Shenmue III

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1112 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 828 out of 1112
  2. Mixed: 52 out of 1112
  3. Negative: 232 out of 1112
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  1. NK22
    Dec 24, 2019
    8
    La suite d'un jeu légendaire malgré les difficultés YS à garder l'âme de Shenmue
  2. Joobles
    Dec 29, 2019
    10
    Won't disappoint earlier fans. Still delivers the fun mini games like forklift driving and great story. The combat system feels ALOT better now too
  3. Shacklers
    Feb 3, 2020
    9
    If you're a fan of the original games, you'll most likely love this game! But if you're unsure whether you should buy this or not, I'll try to quickly explain what the game is all about.

    Basically it's a life simulator. What would it be like living in a chinese village and trying to avenge your fathers death? Now you can experience it! It's a realistic game in many ways. You got to earn    If you're a fan of the original games, you'll most likely love this game! But if you're unsure whether you should buy this or not, I'll try to quickly explain what the game is all about.

    Basically it's a life simulator. What would it be like living in a chinese village and trying to avenge your fathers death? Now you can experience it! It's a realistic game in many ways. You got to earn money cause you need food to survive. You spend time practicing your kungfu skills and you search for clues by either talking to people or perhaps by opening drawers and finding secret objects there. It's kinda like a detective game. There is fighting in this game too, but it's not really an action game. It's closer to an RPG.

    It's a relaxing game in many ways. You're not supposed to beat the game as fast as you can. You're supposed to explore places and try out different minigames. Maybe go to the arcade, or go fishing or pick up some herbs that you can sell later. There's a lot of things to do in the game.

    Every time I start playing a new game, one of the first things that I always want to do is to just go talk with random non-playable characters and see what they've got to say. Usually I'm always disappointed cause you can't talk to them, or because the dialogue is just plain text and it's not fully voiced. In Shenmue games talking to NPC's is more fun than in ANY other game. All the non-playable characters have their own personalities and they have something new to say almost every time you talk to them. And their responses are sometimes hilarious. So that's one of my favorite things about these games. Talking with random people and trying to find clues.

    I got to mention the music in this game too. It's so atmospheric and you really start to feel like you're in China yourself exploring exotic locations.

    If you've never played a Shenmue game before, this might feel like a strange game at first. Especially because the game continues right from where the last game ended 18 years ago. There is a video that explains everything that's happened before, but you might be a bit confused even after watching it. Still, there's nothing else out there that's comparable with Shenmue, so I do recommend the game, if you want to try something a bit different.

    Some people have criticized the game cause it feels like an old game. Now the game was made for fans of the original games, so most people are happy that they didn't change the game too much. The original games were way ahead of their times anyway.

    At the end of the day the biggest problem with the game is it's budget. It is a Kickstarter game after all and the budget of the game is extremely small compared to other open world games out there. There are plenty of moments when I thought that the execution could have been so much better if the creators of the game would have had more money. But what they managed to do with the budget is something extraordinary nevertheless. I can't get my head around, how they managed to create such a massive game with such a tiny budget.

    It's not a perfect game. The main story of the game feels shorter than in the original games. Quicktime events are a bit too fast. The fighting system is in some ways better and in some ways worse than in the originals. Sometimes fighting feels a bit unresponsive compared to the originals. But practicing your kungfu is a lot more satisfying this time around. And fighting multiple opponents works better now. I also love the fact that you can break stuff around you while you're fighting. All in all the game revolves around getting better and better at kungfu and I really like that.

    If you're a fan of kungfu movies, that's another reason to pick this game up. Just remember that it's not a beat em up game. It focuses more on practicing your kungfu.

    If you loved the original games mainly because of the story, you might be disappointed with this one. Simply put the original games had a better story. But if you loved the original games mainly because of the gameplay, atmosphere and the lifesimulator elements, then there's a good chance that you'll love this game even more than the originals.

    The idea behind the original Shenmue game was to make a game where you're free to do almost anything. It was a highly interactive, cinematic-quality game that tried to mimic reality. All the non-playable characters had their own daily routines. They went to work and later in the evening you could find them at a bar or maybe at a park somewhere. The game had a day and night cycle and a very revolutionary weather system too. The attention to detail was extraordinary and in many ways you could say that it was the first open world game created. Shenmue games are a very important part of video game history and I definitely recommend trying either the original games or this one.

    It's not a game for everyone though, cause it is pretty slow paced. But people who love these games, love them with passion!    … Expand
  4. Magma55
    Feb 28, 2020
    8
    Shenmue III, good game graphics are pretty, but too short storyline. I love the Shenmue's but I wish the next ones to be set longer in storyline. Pressing the action buttons for scenes stuffs and all it asked to be way more faster, in the other shenmue's you had longer delay to press a key to move up next scene and it was more nice this way. Not enough action scenes on this too.I feelShenmue III, good game graphics are pretty, but too short storyline. I love the Shenmue's but I wish the next ones to be set longer in storyline. Pressing the action buttons for scenes stuffs and all it asked to be way more faster, in the other shenmue's you had longer delay to press a key to move up next scene and it was more nice this way. Not enough action scenes on this too.I feel generous cuz I missed the game giving a 8/10 but it could be better game. Too many capsules to collect: should adjust it by adding more secondary quests and thoses are too random, would be nicer to talk to npc's and choose if you want to do a task for them (secondary quest basically). Not enough battles, you have only 2 serious boss to beat or 3 about and Ryo get always his ass kick before he succeed it...Glad there was at least a tournament fight or it be way too poor battles in game. You spend more time in game trying to earn good money, unless ya found nice tricks from trading stuffs.I want more fights, more scenes, more actions and I wanna see Ryo become a pro master! lol… Expand
  5. segamaster
    Jul 26, 2020
    10
    Yu Suzuki and his team did it again.
    Thank you Yu Suzuki for everything you've done and I hope you still do through the years for the media. Literally nobody comes close to your work.
    Thank you YS Net for such an amazing game. You guys are the reason why I keep playing games nowadays.
  6. Walidus
    Oct 5, 2020
    10
    Whether you like to travel to a Chinese village or a large town, Shenmue 3 will make you want to pack your bags and leave to Guilin on the first flight. Truly a masterpiece and one of the greatest games of our generation!
  7. Sonic1
    Jun 5, 2023
    8
    What I would improve for Shenmue IV:
    Much more story progress
    Better dialogues Meaningful characters Smaller, but more and dense environments Better cinematic quick time events Better draw distance If fights are not possible in high quality, I would invest in great quick time events 2 capsule machines are good enough (Figures and Sega arcade) Remove stamina Better interior    What I would improve for Shenmue IV:
    Much more story progress
    Better dialogues
    Meaningful characters
    Smaller, but more and dense environments
    Better cinematic quick time events
    Better draw distance
    If fights are not possible in high quality, I would invest in great quick time events
    2 capsule machines are good enough (Figures and Sega arcade)
    Remove stamina
    Better interior lighting and music transition (Adding doors and loading screen)
    Original Sega Arcade game
    Improved Ryo and Shenhua (Shenmue Passport )
    I like Ryo in I&ll much more
    No herbs
    Fights and training like in Shenmue 1
    Save money for better story, characters, good quick time events and a dense environment    … Expand
  8. Zwei76
    Nov 20, 2019
    10
    Great game, a magic memories have coming to my past, a continuation history of shenmue, the dream has come back. I fell like 18 years ago in the good way.
  9. GenoNF
    Nov 8, 2020
    8
    Shenmue 3 es justo lo que prometió Yu Suzuki en 2015, se trata de la continuación directa del segundo titulo de la saga. Desde mi punto de vista, el juego no puede ser comparado con las grandes producciones de hoy en día a las que nos tienen acostumbrados. Shenmue 3 es el deseo de los fans de que aquella historia inacabado por fin tenga un desenlace, pero para cumplir este deseo tenemosShenmue 3 es justo lo que prometió Yu Suzuki en 2015, se trata de la continuación directa del segundo titulo de la saga. Desde mi punto de vista, el juego no puede ser comparado con las grandes producciones de hoy en día a las que nos tienen acostumbrados. Shenmue 3 es el deseo de los fans de que aquella historia inacabado por fin tenga un desenlace, pero para cumplir este deseo tenemos que obviar que el juego no ha contado con una producción digna de otros títulos.

    Shenmue 3 se siente como un juego de Dreamcast, aunque son incluidas unas mecánicas que no llegan a funcionar como se espera,como el tema de la estamina o el nivel de pelea de Ryo. Estos errores no son graves problema para el juego en su totalidad. El que para mí si es un problema más grave es el hecho de que no todos los personajes interactúan con Ryo, te saca del mundo que quiere crear.    … Expand
  10. SemenGalyutin
    Dec 20, 2021
    9
    Игра мне очень понравилась. Я с головой окунулся на более чем 100 часов. Выбил платину. Атмосфера, это то чего мы ждали почти 20 лет. Если вам нравится 1 и 2 часть серии то и 3 часть понравится. Есть минусы у игры и отсутствие локализации главный минус, другой минус это QTE. Тайминги очень низкие из за чего ни одно QTE я не прошел с первого раза, хорошо что их не так много. Еще мне неИгра мне очень понравилась. Я с головой окунулся на более чем 100 часов. Выбил платину. Атмосфера, это то чего мы ждали почти 20 лет. Если вам нравится 1 и 2 часть серии то и 3 часть понравится. Есть минусы у игры и отсутствие локализации главный минус, другой минус это QTE. Тайминги очень низкие из за чего ни одно QTE я не прошел с первого раза, хорошо что их не так много. Еще мне не понравилось то что внешность героев изменили, и они отличаются от персонажей 2 части. А кто говорит что много гринда то эти люди просто заморачивались возможно из за платины. Играя в удовольствие ты даже не заметишь этого. А продажа сетов растений в первой локации может перекрыть растраты вплоть до конца игры. Вся игра проходится около 20 часов а повторное прохождение 13-15 часов. Платина 100 часов.(из за рондома)… Expand
  11. RTCWFAN
    Jun 20, 2023
    8
    I didn't play the first two parts, so it was really hard to get into the story. But after some reading and hours into the game, I really liked the slow gameplay and the interesting characters. Overall rating: 8.2.
  12. Gamer1994
    Sep 29, 2021
    10
    At least we got a continuation to the story 20 years later. Voted this a 10 as a motivator for them to make the next installment
  13. Khristian5
    Dec 11, 2021
    9
    Los fans de Shenmue agradecemos seguramente en una gran parte, que la experiencia de juego sea idéntica como lo fue en Dreamcast en jugabilidad y mecánicas del juego. Poder seguir la historia después de tantos año es un sueño hecho realidad. Igual no es el juego que esperaban las nuevas generaciones que acaban de conocer la saga hace poco, pero si para los que vivimos y acompañamos a RyoLos fans de Shenmue agradecemos seguramente en una gran parte, que la experiencia de juego sea idéntica como lo fue en Dreamcast en jugabilidad y mecánicas del juego. Poder seguir la historia después de tantos año es un sueño hecho realidad. Igual no es el juego que esperaban las nuevas generaciones que acaban de conocer la saga hace poco, pero si para los que vivimos y acompañamos a Ryo en su día en la búsqueda del espejo del fénix y la venganza de la muerte de su padre y nos quedemos con las ganas de continuar con la historia. Y sinceramente me encantaría que siguiera con una cuarta parte y no tardara tanto en salir como esta tercera. Gracias por volver Hazuki.… Expand
  14. Chronos84
    Sep 29, 2022
    10
    Excellent game, not sure why the press is destroying it in the reviews. Maybe they were expecting some new mechanics more adapted to the “fortnite generation”. But WE Shenmue fans find the game really good and can’t wait to see what happens next.
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Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 78 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 78
  2. Mixed: 41 out of 78
  3. Negative: 7 out of 78
  1. PSX Extreme
    May 18, 2020
    30
    What a horrible experience this was. Whatever minuscule redeeming qualities this game might have are drowned out by just how infuriating it is. And I can’t think of anybody who is a fan of this franchise that can honestly call this game good with a straight face. Get this game if you’re a fan of the series, but don’t be surprised if it just ends up making you hate yourself for waiting nearly two decades for what is essentially the video game equivalent of Freddy Got Fingered.
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  2. PSX Extreme
    May 18, 2020
    30
    What a horrible experience this was. Whatever minuscule redeeming qualities this game might have are drowned out by just how infuriating it is. And I can’t think of anybody who is a fan of this franchise that can honestly call this game good with a straight face. Get this game if you’re a fan of the series, but don’t be surprised if it just ends up making you hate yourself for waiting nearly two decades for what is essentially the video game equivalent of Freddy Got Fingered.
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  3. Cubed3
    Apr 13, 2020
    50
    Shenmue 3 is a tough recommendation for general audiences. It won't please the die-hard fans of the originals due the step backwards in terms of game design. Neophytes who are curious about it will be confused and bored by the sleep-inducing pace, plus the how the voice acting has not changed since the early '00s. The visuals may have improved, and the loading times are a thing of the past, but this is still has the soul of a Dreamcast title. It won't live up to the expectations that fans have, nor will it excite interest in the franchise. Nothing of substance gets solved by the conclusion, and there's a lack of a pay-off to playing such an intentionally slow experience. The highs in Shenmue 3 involve doing what amounts to nothing; that is just taking in the atmosphere and exploring.
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