Shenmue 3's story begins exactly where Shenmue 2's story left off 18 years ago. Ryo Hazuki and Shenhua end up getting out of the famous cave and immediately go in search of the young lady's father, convinced that he can help them solve the mystery surrounding the Phoenix and Dragon mirrors. If about 35 hours are needed to complete the game, the latter only takes place in two areas: the village of Bailu and the port city of Niaowu. Suffice to say that with such a small playground compared to modern productions, the back and forth are incessant. The main fault is missions divided into a multitude of redundant tasks. For example, to learn Master Sun's secret technique, you must first bring him spirits and a steamed bun. Then, he will ask us for 50-year-old vintage alcohol, before demanding that we defeat a monk from the dojo (White Tiger) and catch a dozen chickens. The next day, he will order us to practice the posture of the horseman, then to nab another ten hens. And the next day, we'll have to practice stepping the rooster and collect ten hens so that he finally decides to teach us his secret skill. These overlays of objectives not only serve the narration which drowns in useless replicas, but they also kill the rhythm; we caught ourselves nose-diving several times, without trolling.
The conclusion could not be clearer: Shenmue 3 is intended exclusively for fans ready to close their eyes to its inconsistencies and its archaism, intoxicated by this perfume from which they have been weaned for 18 years.
Nothing can get out of this ambient torpor, Yû Suzuki being much too attached to the codes of the 90s. You only have to see the head of the staging to realize that the developers are completely dropped. We have nothing against shot-reverse shot – Horizon: Zero Dawn uses it, huh? – but when the dialogues are only limited to that, it is problematic. In terms of game design, Shenmue 3 is a tremendous middle finger to the logic that gamers have grown accustomed to over the past twenty years. We are clearly at the antipodes of a Red Dead Redemption 2 in which consistency is second nature. When waking up, it is not uncommon for Ryo Hazuki and Shenhua to greet each other three times when they spoke to each other just before. Another example that made us hallucinate: during our first fight against the leader of the Red Serpents, although we put him on the mat, Ryo is inflicted a defeat out of nowhere for the purposes of the script. You understand, the hero must absolutely learn an ancestral kung-fu technique to be able to beat his opponent. Moreover, we quickly realize that the screenwriters have sorely lacked inspiration, since Bailu and Niaowu share the same plot: discovery of the premises, investigation of the local scum, first face to face with the leader of the gang, learning to a secret weapon, new boss fight. To swallow that to the fans who helped fund Shenmue 3 is just outrageous.
KNEE SHENMUE
So yes, many are content with it, talking about “intact magic” and “timeless know-how”; the same ones who had criticized Arthur Morgan's inertia. However, in terms of heaviness, the game arises there. Ryô remains clumsy, especially in cramped spaces where scrutinizing the elements of the decor is a hassle without name. You must first press L2 to switch to first person view, then move the reticle over the highlighted objects, and press X to manipulate/pick them up. Three steps when the case could very well have been folded into one. Totally crazy. We are perfectly aware that Shenmue will never be Assassin's Creed, but was it too complicated to inject a little dynamism, especially since the subject had already been tackled with Shenmue 1 & 2 HD? Do you see the sunflower field in Bailu village? Well, it's impossible to cut through; we are obliged to take this or that path. When you want to sneak between two NPCs, Ryo starts to slow down without you understanding why. Placing a small contextual animation at that moment might have allowed not to lose fluidity. Same when the character is facing a wall, a piece of furniture or a railing: he stops short. With such unresponsive moves, you just feel like giving up, and it's certainly not the combat system that saves the furniture.
Yes folks, Yu Suzuki even messed up one of Shenmue's main assets; he squarely walked on Virtua Fighter, his own fighting game on which he had relied to design the clashes. Instead of all the subtleties that offered a magnificent overview of versus fighting, we have to deal with imprecise mechanics and a particularly crazy rigidity. A simplification of badly damned controls that we still have trouble grasping, since Shenmue 3 is supposed to be addressed above all to those who have chained sleepless nights on Dreamcast, and not really to the general public. Basically, by combining the keys, we manage to execute combos whose impact is unfortunately pitiful. Instead of breaking opponents' ribs, attacks glide over them like they're coated in oil. Worse, it happens that hits are taken into account when the blow did not reach its target; a flaw that the antagonists can benefit from, naturally. Ultra rigid when he chooses to make his fists speak, Ryo has the possibility of dodging if he does not wish to consume his guard gauge. The problem is that with a tractor in your hands, it's not easy, whether for the side step or the backdash. Playing on the distance, zoning, that's how we could sum up the fights that Suzuki-san does not hesitate to describe as "tactical". OK, if he wants.
Yes folks, Yu Suzuki even messed up one of Shenmue's main assets; he squarely walked on Virtua Fighter, his own fighting game on which he had relied to design the clashes.
Personally, when it ignores the priorities, when the hitstun is set with the feet, when the management of collisions is approximate, it's anything but technical. And again, we are only talking about 1 vs. 1; when thugs attack in numbers, it's a mess to lock them properly. In short, to make the task easier, we can try to improve the skills of the hero, starting with the power of the attacks. This depends on the technique manuscripts that you buy from the various shops, knowing that you must then go through the dojo to know each of them inside out. Note that they can be triggered just as well by simply pressing R2 (AT) as in the old fashioned way by pressing the keys in the correct order (MT), and that an editor allows you to configure different sets of skills. As far as endurance is concerned, it is on the wooden dummies that you have to persist with the step of the rooster, the punch without recoil, and the posture of the rider. It's less funny, repetitive, but hyper realistic it seems. Like having to come home every night at 21 p.m. to rest? Wasn't Shenmue 3 just the opportunity to break this routine with night trips offering a totally different atmosphere? Hazuki is so afraid of the dark?
ROYAL CASINO
Rest assured, not everything is to be thrown away in Shenmue 3. One thinks in particular of the vital bar which also serves as an endurance gauge, and whose level decreases inexorably. More rigorous than in the other Shenmue, its management requires regular feeding so as not to get into the red. If this is the case, then it is impossible for Ryo to fight, and the exploration phases become a real torture. This formula changes from the automatic regeneration that we are used to seeing elsewhere, and it adds challenge in an adventure where the encephalogram remains almost flat. What we also appreciate is the fact that the player is on his own when he arrives somewhere where he does not know anyone. It is therefore up to him to glean information by talking to the local population, knowing that every important detail is recorded in his notebook. This is the only point on which Yû Suzuki manages to gain the upper hand in modern video games where the audience is legion. No runaway, however, since the complexity of the economic system immediately restores the migraine. As always, certain ancillary activities (harvesting of medicinal plants, handling, cutting wood, among others) make it possible to fill their pockets, but the remuneration remains too low to afford objects of great value.
This is why it is advisable to squat games of chance where there is a way to obtain a large number of chips. We must then exchange these for expensive prices in order to hope to get a good price from the pawnshop afterwards. Again, we do not understand the point of all these steps to obtain yuan. Where it hurts particularly is that making as much money as possible is vital in Shenmue 3. There's bound to be a time when you spend a day or two piling up chips (praying for luck either on our side) in order to develop our character and afford objects without which progression in the story would be impossible. On this subject, during the fights, it is totally absurd that Ryo cannot use the items he usually consumes to heal his life/stamina gauge. Well yes, it's so much better to force the player to buy a bottle that costs more than 250 yuan. If the artistic direction of Shenmue 3 is absolutely not disgusting, it is in its execution that it gets stuck. Suddenly, the change of scenery we expected with China does not really take place, and we must admit that Bailu and Niaowu are empty compared to other open-worlds. Come on, we want to excuse the native village of Shenhua which looks like a bled lost in the depths of the countryside. On the other hand, let it be understood that Niaowu is the capital of the area when the streets are not teeming with people… And it is not the shops that are lacking, however.
The animation, on the other hand, is in the west, and we're not just talking about Ryo who gives the impression of moving around with a broom in his butt. There are also all the NPCs and their absent eyes, wandering like lost souls.
The textures are far from exceptional, but we nevertheless underline the efforts at the level of some interiors to do justice to Asian architecture. The animation, on the other hand, is in the west, and we're not just talking about Ryo who gives the impression of moving around with a broom in his butt. There are also all the NPCs and their absent eyes, wandering like lost souls; and when the developers have the fabulous idea of placing two at the same table, there is no interaction to give the illusion of a discussion. Do not look for the slightest facial expression in anyone, Yû Suzuki (who has already exchanged with David Cage in the past) does not know what it is. Under these conditions, it is difficult to be caught up in events, Ryo remaining impassive even when he is on the verge of having his wrist broken. On the other hand, we will not spit on the cut scenes which have mouth and recall kung-fu films where we heard more the clothes of the actors than their exchanges. Finally, it is impossible to conclude this Shenmue 3 test without mentioning the individuals who pop up a few meters from us, OKLM. Even on Nintendo Switch, the clipping isn't as violent.
