Received this today!
Yeah I recieved that about a week ago, and I love it!
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Shenmue III |OT| Our Destiny Since Ancient Times
- Thread starter IrishNinja
- Start date
Yeah I recieved that about a week ago, and I love it!
got my illust. a few days ago too. Still unopened though. Is the illustrator still with them?
I finished it yesterday... And I am so disappointed.
I did expect that the game would not meet up whatever expectations I had, but it failed in places I didn't expect it to.
Graphics and gameplay was were I expected things to fall apart but it was actually pretty solid all things considered, but it's the script, events and pacing where S3 utterly failed IMO.
Going from the organic developments of S2, where every encounter is meaningful, to S3 with its very video-gamey pacing (go there, fetch this, go back, fetch that, a third time the charm...) and stilled non-characters broke my heart.
I don't hate the game and hope S4 somehow gets made, but this has not been a good experience.
Also, I hope Suzuki can compromise and somehow find a way to reach a conclusion to the saga with IV - this game pacing was glacial and V is never ever getting made.
I did expect that the game would not meet up whatever expectations I had, but it failed in places I didn't expect it to.
Graphics and gameplay was were I expected things to fall apart but it was actually pretty solid all things considered, but it's the script, events and pacing where S3 utterly failed IMO.
Going from the organic developments of S2, where every encounter is meaningful, to S3 with its very video-gamey pacing (go there, fetch this, go back, fetch that, a third time the charm...) and stilled non-characters broke my heart.
Not only once, but twice did we get the same, terrible structure of "look for thugs > shut them out > get destroyed by boss > learn new technique ! > get rid of boss".
I couldn't stop thinking about the structures of S1 and 2 where Ryo's growth as a person and fighter was something much more natural, with the Dou Niu fight ending being the culmination of it all.
I couldn't stop thinking about the structures of S1 and 2 where Ryo's growth as a person and fighter was something much more natural, with the Dou Niu fight ending being the culmination of it all.
I don't hate the game and hope S4 somehow gets made, but this has not been a good experience.
Also, I hope Suzuki can compromise and somehow find a way to reach a conclusion to the saga with IV - this game pacing was glacial and V is never ever getting made.
It's a shame you didn't get to play it with the story DLC that came out a couple weeks back, the experience probably would have decreased your complaint a bit. That DLC takes place during the Niaowu half of the game and the additional variety that it adds to the gameplay & storyline signifcantly helps solve the problem where the game loop repeats itself for the second half. I enjoyed the 2nd half of the game much more with the DLC added. It's optional and you could ignore it, but the extra Chawan sign stuff, investigation & fighting is a nice break from the otherwise repetitive main story.
I wonder if they will actually add new minigames to this DLC. I would love if Darts were to come back.
Just got an email about my PC physical copy finally shipping (I've honestly forgotten about it already). What's included with this again? Does it come with another EGS key or something?
Nah, just the case, slipcover, and disc including the EGS installer. Basically it's a collector's item. I suppose it could have another EGS key inside, but that seems unlikely for a non-store release.
I just saw this video from the other thread, I figured it had to be posted here.
It does a great job of capturing the utter absurdity of the game/series. The video is hilarious and frustrating because if this is how other people are seeing the game then it's embarrassing for Suzuki.
It does a great job of capturing the utter absurdity of the game/series. The video is hilarious and frustrating because if this is how other people are seeing the game then it's embarrassing for Suzuki.
I'll be honest, that vid cracked me up. Especially some of Dunkey's responses to that dialogue, and seriously... that English VA is still really bad (especially for any elderly character, oh and the less said about Lan Di's new voice the better, wtf happened there...)
Fucking madness. We are never getting Shenmue V, the ego must be completely unchecked to think otherwise.
" Shenmue 3's ending was a bit different vs how it was written originally " Yeah what a surprise. Maybe it was coherently written originally. Though that asks the question on just how it was rewritten into... that.
I'm doubting IV will ever happen. III didn't sell and most good will managed to be wasted away by the kickstarter, PC issues and then story quality. I'd still buy it because I love the Shenmue setting but I doubt that grand vision of a plot will ever be realised. Makes me glad Yakuza just wraps plot up at the end of each game, much more satisfying...
Exactly. The story is an absolute mess, I'm not sure how much different the ending could have been unless they drastically changed huge elements of the story. If they actually removed story elements then Shenmue IV does not deserve to be made. Yu was given a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring a long-dead series back to life and he squandered it, to me it's that simple. He needed a home run and instead he got walked to first base. In this analogy getting a single would have been a failure, but at least he got a hit on his own accord, instead he got walked to first which basically means he released a game...that's it. To think that you're getting two more games is both delusional and unfair to the fans.
There's hardly any story up 'til the ending, so a great ending would've still been a disappointment given what occurs throughout the rest of the game. Not sure how to make "fight no-name muscle guys four times and buy a bottle of alcohol/buy a move scroll" exciting. The game is so skeletal. When I finished Shenmue 2 in 2002 (whatever year it was), I certainly envisioned a MUCH more exciting Shenmue 3 in my head and I am sure the original Shenmue 3 plan was much more robust than what we received. The Cedric stuff sort of makes it sound like they were aware they needed to needlessly pad the game due to budgetary constraints.
Just seems nuts to pad the game out instead of make a smaller experience. Its in general why I can't stand the "game world X times the size of the last one" because it rarely means more quality or gameplay in that game world. Just a bigger, empty landmass. Now granted one thing I loved about Shenmue 3 was how varied its locations were to explore, and how beautiful they were, but I feel the lack of story didn't do them justice.
Plus I cant help but wonder how much of what was included in the final game would have been in a Shenmue 3 back in the day.
Also, I just knew that original rumor about 3 back in the day was fake, re-reading it now makes me wonder how I was ever stupid enough to believe it!
Plus I cant help but wonder how much of what was included in the final game would have been in a Shenmue 3 back in the day.
Also, I just knew that original rumor about 3 back in the day was fake, re-reading it now makes me wonder how I was ever stupid enough to believe it!
Well I hope Shenmue IV and Shenmue V happen. I personally think Shenmue IV would be a vast improvement over Shenmue III. I would love if Sega would just stop being stubborn and publish their own franchise themselves, but if that cant happen no big deal.
The development of Shenmue 3 and what I've read just makes this statement from Nagoshi seem very true and very honest:
I suspect he had a plan for Shenmue 3 during the Dreamcast/Xbox days, but decided to throw it all out once he got a second bite of the apple in 2015. The money kept pouring in and the plan kept changing. Eventually, you've got a bunch of ideas, limited money, limited time, a brand new team: you're re-designing characters, adding in a bunch of unplanned fan service, trying to add a lot of variety via mini games, all while not being too familiar with the current video game landscape... Now you have Shenmue 3.
I suspect he had a plan for Shenmue 3 during the Dreamcast/Xbox days, but decided to throw it all out once he got a second bite of the apple in 2015. The money kept pouring in and the plan kept changing. Eventually, you've got a bunch of ideas, limited money, limited time, a brand new team: you're re-designing characters, adding in a bunch of unplanned fan service, trying to add a lot of variety via mini games, all while not being too familiar with the current video game landscape... Now you have Shenmue 3.
I doubt 5 is going to happen. I think 3 burned a lot of the passion, sadly. We might get 4 but that will be it.
Depends on how good 4 is, really. I have faith they can turn this ship around now that they've put a team together and released a game. I imagine fan service will be much less of a priority next time.
Here's hoping but not just the story that's at fault but the also platform choice switcheroo and how long between each game it's been had also impacted on it (some fans just moved on). We aren't getting any younger and there's so many games nowadays. It's hard to convince newcomers to the series to try the games when it's such a divisive series in the first place.
No, there is no chance at a fifth game, zero.
Let's face it, there isn't anything on Yu's resume that should give us confidence that he is capable of overseeing a modern game that is a critical, commercial, and fanbase mega hit. And at this point only a mega hit can justify Shenmue V. But here's the thing, in order for Shenmue IV to even have a chance at being amazing it has to end the series. I don't think the series can survive another cliff hanger. It's been 20 years, it's time to end the adventure. There's no shame in getting four games out of one series, normally you would kill for something like that. I don't see the point of trying to limp along to a fifth game when both three and four are likely to be underwhelming as a result. It isn't as though Ys Net is coming off of a universally praised Shenmue 3 and just need more funding to complete their master work. Instead, they're coming off of a game that is, at best, divisive, and widely recognized as the weakest in the franchise. And the thing is, the game doesn't suffer so much because of its budget, it suffers because it has a muddled vision. It could have succeeded with the small budget, it just would have needed to be a tightly crafted game under a focused vision. We didn't get that.
I have no faith that they can turn this ship around in order to justify Shenmue 5. Nothing in Shenmue 3 justifies that kind of hope. Not "well they were learning the program", or "they can save money by re-utilizing assets" , or "Maybe Sega will get involved and give them a real budget." Just limp the game across the finish line, it's time for Shenmue to die.
Shenmue V has more of a chance happening than Shenmue III ever did to be fair. Also this game absolutely was limited by its budget that was a fraction of Shenmue I & II. This game didnt have the luxury of being created on a near unlimited budget for Sega Saturn AND Sega Dreamcast.
This is a small indie studio with the license to use Shenmue. I am not saying Shenmue IV & V are a done deal, but they are definitely likely than the previous scenario we had with Shenmue III.
My point is that Shenmue 3's shortcomings are not due to its small budget, but instead are due to a muddled vision. Of course the limited budget affected development, but there was still enough budget to get us a better game if it had been properly managed.
And I say that Shenmue 5 is less likely than 3 because at least there was rabid fan support for 3. As of right now, a fifth game does not have the same allure as Shenmue 3 dud. However, a fourth game is far more likely than Shenmue 3 ever was.
My point is after Shenmue II around in 2001, there was this rabid demand for Shenmue III, but all that demand it took 14 years for a Kickstarter announcement. During that time the whole reason why Shenmue III seemed impossible was due to Sega not being interested in the Shenmue series, and the original creator no longer working there.
Now after a few months after Shenmue III's release we have a team with the original creator that are willing and able to make a sequel, provided they secure another publishing deal. Its definitely way more likely now to me, because of that.
Regardless, I think it's pretty crazy for them to be contemplating two more games at minimum. Unless they can secure funding for both at the same time, it's too much of a risk.
So, very late to the party on this....but how do I claim my STEAM key version of this game? I backed it on Kickstarter way back when it was first announced, but never ended up claiming the game. I can't figure how to claim it.
It's exclusive to the Epic Game Store for a year I believe.
The survey to opt-in for a Steam key ran from September 20th to October 3rd of last year. The emails that went out explicitly stated that "Changes to rewards will not be available after the above date" so if you weren't paying attention to your email you may have screwed yourself. I don't know what options are available for people who ignored the messages telling them to claim their rewards. Check your backer portal page and see what options it offers, or contact Fangamer?
Either way, the reply in the post above still applies - EGS paid for 1 year exclusivity and the Steam keys were not guaranteed, you were just opting in to get one in addition to an EGS key at no extra cost if they do release on Steam and they're allowed to give out the keys. That can't happen until at least late November at the earliest.
I don't even see anything to claim a reward period. Guess I'll email them and see if I can still get on that Steam key list. Sure will be the last time I back anything on Kickstarter, though.
The Kickstarter really turned into a mess. It's the only thing I've ever funded on kickstarter, so I don't know if it's representative or not of other kickstarter campaigns. Ys Net seemed totally unprepared to meet the commitments they promised from Kickstarter, and it was the first signal that they weren't ready to go. The Kickstarter should be remembered for a lot of things, and one of those is burning a lot of bridges. Personally I think some of the blowback was unwarranted, but Ys Net didn't do themselves many favors either.
107 - Cédric Biscay
Listen to this episode from The SEGA Lounge on Spotify. Another returning guest joins KC this week, as he sits down with Cédric Biscay, president and CEO of Shibuya Productions, and discusses Shenmue III in a very candid interview with the co-producer of the game. Follow Cédric Biscay on...
open.spotify.com
Over an hour with Cedric. Pretty good interview. They get into EGS, 'haters,' negative feedback, etc.
50% off in the Epic Store now (£22.49 in the UK). If you have the $10/£10 voucher from the winter sale then that's a decent price (£12.49).
I'm an hour or so into the game on PS4.
Seems like if you press the PS button the game doesn't suspend or pause.
I was having a conversation with Shenhua about Dobuita, suspend the game as I have to do something. Come back and Ryo is off to bed. Hope I didn't miss much.
Seems like if you press the PS button the game doesn't suspend or pause.
I was having a conversation with Shenhua about Dobuita, suspend the game as I have to do something. Come back and Ryo is off to bed. Hope I didn't miss much.
The conversations with her are 90% filler. If it was anything important it'll be in your journal.
I would say while a lot of the conversations aren't integral to the main plot, there's plenty of interesting characterization and character moments you learn about both Shenhua and Ryo that you can only learn if you engage nightly with these conversations.
Next time if you need to pause the game, hit R1 and things should pause in the inventory screen.
Agreed, for example it shows that Ryo is a human with a personality, not a robot seeking revenge! But seriously, you get some great slices of insight into Ryo's past and his personality, I loved those bits.
There are legitimately some nice moments. But I'll never, EVER, understand what they were going for with that Face-Off game.
It's just a cute game you can play with her...nothing more. I personally loved the discussions you can have with Shenhua.
It was a cute idea, but the animations were nightmare fuel.
In general though I agree that Shenhua was the high point of the game.
On PS4 Pro at least, this game has the most horrendous draw in I've seen in a long time.
Almost game breaking in that you'll run down an alley looking for someone to talk to, see no one there and leave.
It takes 10-20 seconds at times to draw NPCs in. Other times you saw full on shops and stalls take 10 seconds to pop in.
I know Unreal Engine isn't great in this regard but the engine can't be entirely to blame?
This is almost unplayable in Niaowu.
Almost game breaking in that you'll run down an alley looking for someone to talk to, see no one there and leave.
It takes 10-20 seconds at times to draw NPCs in. Other times you saw full on shops and stalls take 10 seconds to pop in.
I know Unreal Engine isn't great in this regard but the engine can't be entirely to blame?
This is almost unplayable in Niaowu.
Shenmue 3 Full Soundtrack - The Music of Niaowu
***Track Listings***Niaowu Arrival - 00:27Disembarking Boat - 05:24Niaowu Port - 07:37Skewers / Aromatic Tea - 09:49Hotel Check In - 11:39Hotel Niaowu (night...
m.youtube.com
There's more original music than I originally thought during my initial playthrough.
You linked directly to a song from Shenmue 2, whether that accidentally or not.
All audio files in the game are documented here:
Music Tracks (SM3) - Wulinshu
I just finished the game and oh my god that was a disappointment. I think the game was charming in Bailu but Niawou drags so long and the final stretch just lacks of impact. And the music was underwhelming.
I'm a hardcore Shenmue fan but I'll wait for reviews for Shenmue 4 if it happens in any point in the future
I'm a hardcore Shenmue fan but I'll wait for reviews for Shenmue 4 if it happens in any point in the future
Personally, I'll wait for word of mouth because I don't know if reviews can really capture the game. I'm not saying that the reviewers are bad at their job or intentionally misleading, but I think Shenmue is a difficult game to review and rate.
I hope that Shenmue 4 doesn't go through Kickstarter, because I don't know if I have confidence enough to back it. If Shenmue 4 doesn't end the series, then there is no way I'll back it on Kickstarter.
Also, I was rearranging my game library the other day and I just realized something, the Shenmue 3 slip cover doesn't have a god damn label on the spine. How fucking stupid is that?