Wow, so many great posts in this thread lately. This feels like a group therapy, almost
I change my stand slightly and I align with those of you like @Peter and others, that perfectly explained how the one thing that is lacking most in Shenmue III is not strictly the story itself (whose general traits are fine although IMO it's a bit too scarce), but the writing in a general sense.
But I coped with that disappointment pretty fast after finishing the game and seeing things with perspective. Shenmue III existing is a miracle by itself, and it gave me a lot of great things. Closure to the frustration of II being stuck in eternal limbo is one of them. The thrill of the announcement is another. And of course lots of them that are in the game: the soundtrack, the intimate conversations, Bailu Village in gorgeous HD, knowing what Niao Sun is about, and a long etcetera.
And, delving more into that perspective, if I'm honest to myself I've always loved Shenmue II much more than the first one, so there has never been the need to love them equally. There are a lot of music groups that I love that have a stinker or two in their discography, and I love them the same overall. That's why I still anticipate with joy the possibility of a fourth game.
But the priority for IV should be getting better staff in that area. Even if we get bad graphics or animations in exchange.
I change my stand slightly and I align with those of you like @Peter and others, that perfectly explained how the one thing that is lacking most in Shenmue III is not strictly the story itself (whose general traits are fine although IMO it's a bit too scarce), but the writing in a general sense.
But I coped with that disappointment pretty fast after finishing the game and seeing things with perspective. Shenmue III existing is a miracle by itself, and it gave me a lot of great things. Closure to the frustration of II being stuck in eternal limbo is one of them. The thrill of the announcement is another. And of course lots of them that are in the game: the soundtrack, the intimate conversations, Bailu Village in gorgeous HD, knowing what Niao Sun is about, and a long etcetera.
And, delving more into that perspective, if I'm honest to myself I've always loved Shenmue II much more than the first one, so there has never been the need to love them equally. There are a lot of music groups that I love that have a stinker or two in their discography, and I love them the same overall. That's why I still anticipate with joy the possibility of a fourth game.
Is there any comprehensive compilation of those translating mistakes? I would love to know all the details (the example you mention of there being another Shenmue tree felt ultra baffling when I played the game, and I'm really glad it's a translation mistake).My issues remain more so with the writing than anything else...and some of that boils down to bad translation in the subs (who can forget the badly translated "the cliff temple we visited" line at the end of Shenmue III when that's NOT what they said in Japanese at all or even what happened in the game...not to mention the second Shenmue tree which is not what it says in Japanese)
Like it's been said since ancient times: Quoted for truth!I really have to disagree on those two points. First "the essence of Shenmue is NOT what Suzuki says it is; it's what the fans say it." is completely wrong. You know, as a musician and movie director myself, I can tell you that the best way to create something meaningful, is to make something you, as creator, see as meaningful. Not the fans. What you should offer the fans isn't what they want, you should offer them what they didn't know they wanted.
This is the simple thing that explains it all IMO. Despite being featured in the kickstarter, Yoshimoto ended up not participating in the game (it's mentioned in the credits only in the same "thanks" category as Mark Cerny or Adam Boyes). I don't know if Yu Suzuki (who is a genius but an engineer in essence) wrote the script himself or hired other writers that weren't up to par (it looks like the latter if we believe the staff credits roll).The first two Shenmue's screenplays (meaning, the dialogue, and incidental scenes) were actually written by Masahiro Yoshimoto, not Suzuki, even tho he designed the entire story otherwise. Peter already hit the bullseye on why that's a major factor above. But it really tells that the story feels like a first draft instead of a third piece to the saga. It was an RPG fetch quest. Not Shenmue.
But the priority for IV should be getting better staff in that area. Even if we get bad graphics or animations in exchange.