Shenmue III

With Shenmue III, we are offered a glimpse into a gifted mind, constantly turning the everyday into play.

It’s hard to believe I’m actually reviewing Shenmue III here at the tail end of 2019. Shenmue and its first sequel were hugely influential games, establishing the framework countless other open worlds have been built upon, but unfortunately, they were also ahead of their time. The first two Shenmue games just didn’t connect with early-2000s audiences, at least not to the degree needed to cover their bloated budgets. Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki spent years struggling to revive the series, but it was all in vain until the advent of Kickstarter, where Shenmue III managed to amass a whopping $6.3 mi...

Some players may want to mainline Shenmue III in order to see all the story has it has to offer as quickly as possible. This is not advised. For one, there’s actually not very much new story information to glean during a playthrough. Secondly, doing so would make the more annoying aspects of the game all the more glaring. It’s much better to savor Shenmue III at a leisurely pace. There's tons of enjoyment to be had simply taking in the scenery, wasting hours fulfilling weird requests for NPCs or even just fishing. It may not be perfect, but it is undoubtedly a Shenmue title. Even after all the...

The fact that Shenmue III feels like a direct continuation of the cult SEGA Dreamcast classics is testament to veteran director Yu Suzuki’s unflinching ambition. There may have been almost two decades between this long-anticipated PlayStation 4 instalment and its predecessor, but developer Ys Net isn’t afraid to pick up the plot immediately where it left off. With stern-faced star Ryo Hazuki and his mysterious accomplice Shenhua Ling dumbstruck in a Bailu Village cave, the sequel re-treads the closing moments of Shenmue II before immediately picking up the narrative thread.

I was torn writing this review as I went back and forth multiple times on whether or not Shenmue III‘s adherence to the past was worth the squeeze. In spurts, it’s not. But as I walked back to Shenhua’s cottage to turn in for the night after a hard day’s work, earning back the money I had gambled away, it hit me: people just aren’t making many games like this anymore. We may never even get something like this again if Shenmue IV isn’t greenlit, which would be a shame.

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 still think Ys Net achieved something wonderful. It seemed an impossible task to come back after 18 years and make a game that doesn’t coast entirely on nostalgia. Shenmue III should have failed but, as a fan, I’m happy to say it’s the best I could hope for.

After an eighteen-year hiatus, Shenmue III has finally arrived, and Ryo Hazuki once again continues his journey through China in search of Lan Di. Will the long-awaited sequel live up to the hype and expectations?

Oh how I screamed, how I shouted, how I celebrated. I remember that Sony conference at E3 2015 like if it had happened yesterday. From out of nowhere, Yu Suzuki and that classic Shenmue theme song appeared onstage, confirming the existence of Shenmue III…. as a Kickstarter campaign. I didn’t care. Nobody cared. Everyone who had played those games back in the day quickly threw money onto their computer screens, begging for Yu Suzuki to deliver the follow-up to a story they had been waiting...

As a fan of the previous games, I enjoyed some of my time with Shenmue III. However, as a modern game that was aiming to encourage new players to get into the franchise, I cannot urge caution more strongly. For hardcore fans of Shenmue, this is an easy choice. 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.

Shenmue III’s visuals serve as an excellent evolution for the distinct style of the first two titles. It’s a pleasing mix of cartoonish colors and almost realistic qualities. It’s the settings that really stand out though, with the colorful fields of flowers in Bailu Village and the lit streets of Niaowu sticking out as highlights. The music is predictably stellar, hitting all the emotional and cultural notes you would expect to hear as you traverse vastly different regions of China.