Honestly I'm blown away so far. They've managed to make a true shenmue game on whatever shoestring budget came together in the end. More detailed reactions below (only very mild spoilers):
The rough edges:
- Yes facial animations + lipsync can be awkward, but much better than some of the early trailers
- Yes not all NPCs can be talked to unlike prev games (mostly in chobu though, im pretty sure everyone was voiced in bailu)
- Yes the fighting system might not satisfy the diehards amongst you, though personally it handles much better and is more fun than i was expecting. Im more of a story + atmosphere player so I really like the option of mapping a specific move to the right trigger
- Yes cutscene transitions and camera angles can be a tad awkward at times, but generally they're really well produced and feel on par with the original two games
- This is a really personal thing, but the game has some in-game references to the shenmue franchise that break the fourth wall a bit too much for my taste. Small details like the "Shenmue 3" logo is on Ryo's watch, you can buy clothes that say "Shenmue", Ryo's shoes say "S3" on them. Immersion is a big part of why I love the original two games, so Im not a huge fan of being reminded that I'm playing a game. None of this is a huge deal and i'm sure most players won't care.
- There is some reuse of music in the game, so not every single building/shop/location gets a totally bespoke tune like the previous two games. It's an acceptable compromise given the budget constraints and the overall soundtrack/atmosphere is still up to the high standards of the franchise
- This is a massive nitpick, but you can't close your notebook until it finishes it's opening animation. In shenmue 1 and 2, you could open your notebook and immediately close it with the B button if you just wanted to glance at something quickly. The whole interaction feels slower now that I have to wait for the book to let me close it and I find myself using it less as a result
- Exploring cabinets/drawers feels like it could be faster. You basically have to tap X once to focus on something, and then again to actually interact with it. IMO they could've made this work where you immediately interact with an item on first tap and it would feel much less cumbersome to explore if they had
- I dont think the supporting cast of characters has been anywhere near as fleshed out or memorable as shenmue 2 so far. The heart of the game is Ryo and Shenhua, so to some degree it makes sense. i'm also probably just over halfway done with the game so im still hoping this could change
The good stuff:
- So far the game has been incredibly stable without any gamebreaking bugs or crashes. I can't say enough what a relief this is given how buggy even major triple A titles can be these days. One less angle for press to crap on the game (though it does have it's performance slowdowns occasionally in terms of framerate drops on a standard ps4).
- The japanese dub is really great, i can't critique as a native speaker, but im digging the performances and the script is generally well written so far
- The scale has really exceeded my expectations. Bailu village has a nice variety of areas and chobu is feeling more and more like a respectable follow up to hong kong/kowloon. Easily bigger than dobuita
- The entire economy of gambling + arcades + tokesn + prizes + pawn shops + stores + jobs really works. There's such a variety of ways to make money that you can be pretty creative in how you decide to spend your time.
- Speaking of economy, there are a TON of items to buy in this game. You can sell them at pawn shops, but it's also fun to just collect stuff if you're into it
- I really love picking herbs AND you can make a lot of money off of selling sets. I didn't expect to enjoy this aspect of the game as much as I am, it's a beautiful motivator to explore nooks/crannies and more often than not, you're rewarded with some cool plant to pick
- The story doesn't feel rushed and is taking it's time to build from simple investigations to the bigger stakes at hand. feels really similar to how shenmue 1 built the story gradually from searching for a black car. It does make me worry about how much progress will be made by the end of the game given that shenmue 4 isn't a given, but im trying to just enjoy the ride
- Time/location jumping is available yet completely optional. I know some purists probably don't like this option existing at all, but i think they way it's integrated into the game is pretty nice. Available if you want it, easily ignored if not
- Almost every night you have a chance to talk to Shenhua with optional dialogue. I definitely encourage you to do so if you're a story player, because it really fleshes out both her character and their growing (platonic) relationship together