:'(

[mortimer]

this game is going to own

They nailed Shenmue

Goofy as hell, a lil rough around the edges, but bursting with SHENMUE

[mortimer]

[hbb]

Convertible to Yokosuka

[mortimer]

if this doesn’t sell you...

[mortimer]

THat would be a lot of fun. I’ll consider it... worried it might make the game less enjoyable for me, though.This is going to be a religious experience for me. I really don’t want to disrespect the game in any way, and I know it’ll be easy to for a variety of reasons. That Huber vid really strikes the right tone; I know he’s just a hardcore Shenmue fan like me.

[Kenny]

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-07-02-ys-net-will-be-offering-refunds-for-those-unhappy-about-shenmue-3s-pc-release
Mostly this article is interesting because the "physical" copy of the PC version will just have an Epic Games Store installer on it and no game content

Kickstarter had $30 for digital and $60 for physical release, which I guess means a CD with an Epic Games Store installer on it

Mostly just more evidence that kickstarting things is for chumps, even if it's something you want

[kirito]

why can't they just give people their fuckin money back jfc

[mortimer]

They are, though. Aren't most physical PC games nowadays just a disc with a Steam link anyway? I know everyone hates Epic, so that's another issue, but I thought otherwise this was normal.

[mortimer]

For what it's worth, they claim that Epic and DS's investment allowed them to make the game much larger and more complex. Obviously they need to spin it how they see fit, but here's what they shared:

Achieved stretch goal elements changed

・Skill Tree System was changed to the Skill Book System to better fit the battling style.

・Baisha area changed to Fortified Castle area. Mini-games, infiltration event, battle event, investigation and battle event have been implemented in the Fortified Castle area.



Stretch goal elements not achieved but implemented

・Please see the image above. 10 of the unreached elements will be included in the game.



Non-Stretch Goal Elements

Story Improvements

・Shenmue III begins the day after Shenmue II leaves off. The story now includes more cinematic scenes and nostalgic flashbacks to naturally draw new players in (and fans back in) to the world of Shenmue.



Scaled Up Free Roaming Enviroment

・Initially, the Guilin area was to be organized into three areas: Bailu, Choubu (Niaowu), and Baisha, but to accommodate major additions and changes to game elements, Baisha became Fortified Castle area, and focus shifted to expanding Choubu (Niaowu). We have in effect been able to achieve a scale greater than that of Shenmue II and bring the fun of an "open world" to life. To better experience quests and events, NPCs and things to interact with in the cities have been multiplied beyond what was originally envisioned making for a more complete Shenmue experience.



Powered Up Battle System

・With the inclusion of the Skill Book System and the Dojo System, you can train or have matches any time you want for deeper, more immersive play. Battle difficulty can be changed in-game to be enjoyable for beginners all the way to experts.



Game Cycle Improvements

・Story progression, skill acquisition, training, mini-games, jobs and other elements that were independent from each other in previous games have been worked to flow into a singular game cycle.




Message from Yu Suzuki

I first want to thank all of you for your enduring support from the bottom of my heart. This announcement was made in the coordination of all our partners. As such, it was not presented in a timely fashion which I apologize for. We have at last been able to report the results of the project team's review of the EGS exclusive distribution deal.



The project team is currently concentrating on finishing up to release the game. We are working hard to deliver a game better than hoped even if by a little for the announced release date. Along with the significant project changes at the heart of this announcement, there have been many other changes since our original assumptions. I believe, however, that the game overall has been strengthened and that Shenmue III has assuredly been transformed and is heading in a positive direction.

Folks on Resetera are really mad about this. I guess I'm too blinded by my Shenmue worship (and waiting 18+ years for this game) to care too much.

[Kenny]

I'm more joking about how kickstarters always disappoint than mad at the Shenmue makers. I need to play through 1 and 2 but I really want to play this.

[mortimer]

Bloodstained turned out pretty good, no? Apparently it looks like the art assets were made in like 20 different places, though.

[Kenny]

Can't decide if I should get it on the Switch and wait till they fix the input lag or just buy it on the PS4 where it will look better anyway.

[mortimer]

Pretty sure I see Virtua Fighter on the cab next to Ryo’s Head.

Another new trailer: https://clips.twitch.tv/StylishSnappyPi ... lips_embed

[manvstrees]

as long as you can still play darts in an arcade.....

[mortimer]

Looks like there’s at least some mini golf and whack a mole in the arcade. I’m sure darts aren’t far behind.

[mortimer]

[chairkicker]

i wish it was socially acceptable to release an "AA" game in 2019 that looked like a dreamcast game. i've said as much, and i'm ridiculously excited for this no matter what, but i think had they started building shenmue 3 roughly like a dreamcast game it would have allowed them to sketch in all this detail within their budget, to realize a game that looks richly like japanese animation in the way that the original games do, where striving toward something more "modern" within that same budget kinda leaves their hands tied

[mortimer]

We really could use some legitimate 32/64-bit aesthetic games. Sprite stuff is so done.

I’m personally starting to like how this game looks. It’s kind of rough, but somehow manages to be true to the Sega/Shenmue aesthetic. I think Suzuki’s lack of interest in other games made that possible. He also clearly had everything mapped out and sketched when he originally conceived of the series.

[Architecture]

It seems insane that the voice acting is still this endearingly bad

[chairkicker]

We really could use some legitimate 32/64-bit aesthetic games. Sprite stuff is so done.

I’m personally starting to like how this game looks. It’s kind of rough, but somehow manages to be true to the Sega/Shenmue aesthetic. I think Suzuki’s lack of interest in other games made that possible. He also clearly had everything mapped out and sketched when he originally conceived of the series.

i'm starting to like the way it looks too, it's just kind of a shame it couldn't go the other way

[mortimer]

It seems insane that the voice acting is still this endearingly bad

which is weird because they hired a legit voice director and new actors based in America, aside from ryo's voice actor. i guess they decided to just roll with the endearingly bad voice acting to keep the purists happy. they recorded all the English voice acting for the first two games in japan with japanese directors.

[mortimer]

lol

[mortimer]

[Tar Pit]

should I play the first 2 Shenmue games if I never played them before or have they aged poorly?

[mortimer]

They've aged pretty badly, but if you buy into the world building and atmosphere you'll get over it quickly. I think the controls are a lot less horrible than people say. You just need to constantly move the camera. I'm #1 Shenmue fanboy, though, so someone else may want to OPINE.

[Architecture]

I would argue that they were obtuse out of the gate

But I agree that if you sort of squint past the deficiencies, there's a lot to love. I really enjoyed going back with the remaster last year. The summer that I played the first two games basically back to back (I guess this would've been the summer after I graduated HS?) was filled with a lot of great games, but I probably have the most affection for those titles. The music, the atmosphere, the weirdly detailed bits.

I dunno, man. It's not just a case of "they don't make 'em like they used to." They only made 'em like this twice, and it's incredibly special to me.

[chairkicker]

i'd say they've aged better than anyone might have expected, honestly. and the fact that the once more cumbersome than they needed to be controls have been remapped to a modern controller helps enormously. you should play them. id gift you a steam copy if you want

[Tar Pit]

Thanks, I sincerely appreciate that but no worries (I only have a Mac anyways). I saw a copy for ps4 for $20 so I was gonna grab that. Think I’ll definitely grab it.

[mortimer]

Feeling the new look.

[Architecture]

Did he buy that jacket in Kowloon