Shenmue 3 is really amazing

GhostTrick said:
Ah I see your point. You mean that some publications score is worth higher than some others.

Well Opencritic isn't weighted and its sitting at 69 with more critics counted.

In any case, it's a game that got average to decent review. Point being, saying "the press sucks, user metascore is the only thing that matters" is dumb. And saying that the press scored the game lower cause it's not a AAA open world game is even dumber considering that many niche games manage to score high scores too. From my point of view, scoring a 5, 6 or 7 for Shenmue III isn't out of proportion.
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Exactly that, which is a little unfair but meh what can you do about it.

The opencritic score is a fairer reflection given it doesn't have a weighting to each publication.
 
GhostTrick said:
I mean, there was literally a thread on dojo asking people to give high scores. In any case, user scores on Metacritic are worthless because they're easy to tamper and they dont require a proof of purchase.
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i agree they can be tampered with, but I don’t think there are enough people here to provide hundreds of fake reviews. That’s why I was always a bit dismissive when folks complained about that thread.
 
mjqjazzbar said:
i agree they can be tampered with, but I don’t think there are enough people here to provide hundreds of fake reviews. That’s why I was always a bit dismissive when folks complained about that thread.
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10 people, 10 reviews, 30 minutes.
100 reviews
 
tomboz said:
I think you’re really overestimating the lengths that people would go to for the sake of a meaningless metric here. I’m about as big a Shenmue fan as they come and I was too lazy to sign up for one account, let alone ten!
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Well, Dojo isn't the only place in the world. Point being: It's easy to tamper scores on Metacritic.
 
On Amazon.co.uk Shenmue III has 4.5/5 from 164 reviews.

Shenmue I & II has 4.7/5 from 140 reviews

I didn't write one and I didn't write one on metacritic either.

You have to remember the Dojo is where the more hardcore fans hang out and therefore we are probably more critical than most.

Edit - not saying your point about 0's and 10's isn't relevant (because it absolutely is) but I think the franchise is definitely held in higher esteem by the players rather than the critics. And nothing wrong with that.
 
Down by Law said:
On Amazon.co.uk Shenmue III has 4.5/5 from 164 reviews.

Shenmue I & II has 4.7/5 from 140 reviews

I didn't write one and I didn't write one on metacritic either.

You have to remember the Dojo is where the more hardcore fans hang out and therefore we are probably more critical than most.

Edit - not saying your point about 0's and 10's isn't relevant (because it absolutely is) but I think the franchise is definitely held in higher esteem by the players rather than the critics. And nothing wrong with that.
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The critics, at least most of it, still hold the franchise in high esteem. Not III. Hence why those Amazon reviews nor Metacritic ones dont matter at all.
Because it's easy to tamper them. I have no doubt that some people liked the game. 4.5/5 though ? Yeah, let's be honest for a second.
 
To a degree, all reviews are padded. That doesn't mean there isn't any truth to them. It could be that a plurality of reviewers feel the game deserves "4 & a half" stars.
 
I think there are a lot of fans who don’t sign up to Shenmue forums or actively discuss Shenmue but like the game. 70,000 people did back it after all. Not everyone enjoys discussing things on forums. I’m sure many of the Amazon reviews are flagged as verified purchases.
 
I mean you can also look at the like/dislike ratios on youtube videos promoting Shenmue 3. It's clear that more people liked the game than didn't, warts and all. That was really my whole point. And having seen reviewbombs (for or against) on Metacritic, Shenmue 3 just doesn't really look like that kind of tampering was taking place. It's definitely nothing compared to Death Stranding, Anthem, and Warcraft Refunded, whose reviewbomb campaigns made headlines.
I won't go into the evidence of professional critics giving a high score to a game that they don't like or a low score to a game they did, or just flagrant promotions disguised as reviews, or other such bias ridden articles, and even in the post I made I never said that these shortcomings applied to all critics. I just don't think it's particularly stupid to take any review from anyone no matter how professional with at least some grain of salt. And a collective opinion, while a good metric for what other people think, will never replace how you as the player are going to feel.
It's also important to note that there's a difference between objective quality and individual enjoyment. One of the most memorable games of 2010, if not the most memorable, ended up being Deadly Premonition. Objectively it was incredibly awful, with some of the jankiest controls on a console platform paired with its clearly shoestring budget put up against its large scale, but that didn't stop it from being fondly remembered and recounted over a decade, with legitimate hype for its upcoming sequel.
TL;DR, there's nothing wrong with thinking that Shenmue 3 is a great game, and the loudest voice on the internet isn't necessarily the real majority.
 
Some are critical of the music (I admit, some implementation was odd), but I haven't heard much praise for the new music, which is utterly fantastic.

I recently listened to this for the first time with headphones-- and in full, as fights tend to be short-- but the minimalism and build up of this fighting theme may be one of my favorites in the series.

 
The sentiment against Shenmue III is so Fucking unfair. Yu Suzuki had $70 million dollars and at least six years to make Shenmue 1 and 2. He made a whole SATURN VERSION OF SHENMUE that never saw the light of day!! He only had $6 million to make Shenmue III. Shenmue 2 is Shenmue on steroids. People like to romanticise the past, but Shenmue 1 had a girl on the cover of the game who only appeared in the game start screen and one dream sequence. How is that more complete a story tgan Shenmue 3? Shenhua is the main protagonist and you dont even meet her in the entire 3 disc game!

Shenmue 2 , as awesome as it was only had you meet Shenhua on the FOURTH freaking disk of the game!!! Again, Shenhua is the MAIN FEMALE PROTAGONIST of the game. How are either of those games advancing the story more than Shenmue 3?? If anything, Shenmue III the ACTUAL begining of the main story of the series, since both the main female and male protaginist are in the entire game, and Shenmue 1 and 2 are just prequels. I played through Bailu chapter again through new game plus, and it holds up. Shenmue III is as much a classic as Shenmue 1 and 2, it just needs a few years to become a cult classic. People bashing Shenmue III are on the wrong side of history.
 
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Welcome to the forums @Godokunodan . I share some of your views but just watch the aggressiveness in the tone.

Shenmue III does have it's faults but it is a game I hold dear and enjoy. But passing off people as being on the wrong side of history for highlighting the flaws is unfair. The game is flawed and this is coming from an ardent supporter of the game.

Bashing it aimlessly like some have done is unwarranted and this is where I share your views. However most people on this forum bring up valid discussion points about Shenmue III both the good points and the bad points.
 
Godokunodan said:
This is so Fucking unfair. Yu Suzuki had $70 million dollars and at least six years to make Shenmue 1 and 2. He made a whole SATURN VERSION OF SHENMUE that never saw the light of day!! He only had $6 million to make Shenmue III. Shenmue 2 is Shenmue on steroids. People like to romanticise the past, but Shenmue 1 had a girl on the cover of the game who only appeared in the game start screen and one dream sequence. How is that more complete a story tgan Shenmue 3? Shenhua is the main protagonist and you dont even meet her in the entire 3 disc game!

Shenmue 2 , as awesome as it was only had you meet Shenhua on the FOURTH freaking disk of the game!!! Again, Shenhua is the MAIN FEMALE PROTAGONIST of the game. How are either of those games advancing the story more than Shenmue 3?? If anything, Shenmue III the ACTUAL begining of the main story of the series, since both the main female and male protaginist are in the entire game, and Shenmue 1 and 2 are just prequels. I played through Bailu chapter again through new game plus, and it holds up. Shenmue III is as much a classic as Shenmue 1 and 2, it just needs a few years to become a cult classic. People bashing Shenmue III are on the wrong side of history.
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Maybe you should fucking learn about me before you post and learn I have been an adamant defender of Shenmue 3's good qualities, just as well as a fair critic of it's less positive qualities. I feel I have been reasonable on the game, far more than many of its detractors are willing to be.
 
@Jigen You will see above I've stepped in on this so move away from it.
 
spud1897 said:
Welcome to the forums @Godokunodan . I share some of your views but just watch the aggressiveness in the tone.

Shenmue III does have it's faults but it is a game I hold dear and enjoy. But passing off people as being on the wrong side of history for highlighting the flaws is unfair. The game is flawed and this is coming from an ardent supporter of the game.

Bashing it aimlessly like some have done is unwarranted and this is where I share your views. However most people on this forum bring up valid discussion points about Shenmue III both the good points and the bad points.
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Please note that my response was not a direct missive aimed at Jigen, but rather the attitude of Shenmue III malcontents the original poster was mentioning. In fact, i acknowledge that Jigen's statements were more of a comparison between Shenmue 1 and 2, and had less to do with Shenmue 3 .
I say they are on the wrong side of history because I've heard all those complaints before, from reviewers of Shenmue 1 and 2. Now those games are revered, the inspiration for the fastest growing Kickstarter in history, re-released in HD Remakes, and people like Jerermy Parish cant even catch a cab in Vegas. Shenmue III is flawed? Lol, what game isn't? I could point out 50 flaws in Shenmue 1 and 2 if I was petty and wanted to nitpick. It took time for characters like Fangmei and Lisho Tao to become household names. In the future I will drop less F-bombs, but my overall point I stand by. I've seen hyperbole stated that Shenmue III is the worst Kickstarter game in history. Playing through the game again, I feel its the opposite. People are just saying the story doesnt progress enough because its been 17 years, and they can't get enough of the story. Even if Shenmue III advanced the story to 60%, I think peolple would still say the plot didn't advance enough. They are impatient, and after 17 years who can blame them.

FYI I'm not a new poster , Im an old one. I used to be Gangsta Ren on the old Shenmue dojo forum. Where's LanDC and Cool C? They were my contemperaries.
 
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Godokunodan said:
Please note that my response was not a direct missive aimed at Jigen, but rather the attitude of Shenmue III malcontents the original poster was mentioning. In fact, i acknowledge that Jigen's statements were more of a comparison between Shenmue 1 and 2, and had less to do with Shenmue 3 .
I say they are on the wrong side of history because I've heard all those complaints before, from reviewers of Shenmue 1 and 2. Now those games are revered, the inspiration for the fastest growing Kickstarter in history, re-released in HD Remakes, and people like Jerermy Parish cant even catch a cab in Vegas. Shenmue III is flawed? Lol, what game isn't? I could point out 50 flaws in Shenmue 1 and 2 if I was petty and wanted to nitpick. It took time for characters like Fangmei and Lisho Tao to become household names. In the future I will drop less F-bombs, but my overall point I stand by. I've seen hyperbole stated that Shenmue III is the worst Kickstarter game in history. Playing through the game again, I feel its the opposite. People are just saying the story doesnt progress enough because its been 17 years, and they can't get enough of the story. Even if Shenmue III advanced the story to 60%, I think peolple would still say the plot didn't advance enough. They are impatient, and after 17 years who can blame them.

FYI I'm not a new poster , Im an old one. I used to be Gangsta Ren on the old Shenmue dojo forum. Where's LanDC and Cool C? They were my contemperaries.
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Now I agree theres been a mass of hyperbole around the Kickstarter, 100%. The majority of it completely undeserved but if you remember the twitch they did halfway through it wasnt great and attracted bad press.

I wont go into specifics re post kickstarter to release but while Shenmue III definitely got an unfair shake from the press the publisher didn't help dispell that.

The game itself I really liked, it's a true sequel but I think it would be a massive oversight from me if I didnt mention the story of 3 was the weakest in terms of character development, especially in Niaowu. I'm not detracting from the awesome scenes in Bailu, especially the leaving section. I sit on the game is good side of the fence but we do have to recognise the flaws.

That said what they delivered within the budget is great.

I do remember your name, welcome back but same applies & I mentioned it above re aggressive posting.
 
Sh3ppy said:
Just curious, how do you figure the ending made no sense?
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The fact that people Ryo barely knew showed up to fight. The whole thing with Niao Sun and Lan Di. It felt rushed and ill-conceived the whole thing. It was just badly written.
 
Godokunodan said:
The sentiment against Shenmue III is so Fucking unfair. Yu Suzuki had $70 million dollars and at least six years to make Shenmue 1 and 2. He made a whole SATURN VERSION OF SHENMUE that never saw the light of day!! He only had $6 million to make Shenmue III. Shenmue 2 is Shenmue on steroids. People like to romanticise the past, but Shenmue 1 had a girl on the cover of the game who only appeared in the game start screen and one dream sequence. How is that more complete a story tgan Shenmue 3? Shenhua is the main protagonist and you dont even meet her in the entire 3 disc game!

Shenmue 2 , as awesome as it was only had you meet Shenhua on the FOURTH freaking disk of the game!!! Again, Shenhua is the MAIN FEMALE PROTAGONIST of the game. How are either of those games advancing the story more than Shenmue 3?? If anything, Shenmue III the ACTUAL begining of the main story of the series, since both the main female and male protaginist are in the entire game, and Shenmue 1 and 2 are just prequels. I played through Bailu chapter again through new game plus, and it holds up. Shenmue III is as much a classic as Shenmue 1 and 2, it just needs a few years to become a cult classic. People bashing Shenmue III are on the wrong side of history.
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We all knew this beforehand. But the critique isn't unfair at all. Good storytelling doesn't require $70 million. There are much cheaper games having great stories. Apart from a lot of other things already being discussed here, what made S3 a worse game than the previous two for a lot of people was the lack of story progression, the darn grinding and repetitive plot in Bailu and Niaowu. It was basically the same game repeated in two different areas.
 
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