Lower expectations

H

hopeful

Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Some might criticize me for saying this, but don't expect Shenmue 3 to blow your mind upon its release.
One major reason being Sega has not fully license its arcade games and game characters for capsule toys that were deemed special to me when I first played about 19 years ago on my beloved Sega Dreamcast.

Another reason for lower expectations being the budget is really limited compare to our major titles out there today. When Sega released Shenmue, it was fully budget as a major title. Meaning it got funded fully. The budget for the first Shenmue was probably comparable to recent GTA series.

Anyways, I digress. I might be selfish but I find myself to lower my Shenmue 3 expectations so I could actually enjoy the game when it is released.
Many fans are too eager to feel Shenmue 3 is fully funded and it is going to be a major game: not me.

I hope Shenmue fans will enjoy Shenmue 3 for what it is. A game that is not really officially endorsed by Sega but a Yu game at best.

Feel free to express your Shenmue 3 expectations here.
 
Honestly:
I dont care about older SEGA arcade games. It was a neat gimmick back in the day.
Nowadays ? I have a shitload of emulators available. And yet we're still seeing some SEGA licensed stuff in Shenmue III.

SEGA stuff participated to make the atmosphere a little bit more funny, but honestly I couldn't care less about arcades or capsule toys. Yet they're here, in a nice shape and in one that participate to the gameplay loop.

I wont temper my expectations on the game though. My hype is still through the roof because the game still manage to capture what makes Shenmue great:
The mood, the atmosphere, the combat, the characters.

I also think visuals looks really nice. The only way I would be disappointed if the game under delivers story wise or content wise. But as long as we get nice paced moments and an engaging story with a wonderful atmosphere, I cant be disappointed.
 
Depends how you look at it really. From the footage that we have seen so far, my expectations have been met tenfold already.

Since the day the Kickstarter was announced I have been beyond hyped for the game to come out (probably way over hyped but I do that with a lot of things - Shenmue being the top of that list by a fair margin). My expectations in regards to the actual game were average from the start (after how the Kickstarter was ran, I felt like I should expect the worst) but I knew that Yu would help raise that bar so have always been hyped to see how he uses the funds to improve the game and to add more features and polish. I thought that at the very least, we'd be able to continue the story and would have something that was average in terms of game play and graphics, and I'd always be happy with that.

The fact that we have now a game that looks (to me) graphically amazing, and a game that is clearly a true Shenmue continuation with the gameplay, atmosphere and story that we all love...it really is all I've ever wanted.
 
hopeful said:
Some might criticize me for saying this, but don't expect Shenmue 3 to blow your mind upon its release.
One major reason being Sega has not fully license its arcade games and game characters for capsule toys that were deemed special to me when I first played about 19 years ago on my beloved Sega Dreamcast.

Another reason for lower expectations being the budget is really limited compare to our major titles out there today. When Sega released Shenmue, it was fully budget as a major title. Meaning it got funded fully. The budget for the first Shenmue was probably comparable to recent GTA series.

Anyways, I digress. I might be selfish but I find myself to lower my Shenmue 3 expectations so I could actually enjoy the game when it is released.
Many fans are too eager to feel Shenmue 3 is fully funded and it is going to be a major game: not me.

I hope Shenmue fans will enjoy Shenmue 3 for what it is. A game that is not really officially endorsed by Sega but a Yu game at best.

Feel free to express your Shenmue 3 expectations here.
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Interesting take on the subject. I also dont recall you posting much so if not already said then welcome. That's not to dismiss some of the criticism around some of the models etc but personally it doesn't bother me.

I'd say that the vast majority of fans have expectations in check with the budget and most of us would agree those have been surpassed. Hell the game existing surpassed many expectations already. Of course some will always expect more and that's fine but tempering expectations is always something I've seen in my time here.

Personally the game looks good. The systems and depth we are getting reach far beyond what I thought we would get from when the kickstarter closed.

It's more externally where I think people have this notion that Shenmue must be AAA and kick off because it doesn't look like it. Yes the originals were AAA but the games reach far beyond the visual presentation and most fans appreciate it. I'd suggest it's the wider audience that might want to temper the expectations on presentation and look into the depth of game that is coming.
 
Everybody has different expectations. Personaly I just want a classic Shenmue Game with a bit more modern graphics. The chances are quite high that my expectations will be met. But that is just me. Other People with higher expectations might be sad indeed. But we have to wait and see till the game is released.
 
i really dont care that much about graphics. i mean sure, i can tell if a game is from 2019 and has a AAA budget
or if it had a AAA budget in 2010 and still looks awesome in 4K today
and its great if you can enjoy the best looking shadows and reflections, no aliasing and so on
but after 45-90 minutes of playing, i dont really care anymore. i get used to good graphics super fast
and then its nothing special anymore.

thats why i can still play Shenmue 1 & 2 or games like Deadly Premonition or the original Resident Evil 2.
if a game has a great story and good atmosphere, it means way more to me than anything else.
i want a simple A to B story experience, i dont care about the biggest open world ever or how many options you have in NG+.

same thing goes for smaller details. its great to have the real Virtua Fighter or other real Sega games
in the Yakuza series but i will play these games maybe five times in 50-100 hours.
it doesnt affect my story experience at all. if the story is just bad, some ingame arcade games wont change that.
its nice to have but just because there is no Outrun, i wont change the review score from 9 to 7.

as long as i have this cozy, curious feeling while playing
and my reaction is "wow" when i see the finale credits, i'm fine.
 
I feel if anything my expectations have risen with the announcements and what we've seen in the last few months, I really wasn't expecting the game to feature 2-3 environments no bigger than Shenmue 1's Dobuita, but with word saying that they feel the game is bigger than Shenmue II in scale... it has already exceeded my expectations.

I think my concerns lay more with the quality of the character model animations, the combat in the IGN Japan footage was very janky and I think considering Shenmue III's story is going to be focused heavily on progressing Ryo as a Martial Artist that it needs to play well at least to the quality where it is not detrimental to the experience.

Beyond that, though I have enjoyed everything I've seen and am still grateful that we're getting this - Take a look at Final Fantasy XV... A game that you would think would have been tremendously successful but their planned 2nd Season Pass has been reduced to a Novel. So I'm grateful that we're getting a proper Shenmue III. It may not be a modern Triple AAA experience but if it can follow through with a compelling story, memorable moments, charming atmosphere and intense QTE action sequences, I think Shenmue III will be more than serviceable.

As for the lack of SEGA games... it doesn't upset me... I'm actually really pumped to play Wack A' Mole!

But I think it is important to keep expectations in check! While this Fan Edited trailer by James Reiner is a pleasurable indulgence, we haven't seen if the final build of the game and if it will have these polished touches - which admittedly could chance the atmosphere of the game:
 
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So far, I'm considering the following flaws:

- Fight system. There's still room for improvement but the room is huge. I fail to imagine how they will convey the proper epicness of fighting Lan Di or Niao Sun.

- Too much fan service/recycling. Playing the same mini games of Shenmue 1&2 is cool but not so interesting. It's obvious Suzuki didn't want to spoil the new ones much so wait and see.

- Clunky gameplay. This time, Suzuki cannot afford the same rough stealth phases (Yuan, Yellow Head Bld) as before. He will need fresh ideas.

- Average animation. A good QTE sequence requires great animation. You have to feel the force when Ryo hit the bad guys with cool Kung Fu techniques. On this point, many QTEs have not aged well in Shenmue 1&2 and I'm still not convinced by the martial art animations I've seen in The Hidden Art Returns trailer.

- The food system. Doesn't feel exactly Shenmuesque as there are just items you can eat individually everytime, everywhere with likely zero animation. Can be problematic if you played FFXV or Zelda just before.

- The little details that might hurt the Shenmuesque atmosphere: lack of loading screens, outdoor shops (meaning no proper music when you enter them), the bizarre way Ryo is walking in the IGN footage, lack of balance in the art direction (NPCs), Ren's English voice.

That said, I'm still expecting a great game. Its direct genealogical branch with Shenmue on Dreamcast, storywise and gameplaywise, is precisely what I'm hyped for.
 
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Yokosuka said:
So far, I'm considering the following flaws:

- Fight system. There's still room for improvement but the room is huge. I fail to imagine how they will convey the proper epicness of fighting Lan Di or Niao Sun.

- Too much fan service/recycling. Playing the same mini games of Shenmue 1&2 is cool but not so interesting. It's obvious Suzuki didn't want to spoil the new ones much so wait and see.

- Clunky gameplay. This time, Suzuki cannot afford the same rough stealth phases (Yuan, Yellow Head Bld) as before. He will need fresh ideas.

- Average animation. A good QTE sequence requires great animation. You have to feel the force when Ryo hit the bad guys with cool Kung Fu techniques. On this point, many QTEs have not aged well in Shenmue 1&2 and I'm still not convinced by the martial art animations I've seen in The Hidden Art Returns trailer.

- The food system. Doesn't feel exactly Shenmuesque as there are just items you can eat individually everytime, everywhere with likely zero animation. Can be problematic if you played FFXV or Zelda just before.

- The little details that might hurt the Shenmuesque atmosphere: lack of loading screens, outdoor shops (meaning no proper music when you enter them), the bizarre way Ryo is walking in the IGN footage, lack of balance in the art direction (NPCs), Ren's English voice.

That said, I'm still expecting a great game. Its direct genealogical branch with Shenmue on Dreamcast, storywise and gameplaywise, is precisely what I'm hyped for.
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Honestly the fight system is what worries me the most. The Ryo and Master trailer had fight scenes that looked close to the feeling of the original, which means more like a fighting game.

But that E3 footage ? Well... It looked too floaty. Like the kind of combat you'd have in a random MMO or an older RPG title (Kinda like Jade Empire but faster paced ?)
And it seems like that worry is also shared by many people who played it, including Hubert.
 
My expectations are well in check -- I'm expecting a game I will love and others might not, and that's fine ☕

About the combat: some people found it floaty and lacking in impact, while others said it features meaty blows and is more fluid/less clunky than the originals. As long as it isn't boring or frustrating, I don't really mind. I wasn't a huge fan of the combat in I & II either and they're still my favourite games of all time.

As for janky animation (facial mostly), it really doesn't bother me. I don't play a ton of modern games nowadays. I don't need AAA animation to enjoy a game.

Everything else looks and sounds awesome to me.
 
orient said:
My expectations are well in check -- I'm expecting a game I will love and others might not, and that's fine ☕

About the combat: some people found it floaty and lacking in impact, while others said it features meaty blows and is more fluid/less clunky than the originals. As long as it isn't boring or frustrating, I don't really mind. I wasn't a huge fan of the combat in I & II either and they're still my favourite games of all time.

As for janky animation (facial mostly), it really doesn't bother me. I don't play a ton of modern games nowadays. I don't need AAA animation to enjoy a game.

Everything else looks and sounds awesome to me.
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By the footage we have, Shenmue II combat was far less clunky and actually animated better when it comes to body reactions to hits. In fact at multiple moments in the Shenmue 3 footage, it seems like the characters are sliding a little bit after receiving a hit. And that's not to say about the way the opponent falls down after being defeated, which was rather embarassing. There's also the fact that the characters change states too fast. Like the opponent is in pain then directly gets back to it's fight stance like a robot.
 
I really hope the combat is better than the impression the E3 preview left many with. The combat has always been my biggest concern, because I found the originals so perfect in that regard. They were deep and meaty enough for fighting fans to get into, but assessable enough for those more happy to button mash and/or not bother with training. Since martial arts is such a huge part of Shenmue, it is important to nail the combat in my opinion.
 
After the journey we have had spanning decades, there's nothing at all which can make this game not meet my expectations. It exists. Everything after that has been a bonus, going beyond what I could hope for when it comes to a franchise that was considered dead, and a game which was considered impossible.
 
Yokosuka said:
- Clunky gameplay. This time, Suzuki cannot afford the same rough stealth phases (Yuan, Yellow Head Bld) as before. He will need fresh ideas.
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The stealth sections were great, though. I loved not giving a shit and buying capsule toys instead of following Yuan, and just casually strolling into every fight in the Yellow Head Bldg.
 
I'm just repeating what people who've actually played it have said. I have a feeling that a lot of the fun will come from collecting and powering up moves, much like in an RPG -- way more than in previous games because of how all the systems are connected etc.
 
hopeful said:
Another reason for lower expectations being the budget is really limited compare to our major titles out there today. When Sega released Shenmue, it was fully budget as a major title. Meaning it got funded fully. The budget for the first Shenmue was probably comparable to recent GTA series.
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With this I agree.
Many people don't reaaly understand this. That's why they complain about the graphics.
 
My expectations have been in check from day one when it was announced to be a kickstarter game. My expectations have always been that it will probably be Shenmue on a budget. Looks to be doing just that from everything I've seen. Considering the average budget of a Naughty Dog game is said to be around 50 Million Dollars...yeah, of course, there is NO WAY I would expect that same level of production from a 7-10 Million Dollar Kickstarter game....just ain't gonna happen...but I've known this all along.

For me, the more I watch the footage that's out there, the more I kind of fall in love with it. Yeah, it doesn't look like every other game out there on market and you can see the budget at hand. Animations look janky at times, the fighting looks like it could be either fun or rough as hell, the English voice dubbing still doesn't sound great to me (although, I'm playing in Japanese all the way so that doesn't really bother me)

But the more I see it, the more I can't deny that the Shenmue charm that I know and love is still there. It still looks to be marching to its own beat and that's all I really could want from it. Sure, I would like to see an evolution of Shenmue and I'm still very keen to see how the Affinity system works. I'm really keen to see how interactions with Shenhua will go with this game. Some of the things Yu has talked about that we haven't seen yet intrigues the hell out of me....BUT I'm also keeping in mind that No Man Sky promised a lot as well and look how that turned out...not that I'm saying Shenmue III will go that route, but it's always a possibility of failed promises that one must keep in mind.

But anyways, my expectations are pretty much in check. It's a lower budget version of Shenmue....but the charm is still there. Everytime I see it, I just find myself counting down the days until I get to live again in this world. The charm of Shenmue remains and that's all I could want from it.
 
My baseline expectation for Shenmue 3 was for it to exist in playable form and for the project to be lead by creators previously involved with the past Shenmue games. That's already been met.

Everything else is just a bonus:
  • The game has been stated to be bigger than Shenmue 2
  • The graphics look significantly better compared to the 2015 models
  • Old and new mini-games have been incorporated
  • The story will now implement Chapters 3-6 instead of just Chapters 5 & 6, making it the biggest Shenmue yet
I could go on.

There's no way Shenmue 3 could disappoint me at this point. I anticipate the game will make me very happy as a fan who just wants to know what happens next in Ryo's story while being utterly despised by a vocal amount of gamers. But that's OK, because gamers also said that The Last of Us was on par with Citizen Kane.
 
Revan said:
But that's OK, because gamers also said that The Last of Us was on par with Citizen Kane.
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I like The Last of Us, but even I think that's a real hyperbole statement. It's a good game, but it ain't no Citizen Kane of gaming. Citizen Kane was important because it gave birth to what would become modern day cinema techniques. Naughty Dog were doing these sorts of tricks with the Uncharted series long before The Last of Us...the only difference was the tone and presentation...one was fun and pulpy. the other was serious and dramatic...but the template was already laid long before The Last of Us.

Citizen Kane that game ain't. Games were already telling deep, challenging and moving stories long before The Last of Us. Shadow of the Colossus hit me in the stomach the first time I played it and that was way back on the PS2...hell, there were games even before that which were capable of making you look at the medium in a whole different light.

I mean I like The Last of Us, but that claim really is hyperbole rubbish. Citizen Kane was a legitimately important turning point in film where everything changed afterwards.
 
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