Random Shenmue III Thoughts

MadeMan said:
Am I the only one who finished the game and hasn't had much excitement to play it again?
It's a shame, I really thought I'd be doing a second playthrough at least, but haven't been motivated to at all. I do think I'll revisit it later, but probably after I finish a couple of other games on the back-burner first.

I think I needed some time to considering everything in the game first, good and bad. Unfortunately I seem to recall mostly the bad, I need to remember the stuff I enjoyed about it, because there was a fair bit.
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You don't have to feel bad about taking a break from the game especially when you've already finished it once. Even when I'm doing a semi-annual playthrough of Shenmue 1&2 I like to have a gap between games, sometimes even months apart. I'm not quite sure how I'm going fit Shenmue 3 into that routine just yet but I imagine I'll want a gap between 2&3 just the same.

All I know is that Shenmue 3 will still be waiting for you when you get back to it. The game is meant to be played on your terms and only you can decide what that means. Unless you’re planning to refresh your memory ahead of the imminent release of Shenmue 4 (here's hoping!) there's no need to rush things.
 
MadeMan said:
Am I the only one who finished the game and hasn't had much excitement to play it again?
It's a shame, I really thought I'd be doing a second playthrough at least, but haven't been motivated to at all. I do think I'll revisit it later, but probably after I finish a couple of other games on the back-burner first.

I think I needed some time to considering everything in the game first, good and bad. Unfortunately I seem to recall mostly the bad, I need to remember the stuff I enjoyed about it, because there was a fair bit.
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I don't think I'll ever replay it. Felt pretty disappointed in the game. I didn't left angry or annoyed. I left bored and uninterested.
 
I liked the "day to day" gameplay, but felt underwhelmed by the end of both sections.
I did play it 2 or 3 times more (with the tool to make time go faster and don't worry about money).
But it doesn't have that "hm" moment other games had that made you wander around more, it feels more straightforward.
It feels weird how little emotional scenes are in the game. And the payoff is just not there.
 
Real1 said:
Okay so... WHY is there a complete guide to palm reading in the Strike Palm Reading and why is that whole place so sad. The place is run out of business and if you ask him about certain members of a certain casino he gets really sad.

But back to the palm reading guide.. Again, why? Connected to a side quest or just a really neat detail? I found it quite fascinating.
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I still wonder about this place. Was the palm reading guide used for something or is the whole place just a "Yu Suzuki being Yu Suzuki with unimportant but interesting details"?
 
I remember walking into a villager's house in Bailu and the theme for her house was the darts ost. I don't know why but I found it hilarious :ROFLMAO:

After playing 3, I really want to play the first game again. I hope the dlc story is good and hope it doesn't come out in my busiest month (May), which means it probably will.
 
I doubt I’ll replay it, at least until I hear the next game is coming.
 
I really love the game! So much joy in small moments and so much Detail to discover. Everything just feels right imo. At some points in the game I even imagined the smell of the situation I was in, for example the grilled shitaki-sticks at the harbor stand! I mean ... wtf ... just astonishing world building and art design by ys net! 😊👌

Pleasent evening from Germany to everyone
 
I think I mirror a few other comments here where I'm not motivated to play because the finale for the game was so weak. I actually liked Bailu a fair bit, and the characters/exploring aspects, but the combat has to be amongst the worst I've ever played, and Niaowu was a mixed bag.

Like someone said, I'll take a break and I'll probably play again at least before 4.
 
First time i did the first Fishing competition in Bailu i didn't have any problem winning, but now i can't, the other guy always get a 3,180 fish or something like that, and the max i get is 2,000 or so. I did try to watch any youtube video for know the spot where can be a big fish, but not work, any help please?
 
MadeMan said:
I think I mirror a few other comments here where I'm not motivated to play because the finale for the game was so weak. I actually liked Bailu a fair bit, and the characters/exploring aspects, but the combat has to be amongst the worst I've ever played, and Niaowu was a mixed bag.

Like someone said, I'll take a break and I'll probably play again at least before 4.
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Hm. Weird. I didn't like Bailu much, I found that to be a mixed bag (aside from the awesome moments with Shenhua) however I loved Niaowu. I also liked the finale for what it set up and the cool scenes. I do however agree that the combat is lacking. But I'd say it's a deeper combat system than the one found in the Yakuza games.

Even though I actually really liked the game (8.5), I do not feel like re-playing it. But I'm the same with Shen 1 and 2, and I think Shenmue II is my favorite game of all time... I just don't like re-playing any game so soon after beating it the first time.
 
Real1 said:
Hm. Weird. I didn't like Bailu much, I found that to be a mixed bag (aside from the awesome moments with Shenhua) however I loved Niaowu. I also liked the finale for what it set up and the cool scenes. I do however agree that the combat is lacking. But I'd say it's a deeper combat system than the one found in the Yakuza games.
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Hmm, interesting. What things did you like/dislike about Bailu/Niaowu?

I disliked Niaowu for feeling very 'fake'. It felt like a tacky theme-park with the arcades and very western styled burger/ice-cream shops in the middle of a traditional Chinese city. Bailu at least felt a lot more genuine and consistent.
 
I definitely enjoyed S3 a lot more on my second playthrough in spite of all of the grinding for trophies. Even the ending seemed better the second time around. It’s not without its flaws, but it’s far from being a bad game. I think a lot of people are disappointed because of what the game isn’t rather than focusing on what the game is.

It isn’t a revolutionary game that answers all of the questions we’ve been waiting nearly two decades to have answered, but it is a good game that faithfully recreates the Shenmue experience on current gen consoles while further advancing the story (albeit by quite a small degree). Could it be better? Of course; but it could also have been a hell of a lot worse.

That said, I don’t see myself replaying it anytime soon (apart from for the DLC as and when it releases). I’m not sure if that’s saying something about the game itself or how I’ve changed as I’ve grown up. Even the original games don’t get the annual playthrough treatment anymore, so I expect it’s a case of the latter. I expect the next time I play through any of the original trilogy will be in the build up to S4 or possibly after it gets announced if we have to wait a while.
 
tomboz said:
I definitely enjoyed S3 a lot more on my second playthrough in spite of all of the grinding for trophies. Even the ending seemed better the second time around. It’s not without its flaws, but it’s far from being a bad game. I think a lot of people are disappointed because of what the game isn’t rather than focusing on what the game is.

It isn’t a revolutionary game that answers all of the questions we’ve been waiting nearly two decades to have answered, but it is a good game that faithfully recreates the Shenmue experience on current gen consoles while further advancing the story (albeit by quite a small degree). Could it be better? Of course; but it could also have been a hell of a lot worse.

That said, I don’t see myself replaying it anytime soon (apart from for the DLC as and when it releases). I’m not sure if that’s saying something about the game itself or how I’ve changed as I’ve grown up. Even the original games don’t get the annual playthrough treatment anymore, so I expect it’s a case of the latter. I expect the next time I play through any of the original trilogy will be in the build up to S4 or possibly after it gets announced if we have to wait a while.
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I'll disagree here. I'm not disappointed by "what the game could've been" but specifically on what the game is.
My issue with the game is that it's trying to emulate a Shenmue experience instead of trying to be its own thing. It's like there was a big "Shenmue" checklist that was about "Side activites" "Gacha" "Arcade" "Shops" and such. The disappointment doesn't come either from a lack of answer and more of like what the game is offering.

As many said already, first of all, the game structure isn't only bad, it's repetitive. Basically, both villages are "Find the thugs and beat their boss" filled in between with side activities and jobs. It's not very interesting. As the setting itself, while Bailu is a charming village... It's also a disappointment because it feels like it was rewrote for gameplay reasons. From a mysterious, lost in the woods, mystical village comes your average village, with average villagers. For a closed community, it's very modern. They even have arcades and gacha.

The character casting is also very forgettable. And underdevelopped. From my Shenmue 3 playthrough, I retained no particular fond memory. I felt like playing a filler episode. The story itself, I never cared about it. I mean, I know Shenmue won't have an amazing story. It never did. But it was an amazing journey. A charming and touching one at that. Because of it's wealthy character cast. Because of it's interesting structure. Shenmue I and II and felt an authentic journey. Shenmue III felt like an artificial trip. I don't think it's a bad game. I don't think it's a good game either. And that's because I'm focusing on what it is and what it is doing.
 
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