Shenmue 3 Is Slow, Clunky, And Outdated, And That's Why I Love It
From the moment it was announced, Shenmue has always been a divisive game. For superfans such as myself, its slow pace, detailed simulation of the minutiae of everyday life, and idiosyncratic gameplay are precisely what make it so magical. For others it's just a boring game with weird controls where all you do is wander around having inane conversations with people. I mean, there is some truth to that. It's a deeply unusual, offbeat game that refuses (to this day) to be filed under any kind of traditional, established genre—and that's why I love it.
Related: Shenmue Is The Most Atmospheric Video Game Ever Made
When Yu Suzki returned decades later with a third game, it didn't feel real. The first chapter was so expensive, and such a flop, that it arguably contributed towards the death of the Dreamcast, putting Sega out of the hardware business forever. The second game was released in the West on the original Xbox, but didn't exactly set that console ablaze either. As wonderful, groundbreaking, and imaginative as Shenmue was, it felt doomed to fail. Over the years, 'Shenmue 3' became a joke. Shorthand for a game that would never see the light of day.
Until it did. On November 19, 2019, Shenmue 3 launched on PC and PlayStation 4. Series creator Yu Suzuki was back to continue the martial arts revenge story he started telling 20 years previously, with a little help from 69,320 Kickstarter backers. The crowdfunding campaign raised $6,333,295—a far cry from the $130 million (adjusted for inflation) the original game reportedly cost to make. As a result, it feels notably cheaper than its predecessors. But the important thing (for fans at least) was how, despite these limitations, it still felt like Shenmue.
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