After successfully attracting nearly 70,000 followers to their Kickstarter campaign, they were eager to see Ryo Hazuki's journey continue, with developers Ys Net and Neilo creating a new Shenmue game-feeling like at home on Dreamcast. "Shenmu III" provides deep nostalgia for fans returning to the series, but he also feels outdated and urgently needs to develop in key areas. This is a time-forgotten game, a new experience clinging to the retro foundation of the game, ignoring most of the innovations that have affected interactive entertainment over the past 18 years.
At the end of the last chapter, we see the young Ryo and his new friend Shenhua Ling come out of a cave and continue to track down LanDi, who killed Ryo's father. The opening moment makes the fool shine in front of the player, and the scenic trail is backed by magnificent visual effects. You will see very detailed textures, lush storefronts and lightning that make White Deer Village look like one of the most peaceful places in the world. The world looks good, but it is the only part of the game that is truly real. The screaming gameplay that followed the "00s" may be daunting, not only because it feels its age, but also poorly conceived.
Although I'm happy to ignore Ryo's retaliatory involvement in various side events [such as catching ducks or collecting capsule toys], the key path is too monotonous. This is largely due to excessive reliance on talking to civilians to discover the way forward. Shenmue III has a difficult way to talk, but that's what you do most of the time. The dialogue was stiff, repeated a few lines, and some answers did not fit the question at all. Good questioning also makes him sound like the worst detective in the world. "I'm looking for some thugs. Did you see it?" "Do you know where I can learn kung fu?" I used to listen to him asking these things for hours.
When Ryo does not participate in these maddening exchanges, he will be trained to improve his skills-not only to take responsibility for Lan Di, but to overcome those pesky thugs and many other threats. He accumulates experience and improves his level by arguing with other opponents and practicing training dummy. Although the practice is incredibly boring-like squatting for a minute-your skills are still a good motivation to pursue. If you take the time for extensive training, you can basically break the game balance and become a monster for combatants, and I think it's worth it given the questionable fighting system.
Battles are smoother than those in Shenmue 1 and Shenmue 1, allowing you to launch a special attack with the click of a button, but don't expect every blow to land-even if you hit someone on your face. Many times, I will knock down my opponent, go around in circles, and then do another devastating blow. Although I hit the target position, it did not cause any damage or completely staggered. It's like I didn't even deliver. Aiming locks also have their own ideas and get lost when your opponent falls. These contradictions can be irritating, especially since you may need to stop retrying to buy more food to fight a healthy fight, and it may also mean that you need to work or be forced to gamble to have the necessary funds.
Certain missions are clearly designed to s top the player's progress, such as being forced to earn enough money to buy a bottle of wine or a book. Sometimes the money you make can become stupid at a casino, or do mundane work over and over again. Inconsistencies are everywhere. Sometimes you can travel quickly to speed up the clock time to reach the moment of the story, but this is not always the case.
Shenmu III is often frustrating, but I still enjoy the time I spent in White Deer and other places where Ryo eventually went. Freedom to explore and do what you want is still fun and the world is full of charm. It has its own atmosphere, style and rhythm. When Ryo talks or fights, I just don't like it, and this happens to be the key path of Shenmue III. It also has a lot of QTE moments, which is strangely the most beautiful and fair part of the experience. At these moments, Ryo cleverly avoids and weaves fists and obstacles, and if you happen to miss the action of pressing a button, you will immediately get another shot. They are fun and will not punish you.
I also enjoyed the journey Ryo and Shenhua went through, although the whole story didn't make much progress. Fans know this, but director Yu Suzuki said that "Samu III" only allowed us to spend 40% of the Ryo story. We haven't even completed this epic idea. Although there are many questions about Shenmue III, I am happy to return to this world. It scratched the kind of itch I didn't know and regularly showed me why it was an important game at the time. But this reminds me most of why the third entry has not been published for nearly two decades.
