An alleged miscommunication over the release embargo initially put it for the 21st, two days after release. It’s since been moved to release day, tomorrow.
Well, I got my copy.
And... Honestly? I'm giddy. It genuinely brings me back to the original game... Though I think the voice acting is bad on purpose. I hope.
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
Face me now, Bitch!
Its gotten pretty good fan reception so far.
Watch Symphogear
I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying it, considering I'd basically stopped caring about it a couple years back, and still have a backlog of uncompleted Yakuza games.
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
Yakuza is definitely a branch off from the ideas presented by Shenmue, but only Shenmue is Shenmue. It sounds cheesey, but Shenmue is special.
Well the reviews are in, and it’s Shenmue. Which means if you’re expecting a Yakuza style romp beating people up in fun and creative ways, prepare to be disappointed. If you want Shenmue, with all its faults and foibles, you’re home.
IHE
Damn, I knew an indie game budget for Shenmue wasn't going to live up to that kind of hype.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
If the game had released in 2016 or so, or pretty much any time before the US release of Yakuza 0, it probably would have gone over a lot better. The reviews agree that the game is unapologetically Shenmue. It operates at Shenmue’s famous lax pace, it offers precious little combat, and the story doesn’t even properly end.
The final boss fight is unwinnable, as Lan Di escapes yet again.
Some people genuinely enjoy that. They like the relaxed pace, the immersion, the hammy as all hell voice acting. But you have to be ready for all that, because the game isn’t updating those aesthetics for anyone, and that includes an audience used to sandboxes like Red Dead 2 and Yakuza.
Honestly, I'm just kind of disgusted that they refused to conclude the story. What a slap in the face to people who've been waiting nearly 20 years for that.
As a long standing fan of Shenmue, I'd rather they keep the dream alive than just end it all less than halfway into the story.
This series was always planned to stretch on for 16 chapters. Even if that has to be scaled back some, ending it on the 3rd one would be even bigger "slap in the face."
Edited by Hashil on Nov 23rd 2019 at 3:31:37 AM
Not necessarily... It's implied there is more where Lan Di came from, so it would be perfectly valid to say wrap his knot and leave that seemingly loose end for the follow-up, so that if Shenmue 4 never happens it's still satisfactory. No offense, but Yu Suzuki's dream ain't probably finishing, so ending this anticipated third entry with the most blatant cliffhanger in the series is kinda eh.
Edited by UltraWanker on Nov 24th 2019 at 4:46:54 AM
I just can't agree. Beating Lan Di at this point would have been a huge let-down.
I get it,but I don't see the fun in the Lan Di goose chase after two times instead of digging into the main mystery with his father's past further.
The numerous flaws in Shenmue are considered by its fans to be a feature, not a bug. But I’m sorry, it’s a historical capsule rather than a full on game.
As a long-standing Shenmue fan? I feel pretty slapped in the face. I've spent well over a decade wanting this, we finally get a chance to conclude the story, and what do we get? "lol, maybe you'll get to finish it if we bottle lightning three more times.
I don't know have any of you read any interviews with Yu Suzuki, but as far as I can remember reading them, the third game was never supposed to be the last one.
Personally, I think if you get a hail mary to continue your series after 18 years, paid for by your fans with absolutely zero indication there will be more than this, giving them some closure should be on your mind. This feels more like ego than anything on Suzuki's part.
The Head of the Hydra
Just saying I find the idea of like 16 grand installments to tell the story kinda ridiculous.
It sounds pretty but actually implementing it while having to deal with the whole host of real life factors makes it an Awesome but Impractical concept.
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
"zero indication" I think I've read several interviews, where Yu Suzuki says the series won't end with the third game. With that mindset the series should have ended with II.
It was a small miracle that III got made, and that was through several years of crowdfunding. Now that’s great for hardcore fans, but the more successful Kickstarter games like Bloodstained and Shovel Knight that can be the basis for new series’ had to sell units to the casual gaming market.
Shenmue III’s very particular brand of gameplay, presentation, and non-ending is going to be a tough sell to the average gamer, regardless of the other games on the market. So unless they want to crowdfund again for the basic seed money, I’m not sure if Deep Silver will want to make another Shenmue.
Edited by Beatman1 on Nov 24th 2019 at 4:40:24 AM
What Suzuki wants and what's practical/feasible are two very different things. There is no indication there will ever, ever be a Shenmue 4.
Plenty of stuff I love has been cut short and canceled in the past. Loads of it. Some has been fortunate enough to come back and wrap up. When that happens, sometimes you need to truncate your plans a bit.
It's a matter of opinion whether or not the series should have ended with the third installment but you can't really call not doing it a betrayal, since Suzuki has been pretty open about his intentions since the beginning of the Kickstarter campaign.
Edited by harkko on Nov 25th 2019 at 11:42:08 AM
Keep in mind, no one ever said that the Shenmue series was going to be 16 games. It was intended to be 16 chapters, but that doesn't necessarily equate 16 games. Shenmue was Chapter 1, but Shenmue II was chapters 3 and 4 (the second chapter took place on the boat between games).
More recent
interviews indicate that it's 11 chapters.
Personally, I'm okay with not defeating Lan Di in this game since honestly, it feels like the right amount of build up. 1 has you meet Lan Di and start the quest. 2 had you glimpse, but not fight him. If 3 has you fight him, it feels like the right amount of progression to not beat him until 4.
Edited by Larkmarn on Nov 25th 2019 at 2:53:36 PM
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
I don't have a PS 4 or XB 1 anymore. And I remember reading less than favorable reviews of the PC ports.
I dunno, maybe I'll get around to it one of these days.