~ A different take on Shenmue III ~
3 years ago something beautiful happened, something that many people waited 18 years to see, on 19th November of 2019
Shenmue III was finally released for PS4 and for PC on Epic games, i didn't had to wait 18 years to play the game, i'm a
Shenmue fan since 2015 but i remember how happy i was to finally being able to play the game. Exactly a year after the
game was released on Steam.
Shenmue III had mixed reactions even among the Shenmue community, some people love the game and think it was a beautiful
sequel, some people see flaws but like the game, and some people hate everything about the game.
I love Shenmue III i just think it could have been better in some aspects.
Now i will share many good things about my experience with the game and after that some things that could have been better, i will share
now a different take on Shenmue III.
~ The Shenmue One Vibe ~
Shenmue III for me have a different vibe and atmosphere, a calming vibe, it is a different game and that’s okay to me, Shenmue III
didn’t have to be like Shenmue II to be good.
In my opinion Shenmue III has a Shenmue One vibe especially in Bailu Village, Yu Suzuki and the team were not afraid to
make a slow pace game again and i like that, this slow pace fits really well in Bailu Village, Bailu Village is like a
second home to Ryo.
We have a lot of things similar to the first game in Shenmue III, especially in Bailu Village, in Bailu Village we have a
slow pace, things happen in a slow way similar to the first game and i love this.
We have the little girl Lin Zhou that Ryo talks similar to Megumi-chan, we have the other kids in the village that reminded
me of the kids in the first game, i love the hide and seek moment between Ryo and the kids in the third game, it is really a sweet
part and makes me remember the first game, i love this calm and peaceful moments in the Shenmue Games.
Ryo stays in Shenhua’s house and have to come back every night similar to what he had to do in Yokosuka. Ryo have a room for
him, Shenhua take care of the house similar to Ine-san, some areas in the game are only available to us later similar to the first game, we
have the Bailu Martial Hall near the house where we can train similar to the Hazuki Dojo and much more. Shenmue I have the homely
feel, Shenmue II have the adventure feel, Shenmue III have the homely feel in Bailu Village and the adventure feel in Niaowu.
Shenmue III have so many things that reminds me the Shenmue One Vibe and to me this is beautiful, i have plans to make a post just to talk
about these similar things between Shenmue I and Shenmue III.
Shenmue III is a calm and relaxing game similar to the first game and i love that.
~ The Gameplay ~
I love the gameplay of Shenmue I & II but i feel that the gameplay of Shenmue III is the best gameplay of the Shenmue
series so far, now we can control the camera the way we want and we have so many additions for the series with Shenmue III.
We can do so many things in the game like gathering herbs and foods, fishing, chopping wood, training, playing mini
games, changing clothes, calling Ryo's friends and much more. Searching for Chobu Chan is fun and so Shenmue to me and
i enjoy the food system, with my strategy i don't have any problems with the food system and i don't give only Black Garlic
for Ryo, i give a lot of different foods to him, i prefer to do this way and the game is so much more enjoyable and fun this way
in my opinion.
I love all the additions we got for the Shenmue series, beautiful additions.
~ Training is important ~
In Shenmue I and II training was not really important to progress in the games, in Shenmue III training is really
important to progress in the game, when we train in the game we can level up Ryo similar to an RPG and i love that.
I can see Ryo getting stronger, it is really interesting how the training works and we have many ways to train in the
game, we can train moves in the halls with other characters and we can train alone, when we train alone we can train the
horse stance, One-Inch Punch and the Rooster Step, all these new ways about training are beautiful and fun additions for
the Shenmue Series.
So many ways to train in the game, in the Shenmue games martial arts are shown with such care, respect and detail, it is
really wonderful, and in Shenmue III we can really see Ryo getting stronger, it is really fun training in Shenmue III, i
love training and seeing little by little Ryo getting stronger in the game, i love these details.
~ Feel the nature and enjoy the scenery ~
The world of the game is really beautiful, the game is gorgeous, Shenmue III is a beautiful game.
One of the things i love about Shenmue III is the fact that i can take my time with the game, Shenmue III to me is a
game to feel the nature, relax, enjoy the scenery and live Ryo's journey.
In Bailu Village Ryo really lives with Shenhua like a second home to him, with all the conversations between Ryo and
Shenhua i can see their bond getting stronger little by little and this is a part of the story as well.
I can see Ryo living a peaceful life with Shenhua after the chaos that was in Kowloon, the game have a calm and peaceful
vibe in Bailu Village, Bailu Village is a calm time in Ryo's Journey and i love that it is this way, i recommend to everybody
to take their time with the game, i'm on my second playthrough now and i'm playing even more slowly than the first time and now i
love Shenmue III even more.
~ Live The Journey ~
As far as i know Shenmue was never supposed to be a trilogy, Shenmue was never supposed to end in the third game.
Shenmue is Yu's story so i think Yu-san needs to do what he wants with Shenmue, for example if he want to do Shenmue till
Shenmue VI i'm all for it. Yu-san said that with Shenmue III we got to 40% of Ryo's journey, we didn't even reached the
half of the story.
Ending Shenmue just for the sake of ending is not the way to go in my opinion so i really love
the way Yu-san and the team did Shenmue III, a slow pace game similar to the first game and this vibe fits really well with
the game specialy in Bailu Village.
Yu-san do not have any obligation to continue Shenmue, he continued and i'm grateful for that. I just hope Yu-san can finish
Shenmue in a way that will be satisfying for him as well, is his story after all. I don't know how many games he needs to finish the
story, all i know is that i will support Yu Suzuki.
Shenmue to me is not just about Ryo trying to avenge his father, to me is much more than that, Shenmue to me is about the
people Ryo meet and what he learns with them, is about Ryo growing as a martial artist and as a character, is about
friendship, is about dealing with loss, is not about the destination, is about living this wonderful journey little by little
and many other things.
The most important thing is not the destination, the most important thing is the journey so i love that Yu-san and his team
did a slow pace game, i'm enjoying Ryo's Journey this way, when i play the Shenmue games i really feel like i'm living
this epic journey, and to me in Shenmue living the journey is much more important than the destination.
The game could have been better in some aspects? yes but is not a flaw to me that the game have a slow pace experience
because of the reasons i said above, like i said ending Shenmue just for the sake of ending is not the
way to go in my opinion, Shenmue III is not the ending of the story, many things can happen in
future games, Shenmue is a long journey and i love that it is this way, Shenmue III to me is a calm and relaxing time in
Ryo's journey especially in Bailu Village. I love Bailu Village and Niaowu, beautiful locations.
~ Things that could have been better in the game ~
I love Shenmue III i just think some things could have been better in the game.
Shenmue III have a story but it would have been better if we had more scenes, for example flashbacks of the time
Iwao Hazuki was in Bailu Village with Sunming Zhao would have been nice.
More scenes and character development for the characters in Bailu and in Niaowu.
I like the fighting system of the game i just think there is room for improvements.
If Baisha was in the game i feel that the game would be even better, with more story, characters
development and with a better ending for the game. I like the ending we got but it felt rushed, and to me the reason it
feel this way is because Yu-san and the team had to cut Baisha out of the game. Maybe we will never see Baisha in a Shenmue
game, to me this is sad, Baisha looks like a unique and interesting location.
~ Final Thoughts ~
With Shenmue III Yu Suzuki and the team were not afraid to slow the story and make a slow pace game similar to the first
game, to me this decision was beautiful, the decision to make the story slow pace specially in Baillu Village, i love that
it is this way and Bailu Village is like a second home to Ryo.
Shenmue III to me is the calm before the storm and i think Shenmue IV will be the storm. Shenmue III to me is about Ryo
living together with Shenhua in Bailu Village like a second home to him and strengthening the bond he have with Shenhua, now
Shenhua is important for Ryo and Ryo is important for Shenhua, in the game we learn many things about both characters, many
things about Bailu Village and much more. I love that, i love all these informations and details in the game, the conversations
between Ryo and Shenhua are interesting and sweet.
Shenmue III is about Ryo training and improving even more as a martial artist, Ryo learning the Body Check and the Reverse
Body Check are part of the story as well, and no, Body Check and Reverse Body Check are not the same move, i have plans to
make a post explaining more about these moves in the future.
Shenmue is a martial arts story, so everytime Ryo learns an important move with an important master this progress the story too.
In the final moments of the game even Lan Di recognized that Ryo is improving and this to me was an amazing moment, and the
fight between Ryo and Lan Di was really good in my opinion.
Shenmue III is also about getting to know a little bit more about the origins of the mirrors, a little bit about Iwao Hazuki, a little bit about
Shenhua's powers and the organization The Chi You Men, now Niao Sun is in the story and she is one of the leaders of the Chi You Men.
The ending of the game is a build up for many interesting things that maybe we will see in Shenmue IV, Ryo don't
even have the Phoenix Mirror anymore and this was a big event in the story, and now Ryo is travelling with Shenhua and Ren, another
interesting event in the final moments of the game, if Shenmue IV happen we will probably see an intense
Chi You Men Arc.
Yu Suzuki don't have many opportunities to continue Shenmue so i think that Yu Suzuki will decide to end the story in Shenmue V, but if he
decides to finish in the fourth game i will understand his reasons.
For me Shenmue III is a beautiful, charming, calm, peaceful and relaxing game and with a beautiful soundtrack. A beauty work of art, a special
and unique game, a game that really touched my heart.
What is your opinion about Shenmue III? share your thoughts in the comments below. I wish to all the Shenmue fans around
the world a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Thank you all for reading and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you, see you all in my next blog
post, bye bye. Hiki ~
3 years ago something beautiful happened, something that many people waited 18 years to see, on 19th November of 2019
Shenmue III was finally released for PS4 and for PC on Epic games, i didn't had to wait 18 years to play the game, i'm a
Shenmue fan since 2015 but i remember how happy i was to finally being able to play the game. Exactly a year after the
game was released on Steam.
Shenmue III had mixed reactions even among the Shenmue community, some people love the game and think it was a beautiful
sequel, some people see flaws but like the game, and some people hate everything about the game.
I love Shenmue III i just think it could have been better in some aspects.
Now i will share many good things about my experience with the game and after that some things that could have been better, i will share
now a different take on Shenmue III.
~ The Shenmue One Vibe ~
Shenmue III for me have a different vibe and atmosphere, a calming vibe, it is a different game and that’s okay to me, Shenmue III
didn’t have to be like Shenmue II to be good.
In my opinion Shenmue III has a Shenmue One vibe especially in Bailu Village, Yu Suzuki and the team were not afraid to
make a slow pace game again and i like that, this slow pace fits really well in Bailu Village, Bailu Village is like a
second home to Ryo.
We have a lot of things similar to the first game in Shenmue III, especially in Bailu Village, in Bailu Village we have a
slow pace, things happen in a slow way similar to the first game and i love this.
We have the little girl Lin Zhou that Ryo talks similar to Megumi-chan, we have the other kids in the village that reminded
me of the kids in the first game, i love the hide and seek moment between Ryo and the kids in the third game, it is really a sweet
part and makes me remember the first game, i love this calm and peaceful moments in the Shenmue Games.
Ryo stays in Shenhua’s house and have to come back every night similar to what he had to do in Yokosuka. Ryo have a room for
him, Shenhua take care of the house similar to Ine-san, some areas in the game are only available to us later similar to the first game, we
have the Bailu Martial Hall near the house where we can train similar to the Hazuki Dojo and much more. Shenmue I have the homely
feel, Shenmue II have the adventure feel, Shenmue III have the homely feel in Bailu Village and the adventure feel in Niaowu.
Shenmue III have so many things that reminds me the Shenmue One Vibe and to me this is beautiful, i have plans to make a post just to talk
about these similar things between Shenmue I and Shenmue III.
Shenmue III is a calm and relaxing game similar to the first game and i love that.
~ The Gameplay ~
I love the gameplay of Shenmue I & II but i feel that the gameplay of Shenmue III is the best gameplay of the Shenmue
series so far, now we can control the camera the way we want and we have so many additions for the series with Shenmue III.
We can do so many things in the game like gathering herbs and foods, fishing, chopping wood, training, playing mini
games, changing clothes, calling Ryo's friends and much more. Searching for Chobu Chan is fun and so Shenmue to me and
i enjoy the food system, with my strategy i don't have any problems with the food system and i don't give only Black Garlic
for Ryo, i give a lot of different foods to him, i prefer to do this way and the game is so much more enjoyable and fun this way
in my opinion.
I love all the additions we got for the Shenmue series, beautiful additions.
~ Training is important ~
In Shenmue I and II training was not really important to progress in the games, in Shenmue III training is really
important to progress in the game, when we train in the game we can level up Ryo similar to an RPG and i love that.
I can see Ryo getting stronger, it is really interesting how the training works and we have many ways to train in the
game, we can train moves in the halls with other characters and we can train alone, when we train alone we can train the
horse stance, One-Inch Punch and the Rooster Step, all these new ways about training are beautiful and fun additions for
the Shenmue Series.
So many ways to train in the game, in the Shenmue games martial arts are shown with such care, respect and detail, it is
really wonderful, and in Shenmue III we can really see Ryo getting stronger, it is really fun training in Shenmue III, i
love training and seeing little by little Ryo getting stronger in the game, i love these details.
~ Feel the nature and enjoy the scenery ~
The world of the game is really beautiful, the game is gorgeous, Shenmue III is a beautiful game.
One of the things i love about Shenmue III is the fact that i can take my time with the game, Shenmue III to me is a
game to feel the nature, relax, enjoy the scenery and live Ryo's journey.
In Bailu Village Ryo really lives with Shenhua like a second home to him, with all the conversations between Ryo and
Shenhua i can see their bond getting stronger little by little and this is a part of the story as well.
I can see Ryo living a peaceful life with Shenhua after the chaos that was in Kowloon, the game have a calm and peaceful
vibe in Bailu Village, Bailu Village is a calm time in Ryo's Journey and i love that it is this way, i recommend to everybody
to take their time with the game, i'm on my second playthrough now and i'm playing even more slowly than the first time and now i
love Shenmue III even more.
~ Live The Journey ~
As far as i know Shenmue was never supposed to be a trilogy, Shenmue was never supposed to end in the third game.
Shenmue is Yu's story so i think Yu-san needs to do what he wants with Shenmue, for example if he want to do Shenmue till
Shenmue VI i'm all for it. Yu-san said that with Shenmue III we got to 40% of Ryo's journey, we didn't even reached the
half of the story.
Ending Shenmue just for the sake of ending is not the way to go in my opinion so i really love
the way Yu-san and the team did Shenmue III, a slow pace game similar to the first game and this vibe fits really well with
the game specialy in Bailu Village.
Yu-san do not have any obligation to continue Shenmue, he continued and i'm grateful for that. I just hope Yu-san can finish
Shenmue in a way that will be satisfying for him as well, is his story after all. I don't know how many games he needs to finish the
story, all i know is that i will support Yu Suzuki.
Shenmue to me is not just about Ryo trying to avenge his father, to me is much more than that, Shenmue to me is about the
people Ryo meet and what he learns with them, is about Ryo growing as a martial artist and as a character, is about
friendship, is about dealing with loss, is not about the destination, is about living this wonderful journey little by little
and many other things.
The most important thing is not the destination, the most important thing is the journey so i love that Yu-san and his team
did a slow pace game, i'm enjoying Ryo's Journey this way, when i play the Shenmue games i really feel like i'm living
this epic journey, and to me in Shenmue living the journey is much more important than the destination.
The game could have been better in some aspects? yes but is not a flaw to me that the game have a slow pace experience
because of the reasons i said above, like i said ending Shenmue just for the sake of ending is not the
way to go in my opinion, Shenmue III is not the ending of the story, many things can happen in
future games, Shenmue is a long journey and i love that it is this way, Shenmue III to me is a calm and relaxing time in
Ryo's journey especially in Bailu Village. I love Bailu Village and Niaowu, beautiful locations.
~ Things that could have been better in the game ~
I love Shenmue III i just think some things could have been better in the game.
Shenmue III have a story but it would have been better if we had more scenes, for example flashbacks of the time
Iwao Hazuki was in Bailu Village with Sunming Zhao would have been nice.
More scenes and character development for the characters in Bailu and in Niaowu.
I like the fighting system of the game i just think there is room for improvements.
If Baisha was in the game i feel that the game would be even better, with more story, characters
development and with a better ending for the game. I like the ending we got but it felt rushed, and to me the reason it
feel this way is because Yu-san and the team had to cut Baisha out of the game. Maybe we will never see Baisha in a Shenmue
game, to me this is sad, Baisha looks like a unique and interesting location.
~ Final Thoughts ~
With Shenmue III Yu Suzuki and the team were not afraid to slow the story and make a slow pace game similar to the first
game, to me this decision was beautiful, the decision to make the story slow pace specially in Baillu Village, i love that
it is this way and Bailu Village is like a second home to Ryo.
Shenmue III to me is the calm before the storm and i think Shenmue IV will be the storm. Shenmue III to me is about Ryo
living together with Shenhua in Bailu Village like a second home to him and strengthening the bond he have with Shenhua, now
Shenhua is important for Ryo and Ryo is important for Shenhua, in the game we learn many things about both characters, many
things about Bailu Village and much more. I love that, i love all these informations and details in the game, the conversations
between Ryo and Shenhua are interesting and sweet.
Shenmue III is about Ryo training and improving even more as a martial artist, Ryo learning the Body Check and the Reverse
Body Check are part of the story as well, and no, Body Check and Reverse Body Check are not the same move, i have plans to
make a post explaining more about these moves in the future.
Shenmue is a martial arts story, so everytime Ryo learns an important move with an important master this progress the story too.
In the final moments of the game even Lan Di recognized that Ryo is improving and this to me was an amazing moment, and the
fight between Ryo and Lan Di was really good in my opinion.
Shenmue III is also about getting to know a little bit more about the origins of the mirrors, a little bit about Iwao Hazuki, a little bit about
Shenhua's powers and the organization The Chi You Men, now Niao Sun is in the story and she is one of the leaders of the Chi You Men.
The ending of the game is a build up for many interesting things that maybe we will see in Shenmue IV, Ryo don't
even have the Phoenix Mirror anymore and this was a big event in the story, and now Ryo is travelling with Shenhua and Ren, another
interesting event in the final moments of the game, if Shenmue IV happen we will probably see an intense
Chi You Men Arc.
Yu Suzuki don't have many opportunities to continue Shenmue so i think that Yu Suzuki will decide to end the story in Shenmue V, but if he
decides to finish in the fourth game i will understand his reasons.
For me Shenmue III is a beautiful, charming, calm, peaceful and relaxing game and with a beautiful soundtrack. A beauty work of art, a special
and unique game, a game that really touched my heart.
What is your opinion about Shenmue III? share your thoughts in the comments below. I wish to all the Shenmue fans around
the world a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Thank you all for reading and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you, see you all in my next blog
post, bye bye. Hiki ~
Last edited: