The biggest dream of video game history (after Half-Life 3) is finally reality: Shenmue 3 continues after 18 years of unbearable waiting two of the most important open-world games ever. But can the old Dreamcast classic today compete against such greats as Red Dead Redemption 2 or Breath of the Wild? No, he can not – but he does not have to.
The story of Shenmue 3 is directly linked to the end of Shenmue 2 and thus takes place in 1987: Ryo Hazuki continues to search for his father's murderer Lan Di. He finally came across the young woman Shenhua, whom he had dreamed several times in the course of his adventure. Her father is still alive, but has disappeared without a trace and was probably abducted by the same Lan Di. With a common purpose in mind, Ryo and Shenhua go in search of the villain and begin their journey in a small Chinese village called Bailu.
I see…
After the first dialogues, everyone should suddenly realize that Shenmue 3 has not changed much compared to its predecessors and obviously does not want that at all. So do not expect sophisticated conversations or even original plot-twisting. Instead, it is dominated by flat phrases and emotionless facial expressions. It also does not matter if you listen to the Japanese or the English dubbing: Yu Suzuki and his men have made every effort to modernize the already 1999 disputed style of dialogue.
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The curious thing about it: The language is so striking that it unfolds its own charm. Of course, what is offered is far from any reality, but at the same time so incredibly cute and amusing to listen to, especially when Ryo and his interlocutors talk past each other completely haphazardly.
The development of history is basically irrelevant. You travel in the first half of the game through the said village Bailu and explores in the second a much more modern city called Naiowu. Most of the time you are busy asking the residents about the location of your next destination. Sooner or later you will meet Lan Dis henchmen who want to beat you up, of course. That's why you need to go to regular training masters to train your fighting skills. All of this is fully in the spirit of its predecessors and clearly sees itself as a gift for their fans.
A relic from the last millennium
Also playful Shenmue 3 remains largely true to its predecessors. The questioning of the residents is relatively straightforward and impresses even today with the variety of individual discussion partners. In Naiowu in particular, there are countless stalls and traders that not only provide you with tips. You can buy useful as well as nonsensical junk like ugly vases, tables or masks.
Everywhere attracts small attractions and mini-games, be it chopping wood, luck-hit boards or turtle races. You can earn money, brands, or special items that you can trade in part at a pawnbroker for new martial arts skills.
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The mechanics behind the mini-games are extremely simple and limited to simple reaction tests. The biggest hurdle here is anything but physically correct simulated gravity, for example, due to which, for example, falling balls like flummies jump through the area.
If it comes to a conflict with an unfriendly journeyman, then the game changes into a rather stale beating game phase. This does not give a particularly good fighting feeling, no matter if you meet your opponent or get yourself a blow. Tactics are tolerably needed. You have dozens of attack techniques to choose from, which you can do very simply with a keyboard shortcut. But more important is to improve the attack strength with the help of sparring partners and the endurance of various training devices. In the latter case, you have to complete the same mini-games again and again, which unfortunately inhibits the flow of time in the long run.
For the Zen master in you
In general, Ys Net literally plays with the patience of the players, because almost no dialogues or cutscene cancel, which is particularly annoying when conversations repeat constantly.
Shenmue 3 is definitely not a game for the impatient, but (we repeat) this is obviously intentional and (you guessed it) has its own appeal. One would rather reluctant to rush through the areas, instead exploring every existing store down to the last detail and picking all the herbs growing out of the ground.
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The later in the game, the clearer you notice Shenmue 3 the relatively low development budget, which makes unmistakably clear: With a few Kickstarter million alone can not be a technically modern and especially varied open-world game more realize. For this reason, the minigames and the type of shops are increasingly repeated to the rear.
Furthermore, it seems as if the developers have lost the motivation at some point. While the village is beautifully landscaped and varied, the city seems a tad duller. In Bailu you explore one area after the other, in Naiowu you have a lot of the game world at your disposal quite early. Instead, you have to walk again and again from one end of town to the other.
From the 19.11.2019 Shenmue 3 is officially available; Already now there is the launch trailer as preparation.
In other words, in Bailu, you're happy about just about any goal you reach. The village always gives the feeling that it is going ahead. Your tasks in Naiowu, on the other hand, feel more and more like blockages that rather block the progress of the story rather than push it forward.
Pretty, colorful, dreamy
There is not much to complain about the graphic equipment, with Bailu scores the most with its magnificent scenery and the flourishing landscape. This shows then that even with relatively little money a visual gem is possible, if only the right artist sitting in front of the drawing board. The same applies to the music, which could have tolerated a few more pieces, but usually creates the right ambience.
