Shenmue III Reviews
All the ingredients are there to make of Shenmue III is a great Shenmue game : rivetting story, copius side content, beautiful backgrounds and great characters. But it's also a bit dragged down by its dated production values. Gamers who the first two Shenmue games and who can overlook technical shortcomings will have a great time. Bring on Shenmue IV!
Review in French | Read full review
Shenmue III has finally arrived, and it is exactly what fans of the series have been asking for.
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
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 have delivered what the fans wanted, from it's highly detailed world to its various mini games. However, it's still suffers from its tedious fighting system and bad voice acting, even with a small budget, things could have been better.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Previous Shenmue games were bringing innovations, but Shenmue 3 relies on nostalgia. It's not better or worse than the first ones, it's basically the same but prettier. In a way, that's enough.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Shenmue 3 might not be a right choice for modern day gamers, but for die hard Shenmue fans who have waited for it for almost two decades, it's a must have.
Review in Persian | Read full review
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.
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 ironically becomes a breath of fresh air by remaining rigidly focused on what it used to be.
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 III often feels antiquated but its charming presentation and nostalgic feeling will keep fans engaged, but let’s hope it won’t take nearly two decades until Ryo’s journey continues.
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.
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.
To put it politely, Shenmue III has the potential to charm existing fans of the Shenmue saga, if only in how much it painstakingly recreates the stilted beauty of its two predecessors. However, if judged on its merits alone and/or by a non-Shenmue fan, this game just feels like a whole bunch of wasted Kickstarter money. If there's one thing that Shenmue III proves, it's that bringing new fans into the fold was never Ys Net's goal.
But sentimental value only goes so far. Shenmue III should have been the final game in this trilogy, all loose ends tied up and (re)vengeance served. Instead, Suzuki-sama hopes to continue Ryo's story and with little improvement made over the past two decades and I fear that a fourth game will stick to this same stagnant formula. Disappointed as I am with this news, my real hope is that he can pull off a fourth and final game sooner than later. Because as much as I love this series, I'd be lying if I didn't admit to feeling let down with this revival and worry about ever seeing the end of this tale.
Shenmue III is a game for the fans … and only for the fans. It feels like what would have happened if the Shenmue series had continued on the Dreamcast. This is delightful if you were hoping for a continuation of the franchise, but unfortunately, the appeal stops there for most casual players. If you're a fan of playing old, quirky games, you'll find something to like here, but if you can't tell Shenmue from Shamu, you probably won't understand the hype. It's nice to revisit a long-dead franchise, but if Shenmue IV gets made, one can only hope that it's slightly more ambitious.
Shenmue III could be a much better game if it wasn't for technical issues or gameplay's lack of depth in some part of the game, but in the end, i can say Shenmue III is still an enjoyable experience for fans of series wainting many years to dive again into a "Shenmue" game. Bring lower your expectation and enjoy a beautiful story and fun activities.
Review in Persian | Read full review
New Shenmue is almost same as previous games. But nostalgic reminiscing has some flaws.
Review in Slovak | Read full review