Shenmue III

[darcagn]

I backed the Kickstarter on day 1 (getting the PC physical version because at the time PS4 physical version was not planned and I didn't own a PS4 then either).

And to be honest, I'm pretty bitter about how it's been handled.

I was first turned off by Suzuki making videos begging fans to donate to the Kickstarter because it wouldn't be possible without grassroots support. Then days after the Kickstarter is finished reveal Sony has been in for a couple million. At that point I figured I'd already backed it and I'll just wait and see how the final product comes out before I reserve judgment. So I kinda stopped paying attention to the game's progress

But this stuff with changing from Steam to Epic Games store and shipping a physical copy that is literally just a code in a box and a disc with the Epic Games installer on it and no game content has gotten me pissed off.

They have offered compromises but none are perfect scenarios for me:
1. Switch to PS4 version. I like this option because it would be the only physical version that makes sense to own, but at the same time I'd much, much rather play on PC and I already have Shenmue 1+2 for PC and not for PS4
2. Keep the PC version even though the physical copy is literally garbage, pirate the game so I can run it with Epic Games store stripped out, and they promise to give away a free Steam key for Shenmue III in a year when exclusivity is run out
3. Take the refund option, Epic has agreed to eat the costs of refunding everyone who wants a Kickstarter refund



Kinda leaning towards taking the refund and pirating it on day 1 and then just buying the Steam version when it comes out a year later

 

[PopetherevXXVIII]

Mighty no Shenmue?
Or Muestained?

Sadly I'm thinking the former and not the latter.

 

[Arcadia]

Microsoft seems to have some spending money to buy developers. It's unlikely, but imagine the shitstorm if MS buys Xbox console exclusivity.

 

[24Nathan]

I backed the Kickstarter on day 1 (getting the PC physical version because at the time PS4 physical version was not planned and I didn't own a PS4 then either).

And to be honest, I'm pretty bitter about how it's been handled.

I was first turned off by Suzuki making videos begging fans to donate to the Kickstarter because it wouldn't be possible without grassroots support. Then days after the Kickstarter is finished reveal Sony has been in for a couple million. At that point I figured I'd already backed it and I'll just wait and see how the final product comes out before I reserve judgment. So I kinda stopped paying attention to the game's progress

Sony's involvement was literally stated by Sony right after the announcement:


There were even countless statements made that this was not the case. Yes, there was support from Sony, but clearly is was not much, otherwise we wouldn't have needed Shibuya and Deep Silver. It was stated on a recent stream with Yu Suzuki that the budget was around $12 million...take out half of that from KS, and between Deep Silver (largest contributor), Shibuya, and Sony, we have $6 million to split. Now, we don't know if that includes marketing, distribution, etc. but I think the figure was specifically for development.

Now, the whole Epic deal thing...people make WAY too big of a deal out of game launchers in my opinion, especially those that always said they'd take an Atari 2600 version of Shenmue III. I do understand a little bit of the frustration, though, but this has everything to do with Deep Silver and nothing to do with Ys Net. I would bet that Yu was not quite thrilled at the negative reaction after that bit of news was dropped.

After Yakuza I can't go back to Shenmue. Even if Judgement wasn't as good as others there's still something that series has that Shenmue didn't. Likeable characters.

I find it hard to connect with Ryo, but Kiryu, Majima, Akiyama, Saejima, and countless side characters have this charm and personality Shenmue,'s cast seems to lack.

Never heard many people say this...have you played both games? Having played Yakuza 0 - 6 as well as Shenmue I - III, there are many characters in both franchises that I really liked.

 

[PopetherevXXVIII]

Never heard many people say this...have you played both games? Having played Yakuza 0 - 6 as well as Shenmue I - III, there are many characters in both franchises that I really liked.

I have played both I don't like the whole cycle of revenge, Lan Di killed Ryo's Father out of Revenge, so no Ryo is going out for Revenge. Unless it gets Oldboy levels of Dark....I'm not feeling it. Seeing as Shenmue III's ending is almost self parody I'm not thinking it will get dark, like at all.

I respect Shenmue, I have fond memories of playing both, I still remember the weekend I powered through Shenmue 2. But I got sick of waiting and just found more charm and personality in the Yakuza games.

 

[24Nathan]

Fair enough. There's much more to the story than just revenge, though. A lot more.

What do you mean about III's ending being a parody of itself?

 

[PopetherevXXVIII]

Fair enough. There's much more to the story than just revenge, though. A lot more.

What do you mean about III's ending being a parody of itself?

Spoiler

Shenhua: He will fufill his destiny (or something)

Ren: I will get the treasure

Ryo: I will get Lan Di

[\spoiler]

 

[la-li-lu-le-lo]

Spoiler

Shenhua: He will fufill his destiny (or something)

Ren: I will get the treasure

Ryo: I will get Lan Di

Spoiler

I do think the ending seemed a little anticlimactic, compared to everything that happened before that.

I still think it's a really good game overall, though. It has its flaws, but I think it's one of the best games to come out in quite a while. It was pretty much exactly what I hoped it would be. I'm really glad that this was finally made, and I hope Shenmue IV is eventually released too.

 

[Leynos]

At first I was happy to play a new Shenmue but that stamina always going down just kinda killed the game for me. I'm sure I will go back to it eventually. That mechanic is just awful. It was not needed.

 

[la-li-lu-le-lo]

I'll add a spoiler to this, even though it's not really necessary:

Spoiler

I kind of agree with what you're saying. I think the entire concept of having to eat food to regain your HP, which the first 2 games didn't have, seemed pointless and didn't really add anything to the game. A bigger problem I had with the game's systems, though, is the fact that it basically requires you to collect skill books in order to progress through the game - which is another thing its predecessors didn't have. I didn't mind having to build up skills through sparring and training, but what I found annoying was the fact that the game won't let you raise your attack and kung fu by sparring after a certain point if you don't have any new skill books. I think it would've been much better if it were the same, but buying skill books was optional - and you could still continue sparring even if you didn't have new skill books. I found the process of having to make money to buy skill books over and over to be rather frustrating. It also seems like you're required to make way more money compared to Shenmue II.

Still, even with all of that in mind, it didn't ruin the experience for me, and I still really enjoyed it. It would be nice if future iterations (if there are any) would improve in the ways I suggested.

 

[NeoSnk]

The first DLC is coming next week I'm very happy to see new Shenmue content coming so soon <3

Shenmue 3 first DLC 'Battle Rally' is launching next week

Step into the sneakers of Ryo, Wuying Ren, or Wei Zhen

www.gamesradar.com

 

[kabojnk]

DLC is just recurrent monetization now-a-days. Hopefully it is good.

 

[la-li-lu-le-lo]

Somehow I didn't realize there was DLC for this game. Apparently, on the Epic Games store at least, you can get the "complete" DLC collection for $10, which doesn't seem too bad compared to what a lot of games' DLC cost. I might actually get it.

 

[NeoSnk]

New update available today. Now we can skip the dialogs like the first two games.

 

[24Nathan]

Battle Rally seems fun.

 

[Yakumo]

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View attachment 5268

New update available today. Now we can skip the dialogs like the first two games.

Too late. Most people who would care about these fixes have already completed the game. The game isn't good enough to play through again unless they reduce 50% of the time wasting crap . Yes, that will make the game shorter but also a lot more fun.

 

[24Nathan]

Hm, I really enjoyed the game, and am currently enjoying a second playthrough to get all of the trophies. I understand what you mean, it's not for everyone, but neither were the first two. a

 

[NeoSnk]

I'm not sure, but I feel they have improved that too! BTW the DLC is fun.