Why so quiet

I've been a giant Shenmue fan since 13 years of age, and after playing S3 I was like, "yup, that was an enjoyable 7, maybe 7.5 out of 10". It's no surprise to me that non-fans would rate it lower than that, landing it on a 67.

That said, the Shenmue I & II re-release has a meta score of 75. I don't think these games are generally viewed as masterpieces through a modern lense, either. Each game has its problems. S1 is my favourite game of all time...it has big problems.

But critical consensus shouldn't matter. If you're a fan of Shenmue because it was once the most detailed, the most expensive, the most this and that...you're living in the past. Enjoy things for what they are. Shenmue games are still extremely unique, with an amazing atmosphere, an intriguing mystery...that's why I still love and respect the series, not because the first game got a 97 from IGN 20 years ago.
 
Too many people do not care about games anymore just about the hype and negativity about it. The internet made this possible. Ranting and being Angry all the time about gaming has become quite a powerful way of earning some money. The joy about gaming is often completly missed by the people that have a big voice in the gaming space these days. Well negativity creates clicks and revenue I guess. So I from a buisness point of view I cannot blame the creators for doing so. It esasy to ignore that stuff and just play the games.
 
I can only speak for myself but the bad storytelling in S3, especially in Bailu where a lot of great potential (Prophecy, Grandmasters, Zhao and Iwao's relationship, etc.) was missed out in, really lowered my interest in Shenmue in general. Do I really, really want the story to get finished? Definitely. Do I need it finished in game form? Not really. On the contrary, I'd I'd prefer an anime with storytelling worthy of Shenmue over more games with bad storytelling and characters.

My hopes are more on the anime these days and I'm really looking forward to it. That's probably why I am less vocal about Shenmue as a game than I used to, these days. That said, I'll still support the shit out of any future Shenmue games if they become reality.
 
I can only speak for myself but the bad storytelling in S3, especially in Bailu where a lot of great potential (Prophecy, Grandmasters, Zhao and Iwao's relationship, etc.) was missed out in, really lowered my interest in Shenmue in general. Do I really, really want the story to get finished? Definitely. Do I need it finished in game form? Not really. On the contrary, I'd I'd prefer an anime with storytelling worthy of Shenmue over more games with bad storytelling and characters.

My hopes are more on the anime these days and I'm really looking forward to it. That's probably why I am less vocal about Shenmue as a game than I used to, these days. That said, I'll still support the shit out of any future Shenmue games if they become reality.
You can speak for yourself and for me. Because you have perfectly summarized how I felt during and after S3.

My main drive to get more Shenmue games is to enjoy new music and new Chinese environments, honestly. And I trust the anime (or even an eventual release of the original scripts) much more in order to enjoy the story.
 
TBH I'm thankful for all the negative and positive treatment Shenmue has received since its Shenmue 3 revival. Since 2015 we've received: Shenmue 1&2 re-releases, Shenmue 3, Shenmue magazine, upcoming documentary, upcoming anime and a upcoming Shenmue 1&2 Dragon & Phoenix collection. We went from being dead and buried alive to I think Shenmue 4 is gonna happen.

There is no such thing as bad press, Shenmue 4 would sell anywhere from 250k-400k just from the community alone. With as impressive as the anime looks we may double or triple it. People hate being late to the party so those who love the anime may crossover to the video game side. I bet my life savings that those who have dumped all over Shenmue for views and recognition will still secretly support Shenmue. When Shenmue 4 is announced I hope they don't show anything until the year it drops. Just give us a confirmation its coming.
 
Without concrete news, things have gone a bit quieter. In comparison to the time of the Kickstarter campaign, we are in a lull. Surely the calm before the storm! :D

Just wanted to say as well that although the Kickstarter campaign generated a lot of negativity, that is very normal for crowdfunded video games. Find me a video game Kickstarter with no disgruntled comments and I will show you the fabled golden testicle tree of eternal life.

At least it didn't turn into a Star Citizen.

The moment by moment buzz of the Kickstarter comments section when the hype was in full swing was a thing of supreme joy. Watching comments pouring in from people all over the world, hundreds per second, sharing in that exhilarating realisation, is not a feeling I'll forget. I miss it :crying:
 
Shenmue gets alot of love from all walks of life. Even though Shenmue was a commercial failure its still held in high regard by other successful game developers. If I'm not mistaken Shenmue is getting a anime because there are people in the animation sector that love and appreciate Shenmue.

After 12 years I had a hard time believing we were going to get Shenmue 3, if you had told me Shenmue would get a anime series I never would've believed you. There is alot of positive energy and momentum for Shenmue, lets stop focusing on the negative minority. Even people who are not fans of Shenmue are rooting for us to get the conclusion we want.
 
I feel like I'm in that small camp who is still left interested in what happens next after Shenmue III...especially given that one tidbit at the end about Lan Di's Father vowing to protect the mirrors...that changed my entire thought pattern as to what actually did happen between him and Iwao.

I still got most of what I wanted out of Shenmue III. A better understanding of Shenhua (but still enough questions lingering to be answered), a satisfying first showdown between Lan Di and Ryo (played out exactly how I expected it to go.)...as for the retconning of the mystical elements? Well considering we still have no definite answers as to what the mirrors actually do or more importantly will actually bring about, how can we say for sure anything has been retconned? And as for the ending, well weak story telling aside, it does end of a note with the mirrors ending up in the enemy camp. Say what you will, but that is development of the plot in some form...it's new ground from here on out that we have yet to charter.

Yeah, I mean SIII left me excited for SIV in hope that SIV will be the Chi You Men chapter. If SIII was the getting to know Shenhua chapter then I imagine SIV will be the Chi You Men chapter where we find out more about them...with hopefully better storytelling.

Yeah, I don't know...I'm still interested. SIII really didn't diminish it for me as much as it did for others. If anything, it left me hungry for more.

Do we even know if YSNet are even up to anything at all? I mean it's so quiet because there really isn't much to talk about. We don't have any solid details so yeah, we're in that post SII limbo again. Hopefully just not as long...well, it really can't afford to be as long...Yu is not getting any younger.
 
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Speaking of, the game is now almost two years old. Good time for a replay if you haven't already done so.

I know I walked away with a better appreciation for what it is the second time around.
As much as I want to replay Shenmue 3 on PS5 on my new TV once its wall mounted, I think I might save replay until I can use Shadow service again and play using powerful PC with all the mods made by the community. Especially the traditional camera which I just think makes game look far superior than original games FOV.
 
I am still here, not as active as I used to be due to having a kid, work, my wife and a new house but I plan to replay the franchise from the beginning since its November now.

I think the Anime will help spark interest again and I am even open to a novel as well. When Shenmue III first came out, I was blown away by Bailu village, not so much the story and I think I overhyped myself but the more time passes, I am glad we were able to get it resurrected. I think the key is to keep being active as a community be it via here, twitter, discord, twitch, youtube, we just have to keep the interest alive.
 
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