The brainchild of award-winning game director, Yu Suzuki, Shenmue is commonly known as one of the most ambitious game projects in history, which captured the imagination of players from around the world. Shenmue established the open-world format for action RPG games. An awe-inspiring world with an...
The brainchild of award-winning game director, Yu Suzuki, Shenmue is commonly known as one of the most ambitious game projects in history, which captured the imagination of players from around the world. Shenmue established the open-world format for action RPG games. An awe-inspiring world with an immersive story, featuring cinematic sequences, a realistic fighting system, and entertaining mini-games, Shenmue garnered acclaim and adoration all over the world.
Shenmue III sees the eagerly anticipated continuation of the epic story-driven saga. Take control of Ryo Hazuki, a teenage martial artist, determined to unravel the mystery behind his father's murder and to exact revenge on the killer.
Explore a vibrant, colourful open world, meet intriguing characters and endeavour on a cinematic adventure which will take you further into enemy territory and deeper into the mystery of the Phoenix Mirror.
Attention!: If this is your first time playing this game, please go play the collection of the first two parts first
I originally intended to give it five stars, but due to the poor adaptation of the keyboard and mouse in the game (even unable to customize buttons), I could only give it four stars.
It feels like playing its two predecessors, with familiar operations and gameplay. Even QTE is as difficult to press as before, making it impossible for me to miss every failed QTE animation. (Laughing)
Modern games contact a lot, it may be very difficult to play at first, but once you bring yourself to play the previous game when the mood. Oh my God, this is great!
Being a Shenmue fan is hard. It is a niche franchise that routinely is the punching bag in the media. If you look at Kotaku you'll have Jason Schreier calling you "crazy." If you look at Vice you will be met with the pronouncement that your favorite franchise "was always bad." Go to YouTube and you will be met with Sterling, Yahtzee, Dunkey, and former-fan-turned-rabid-hater SuperEyepatchWolf bashing it. The media, and gaming community in general, loves to hate Shenmue.
So why do I love it? What is it about this niche franchise that has held my heart all these years?
1) It is a love letter to martial arts, especially Chinese martial arts.
2) It makes every experience a memorable one, especially with regards to NPCs.
3) It allows you total freedom to explore every nook and cranny of a map lovingly crafted for exploration.
4) It demands that you slow down and savor it.
5) It ultimately is a game series with heart, earnestly and humbly offering you an experience unlike any other franchise.
So, all that said, what about the much-maligned third installment? Honestly, having played through multiple times, it is everything I wanted. Is every part of the game perfect? No, but especially when you consider how this game almost never came to exist, that it took 18 years and so much love to create, it is a crowning achievement.
This game is scrappy, it doesn't have the major budget like the first two. That makes it even more impressive. I love that Yu Suzuki, a visionary of the medium, stuck to his guns.
This game, storywise, is ultimately about Ryo and Shenhua. It is about what binds them. The story was never supposed to be completed in 3 installments, so I feel heightened expectations caused some of the sour notes among fans. Those that say there is no story missed the story play out each day. There is a story to see, you just need to be open to it's presence. It rewards patience and curiousity.
This game? It is a third Shenmue. And that is a wonderful thing.
I have played Shenmue I and II when they came out originally on Dreamcast and I gladly revisit Shenmue II every couple of years. The games may have aged a lot, but the second part still holds up and carries lots of nostalgia for me.
Shenmue III is like playing a parody of the first two games. The whole game is about finding Shenhua's kidnapped father - who, originally, pretty much left of his own volition, even writing a mysterious farewell-letter. Shenmue III ignores one of the most surprising moments of the series (a magically floating sword), never talks about why it's floating and turns it into a key in a series of "find lock then find key then find lock then find key" missions. Nothing in this game progresses the main story, the ending literally puts Ryo back to where he was at the beginning. The final boss fight is a joke and an insult to Ryo's character progression. Art styles clash, with some NPCs looking extremely cartoony, like they came out of a 3D Street Fighter. Overworld stamina management is awful, the combat system is worse than ever and the Arcade mini games are a sad imitation, especially the "Virtua Fighter" clone.
The worst thing is the money stopgaps. Every chapter of this game has one moment where Ryo has to gather ridiculous amounts of cash to buy an item to progress the plot. This takes either hours of grinding QTE mini games or save scumming through gambling mini games. It's just no fun at all.
The music is good, but much of it is a recycle from previous games, sometimes using character-specific themes completely out of context.
The only original saving grace Shenmue III has is the environmental art. I feel sorry for the people who created intricated, lovely environments that got wasted on this sad sequel to a legendary franchise.
Played this on Steam.
This is a great game and it was a joy to return to the world of Shenmue after nearly two decades. I strongly recommended the entire Shenmue series to anyone interested. Take your time as you make your way through all the side activities for the most enjoyable experience.
If you liked Shenmue 1 and 2, you'll like this.
Now, if you liked the COMBAT in Shenmue 1 and 2, you'll hate this.
The overall experience is nice enough to warrant a middle review, but this game should've been better.
