Shenmue III Reviews
Shenmue III is a weird experiment that makes you feel like playing a Dreamcast game now a days. Yu Suzuki created an interesting game just for his fans.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Shenmue IIII pushes its epic story forward while holding firmly onto dated concepts, game design, and narrative presentation, but it will likely please die-hard fans of the series. Everyone else, meanwhile, might wonder what all the fuss is about.
In a lot of ways, this review could probably go on for a lot longer highlighting how dated and lifeless this game is, but the fact of the matter is it is meant to appeal to fans. It’s hard to comment on how they’ll feel, but this is objectively a bad game and while it has elements of being so bad it’s good, such as the emotionless voice acting, making it hard to see the value in.
Will you like Shenmue III? I can't say. This is likely the last new game I'll play before the year ends, and it's a sure win for my Game of the Year. Shenmue III spoke to me on a level few games have. I thought about giving it a 10/10, even began gearing myself up to argue that with my editor. But Shenmue isn't perfect. It defies real perfection, because life is imperfect. Shenmue III is knobby and requires tremendous, repetitive effort before it gives up the special, unique warmth.
Shenmue III is a faithful recreation of a Shenmue game. However, it's not necessarily something I think anybody should play unless you're desperate to uncover the next chapter in the saga of Ryo Hazuki.
I think Shenmue 3 is the best in the series so far, its big and long but not overwhelming or pretentious.
Beautiful to look at and live in, particularly in its second half, its charm and story mostly overcome its dated roots, except for the capsule game mechanism which spoils the overall experience.
Shenmue III deserved something better. The developers should have found a way to meld what makes Shenmue distinctly Shenmue with bringing the game mechanics into 2019. I’m all for remasters of old games and keeping those same clunky mechanics with those old games, including the punishing difficulty. However, I want my sequels to old games to adapt and grow with the times.
Shenmue fans couldn't have hoped for a sequel more compatible with the previous entries. They will immediately feel right at home.
Shenmue III is a fan-based classic JRPG that you may love deeply or alternatively makes you feel frustrated. Although most of its game mechanics are out-dated in 2019, I do find some joy in terms of getting along with those vivid characters and living in the vivid world. At least I hope Suzuki could finish the whole story of the franchise one day.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
"Shenmue III is a nostalgia trip done right and a great sequel for all the fans of the franchise, but, at the same time, just an average game for all the younger players who never got to play the first two episodes"
Review in Italian | Read full review
Some players may want to mainline Shenmue III in order to see all the story has it has to offer as quickly as possible.
Shenmue 3 doesn't tarnish the memory of the series, but it doesn't exactly move it forward either.
I'm disappointed with this game, it has perfectly kept the spirit of the original Shenmue but in doing so has not brought any of the new innovations of the industry. It hasn't advanced its own formula and has instead opted to create the game as I imagine it was first designed back in the early 2000s. If they make a Shenmue 4 I sincerely hope they take more risks and don't just make a carbon copy of what they've done before.
'A middle of the road game, out of fashion, and twenty years late. Nevertheless, Shenmue 3 will please players that enjoyed its prequels.'
Which players had to carry out as dutiful employees for several in-game days.
Shenmue III is the monkey-paw wish of videogames — it is exactly what fans have wanted, to the point where it feels like it belongs in a different era.
With this new entry, only 40 percent of the entire Shenmue story has been told according to the game’s creator. While Shenmue III doesn’t move the plot as far as I’d like, I’m hungry for more.
I’m glad that Shenmue 3 exists, and I hope the series continues so fans get the conclusion they deserve. It’s just a shame that it has rooted itself in the past.
It's the continuation of a story nearly 20 years in the making, with the beloved characters, mechanics, and design that made the original games so popular within that niche. Unfortunately, for everyone else, Shenmue III is archaic in design, limited in content, and flawed throughout.