Shenmue III Reviews
So what does all this mean for Shenmue? Well, I think fans are going to enjoy this one, but I don’t think this is going to introduce a new generation of gamers to the series.
It seems like almost bankrupting Sega didn’t teach anything to Yu Suzuki and Shenmue III is the product of that unwillingness to change, a truly awful video game by any standard. Some Shenmue die-hards will call this a masterpiece or say that this is what Shenmue is supposed to be but that simply doesn’t change the fact this game fails in almost all departments and doesn’t even advance the story of the series.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Shenmue III is alright, it’s the next step in the story and it stumbles along the way with some odd pacing amongst poor visual issues.
Shenmue 3 is an acquired taste, very acquired, but it’s everything I ever wanted it to be. As a Shenmue sequel it’s fan-pleasing perfection. As an actual game it leaves some things to be desired: combat is clunky , facial animations are unpleasing and there are numerous translation oddities. However, at the end of the day, it’s a game I’ve awaited for years and I’m far from disappointed.
Shenmue III takes a certain state of mind because it’s unmistakably what Shenmue used to be, and not how it’s supposed to be now. I hope that there will be Shenmue IV to give closure to the story and like this, it will stay true to what it is.
Shenmue III is the Benjamin Button of video games, except it won’t get any younger as the time goes by. Offers some interesting quirks, but overall it was release 20 years too late.
Shenmue III isn’t for everyone, but anyone who was waiting for it will be amazed at how perfectly it captures the gameplay, atmosphere, and world of Shenmue so many years later.
So, here we answer my questions from the start of this review… Shenmue 3 couldn’t possibly have lived up to the hype and expectation surrounding it. This doesn’t mean the game is bad, it’s just people wanting perfection. It’s very much a game as I thought it would be, something given to the fans by a developer who clearly wants this story told as much as the fans want to be a part of it. This was clearly based on the speed at which the Kickstarter fund reached $1 million. Anyone thinking of starting out with Shenmue 3 because perhaps they aren’t old enough to have played the originals, go back and get the HD remaster, DO NOT start the story here. I promise you will not enjoy the game if you do. Shenmue 3 is a game out of times, it feels like a game created 15 years ago and locked up inside a time capsule until today. But as someone who has spent the best part of 30 years enjoying games, I say welcome back old friend! I give Shenmue 3 a Thumb Culture Silver Award as there is no doubt this game is going to be loved by the fans, but is most definitely not a game for everyone.
Fans of the previous games will love the third instalment, and those who disliked the previous two games will not find anything here to change their minds.
Shenmue III isn't at all the perfect video game that everyone would love. On the contrary, Yu Suzuki's dream project is focused purely on pleasing the old fans of the series that aged along with the first two games and offers exactly what the third part of the saga would, if it came out 15 years ago. If viewed through that lens, Shenmue III is nothing but a success.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Fans of the series are going to find everything they love here – a game that refuses to be anything else apart from itself, even if that is rooted in the past.
Shenmue III ironically becomes a breath of fresh air by remaining rigidly focused on what it used to be.
Shenmue III is a real treat for fans and the best entry in the series so far. Improvements push the series in the right direction but it's not very friendly for newcomers. However, the overall game is an engaging experience from start to finish. It delivers what was promised by YS NET as the next chapter of the series.
Shenmue III is exactly what I would have expected to see fifteen years ago, only with much prettier graphics. Newcomers to the series may find the controls, mechanics, and dreadful QTE segments a little frustrating and not at all what you’d expect from this type of game in 2019, but those who have played and loved the originals will feel right at home. I feel the developers have delivered everything they promised within the Kickstarter campaign, offering a new and exciting chapter into the life of Ryo in the search for the man who killed his father. If you go into the game knowing that it’s much slower than titles such as Yakuza, then you’re going to enjoy it a lot more – I honestly had fun despite the abundance of QTE and fund-raising moments.
Similar to how Ryo is eternally stuck in 1987, Shenmue III is trapped in 2001, when having an open world with many NPCs was more important than filling that world with anything interesting. The game tells a high-stakes plot at a snail’s pace, with terrible writing and acting. The clever combat system of the previous games has devolved into a button-mashing mess. The title does have moments of brightness: the actual story beats are great, the setting is fascinating, and it features the best forklift simulation on the market. However, with such incredibly dated gameplay, only the most ardent fans will enjoy Shenmue III. Even then, it is easily the weakest link in the franchise.
Shenmue III is full of personality with an enticing world that might just have you full head-over-heels as I did, 18 long years ago
Shenmue III is a lifelong dream come true for fans of the franchise, but anyone else may get turned off by its authentic late-90's game design.
Shenmue 3 is a very special and complex game. It could easily be someone's favorite game as well as a completely indifferent mediocrity to someone else.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Do not look at the score, if you wonder if you will enjoy Shenmue III, ask yourself if you liked the previous two, ask yourself if you would have enjoyed the third installment if it had been on Dreamcast in its day or today but as a neoretro game running on the latest SEGA console with all the style, freedom and limitations of the two previous installments. Along the way, a somewhat irregular technical wash and some cutbacks as a result of the budget, but which do not tarnish the final result, although it leaves us with the thorn of not having had a totally round result.
Review in Spanish | Read full review