{"id":178982,"date":"2019-11-27T23:30:05","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T15:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1812020\/"},"modified":"2019-11-27T23:30:05","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T15:30:05","slug":"review-shenmue-iii-is-a-pure-throwback-for-better-or-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/11\/27\/review-shenmue-iii-is-a-pure-throwback-for-better-or-worse\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: \u2018Shenmue III\u2019 Is a Pure Throwback, for Better or Worse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As a fan of the original two games, I want to enthusiastically love Shenmue III<\/em>. Like many others, I\u2019ve waited close to 20 years for this title. Unfortunately, the same qualities that made its predecessors endearing — not to mention groundbreaking<\/a> — don\u2019t hold up well today. I won\u2019t say Shenmue III<\/em> is bad. It isn\u2019t. The game\u2019s adherence to its roots is admirable, but it often makes for a rough gaming experience.<\/p>\n

Taking place directly after the events of Shenmue II<\/em>, Shenmue III<\/em> sees series protagonist Ryo Hazuki continuing the search for his father\u2019s killer, Lan Di. He gets help from a girl named Shenhua, who\u2019s own father has gone missing. As the story unfolds, Ryo and Shenhua learn more about the latter\u2019s home, Bailu village, and its connection to the fabled Dragon and Phoenix mirrors Lan Di seeks.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll spend your in-game days talking with villagers, honing your martial arts, and participating in random activities. Unlike the first two games, Shenmue III<\/em> does a good job of letting you know what your current objective is. Since you\u2019re not asking folks questions all day, you\u2019re free to spend more time sparring, going to work, or losing all your money gambling. It doesn\u2019t take long for you to develop an in-game daily routine.<\/p>\n

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Dialogue is clumsy at best and has next to no natural flow. Characters often repeat the same lines and sometimes seem to forget what the conversation was about. Having to press X (on PS4) after every sentence doesn\u2019t make things any better. If that wasn\u2019t bad enough, characters almost always have the same flat expression when speaking. Instead of doing so because it\u2019s fun, you\u2019ll only initiate conversations to move the story along.<\/p>\n

Conversely, training is very enjoyable. Instead of finding secluded areas to repeatedly practice the same combos, you\u2019ll instead practice against opponents and wooden dolls. Ryo has three core attributes to level up: Attack, Kung Fu, and Endurance. The last one is especially important since it correlates to health. You can make Ryo powerful relatively fast if you dedicate entire days to training. Considering the number of bad guys in his path, you\u2019ll want to keep Ryo\u2019s skills sharp.<\/p>\n

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I like training Ryo, but as with most aspects of Shenmue III<\/em>, it\u2019s rather cumbersome. You\u2019ll need training scrolls to learn new moves from martial artists. Though you can train without having any scrolls, you won\u2019t gain experience. There are many stores that sell scrolls so getting them isn\u2019t the issue. The problem is you\u2019ll need money to buy them, which means either getting a job, gambling, or selling caught fish. I think I\u2019ve spent more time chopping wood for cash than anything else. There are moments in the story where you cannot progress unless you\u2019re strong enough. Having to grind for money kills the momentum of an already slow game.<\/p>\n

You can also get scrolls by completing different collectible sets and trading them at pawn shops. Sets include different types of plants, capsule toys, and more. Scouring the land to complete sets can be fun as it lets you take in the sights around you. What isn\u2019t fun is buying countless capsule toys in hopes of snatching a rare one for your set. No matter what you do to get them, securing scrolls isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the game world, I have to commend Shenmue III<\/em>\u2019s graphics. They\u2019re not cutting edge by any means. Some would even say they look dated. I get that, but I love how vibrant and alive everything feels. Whether it\u2019s the village of Bailu with its verdant fields and flowing rivers or the city of Niaowu, with its densely packed buildings and streets, the environments impress.<\/p>\n

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Though all the environments come to life beautifully, the same isn\u2019t true for the characters. Ryo, Shenhua, and some of the other supporting characters look great. Most NPCs models are on point too. But as with the original titles, some characters are more akin to cartoon characters thanks to their overly-exaggerated facial features. It\u2019s hard to take a guy who\u2019s jaw is bigger than his entire head seriously. This was an issue with the original titles, but in Shenmue III<\/em>, the wildly disparate character models are shocking, to say the least.<\/p>\n

Shenmue III<\/em> is a 2019 title but you could be forgiven for thinking it’s from 2001. It\u2019s a true sequel, for better or worse. At the same time, the old-school stylistic choices are by design. Series creator Yu Suzuki stated that the game is for hardcore fans of the series. In that context, it’s a resounding success. It is everything the originals were, albeit with slight improvements. While I would have preferred a more modern experience, I can\u2019t fault Suzuki for giving super faithful fans exactly what they wanted.<\/p>\n