*Your* overall impressions?

Valascaziel

Valascaziel

Joined
Aug 3, 2018
Location
North Carolina
Favourite title
Shenmue
Currently playing
Elden Ring
Well guys,


This is it. 4 years into this adventure, we at the Dojo have finally seen, by and large, what this long-awaited sequel will play like with a controller in your hand in November.

How do you feel? What did you like the most? What do you hope improves with this delay? Remember, this game is for the fans. What the fans, whom donated money to make this dream happen, think is of utmost import.


I'd like to keep THIS thread free of EGS debate and commentary. Focus solely on what you liked and what you would improve. Maybe YsNet will see this thread?

For myself--

It looked like a culmination of all the elements that made Shenmue unique in the first place. It isn't trying to reinvent itself or advertise itself as anything more than what it is.

It is a resurrection of a 20 year old franchise, kept true to the vision he had even then. Viewed as that, I believe it to be a pretty strong entry considering the limited budget.

I personally think that Ryos animations could be a little better. I also think his jacket is too light and could be darker with more texture.

The facial animations could use more improvement--I don't care about the odd looking NPCs. Those that lament upon those are clearly hot takes that never played the originals or understood Yu's style.

If they can sync the English voices better, it won't be an issue except for those who don't understand their appearance.

Combat could be smoother, but it seems we only saw snippets with Automatic entry. It may flow better on Manual, which wouldn't surprise me to be the case.


I would also like to hear some music in future videos or demonstrations.


Anybody else?
 
When i saw the gameplay i was fucking excited, now i can't stop myself from watching them and being worried, the overall presentation is janky, the combat animation is pretty good (expecially the kicks looks fantastics) but the characters have a constant glide and move have zero impact on the enemy. I will support this game until the end but those things need to be fixed. The spirit of shenmue is still alive but it needs some buffs
 
I'm looking forward to walking around those environments, they look stunning.
Ryo's walk was a little off-putting, I don't mind him being a stiff character but it felt a little robotic.
Facials animations don't really bother me too much, but I was a bit disappointed to hear we won't be able to talk to every NPC.
I fighting to me also looked fine, but it's going to feel strange getting close to the enemy knowing there are no grab/throw moves in the game.
The biggest thing I noticed was texture inconsistencies. We have higher res textures next to low res ones. We have NPC's that look detailed and ones that look a bit "muddy". I guess this is one of the troubles with outsourcing.

Overall I feel it captures the mundane, slow, day to day essence of Shenmue, and that's what I wanted.
 
Valascaziel said:
Well guys,


This is it. 4 years into this adventure, we at the Dojo have finally seen, by and large, what this long-awaited sequel will play like with a controller in your hand in November.

How do you feel? What did you like the most? What do you hope improves with this delay? Remember, this game is for the fans. What the fans, whom donated money to make this dream happen, think is of utmost import.


I'd like to keep THIS thread free of EGS debate and commentary. Focus solely on what you liked and what you would improve. Maybe YsNet will see this thread?

For myself--

It looked like a culmination of all the elements that made Shenmue unique in the first place. It isn't trying to reinvent itself or advertise itself as anything more than what it is.

It is a resurrection of a 20 year old franchise, kept true to the vision he had even then. Viewed as that, I believe it to be a pretty strong entry considering the limited budget.

I personally think that Ryos animations could be a little better. I also think his jacket is too light and could be darker with more texture.

The facial animations could use more improvement--I don't care about the odd looking NPCs. Those that lament upon those are clearly hot takes that never played the originals or understood Yu's style.

If they can sync the English voices better, it won't be an issue except for those who don't understand their appearance.

Combat could be smoother, but it seems we only saw snippets with Automatic entry. It may flow better on Manual, which wouldn't surprise me to be the case.


I would also like to hear some music in future videos or demonstrations.


Anybody else?
Click to expand...
Great topic.

Personally I have been very impressed with what I've seen so far.

The environments looks awesome. The colour palette helps a great deal.

There is a bit of inconsistency in the NPC characters. That's to be expected but I hope they bring a more consistent level of them. Some look really good though.

Ryo himself looks good. His walking animation is a bit power walk but I don't particularly mind. The VO is good and yes the lip sync is slightly off but they might improve that. I understand the reasons why though.

The mini games look fun.

The combat looks good. It moves fairly well and while its not as complex as previous installments I do think it will be fin to play and rewarding.

Overall for the budget its stunning. How Yu has fleshed out a combat system, dialogue, models and mini games on what he had is outstanding. Yes people will say animations are a bit stiff, faces etc but expectations need to be kept in check.

It's never going to be flawless, not with the budget.

I cant wait to get my hands on it. A true Shenmue sequel.
 
My first impression of everything I've seen has been very positive! I want to watch most of it again in slow motion to really take in the details some more.

I'm curious about the new perspective in the fighting scenario we were shown. Rather than a side view, it's like a 45-degree angle view. Maybe this is set up to help with some sort of environmental elements that will be involved in fights later on? Like you'll have situations where there are objects about, so you can dodge in one way but not in another? There must be some purpose other than just arbitrarily changing a genre standard.

I can't really think of much that I would change about what we've seen. I think what we were shown this week was designed specifically for the original fans of the series, so we saw a lot of familiar mini-game activities and a few new ones. Yu Suzuki mentioned that the final balance was about 50-50 between returning and new gameplay elements, so there's obviously a lot that they're keeping to surprise us later.

I think one thing that we saw that I'm most excited about are the shots of activity in the village. Groups of children and adults practicing together, people standing near the shops and businesses, birds flying through the sky. It looks like a living world and every character is unique! It's incredible.
 
I enjoyed the trailer although was a little disappointed that the very first shot demonstrated how poor the lip syncing was at this point in development. Some of the character models looked pretty janky too and I guess the facial expressions could be improved. Aside from that I was both surprised and impressed with how far they’ve come since the last trailer. Animation was pretty good, lighting was much improved and the voice dub, love it or loathe it, was exactly as I expected it to be.

The gameplay blew me away. Some of the character models really impressed me and the environments looked beautiful. The combat looked better than I expected (although I’m not sure I liked the new button input method of performing moves). I found myself missing the old SFX though and I thought the wood chopping video highlighted the work that still needs to be done on Ryo’s character models.

All things considered, I’m very happy. Everything could be further improved or refined to some degree, but the lack of media access prior to E3 had me genuinely concerned. Those concerns are well and truly gone and even were the game to release in its current state, I don’t think I’d be too disappointed. Of course, I expect improvements to be made and am counting down the days until release:
 
Firstly, I am proud to be among you all on this journey, making the impossible, possible. It's been quite a tough 4 years with the drips and drabs of updates we've received, but my enthusiasm with you all has held strong.

How do I feel about Shenmue III?
There's two ways to approach this, Shenmue III being the sequel we've dreamed for for years and years, which of course I am yearning for. But, with all the new content I am looking at within the last week, I'm trying to look at the game in it's own merit which creates different expectations.

I think the marketing for this game has been terrible - I'm not just saying this upon the whole 'Epic' crisis either. Magic 19's trailer was very weirdly Edited and I feel the trailers haven't really set the scene for Shenmue III yet, we know the starting ground and objectives from what has been but in regards to a story, I simply don't have any indication as to what it is going to tell - I'm not asking for spoilers but I still feel the story has not been presented in a coherent manner.

That said, I can certainly now tell a lot more about this games tone now from recent trailers for instance how Martial Arts seems to be really takin the foreground this time around - I always thought Ryo being a Martial Artist was the foundation of his character in Shenmue I, Shenmue II pushed it further with learning the way of the WUDE, but Shenmue III seems to really be focusing on Ryo proving himself to other through his Martial Arts, which actually I am really looking forward to seeing how he progresses.

But more importantly I'm curious to see if his quest for revenge will begin to waver with experience and potential story revelations, this is where my real expectations rely upon - That and I finally want a confrontation with Lan Di! Even if it is unsuccessful :) I want Ryo to be vulnerable and overcome struggles, and not be like Kazuma in Yakuza and succeed 100% of the time no matter the cost.

Technical Impressions?
Honestly, my technical impressions so far have been mixed, the graphics look phenomenal, I dig the more Ghibli style of the NPC's - If anything I dislike the look of Ryo's flat/thin facial features. The lighting and detail upon the environments look breathtaking! Genuinely, for a Kickstarter game, consider me fooled!

The combat, hmmm not so taken with it- As I said in my trailer impressions Ryo's Combat animations look perfect, but it is the reactions of his moves and the movement of enemies just seems very stiff - But of course, this could change in time :)

What I am surprised we haven't seen much of is the investigation mechanics of Shenmue III... This is the core gameplay mechanic of the previous games so I'm surprised to not see it highlighted at all - and slightly concerned.

Seeing the QTE has got me very hopeful, that one with Ryo Catching the girl on the ladder is so charming and just what i'd hope for Shenmue.

Mini-games - seem diverse and fun, very happy.

Release:
This is where things become a little salty... As KickStarter backer I did have the expectation that we were funding for Shenmue III to be realised. I put a modest $350+ Which I am still proud to have done so. But, now the game ha a Season Pass which I am not getting access, I already feel my KickStarter Edition is already redundant. I bought the C.E. & 2x copies, the extra copies to give to friends and help out with the campaign, but now them extras just feel so wasteful that their not going to be Complete Versions of the game. With news of a Season Pass, I now want a DLC Complete Edition.

A side note, I did have a Physical PC version, but with recent news that that is not going to be on disc but a download code has already made me go to FanGamer to change my order for another PS4 version. But, I am primarily a console gamer, so this fiasco doesn't effect me as others - whom I believe are in the right to be upset. I have even bought the Special Edition retailers are offering, it's not even about the money for me, I just want Shenmue III to be complete and something I can hold.
 
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Some bad looking NPCs, and rough battle system aide, my overall impressions are pretty positive. It looks like Shenmue, people say it feels like Shenmue. I like the capsule toys besides the fishing hooks. Thats a little too dangerous to just let kids buy, imo. xD I like the enviroments. I like Ryo.

I think my biggest complaint is the sway of the grass. It is really unnatural how it sways back and forth. Its like instead of it being affected by the weather system they just set the animation to play forward and then reverse. Its the same as the grass in the survey with the little girl. It doesnt lool like wind affects the grass at all. I realize not eveyone will pick up on this detail and for a lot of people it doesnt matter. I just appreciate the little things you know? Like how Ryo's eyes automatically follow the person he is speaking to, and how his watch seems to actually work.
 
I want to first caveat with the obviously big point: It's a miracle Shenmue 3 exists and is months from launching in any form. As someone who would've settled for a blogpost detailing the rest of the story years ago, I'm eternally grateful.

That being said, I think we're really seeing the core tension in trying to make a sequel to a AAA franchise with an indie budget. As much as fans (hopefully) can forgive issues like lip syncing, cheesy VO performances, simplistic mini-games, minimal facial animation, clunky combat system, etc, these issues are pretty jarring from the POV of a non-fan who sees this game presented alongside both big budget AAA titles and highly polished indie titles.

I think the big challenge for Shenmue 3 is that at a glance, it has the appearance and scope of a AAA title so the audience naturally holds it to the highest standards possible, but on closer inspection the many compromises necessary to make this possible on an indie budget are painfully clear. I don't think any of these issues will matter much to the hardcore fans who the game is being made for, but I'm feeling really pessimistic about the potential for a positive critical reception and significant growth in the fanbase, which makes the idea of Shenmue 4 feel really unlikely to me.

All that being said, they obviously just delayed the game for additional polish for I'm staying hopeful a lot of these issues will be addressed.

And again lets all remember the years and years of delusional hope and disappointment during e3. Now we have actual trailers and gameplay videos to discuss! The gaming gods are good.
 
It looks and feels like Shenmue. I'm glad they're limiting our exposure to a small slice of town.

The fact that it's cheesy, slow, etc... that's Shenmue. Impossible to change the vibe and feel of a game to appeal to mass audiences without alienating their core audience, who brought Shenmue 3 back to life. I'd love Shenmue 3 to sell boatloads, but I think Ys Net's conservative approach was the right one.
 
It's Shenmue.

I've spent literally months of my life (thousands of hours) playing and exploring each of the first two games.

This looks to be completely living up to the original games, which means I have thousands of hours more to experience.

Good times ahead.
 
Overall it's looking good, the new mini games are interesting. The HUD is great.

The only problem I have is the camera is now floating beside Ryo (looks like this will be the default camera) instead of being directly behind him, very off-putting. They say you can move the camera in 360 degrees, but can I actually put it behind Ryo like the first two games and keep it there?
 
Brian SII DC vs Xbox said:
They say you can move the camera in 360 degrees, but can I actually put it behind Ryo like the first two games and keep it there?
Click to expand...

I recall them saying at one point that you can move the camera as well as zoom into to look around while Ryo is walking. But that's a good question, I don't know if you can choose your own preferred default position for the camera. It would be an excellent feature.
 
a. It's what I've wanted
-None of his attention to detail is missing: similar dialogue, similar colorful environments, similar personalities.
-The little advances we've seen fit a natural progression for series: greater diversity of mini games, untrusting NPCs (he ain't in Tomato Mart land no more), region specific experiences.
Regarding plot, we're getting updates on Shenmue 1 folk, truly challenging villains + the true depths of the Chiyou, and the maturation of Ryo.

b. It's what I've expected
-The "limitations" are mostly stylistic choices; the modernizations (menus) are fine and welcome. Since that original E3 trailer, I never expected a breakthrough, but rather a mere continuation aiming at completion.
-The only thing I didn't expect is the state of the fighting system, but I trust he'll make it work. I've always viewed Shenmue as a story with fighting, not a fighting game with a story.

Given the ebb and flow of expectations since MAGIC, I've tried to keep a moderate view on it all. In that sense, things are as they were in late 2018 or so.
 
I won't lie. I won't sugar coat. And I won't just say something to please others.

On the one hand; it looks like Shenmue...but on a very tight budget. Gone are the days of the open cheque book and it shows.

I respect that it is trying it's damn hardest to pull it off on such a low budget. I look at that footage and I think it's truly punching above its weight and on the one hand it is impressive to see what he is trying to achieve. I smiled when I saw it and thought "I can't wait to spend time here again." The charm and attention to detail is still there. And I do feel Yu is pouring everything he has into making the most of what he can make on a fraction of the budget. I deeply respect what it is he and his team are tying to achieve and I can see the Shenmue charm is still there.

But on the other hand; it is truly punching above its weight and I can't help but see its rough edges. Everything looks a bit too floaty. The ball in Lucky Hit looked way too floaty. In Shenmue II the balls had weight. In the small glimpse here they just looked floaty. It reminds me of one of those cheap mobile phone clones I've seen on iOS

The fighting looks too floaty and lacks any sort of weight in its hit detection. The animation looks rough at times (I'm not a fan of Ryo's walk cycle and I'm hoping that gets improved upon before release). The English dub is what it is...I really have no desire to play with the English dub so it doesn't bother me too badly. What I've heard of the Japanese dub impresses me way more though. But hey, I've been more of a fan of the Japanese dub ever since I played Shenmue II way back in the day.

Also, as far as visuals go, I think it looks a bit flat. I was looking at some stills and I noticed everything looks a bit flat and lacks definition. But again, this can be fixed before release.

Some of this can be fixed in the months to come and I do hope they are fixed to the best of their ability but I'm not holding my breath on drastic improvements. I think, for the most part, what you see is what you're gonna get.

The Shenmue charm is still there and I respect the hell out of Yu and his team for trying to create Shenmue on a fraction of the budget they had the first time around. But I won't lie; it does look rough next to current day games. Here's hoping for the best and here's hoping they can continue to improve upon it. But at least the Shenmue charm remains and at least it makes me smile and makes me want to spend more time with it even with its rough edges.

I still want to see other aspects of it though. I want to see the affinity system at play. I want to see interactions between Ryo and the towns people and how it plays into the affinity system. As that sounded like the most interesting part to me when details were starting to emerge months back.

My overall thoughts? The Shenmue charm has been captured. But the edges are rough and still need some sanding. Here's hoping for the best before release.
 
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Unless it's a framerate issue, the Lucky Hit floatiness can simply be adjusted by tweaking the ball's values for mass, damping, and/or the world's gravity... all just one numerical field each. If they don't adjust those, we will have to conclude the floatiness is an intentional design choice.
 
Dietsoap said:
To those of you that think the combat looks rough: do you think it looks fun?
Click to expand...

Hard to say without playing it. From what I've seen; it looks a bit floaty, but again, it's hard for anyone to say without actually holding a controller in their hand and trying it for themselves.
 
The Edge write up on Shenmue 3 back in February is the one I'm going to trust, at this stage. Everyone at E3 got 15 minutes of Bailu village, the people at Edge got to explore Niaowu/Chobou in addition to Bailu and were able to get a feel for how the affinity system really works.

From seeing it with my own eyes, the combat is the aspect of the game that I'm most concerned about. But then again, I've only seen a few minutes of gameplay, on automatic. I won't know for sure how to judge it until I feel it out myself. Graphics don't bother me and I'm sure the story will be great and the world will be rich and full of exciting NPCs just as Edge said it was.
 
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