Your Positive Highlights of Shenmue III

There is a lot I liked. One thing that really stuck out to me for some reason was when I found a random palm reading guide which serves no purpose but is super detailed. It made me look at my own hands to do a reading of myself haha. It was just such a "Shenmue" moment to me.

Aside from that I enjoy what the plot set up for the future (and the plot that was here, as well), and my favorite thing of all; the Shenhua conversations!
 
The beginning of the game, taking my first steps in Bailu village after so many years was very special.

Talking to old people in Bailu certainly gave me that old Shenmue feeling again.

The story of the Verdant Bridge was interesting and gave me hope that the story of Shenmue III would really go deeper than it ended up doing. A great feeling there and then.

I also liked standing on the balcony of the hotel in Niaowu and talking to Shenhua or just taking in the view.
 
There was an article on the Guardian on suggested games for older/lapsed gamers to play during the lockdown. My suggestion of Shenmue was a highlighted pick and at the very least, one fan came out of the woodworks!!

 
There was an article on the Guardian on suggested games for older/lapsed gamers to play during the lockdown. My suggestion of Shenmue was a highlighted pick and at the very least, one fan came out of the woodworks!!

2 more upvotes and it's tied for top pick. 3 more and it's top pick on its own. 👀
 
I like the sound as it rains in the village, the chobu search, the overall feeling of niawu (however there is too many pointless shops, the start with shenhua however that for some reason completly tails off and the graphics
 
This isn’t so much about Shenmue III, but for all of the games in the series. I love how when it came to boss battles, they were strictly about the fighting and actually beating your opponent using skill rather than beating their “gimmicks” (bosses using projectile weapons you have to dodge, or hitting a series of switches during the battle, or even the boss sending grunts after you while fighting him). Even in the Yakuza series, a series I love, is guilty of having moments where bosses (and even mini-bosses) use the gameplay against you, almost exploiting weaknesses in the combat design, in order to ramp up the difficulty. While the none of the Shenmue bosses, as few and far between, were ever frustratingly hard, their simplicity (not ease) helped strengthen the bond between the narrative and the gameplay. Everything just made sense. I hope moving forward, filling the battles with stupid fucking gimmicks in order to appeal to modern audiences won’t become an issue.
 
This isn’t so much about Shenmue III, but for all of the games in the series. I love how when it came to boss battles, they were strictly about the fighting and actually beating your opponent using skill rather than beating their “gimmicks” (bosses using projectile weapons you have to dodge, or hitting a series of switches during the battle, or even the boss sending grunts after you while fighting him). Even in the Yakuza series, a series I love, is guilty of having moments where bosses (and even mini-bosses) use the gameplay against you, almost exploiting weaknesses in the combat design, in order to ramp up the difficulty. While the none of the Shenmue bosses, as few and far between, were ever frustratingly hard, their simplicity (not ease) helped strengthen the bond between the narrative and the gameplay. Everything just made sense. I hope moving forward, filling the battles with stupid fucking gimmicks in order to appeal to modern audiences won’t become an issue.
I love that Shenmue, as a series, has the guts to make you feel the things Ryo is feeling, even if those things aren't traditional "fun", and every time I lost in III and was told to practice my kung fu, I felt it. I felt the frustration and impatience simmering inside Ryo. He hadn't put the work in and neither had I. The best way forward is to cool off, refocus, and improve yourself. The training mini-games are extremely good at clearing your mind, just like real martial arts training, which I can only imagine was the main point of including them instead of making you level up solely through combat.

(Also, the boss battles in Yakuza are usually pretty terrible -- they cheaply inflate the difficulty through massive health bars, unavoidable attacks, making the boss invincible for a certain period of time just because, etc.)
 
I liked the fighting a lot once I got into it. I really liked the wood chopping and the nostalgic afterburner sounds with simple but deceptively deep gameplay. I loved the music throughout, which really sounds like nothing else around. I really loved that i felt like a virtual tourist, just like in Shenmue II - visiting the temples and shops and finding my way around, the awkward first few days giving way to a feeling of belonging. However, there's one thing I loved more than anything which is the fantastic atmosphere that the game does so well. Standing high above Niawuo as the sun sets over the clay roof tiles. Hearing the rain hammering the roof of the Casino , going outside and seeing Ryo's clothing get wet. Hitting the punch pads atop the cliffs in Bailu, overlooking the village while butterflies gently fly around you contrasting with Ryo hitting the training dummy for all he is worth. Standing on the balcony of the hotel overlooking the pier and planning my next virtual day. That's Shenmue.

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Bailu looks gorgeous.

Conversations with Shenhua are nice (sad I missed them first time round).

Wood chopping hits so many right notes for a Shenmue game: a minigame that sounds tedious but is weirdly enjoyable, allows you to earn in-game money, has a weird old guy cheering you on, and you get music from an old Suzuki arcade game as an Easter egg. If this were the only minigame I'd be happy.

I like switching between combat moves with the bumpers, and some of the moves like Thunder Palm and Twin Palm Flurry look dope.

Playing hide and seek with the kids felt very Shenmue, as did the side quest with the "ghost" of Bailu.

Character models for some of the elderly NPCs looked great.

The QTE fails are hilarious and by far the best directed cutscenes.
 
Bailu Village is engrossing. Absolutely my favorite part of the game despite there not being many mini games.

Post-DLC, I quite like the variety of things to do in Niaowu. Looking forward to replaying for a third time whenever I get to it.

Shenmue 3 isn't boring because there's a lot of interconnectivity between all the side activities.

Conversations with Shenhua are some my favorite parts of the game. In fact, despite her being a bit sidelined in Niaowu, she's without a doubt the standout character of the game similar to how Xiuying and Ren were in Shenmue II.

Fishing minigame is engaging.

Despite the lead up being a bit underdeveloped, the ending cutscenes are pretty well done and I'm still looking forward to the next chapter.
 
Some things come to mind as I continue my journey, which I found humorous. When Ryo located the wine for Sun n how the camera panned down with Ryo's reaction as he figured out the price for it..priceless I genuinely lol'!!1 Also, without spoiling too much...when the little fat boy gives Ryo that one last awkward stare, then following Ryo's reaction towards it. Another epic lol moment.

I would also like to point out the fact that the side quests do not hold your hand, throughout them. This is a good thing. That is what I thoroughly enjoy. I would not have enjoyed seeing some arrows or magic lines on the ground as a guide towards the next objective.
 
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