As a fan of the original two games, I want to enthusiastically love Shenmue III. Like many others, I’ve waited close to 20 years for this title. Unfortunately, the same qualities that made its predecessors endearing — not to mention groundbreaking — don’t hold up well today. I won’t say Shenmue III is bad. It isn’t. The game’s adherence to its roots is admirable, but it often makes for a rough gaming experience.
Taking place directly after the events of Shenmue II, Shenmue III sees series protagonist Ryo Hazuki continuing the search for his father’s killer, Lan Di. He gets help from a girl named Shenhua, who’s own father has gone missing. As the story unfolds, Ryo and Shenhua learn more about the latter’s home, Bailu village, and its connection to the fabled Dragon and Phoenix mirrors Lan Di seeks.
You’ll spend your in-game days talking with villagers, honing your martial arts, and participating in random activities. Unlike the first two games, Shenmue III does a good job of letting you know what your current objective is. Since you’re not asking folks questions all day, you’re free to spend more time sparring, going to work, or losing all your money gambling. It doesn’t take long for you to develop an in-game daily routine.
Dialogue is clumsy at best and has next to no natural flow. Characters often repeat the same lines and sometimes seem to forget what the conversation was about. Having to press X (on PS4) after every sentence doesn’t make things any better. If that wasn’t bad enough, characters almost always have the same flat expression when speaking. Instead of doing so because it’s fun, you’ll only initiate conversations to move the story along.
Conversely, training is very enjoyable. Instead of finding secluded areas to repeatedly practice the same combos, you’ll instead practice against opponents and wooden dolls. Ryo has three core attributes to level up: Attack, Kung Fu, and Endurance. The last one is especially important since it correlates to health. You can make Ryo powerful relatively fast if you dedicate entire days to training. Considering the number of bad guys in his path, you’ll want to keep Ryo’s skills sharp.
I like training Ryo, but as with most aspects of Shenmue III, it’s rather cumbersome. You’ll need training scrolls to learn new moves from martial artists. Though you can train without having any scrolls, you won’t gain experience. There are many stores that sell scrolls so getting them isn’t the issue. The problem is you’ll need money to buy them, which means either getting a job, gambling, or selling caught fish. I think I’ve spent more time chopping wood for cash than anything else. There are moments in the story where you cannot progress unless you’re strong enough. Having to grind for money kills the momentum of an already slow game.
You can also get scrolls by completing different collectible sets and trading them at pawn shops. Sets include different types of plants, capsule toys, and more. Scouring the land to complete sets can be fun as it lets you take in the sights around you. What isn’t fun is buying countless capsule toys in hopes of snatching a rare one for your set. No matter what you do to get them, securing scrolls isn’t easy.
Speaking about the game world, I have to commend Shenmue III’s graphics. They’re not cutting edge by any means. Some would even say they look dated. I get that, but I love how vibrant and alive everything feels. Whether it’s the village of Bailu with its verdant fields and flowing rivers or the city of Niaowu, with its densely packed buildings and streets, the environments impress.
Though all the environments come to life beautifully, the same isn’t true for the characters. Ryo, Shenhua, and some of the other supporting characters look great. Most NPCs models are on point too. But as with the original titles, some characters are more akin to cartoon characters thanks to their overly-exaggerated facial features. It’s hard to take a guy who’s jaw is bigger than his entire head seriously. This was an issue with the original titles, but in Shenmue III, the wildly disparate character models are shocking, to say the least.
Shenmue III is a 2019 title but you could be forgiven for thinking it’s from 2001. It’s a true sequel, for better or worse. At the same time, the old-school stylistic choices are by design. Series creator Yu Suzuki stated that the game is for hardcore fans of the series. In that context, it’s a resounding success. It is everything the originals were, albeit with slight improvements. While I would have preferred a more modern experience, I can’t fault Suzuki for giving super faithful fans exactly what they wanted.
Few things qualify as “miracles” in the games industry, but I consider Shenmue III one of them. After all, few imagined this day would ever come. However, we cannot ignore how out of place this game feels in the modern gaming landscape. This makes it a tough title to recommend. Longtime fans have no doubt already bought their copies, but will younger audiences care for such an archaic game? I’m not so sure. For now, it’s probably best to celebrate the fact Shenmue III exists… and hope potential sequels introduce more modern gaming conventions.
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