(Non Story Related) Shenmue IV Gameplay Improvements / Ideas

Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Truth be told I am very happy with the way Shenmue III plays. The fighting system is fun and functional, the day to day gameplay very evocative of I & II, the ways to make money are all well implemented - Wood Chopping in particular is very addictive (I was amazed I got the 1000 chops trophy so early on) , Having to actually use your brain to correctly stack items made the Forklift stuff more than the sum of it's parts etc. I'm quite impressed how fun a lot of the games are that only use the X button and good timing.

In order of hopefulness:

1) Throws to be added back into the mix. They always look really cool and are a staple part of I & II. As III has proper frame data, I would like to see a proper grapple button (maybe L1) that would connect when you have advantage. From there, using various combinations of face buttons and directional inputs to choose which throw and the direction to throw the opponent if the throw allows it i.e the 4 way throw taught in Shenmue II , Wild Throw.

2) More depth to the fighting. It's great that Shenmue III has the slow mo dodge mechanic, but why when only at a 1/4 health? Good reads should always be rewarded, and any moments to make the combat more cinematic is a plus with me. In addition, I'd like a choice of a classic side-on camera when fighting 1V1, the new camera makes sense for multiple opponents and is way better than the original games, but when a good 75% of encounters are against a single opponent, I'd like the ability to bring the camera in closer. As Shenmue III doesn't work with directional inputs, changing the camera wouldn't break the system inputs either.

2) More ways to improve Endurance, Stamina and Kung Fu. I REALLY like one-inch punch, again, it's that mix of good timing, good sfx/visual feedback when you land an EXCELLENT, that really makes it fun. I was hoping for more. I liked rooster step, it's tougher than it looks, Horse Stance is fine in principal, but it's a little dull. I'd like to see more variety. You see NPC using the wooden dummies in a similar style to how Ip Man trains. Maybe a system where you attack different parts of the dummy, as commands scroll across (think Guitar Hero or even the Karaoke in Yakuza) Better timed presses = cleaner hit reactions = more XP. Fighting outside of sparring should always see level gains as well. Sparring could be incentivsed by making you lose little or no stamina and be judged on more than just levelling up scrolls you currently have.

3) Proper SEGA arcade games. My favourite arcade machine across all three games is QTE Title so I was thrilled that it returned in III. However, Sega has a treasure trove of unported old arcade games that could bring in players on these alone. Something like The Return of Death Adder for the first time in a home release would be brilliant - Outrunners? Shadow Dancer? DD Crew? These aren't new enough to feel out of place in a Shenmue IV, and I would be thrilled to encounter them in the arcade. (on a side note - was anyone else hopeful Hang On might have shown up after finding the Capsule Toy?)

4) Improved weather simulation. When you see a proper downpour in Shenmue III, it's really quite stunning. Rain runs off roof tiles, the sound of the rain hitting roofs while indoors is done really well and sells the effect, and clothes getting wet is a nice touch. It's so rare though! In my 40-50 hours of gameplay which was around 50 in-game days, I saw this once. I'd love to see a thunderstorm for example, especially during dramatic moments.

5) Betting for MONEY. One of the things I don't like in III is the token economy. I just don't get it. I understand the purpose of it, but I'd rather the option of just betting cold hard cash. I had about 12K in tokens at one point, swapped them for prizes from the exchange and sold them at Pawn for just a couple of hundred Yuan. I expected a better return on investment than that.
 
Last edited:
I thought it might have been something like that. I still think it's a bit of a mess though.

"Hey Shenhua"
"Yes Ryo?"
"Today I beat up three men..i got these tokens. I exchanged them for a plastic tennis racket and a vase, and I only got 30 yuan for them."
"As long as you enjoyed beating up those men, that should be it's own reward"
"You're right. Thanks Shenhua"

:LOL::D
 
Truth be told I am very happy with the way Shenmue III plays. The fighting system is fun and functional, the day to day gameplay very evocative of I & II, the ways to make money are all well implemented - Wood Chopping in particular is very addictive (I was amazed I got the 1000 chops trophy so early on) , Having to actually use your brain to correctly stack items made the Forklift stuff more than the sum of it's parts etc. I'm quite impressed how fun a lot of the games are that only use the X button and good timing.

In order of hopefulness:

1) Throws to be added back into the mix. They always look really cool and are a staple part of I & II. As III has proper frame data, I would like to see a proper grapple button (maybe L1) that would connect when you have advantage. From there, using various combinations of face buttons and directional inputs to choose which throw and the direction to throw the opponent if the throw allows it i.e the 4 way throw taught in Shenmue II , Wild Throw.

2) More depth to the fighting. It's great that Shenmue III has the slow mo dodge mechanic, but why when only at a 1/4 health? Good reads should always be rewarded, and any moments to make the combat more cinematic is a plus with me. In addition, I'd like a choice of a classic side-on camera when fighting 1V1, the new camera makes sense for multiple opponents and is way better than the original games, but when a good 75% of encounters are against a single opponent, I'd like the ability to bring the camera in closer. As Shenmue III doesn't work with directional inputs, changing the camera wouldn't break the system inputs either.

2) More ways to improve Endurance, Stamina and Kung Fu. I REALLY like one-inch punch, again, it's that mix of good timing, good sfx/visual feedback when you land an EXCELLENT, that really makes it fun. I was hoping for more. I liked rooster step, it's tougher than it looks, Horse Stance is fine in principal, but it's a little dull. I'd like to see more variety. You see NPC using the wooden dummies in a similar style to how Ip Man trains. Maybe a system where you attack different parts of the dummy, as commands scroll across (think Guitar Hero or even the Karaoke in Yakuza) Better timed presses = cleaner hit reactions = more XP. Fighting outside of sparring should always see level gains as well. Sparring could be incentivsed by making you lose little or no stamina and be judged on more than just levelling up scrolls you currently have.

3) Proper SEGA arcade games. My favourite arcade machine across all three games is QTE Title so I was thrilled that it returned in III. However, Sega has a treasure trove of unported old arcade games that could bring in players on these alone. Something like The Return of Death Adder for the first time in a home release would be brilliant - Outrunners? Shadow Dancer? DD Crew? These aren't new enough to feel out of place in a Shenmue IV, and I would be thrilled to encounter them in the arcade. (on a side note - was anyone else hopeful Hang On might have shown up after finding the Capsule Toy?)

4) Improved weather simulation. When you see a proper downpour in Shenmue III, it's really quite stunning. Rain runs off roof tiles, the sound of the rain hitting roofs while indoors is done really well and sells the effect, and clothes getting wet is a nice touch. It's so rare though! In my 40-50 hours of gameplay which was around 50 in-game days, I saw this once. I'd love to see a thunderstorm for example, especially during dramatic moments.

5) Betting for MONEY. One of the things I don't like in III is the token economy. I just don't get it. I understand the purpose of it, but I'd rather the option of just betting cold hard cash. I had about 12K in tokens at one point, swapped them for prizes from the exchange and sold them at Pawn for just a couple of hundred Yuan. I expected a better return on investment than that.
Ok, 2 things I need, I know it's hard to ask him when getting it off the ground at all is at stake. He needs a counter with moving in a half circle and a wrist lock to the ground. A hip toss counter, a shoulder throw counter, and a fireman's carry. All 4 should get a chance of adding a cross armbreaker, which should win vs any non boss, and really hurt the bosses, maybe add a combo after they are down, if we're quick. There also needs to be a Fujiwara armbar counter. All those need motion capture, yes, but they are all doable. All kicks and punches don't need to be counters. That frees up his options.

I also need the darts. I have no idea if Yakuza having them in zero made it impossible for Yu Suzuki to use his own older IP, but some of these newer things just bored me. Pail toss was cool. I don't know why the darts were taken out, but I need them back.

Finally, I don't "need" it, but eating animation for all that food would do wonders with immersion.

It's sad that instead all over I have to read instead that Shenmue 3 is a last game. That there'll be some stupid cartoon to finish the story. I guess even without my wishes I just want Shenmue 4 the game to happen period.
 
If I remember correctly, during an interview with Famitsu, Yu said the token economy was designed responsible for the Chinese market in order to comply with China's stringent laws concerning real money gambling.


I saw a tourism video for Fenghuang (Phoenix Ancient City), which Niaowu/Chobu is obviously modeled after, and although most of the signs and stores around there are completely in Chinese, there's a public message board in the main part of that city for both tourists and residents with some basic etiquette tips and rules, and its in English besides other languages and one of the things it said is don't appease the gambling community or whatever. So gambling definitely exists there though it is frowned upon...
 
I also need the darts. I have no idea if Yakuza having them in zero made it impossible for Yu Suzuki to use his own older IP


What? No lol
Yakuza has nothing to do with what Yu Suzuki could or could not do in Shenmue.
He could have put in darts. He just chose not to. There's no patent or license on darts lol.
The only things he could not do is put in licensed Sega arcade classics in Shenmue III as minigames because then he'd have to pay licensing fees to SEGA, and with limited funds, thats asking too much (unless SEGA just gives them to him which lol no they wouldnt. But, I am open to the idea they could work out a later deal for DLC).
 
Back
Top