Yeah. I wonder if the 500 different Day 1 editions has anything to do with the 'lackluster' rankings I'm seeing. Definitely something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. I really, really hope it sells enough to justify the fourth game.
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Shenmue III Preview Event | Impressions & New Details
- Thread starter Spaghetti
- Start date
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Some clarification on this came to light pretty recently when one of the Shenmue Dojo staff asked Ys Net about it via the Kickstarter. Specific numbers couldn't be provided but as of right now:
Base PS4 is targeting 1080p 30fps, and the PS4 Pro will see "improvements to resolution and framerate", "although it may not hit 60". There will also be no "in-game settings for frame rate".
Unlocked frame rate on PS4 Pro seems likely, but probably couldn't get it locked to 60 having boosted the resolution too.
Interesting. I'd just be happy with locked 30FPS myself, no need to push it further unless its essentially a locked 60FPS.
Really appreciate the responses! Thank you.
Hopefully. I've pre-ordered two different editions apart from the backer edition myself. But I don't think we are that many, tbh.
Just finished Shenmue yesterday and already got the 4 Wude in 2. Continuing tonight.
This feels surreal to have a sequel to all of this so long after.
This feels surreal to have a sequel to all of this so long after.
Same. I never thought I'd go beyond Kickstarter, but I have two CE's pre-ordered and thinking about locking in another for the steelbook.
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Playing the Xbox version back then certainly helped, I remembered who knew the Wude, had to play a bit to trigger some of the cutscenes though. Everything after that will be brand new to me though!
Playing the first Shenmue wasn't as dreadful as some people here made it out to be in an earlier thread I made, some recommended to even skip it, no regret I didn't. It started to get really stale by the fourth forklift work day though, but in the end it's an adventure I was glad to finally finish by myself.
I backed the Kickstarter for over a grand and bought the LRG edition as well, so I've technically bought like 25 copies. I really think I'd be in a significant amount of trouble at home if I tried to buy a few more copies to boost that Amazon number. WE LOVE SHENMUE, DEEP SILVER. BACK SHENMUE IV!!!
The worst thing about replaying (for me) was the awful, awful, awful compressed voice acting. I don't care about the quality of the voice acting itself, but the compression was really hard on my ears at first. I also agree there's a bit of unnecessary down time and not quite enough to do in Shenmue 1, but I also think the amount of waiting you have to do is overstated by some people. In 2000, I didn't even think about it for a second. It was totally new and mind blowing.
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Honestly, I think telling people to skip the first game is misguided anyway. I say that from someone who has advocated that in the past if you like the concept but can't get along with the pacing.
Fans have just got a bit self-conscious about how slow and sleepy the original can feel, given how action packed the much refined Shenmue II gets at times. It's genuinely a very solid and specially unique game with a tremendous amount of heart, but it doesn't play nicely with people who lack patience and can never put themselves into the mindset of just immersing themselves in the world and enjoying the simply frivolities.
The journey so far has more impact going from Yokosuka to Guilin properly, I think. Especially given how Bailu mirrors the small town experience of Yokosuka, but now with Ryo as an outsider looking in. It's rare juxtaposition you see in video game sequels.
I didn't mind the waiting that much tbh.
I spent that time trying to beat my scores at Hang On, Space Harrier and that boxing QTE game.
The forklift days though, oof. The forklift minigame was entertaining enough by itself, but some of these days where you had to wait till night after work to trigger the next event felt reaaaally boring. Mainly because I couldn't leave the Harbor because Ryo wanted to talk to more people. Having an arcade nearby would've been neat.
Agree with the entirety of your post here.
I never did get into Shenmue because it never was what I wanted it to be, back then. But now that I'm an older, more reasonable man, I wanted to play Shenmue, not what I want Shenmue to be, and that's how everything clicked.
Shenmue 2 is great by itself but it should be a punishable crime to skip Shenmue 1 and miss out on the impact of Ryo leaving his slow, familiar, predictable and cozy home town and arriving at this huge overwhelming foreign Hong Kong bursting with people and activity where anything can happen. They absolutely nailed it and it remains impressive to this day.
I could never skip Shenmue myself. Its got that wonderful home town feel, everyone knows your name and just living in that world for a little while builds up the atmosphere wonderfully. I just love speaking to each and every NPC to see what they have to say about the next plot point. It can be a pretty slow game, but its one that I still enjoy replaying to this day. 2 definitely nailed the "stranger in a strange land" vibe though, you know no one, its a huge area to explore as opposed to the small area of Dobuita in the first game so even just navigating it is tough to begin with, and there's definitely a heightened sense of danger/hostility with certain areas/characters. I can't wait to play 3 to see how its atmosphere compares to 1&2.
More previews which seem to be great:
Also previews are rolling on with this dude seemingly confirming 60fps on PS4 Pro but who knows:
Also previews are rolling on with this dude seemingly confirming 60fps on PS4 Pro but who knows:
Great to see more positive previews. I'm still expecting probably an overall 70% on MC due to how devisive it can be, but either way I'm just happy the game exists as it certainly sounds like it'll be the sequel I've waited all this time for. Plus if it really is 60FPS on Pro, that's excellent (and unexpected) great news.
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Although it was positive, I have some serious nitpicks with the 3DJuegos one. They make some weird assumptions about the controls that are provably false considering there's a demo out there, but oh well.
You can't beat the feel and atmosphere of Shenmue 1 but as a whole package I'd say it's inferior due to all the waiting imposed on you (especially around the time of the tattoo parlor) and a bit too much Harbor for my taste. Shenmue 2 doesn't have this problem since there's so many locations and things to do.
What are they saying ?
Shenmue 2 is a better game than Shenmue 1. I insist on better game. It's a more refined gameplay experience with lot of QoL stuff.
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No, you haven't missed anything yet. An update is probably coming shortly, at least to give notice for when final changes to shipping information are due by.
Trying to make the character controls sound like they're 1:1 with the originals, which absolutely isn't true and unfortunately some people in the comments are taking that idea and running with it wholesale. Author seems convinced Ryo should... strafe in order for it to be modern controls? Unless I'm being seriously gaslit here, most third person open worldy titles control approximately like Shenmue III don't they? Give or take individual quirks and character weight.
Also saying that combat controls don't correspond to any particular action, which again is untrue. I'm not sure they figured out that individually the face buttons are light/heavy attacks with hands or legs, and that combining them you can string together combos or perform additional special moves. Bit unfortunate that someone with two hours hands-on with the game appears not to have even checked the move list.
Overall still a very positive preview, but just falls down on getting certain details about the game right.
erf
I feel like someone hasn't been paying attention when playing.
It's a good sign, but then again I've seen final reviews betray the general sentiment of playable previews before. I think it'll be an ideal game for Shenmue fans, with harsher critics being some of the bigger sites out there who know the series but don't follow it, and from some outlets that really haven't shed the Kickstarter narrative or those that try and hold the existence of Yakuza against it.
I'm expecting it to surprise a lot of people, but also expecting a similar reception to Shenmue I & II from last year. Anything less than that doesn't feel right.
Edit: then again... looking at how The Outer Worlds is reviewing, it seems like there's a place for these kinds of old school AA experiences in the hearts of modern day reviewers. So there's some hope.
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Which - to be fair - got a "generally positive" consensus rating from Metacritic anyway.
I played the demo for a bit in a borrowed account and he's just plain wrong on the movement side. It controls like a dream compared to the old games (I'm replaying them right now), Ryo moves nicely in the direction you point the stick, feels very modern and satisfying, and even the zoom function is so smooth and precise now. It's a pleasure to explore the village and look at all the details, indoor and outdoor. Can't comment on the combat stuff because I was very confused about how that worked now and didn't try to figure it out because I didn't want to mess up my fighting skills in my current playthrough of the originals.
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Another preview from Game Reactor in Spain.
Summary via Google translate:
Indulges a bit in the "but can it attract new players?" stuff a bit too much*, but otherwise solid.
Honestly it's quite heartening to see a bumper crop of solid previews considering the immense amount of shit talked about this game for years. Makes me hopeful for how the reviews will pan out on average, though the risk is that it falls into the "AA gulf" where it can't realistically compete with the polish and resources of AAA games, but doesn't quite get the pass smaller indie games do on similar merits.
*the answer has, and always will be "yes". Shenmue has been replenishing its fandom for almost 20 years from all kinds of sources, despite the majority of that time the series being definitely dead and buried. There's no finite amount of people in the world who will enjoy this game. It just has to be in the right hands.
Just once I would like to see press broach the subject of whether non-fans will like it with "you should at least try it to find out". I know it goes completely against the taste-making aspect of games journalism, but I think with Shenmue especially, you've really gotta spend some time with it to know or not.
Summary via Google translate:
Indulges a bit in the "but can it attract new players?" stuff a bit too much*, but otherwise solid.
Honestly it's quite heartening to see a bumper crop of solid previews considering the immense amount of shit talked about this game for years. Makes me hopeful for how the reviews will pan out on average, though the risk is that it falls into the "AA gulf" where it can't realistically compete with the polish and resources of AAA games, but doesn't quite get the pass smaller indie games do on similar merits.
*the answer has, and always will be "yes". Shenmue has been replenishing its fandom for almost 20 years from all kinds of sources, despite the majority of that time the series being definitely dead and buried. There's no finite amount of people in the world who will enjoy this game. It just has to be in the right hands.
Just once I would like to see press broach the subject of whether non-fans will like it with "you should at least try it to find out". I know it goes completely against the taste-making aspect of games journalism, but I think with Shenmue especially, you've really gotta spend some time with it to know or not.
Yeah, I feel you on this. It's precise and responsive in ways some games aren't, but there's still a nice weightiness.
Really hoping this game's' sales start picking up next month. Still very low & in the 600s on Amazon.com.
It's the #11 preordered PS4 game on Best Buy (Death Stranding is #9) and in the top 45 in best selling ps4 games at gamestop. The preorder bonuses are way better at those two retailers especially Best Buy. Amazon's numbers will get better but it doesn't paint a complete story.
I don't put a ton of stock into Amazon's sales rank algorithm. Last year they had Shenmue 1&2 preorders ranked higher than God of War in it's launch period. Obviously we know that a game that sold 10m+ units was not being outperformed by a retro port that likely sold around 300-400k.
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One must remember the pre-orders went up ages ago, if this is a weekly sales thing you're looking at, most fans would place their orders pretty soonish after the pre-orders went live. All of the special editions are selling out fast too. I think it will do fine personally.
If Shenmue III can manage to sell at least 1 million units I think that would triple the amount of budget that was poured in originally. I'm hoping for it to at least reach 1 million.
As much as I want IV to happen, I don't think I could hold out for an announcement like that after having to basically wait 20 years for III! It'd be nice if it happens but I won't lose any sleep on it either way.
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An update regarding the shipping period and notice for final address changes on the surveys is likely coming soon btw. The Fangamer page - as recently as today I believe - has started asking for address confirmation.
P.S: I don't buy into the obsessive pre-order tracking crap given how shaky and unscientific the data is, but it was recently 7th in the PS4 pre-order charts for GAME, and earlier today was #23 for PS4 pre-orders on Amazon UK. It's trailing games with a higher profile, but it's doing okay.
P.S: I don't buy into the obsessive pre-order tracking crap given how shaky and unscientific the data is, but it was recently 7th in the PS4 pre-order charts for GAME, and earlier today was #23 for PS4 pre-orders on Amazon UK. It's trailing games with a higher profile, but it's doing okay.
For anyone with the PC trial, it works with MartyMcFly's screenspace raytracing shader. Looks really good, for the most part.
Would be awesome to get proper RT support, of course. Do we know if any HDR support is planned?
Would be awesome to get proper RT support, of course. Do we know if any HDR support is planned?
Same, I'm terrible for not checking my email regularly.
Still I have the digital version preordered as well, since in the time since the kickstarter I've switched to digital. I wonder which one will show up first.
Still I have the digital version preordered as well, since in the time since the kickstarter I've switched to digital. I wonder which one will show up first.
Got my email, confirmed my address. Once November 1st rolls round, I'll start my replay of Shenmue 1&2 (reckon I can do a pretty compact and quick run). It'll be so nice rolling straight from 2's ending to 3's intro!
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Small news roundup:
English subtitles now available for the video released last week.
As well as being playable at EGX Berlin, Shenmue III will also be playable at PlayStation Festival Sapporo.
Local distribution partners confirmed for getting copies to backers. Should hopefully mean most get their copies by the release date if not slightly earlier.
English subtitles now available for the video released last week.
As well as being playable at EGX Berlin, Shenmue III will also be playable at PlayStation Festival Sapporo.
Local distribution partners confirmed for getting copies to backers. Should hopefully mean most get their copies by the release date if not slightly earlier.
Sounds like a Bloodstained situation for shipping copies. Which is good news as I got my copy early. Fingers crossed!