The Shenmue 3 Review Thread

[Real1]

I took advantage of the list... >:)

View attachment 6120

Got a response to this message. The response said that I handpicked the high scores and that the average is 60. It's not nice to lie on the Internet.

 

[currypowder84]

I had no faith in gamespot giving it a good score, edge is also quite harsh so im not banking on them too much either

Thing is the Gamespot review is very well written. It highlights the good and bad and is really very fair. At that point it's really up to personal tastes, its not a spiteful uninformed review so can't really hate on it.

 

[Reprise]

Why is it in most of these of reviews I keep seeing the words "Combat in the original games was clunky and Shenmue III is no better"

I think that's just a self admittance that THEY weren't good at the combat more than anything...those of us who did get good know just how damn good Shenmue II's combat could be Especially when you mastered timing on counters such as Swallow Flip and Counter Elbow Assault...boy does that stuff feel great to hit when you get the timing down

Eh, what do I really expect? Most of these reviewers don't play fighting games and simply button mash so of course they didn't get it.

I feel like the went into the original Shenmue games thinking they were button mashers and not realising that it was a deep and methodical system based on Virtua Fighter

I don't really get it though, because Shenmue has a really rewarding combat mechanic. When you start to master moves and understand when to dodge, parry and what moves to pull off (and when), you feel like a complete badass

 

[bcdcdude]

That Kotaku review was lovely. I wish that there was some way to quantify that review for metacritic. It reads 8/10 minimum.

 

[currypowder84]

Man, I really do wish either Gamespot or IGN gave it a 7+ score. Those 2 outlets have a lot of influence and do a lot to color public perception of a game.

 

[danielmann861]

I feel like the went into the original Shenmue games thinking they were button mashers and not realising that it was a deep and methodical system based on Virtua Fighter

I don't really get it though, because Shenmue has a really rewarding combat mechanic. When you start to master moves and understand when to dodge, parry and what moves to pull off (and when), you feel like a complete badass

Exactly...so damn rewarding when you master it.

 

[Real1]

Man, I really do wish either Gamespot or IGN gave it a 7+ score. Those 2 outlets have a lot of influence and do a lot to color public perception of a game.

I feel the same way. I think the only really major outlet that was supportive was Eurogamer.

 

[Sheephead]

Why is it in most of these of reviews I keep seeing the words "Combat in the original games was clunky and Shenmue III is no better"

I think that's just a self admittance that THEY weren't good at the combat more than anything...those of us who did get good know just how damn good Shenmue II's combat could be Especially when you mastered timing on counters such as Swallow Flip and Counter Elbow Assault...boy does that stuff feel great to hit when you get the timing down

Eh, what do I really expect? Most of these reviewers don't play fighting games and simply button mash so of course they didn't get it.

Since finishing the game, I've been watching a lot of youtubers/streamers playthrough the game. The one thing I really have an issue with, is that everyone seems to just be using the right trigger for combat. This is such a limited way to experience the combat, so no wonder they are have negative remarks when it comes to it. By using right trigger, you are limiting yourself to only 5 moves per fight, out of the 90 that you can use... It's brainless, not to mention it strips you of the satisfaction of chaining together a load of cool moves, and just destroying your enemies. I had so much fun spending time learning the move inputs, so that I could use a load of them in the fights to make them look as cool as possible. This was half of the fun of the combat! Meanwhile, I see people on twitch just spamming Tornado Kick over and over again with the right trigger, and then complaining that the enemies start to block their attacks. I mean, this isn't 100% the players fault either, as the in game tutorial for combat is lacking to say the least, but I'd really wish we could do something about it.

It would be awesome if the tutorial that pops up at the start of the first fight just explained this (and also explained AT/MT), so that people would understand how to actually get the most out of the combat.

 

[Reprise]

I feel the same way. I think the only really major outlet that was supportive was Eurogamer.

And Kotaku. DualShockers is also a reasonable sized outlet.

It's a shame the best major outlets, that are the most supportive (like Eurogamer and Kotaku), don't rate games with a numerical score

 

[danielmann861]

Since finishing the game, I've been watching a lot of youtubers/streamers playthrough the game. The one thing I really have an issue with, is that everyone seems to just be using the right trigger for combat. This is such a limited way to experience the combat, so no wonder they are have negative remarks when it comes to it. By using right trigger, you are limiting yourself to only 5 moves per fight, out of the 90 that you can use... It's brainless, not to mention it strips you of the satisfaction of chaining together a load of cool moves, and just destroying your enemies. I had so much fun spending time learning the move inputs, so that I could use a load of them in the fights to make them look as cool as possible. This was half of the fun of the combat! Meanwhile, I see people on twitch just spamming Tornado Kick over and over again with the right trigger, and then complaining that the enemies start to block their attacks. I mean, this isn't 100% the players fault either, as the in game tutorial for combat is lacking to say the least, but I'd really wish we could do something about it.

It would be awesome if the tutorial that pops up at the start of the first fight just explained this (and also explained AT/MT), so that people would understand how to actually get the most out of the combat.

Yeah, I feel like that's half the problem. It doesn't do a great job explaining itself. I know Yu Suzuki obviously likes to have the player figure things out for themselves (I mean Shenmue 1 and 2 didn't even have a tutorial...it kind of just threw you right in the deep end with its combat and unless you were into VF beforehand then you pretty much HAD to learn it)

But simply just telling people to mash when the AI can basically just block your big moves then punish the shit out of you for spamming said big moves ain't the greatest way to go...I feel like that's half the problem they had with it. They were probably just mindlessly spamming moves and getting caught when the AI blocked them and went to town on them in that window of on-guard frame data. Because at its heart...it's still a fighting game and it will punish you for spamming shit.

But yeah, the fighting system isn't well explained from the get go with III and it probably did need to be explained...I wonder how many of them even noticed that there was a Guard Meter at the bottom? I seem to remember reading reviews saying that they would hold onto block and still get punished by the AI...making me think they didn't realize that there is a guard meter at the bottom that you have to be quite mindful off. Because there are no throws in the game to break spamming guard.

But I'm with you...I don't use the trigger...I memorized face buttons. Once you get used to the general bit of lag between some inputs and moves, I think SIII's combat becomes kind of fun. It's kind of somewhere between action and turn based (almost). Or at least I've had fun with it. Figuring out how to crush and punish certain moves has been kind of fun to me. It's far from perfect, but I tend to really like the combat in III for whatever reason.

 

[Real1]

Since finishing the game, I've been watching a lot of youtubers/streamers playthrough the game. The one thing I really have an issue with, is that everyone seems to just be using the right trigger for combat. This is such a limited way to experience the combat, so no wonder they are have negative remarks when it comes to it. By using right trigger, you are limiting yourself to only 5 moves per fight, out of the 90 that you can use... It's brainless, not to mention it strips you of the satisfaction of chaining together a load of cool moves, and just destroying your enemies. I had so much fun spending time learning the move inputs, so that I could use a load of them in the fights to make them look as cool as possible. This was half of the fun of the combat! Meanwhile, I see people on twitch just spamming Tornado Kick over and over again with the right trigger, and then complaining that the enemies start to block their attacks. I mean, this isn't 100% the players fault either, as the in game tutorial for combat is lacking to say the least, but I'd really wish we could do something about it.

It would be awesome if the tutorial that pops up at the start of the first fight just explained this (and also explained AT/MT), so that people would understand how to actually get the most out of the combat.

Yeah, the tutorial for the combat was awful "Just press X, Y, A, B buttons" .. Like what??

But that's also Shenmue-ish. Figure it out yourself, you know?

 

[mjqjazzbar]

If they’re lucky enough to make a Shenmue 4, I hope they read and take some of the criticism from the more negative reviews to heart. There is truth in all of them. There is always room for improvement. Not saying a 40/100 or 50/100 is a fair score, but the game isn’t perfect and I think many of us agree the poor reviews tend towards being less harsh than the scores look.

 

[Reprise]

Yeah, I feel like that's half the problem. It doesn't do a great job explaining itself. I know Yu Suzuki obviously likes to have the player figure things out for themselves (I mean Shenmue 1 and 2 didn't even have a tutorial...it kind of just threw you right in the deep end with its combat and unless you were into VF beforehand then you pretty much HAD to learn it)

But yeah, the fighting system isn't well explained from the get go with III and it probably did need to be explained...I wonder how many of them even noticed that there was a Guard Meter at the bottom? I seem to remember reading reviews saying that they would hold onto block and still get punished by the AI...making me think they didn't realize that there is a guard meter at the bottom that you have to be quite mindful off.

But I'm with you...I don't use the trigger...I memorized face buttons inputs. Once you get the general bit of lag down between some inputs and moves, I think the SIII's combat is kind of fun. Or at least I've had fun with it. Figuring out how to crush and punish has been kind of fun to me. It's far from perfect, but I tend to really like the combat in III for whatever reason.

Oh so much this. The game doesn't even explain that you can chain combos. Like a really simple one is you can tap X,X to do a lawnmower and then immediately tap X,X again to do a ground kick. There's a few moves that seem to intentionally flow into each other if you start chaining them together.

I actually really like the combat. It's different and can be a lot of fun. It's not perfect and certainly inferior to the original design, but I feel they did really well with this new system and they have something solid in place to build upon in a future entry.

 

[ShenmueForeseen]

Objectively it is hard not to agree with the Gamespot review.
5/10 seems harsh though, but I guess if we are to be fair it being a Kickstarter game should not afford it leniency. All games should be judged equally, regardless of origin.

 

[Kupo]

Thing is the Gamespot review is very well written. It highlights the good and bad and is really very fair. At that point it's really up to personal tastes, its not a spiteful uninformed review so can't really hate on it.

That's fine. The problem is the number 5 at the end. Many people DON'T read reviews they look for the number at the end and a 5 means a shit game to everyone with a coconut for a head with no brain. It's incredibly lazy but that's what the internet has spawned in this new generation. Why read to get the gist of something, to be informed, when you don't have to? This is why I absolutely detest number ratings. I haven't read the review yet but if what you say is true then it doesn't sound like it reads like a 5 when you actually do just that and read it.

 

[Real1]

Trying to sway public opinion is starting to affect me mentally. I respond to SO. MANY. COMMENTS. trying to explain how a Shenmue-fan views this game. It's mostly like talking to brick walls.

I wish the reviews stop soon. When they do, I guess I will finalize my list and put it in its own thread for preservation.

I'm going to add more score-less reviews to the list now... I have some ideas on how to sort them. I already started with two as you can see, but I'm gonna add Kotaku and Polygon as well.

 

[Tomato Convenience Store]

Thing is the Gamespot review is very well written. It highlights the good and bad and is really very fair. At that point it's really up to personal tastes, its not a spiteful uninformed review so can't really hate on it.

Yeah, I've always found that gamespot rates rather "clinically", meaning flaws will be represented majorly in their scores. A game that's flawed but "better than the sum of it's parts" generally won't get a great score there. That's not a criticism just more of an observation from my years of reading their reviews. Of course YMMV depending on the reviewer themselves.

Objectively it is hard not to agree with the Gamespot review.
5/10 seems harsh though, but I guess if we are to be fair it being a Kickstarter game should not afford it leniency. All games should be judged equally, regardless of origin.

Agreed - the fact is this is a $60 release and the expectations should be in line with other $60 releases.

I'm hoping there can be a few QOL updates in a patch before the holidays.

 

[danielmann861]

Oh so much this. The game doesn't even explain that you can chain combos. Like a really simple one is you can tap X,X to do a lawnmower and then immediately tap X,X again to do a ground kick. There's a few moves that seem to intentionally flow into each other if you start chaining them together.

I actually really like the combat. It's different and can be a lot of fun. It's not perfect and certainly inferior to the original design, but I feel they did really well with this new system and they have something solid in place to build upon in a future entry.

yeah, I noticed that too, in terms of some moves tying into one another. On the one hand, I kind of love the self discovery of it and that it doesn't just hold your hand and wants you to experiment with it. But at the same time...probably did need a basic tutorial besides "Mash Buttons! Something good might happen if you do (shrugs)"...especially when the game really doesn't reward button mashing. It actively punishes it more often than not.

 

[Real1]

Okay, feedback appreciated on the LIST . Is the way I added non-numerical reviews good?

 

[jsh020]

Thing is the Gamespot review is very well written. It highlights the good and bad and is really very fair. At that point it's really up to personal tastes, its not a spiteful uninformed review so can't really hate on it.

I agree about the quality, I just meant I didnt have hopes that they were somehow gonna drop some solid score for the game and reverse the negative stigma its been garnering, I expect the edge review to also be very informed but I also expect it to be very harsh as thats kind of their brand at this point they just dont play it up.