Shenmue III Reviews

7/10

it's not hello neighbor but it is shenmue 3

Played this and beat it NP before. Played again, and saw quite a bit of flaws and glitches. For example.. "Pail toss" in the first village. Played and made it into each bucket 3 times each. Guy still wont give me info... It's no wonder the guy has big lips, he keeps getting punched in the mouth for scamming W/O info. Anybody else encounter this bs?

As a longtime fan of the original Shenmue games, this was not the sequel I had hoped for. The most glaring issue lies in the combat system, which has been fundamentally gutted. The original titles drew from Virtua Fighter, offering a high-skill combat experience where practice, timing, and strategic thinking were richly rewarded. In contrast, Shenmue III replaces this depth with a shallow, stat-based system. Rather than improving through mastery, you're now forced to grind through dull mini-games just to boost arbitrary stats. Stats required to stand a chance against tougher enemies. It's a system that punishes skill and rewards tedium, reducing once-engaging fights to mindless button-mashing. In short, the combat has devolved into what can only be described as “popamole garbage.” Outside of combat, the game is a mixed bag. The story progression (or lack thereof) will divide players—some may appreciate the slow burn and nostalgic tone, while others, like myself, find it underwhelming after such a long wait. Personally, I enjoyed parts of the experience and found some charm in revisiting the world, but it falls far short of the emotional and narrative payoff I expected. After years of anticipation, Shenmue III feels less like a long-awaited continuation and more like a filler episode that leaves you wondering when the real story will finally resume.

I loved Shenmue 1 and 2. Those games felt like they were genuinely trying to capture the atmosphere of Japan and China. The environments were grounded and as realistic to their real world counterparts as the graphics of the time allowed. It felt like you were exploring a slice of Japan and China, from the architecture to the culture. Shenmue 3, on the other hand, feels completely like a fantasy. Everything is bathed in day-glow colors and is excessively vibrant. It doesn't feel like you're exploring a real world location at all everything is too pretty and unrealistic. It also lacks the foreign charm of the originals. Even the game itself lacks the charm that made the first two so special. I also wish they had just finished the story. There's a lot of busywork in Shenmue 3 just like in the first two games but it’s been 20 years. A more focused, to-the-point experience that wrapped things up would have worked better, in my opinion.

*Spoiler free review comparing S3 to S1&2* TLDR: S1&2 are far superior games to S3 but S3 is still worth buying if you are a fan of the series. ---a little info on my relationship with shenmue--- Rented the first game several times as a child, and got about halfway through. This put me in a unique spot where the game felt nostalgic but I didn't know the story. Decided to take the plunge and complete 1 > 2 > 3 back to back. S2 left on a very strong note storywise, and forces you to get incredibly good with the game's virtua fighteresque combat mechanics, which really gives you a great sense of accomplishment. In S3 three things that immediately jump out is 1 stamina is now drained from running, 2 this stamina is also your hp bar for combat, 3 combat has been COMPLETELY changed. 3 in particular is a total head scratcher- Shenmue 1&2 had incredibly strong combat so why change it? S3 instead relies heavily on player stats over player skill for combat, which is frankly pretty dissapointing. These stats are levelled up through minigames/sparring (which i must admit, worked well with the Shenmue experience, I for one found myself practicing martial arts every morning before doing story content). Zones/characters feel somewhat disneyesque compared to the previous titles, lacking that 'gritty' feel that the series in known for. S3's story is...so-so. It lacks the tension I found in the first game or the action I found in the second game and doesn't finish the Shenmue story ark.. Honestly it doesn't feel like a lot happens and we have to hope and wait for a Shenmue 4 to complete the story. So far this review has been pretty negative, simply because S3 simply is not as good as S1&2. The main positive I would say is this: S3 FEELS like a Shenmue game and this is the main reason I will give it a positive review. To conclude: buy this if you enjoy Shenmue. If you've never played the series but like the idea of an immersive, slow paced RPG set in the real world buy 1&2 first. Buy S3 if you really crave more Shenmue after S1&2.

A beautiful great game. I highly recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed Shenmue I and Shenmue II. It is important to note: This is a 'shorter' game than Shenmue I & II, as it covers only one chapter of storyline. There is also a lot of optional grinding, but it is mostly optional so you can skip it. There is a newgame + mode, so if you finish, you can carry over most of what you earned (skills, mastery, money, etc.) I recommend this highly!