Yeah I think you could see the elements there; introduction and double crossing from Niao-Sun, Shenhua life being in peril and Ryo deciding to give up mirror for her safety and battle for control of Chiyomen.
However the execution and how it’s delivered leaves a lot to be desired. I know the ending was cobbled together but I think the narrative and characterization in general suffered in the game. My hope is with systems in place they can really improve on this in a sequel, although with constant budget considerations I have a tough time believing they can match set-pieces and scope we saw with original games.
Yeah look I understand that. Some of those complaints still stand for me. But I think I came to the realization that this is the way Yu likes delivering his story. One bread crumb at a time; for better or worse. In Shenmue II, Yuanda tells us that Lan Di is Sunming Zhao's son. That and what the mirrors do when combined is the big revelation in SII. In Shenmue III, we get the added detail that Sunming Zhao was actually protecting the mirrors throwing everything further into question. If you look at the formula of Shenmue, it has been delivering one small revelation after another like breadcrumbs.
Shenmue III really is the getting to know Shenhua chapter. To me, everything else is of less importance as the game focuses more so on building that relationship. In some ways, maybe they shot their load too early with that in the long walk at the end of Shenmue II though? In fact, I do wonder if they perhaps shot their load too early on a lot of things. I mean even Shenmue 1 has hints of the mirrors being a map, so I do often wonder if they shot their load too early with a lot of little details.
I think I've come to the realization that Yu likes delivering small details as breadcrumbs as he slowly tells his story and in some way I was more okay with that this time around. I mean sure, I would LOVE greater revelations. But again, it is very formula and I don't see much difference from the other games in the way it delivers the formula.
That's another complaint I've heard that I don't entirely agree with. There are some nice set pieces in SIII. I think that sparring session with Master Bai out on the boat is as good as anything Shenmue II had to offer. In terms of cinematics, I guess. I also think some of the moments with Master Sun in Bailu are really nice. While they never quite reach the levels of Xiuying's mentorship, I still think there are some really nice serene moments with him in the Bamboo forest.
I don't know, I just keep going back to this thought that a lot of the issues people had with it, I don't really share. <shrugs>
That's not to say it's perfect...but I think its far better than most give it credit for. The thing that still comes through the most for me with SIII is that the game has a ton of heart. I do think they cared about trying to make the best Shenmue game they could for the budget they had. I love the way they made that world feel connected. Everything has purpose in its economy. The focus on living that daily routine is still its greatest strength for me.
But that is also its weakness. That it was perhaps overextending its reach a little too much and not always delivering where people felt it needed to deliver. I think its ambitions were far greater than that small team could realistically deliver. Its ambition to deliver the full scale Shenmue experience is both its strength and weakness at the same time.
I don't know why but it just saddens me to see the reaction it had where even some in the community outright dismissed it and nitpicked it to death. All I see is a game made by people who actually gave a shit in trying to deliver the best Shenmue experience they possibly could.
And I suppose that was enough for me.
