kung fu, learn more Hakkyokuken moves, beat Niao Sun and end up training more to eventually face Lan Di

- Castle : Ryo faces Lan Di and either wins & spares his life (we still have more bosses to reach) or lose and we'll fight him again in Shenmue IV

The story goes on...

I'll explain why I was expecting something like this.

Main characters left (known ones) : Niao Sun, Lan Di, Koutei, Gentei, Tentei, Ziming, Grand Masters (one for each Hakkyokuken move). If Shenmue III gets us to something like 40% of the game's story, considering all the characters left (and there are probably even more we don't even know about), I wonder how many games will be needed to bring a conclusion without cutting too much.

Possible options :

- Story has changed and Tentei is just a boss above Lan Di but is actually too old to fight, so Lan Di remains the most powerful one. We get to fight Koutei, Gentei in Shenmue IV and Niao Sun + Lan Di in Shenmue V while learning more about Ziming, Tentei and the Chiyoumen's past (the lies about Sunming Zhao 's death etc).

- Story has changed and Tentei is dead, Lan Di is the boss. That'd explain why Niao Sun wants to take over and kill Lan Di. We'd still have to fight the remaining Chiyoumen's bosses and face Niao Sun + Lan Di at the end of the saga.

We just can't keep fighting thugs in the next games. We didn't even beat one of the Chiyoumen bosses yet (in 3 games) and beating all of them in 2 games seems a bit crazy to me.

Not sure what to think about all of this anymore. But like most of you, I thought I'd learn way more while playing Shenmue III. Instead of focusing on the random rich dude at the hotel in order to grab a VIP Card, characters like Lin Shiling (the broom girl) and many others deserved more focus.

Just my 2 cents.
 
David De ville said:
Overall, I loved Shenmue III. OST is amazing, graphics are not bad at all and the battle system was quite good.

Bailu Village is probably the part I loved the most, especially Sun's part. I just wish we'd learn more about some characters like Master Feng.

Choubu was amazing too. Huge city, many things to do, game design was well done on this one.

However, the last part of the game was disappointing and felt rushed. Like most of you, I absolutely see no point of having a shop in there (ain't like you're coming back) and not even sure why they'd put a quest.

Rolling on the enemies, not fighting Niao Sun at all was such a let down.

Here's how I thought it'd be :

- Bailu : you save Shenhua's father, get to know more about the cave and mirrors before heading to Choubu

- Choubu : you keep training your kung fu, learn more Hakkyokuken moves, beat Niao Sun and end up training more to eventually face Lan Di

- Castle : Ryo faces Lan Di and either wins & spares his life (we still have more bosses to reach) or lose and we'll fight him again in Shenmue IV

The story goes on...

I'll explain why I was expecting something like this.

Main characters left (known ones) : Niao Sun, Lan Di, Koutei, Gentei, Tentei, Ziming, Grand Masters (one for each Hakkyokuken move). If Shenmue III gets us to something like 40% of the game's story, considering all the characters left (and there are probably even more we don't even know about), I wonder how many games will be needed to bring a conclusion without cutting too much.

Possible options :

- Story has changed and Tentei is just a boss above Lan Di but is actually too old to fight, so Lan Di remains the most powerful one. We get to fight Koutei, Gentei in Shenmue IV and Niao Sun + Lan Di in Shenmue V while learning more about Ziming, Tentei and the Chiyoumen's past (the lies about Sunming Zhao 's death etc).

- Story has changed and Tentei is dead, Lan Di is the boss. That'd explain why Niao Sun wants to take over and kill Lan Di. We'd still have to fight the remaining Chiyoumen's bosses and face Niao Sun + Lan Di at the end of the saga.

We just can't keep fighting thugs in the next games. We didn't even beat one of the Chiyoumen bosses yet (in 3 games) and beating all of them in 2 games seems a bit crazy to me.

Not sure what to think about all of this anymore. But like most of you, I thought I'd learn way more while playing Shenmue III. Instead of focusing on the random rich dude at the hotel in order to grab a VIP Card, characters like Lin Shiling (the broom girl) and many others deserved more focus.

Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Wow David, I imagined the story just like you! But no, it disappointed.
 
disappointed, I don't understand how you can rush the end like that whereas you develop characters who don't matter

I understand the reviews telling there was absolutely no evolution in the story (that's very close to this)
 
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Just finished the game. I was very pleasantly surprised with Bailu village. It was just a nice experience, despite many flaws. Shenmue has always had flaws, and i don't really think it would be the same experience without those flaws.
The second half of the game however just had me frustrated and irritated. No interesting dialogue for hours on end, all of the gambling is just an enormous, unreasonable grind that puts the entire game on standby, the fact that you can't skip dialogue whenever you want. I think the game maybe stores a certain number of NPC's dialogues (like 3 or something) and allows you to skip it at a time. The entire second city felt lackluster, with no charm, no interesting characters, and brought nothing new to the story. It could be argued that the game in its entirety really didn't push the story forward at all.
Ending was also disappointing to me, but mostly because I had just spent hours in the hellhole port city. The betrayal of Niao Sun felt pointless. had no impact. And the moment of finally catching up to Lan Di was extremely anticlimactic, as have been mentioned before. On top of that they just sprinkle in some tedious comic relief scenes with Ryo's "friends" and the obvious pandering to premium kickstarter backers that you have to fight on the way to Lan Di.

Not really looking forward to finishing the series if this is what we can expect further.
 
Wow, I'm very surprised and disappointed reading some of these comments. Shenmue 3 was a great game, was it perfect? No but no one said it was gonna be. I thought the game would have answered more questions yes but why would everything be wrapped in Shenmue III? It's not even remotely close to the end of the story. 40% is hardly anything. There has been some headlines that have been misleading though so I don't blame people getting angry for that. 'Shenmue 3 will answer more questions' or Ryo and Shenhua's destiny will be explained, etc.' That never happened but seems more likely that will be in Shenmue 4 or 5.

Things I loved or liked about the game:
The graphics are beautiful
The atmosphere and setting
The animations
It feels truly like a Shenmue game after so many years
The music
The reused music worked well in some scenes
The gameplay
The battle system
The realism
The levelling up system
The characters old and new
The finale (That fight with Lan di was awesome)
The ending (Build up to Shenmue 4 and The Great Wall of China)
The Shenmue charm
The Japanese voice acting (haven't played it in English)
The interesting plot
Talking to Shenhua every night in Baliu
Some scenes are so well done (especially the fight scenes)
Ren's role was done very well
Niao-Sun's introduction
The NPC's feel part of the Shenmue 3 world
It says the names of the NPC you are talking to
Game feels more changeling then 1 and 2
Shenhua's part in Bailu
The QTE's
All the fan related stuff, the hotel guestbook and notebook was fantastic
The Iwao stuff reminded me of Shenmue 1
The new layout of the notebook
Maps are better
The Chai stuff at the end (I hope he's not back in IV though)
Game is addicting (All I wanted to do was play it. Even when feeling depressed)


Things I didn't like or disappointed me:
The health meter depletes way too quickly (I just ate fruit, muffins, cake) and Ryo is hungry again 2 or 3 hours later?
The light story in Chobou
Some characters feel more developed then others
Battle system animations feel clunky or stiff
Too much reused music in scenes (the credits used the Chawan sign music, seriously?)
We didn't get to fight Niao-Sun?
What happened to the 'four big bosses'? I only remember fighting two
Shenhua in Chobou hardly having any story
The pacing of the game (should expect that with Shenmue though)
Not being able to talk to all the NPC's (this was on a budget though)
Too much fan fiction in one area
Ryo not regonizing Chai
1 QTE with the henchmen at the end


If the story is only 40% done then those henchmen at the end weren't Lan Di's real henchmen. More likely the Chiyoumen are. I'm not saying the game was perfect, it had plot holes but nothing major. Yes Shenmue 3 could have been better but it was truly the sequel. It was very Shenmue and very much 'Shenmue III.' There was stuff in the trailers that wasn't in the game too. That always saddens me or annoys me.
Overall, I am happy with how Shenmue 3 turned out. 8.5/10 for the first time playing the game.
 
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adom11800 said:
Wow, I'm very surprised and disappointed reading some of these comments. Shenmue 3 was a great game, was it perfect? No but no one said it was gonna be. I thought the game would have answered more questions yes but why would everything be wrapped in Shenmue III? It's not even remotely close to the end of the story. 40% is hardly anything. There has been some headlines that have been misleading though so I don't blame people getting angry for that. 'Shenmue 3 will answer more questions' or Ryo and Shenhua's destiny will be explained, etc.' That never happened but seems more likely that will be in Shenmue 4 or 5.

Things I loved or liked about the game:
The graphics are beautiful
The atmosphere and setting
The animations
It feels truly like a Shenmue game after so many years
The music
The gameplay
The battle system
The realism
The levelling up system
The characters old and new
The finale (That fight with Lan di was awesome)
The ending (Build up to Shenmue 4 and The Great Wall of China)
The Shenmue charm
The Japanese voice acting (haven't played it in English)
The interesting plot
Talking to Shenhua every night in Baliu
Some scenes are so well done (especially the fight scenes)
Ren's role was done very well
Niao-Sun's introduction
The NPC's feel part of the Shenmue 3 world
It says the names of the NPC you are talking to
Game feels more changeling then 1 and 2
Shenhua's part in Bailu
The QTE's
All the fan related stuff, the hotel guestbook and notebook was fantastic
The Iwao stuff reminded me of Shenmue 1
The new layout of the notebook
Maps are better


Things I didn't like or disappointed me:
The health meter depletes way too quickly (I just ate fruit, muffins, cake) and Ryo is hungry again 2 or 3 hours later?
The light story in Chobou
Some characters feel more developed then others
Battle system animations feel clunky or stiff
Too much reused music in scenes (the credits used the Chawan sign music, seriously?)
We didn't get to fight Niao-Sun?
What happened to the 'four big bosses'? I only remember fighting two
Shenhua in Chobou hardly having any story
The pacing of the game (should expect that with Shenmue though)
Not being able to talk to all the NPC's (this was on a budget though)
Too much fan fiction in one area
1 QTE with the henchmen at the end


If the story is only 40% done then those henchmen at the end weren't Lan Di's real henchmen. More likely the Chiyoumen are. I'm not saying the game was perfect, it had plot holes but nothing major. Yes Shenmue 3 could have been better but it was truly the sequel. It was very Shenmue and very much 'Shenmue III.' There was stuff in the trailers that wasn't in the game too. That always saddens me or annoys me.
Overall, I am happy with how Shenmue 3 turned out. 8.5/10 for the first time playing the game.
Click to expand...

Suzuki did in fact say we'd learn the meaning of the poem/prophecy and Ryo and Shenhua's role in it, in an interview at Gamescom in 2017. He also said we'd learn more about the Sword of the Seven Stars.

That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Sources are on the old Dojo, i can dig it up if you like.
 
Personally, I think, first and foremost, we need to say thank you to Yu-san for not giving up on the series we all love so much and for fighting against the odds to bring us Shenmue III. In terms of the game itself, I think Yu-san and his small team have done a fantastic job of producing a game that feels like Shenmue, on what was very much a shoestring budget. Furthermore, it is to the development teams credit that they released a game with very little in the way of bugs on day one. I personally did not encounter any and from my understanding of things, neither have most players. In this current tripple-A market, the number of big games, with much larger budgets and teams, that are released riddled with game breaking bugs has become a total joke imo.

Yu-san has managed to make a game with a world full of all the things we would expect from Shenmue and even add some new ones. In that respect, Shenmue III is nothing short of a miracle; given the budget. However, that is not to say that it is perfect; it's not. But in fairness, again given the budget, it was never going to be. Some things, such as the reuse of dialogue lines or the inability to talk to every npc, are sacrifices that Yu-san had to make in order to do other things. The same is true of the characters in game. It seems that Yu-san has been forced to compromise on the fleshing out of several characters, notably in Chobou, so he can focus on others, namely Shenhua. For me, as others have said, the best part of the game were the evening conversations with her in Baliu. Both she and Ryo really felt like real people in those moments.

To me it seems like Yu-san and the team managed to create Baliu in line with his vision for the area, sans the more minor concessions, as it is certainly the most polished part of the game. Unfortunately, in doing so, they left themselves short on time and funds to do the same with the other two planned regions, eventually having to replace one altogether. This is probably the reason why the characters in Chobou feel less fleshed out than in Baliu and the plot the same; hunt down gang, get beat up by boss, learn technique to beat him. It is a shame as the actual town is very well constructed and has the same depth in all the other areas as Baliu.

This, unfortunately, leads to the endgame at the castle. By this point, it is clear that Yu-san is out of time and funds to realise anything like his vision for the area. Ultimately, I can only imagine that they had to throw together whatever they could, just so the game could have some sort of a set piece ending. It's a real shame and I wonder if they might have been better cutting it from the game altogether and leaving the game on some sort of cliffhanger. Perhaps Ryo could have defeated the Red Snakes boss, only to then find Shenhua has been kidnapped. Niao Sun could have then arranged an exchanged someplace in the town (Shenhua for the mirror). Ren, not liking Ryo's willingness to trade the mirror, could have played the old switcheroo on him and taken the real mirror. Ryo then walks into a trap, loses the fake mirror and then is beaten by Niao Sun, who leaves him for dead inside a burning building as she escapes with Shenhua and the fake mirror. Fade to black. Shenmue IV picks up with Ryo being saved by Ren, a demand then comes for the real mirror when they find out he's alive and the first part of the game is then forming a plan and finding allies to siege the castle. Just a thought.

Regardless, while I share people's sentiments about the lack of story progression in Shenmue III and the problems with the endgame, it should not detract from what is otherwise a fantastic game that was somehow made on a shoestring budget. Thank you Yu-san, just don't leave us waiting another 18 years for Shenmue IV.
 
I know I may come off as overly critical of the game but I must say I do like it a lot. Its just for me I can't love it. not when the story, villains, and characters failed to live up to expectations or even what Yu promised himself.
On my New Game + playthrough now and I'm just so let down by so many things in regards to the story/characters/villains. Game would be perfectly fine even with its weak combat and (imo) unfair money making system. Yu promised us so much in terms of story. He promised us fleshed out characters and villains (especially Niao Sun). He promised us an amazing ending segment...None of it happened. He hyped it up and didnt deliver. He went full Peter Molyneux with this one. As in most of the stuff he spoke on didnt make the cut.

- The three thugs in Bailu were a joke narratively. Not menacing at all and were just a plot device to throw Ryo into a shonen trope of getting his ass kicked to train and learn a new move. Even worse is the fact that this type of progression happened 3 or 4 times. over the course of the game.
- Master Feng should have had some actual relevance and should have told Ryo a ton of things about his father that Ryo didn't know.
- I also wish that the green training garb in the concept art was given to Ryo. Either by Feng (and made it emotional by being the same style of garb his dad trained in) or made by Shenhua (in an optional dialogue she says she makes her own clothes and asks Ryo about his other clothes. Pick the "Gi" option for a hilarious segment). To my knowledge the garb is only accessible in a certain edition of the game and its just a recolor of the bulky martial arts suits that are obtainable in this game. not form fitting and buttoned up.
- Chai should have had a real fight during his attempt at stealing the treasure map. And that fight should have been Chai's end as he had no relevance in Niawo imo (and none in Bailu really). I feel like maybe they couldn't get his movements to work right in the new stiff as hell fighting engine.

Those are just my complaints with the first chapter of the game as far as story goes. Bailu had everything set up to be an amazing chapter but for some reason Yu didn't deliver. What should have been an amazing training arc and story about Ryo learning about his father and following in his footsteps turned into a generic mess tbh.
 
Furinkazan said:
Suzuki did in fact say we'd learn the meaning of the poem/prophecy and Ryo and Shenhua's role in it, in an interview at Gamescom in 2017. He also said we'd learn more about the Sword of the Seven Stars.

That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Sources are on the old Dojo, i can dig it up if you like.
Click to expand...

I can see why people would be annoyed by that but seems like Shenmue IV will answer more questions. Maybe he wanted to put it in Shenmue 3 but couldn't.
 
Just finished the game. I'm very satisfied, but also a little nervous about waiting for Shenmue IV.

The Castle area made sense to me. I didn't want Ryo to be a martial arts expert by the end of Niaowu and bust down the Castle door before beating up all the Chi You Men - Lan Di included! That wouldn't have made any sense considering this is Ryo's first proper battle with Lan Di following Shenmue 1.

The whole sequence just screams Empire Strikes Back to me when Luke prematurely ends his training with Yoda to recklessly save his friends from Vader. Ryo is scolded by Grandmaster Bei for not being ready to face what's in the Castle, but he goes regardless to save Shenhua and ends up losing the Phoenix Mirror to Niao Sun and, despite faring a bit better this time and not losing in five seconds flat, nearly dies at Lan Di's hands.

The conclusion to Shenmue 3 serves as a proper introduction to the Chi You Men and shows how much Ryo has improved to actually stand against Lan Di. The next time Ryo encounters the Chi You Men, he would have likely finished his training and be better able to defeat them.

But yeah: going from losing to simple thugs at the start of the game and then kicking Lan Di's arse by the end while solving all mysteries pertaining to Iwao and the Mirrors leaving absolutely nothing for Shenmue IV...thank God that didn't happen as that would have been awful.
 
I loved every minute, even the ending.
I was claping when everybody was standing on the dock looking on at the blaze.


Yes the ending seems to be a bit rushed and more story elements would have been great.... But With that said, how many of you would have complained and bitched if they delayed the game an extra year or 2????
Hindsight doesn't count. 😉

I look forward to the dlc. Maybe it will fill in some of the cracks. If not, then i look forward to S4.

As a fan am more satisfied then disappointed.
When the last of the end credits rolled and had Yu's signature at the end.. I had a tear and started to clap.

I look forward to my next play through.
I will take my time and beat it on the last month before the bad ending. Am sure Yu packed this with hidden secrets that needs us to "take our time."
 
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