Shenmue 3 Kickstarter

[Reprise]

So, a couple of things.

1. I'm hyped as fuck after that trailer. It looks bad and it's glorious!

2. There's been plenty of great Kickstarter projects that have come to life. People really need to keep their expectations in check. But whatever, hating on Kickstarter and proclaiming that all projects are going to suck before they're even close to release and laughing at "the suckers who funded them" is the cool thing to do nowadays.

3. Not a dig at anyone personally, but I'm so fed up with all this hate Shenmue 3 has been generating over the last couple of years. You think people like me who have been begging and hoping for a sequel for 16 years care about the graphics or font? Shenmue 3 will most likely suck by modern gaming standards. I mean when did Yu Suzuki last make a big game? You do know their budget is tiny given the ambitious series? That's a fact and I don't care if it can't compete with mainstream modern gamea, as long as it's true to the Shenmue name, warts and all.

[Segata]

I waited just as long. I was a fan back when this was Project Berkley in 1998. I know it's an indie game but been indie games before with less money that didn't look very amateurish. This KS has shown issues since a while ago. I just don't have a good feeling about it. Not saying I always call things right because no one can but the last time I was this sure about a feeling was for games like No Mans Sky (never bought into the hype) and Watchdogs and Mn9 (in 2014). It's one thing to want a conclusion but you still want the game to look well done no matter the budget. You also want it to be a good game. The budget cannot be a scapegoat as in this day in age plenty of small and less experienced teams have put out some great looking games. Everything about this game is just telling me, sometimes it's better to want something than to actually have it.

[Reprise]

Yeah, like I said, it's not a dig at anyone personally and not you, I'm just a bit tired of the pessimism and hate. I've been a fan since the early days of Project Berkley. And if people just need to chill out a bit and wait and see. I don't understand why people work themselves into such a frenzy over games. No Mans Sky is a prime example. I never jumped on the hype train and enjoyed the game just fine for what it was. I got plenty of enjoyment out of it, without stressing about all the politics over what was allegedly "promised" or worrying whether it lived up to the "hype" (a competely self-created construct).

[Segata]

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[ElkinFencer10]

Just saying, Shenmue III isn't an indie project. An indie game is one made without the financial backing of a publisher; Deep Silver definitely counts as a big enough publisher to make Shenmue III definitely NOT indie.

[Blu]

I think the game looks just fine. The characters have a tad too much Western influence. The scenery and backdrops look amazing. I think this is a fantastic trailer and it's a miracle this game is coming out. Like Reprise said, people need to temper their expectations. If you think you can produce a better game with a staff of perhaps a couple hundred, if that, then by all means go for it. Gone are the days where three people can produce a quality game. Yu Suzuki has a knack for storytelling and gameplay and his high standards will ensure this game is good.

I'll take your copy off your hand though Segata, I'll buy out your share of what you kickstarted. On one condition: if it means we won't have to hear such knee-jerk reactions anymore. Let's all just relax and let things pan out. Ryo and Shen Hua will emerge from the Phantom RIver Stone mine, Lan Di will be waiting. They unite the two mirrors, find the Qing Dynasty treasure, and wish their fathers back to life with the Dragon Balls. The end. Everyone wins and they go to the arcade to play After Burner, Out Run, and Space Harrier. Ryo later cheats at Darts, and after that, Lan Di drunkenly crashes a forklift into Fuku-san's bedroom.

[Gunstar Green]

Shenmue always had a cartoony style between real-life and anime, it's just in the Dreamcast days graphics were still so crude that what we got looked hyper-realistic to us at the time.

They couldn't afford to do a hyper-realistic game today, so it seems like they made it look like the Dreamcast, probably intentionally to fit in visually with the previous entries. Whether this is good or bad is going to be up to the individual. (I will say that weird lubricant gloss that everyone has is probably my biggest gripe. I hate when games do that. If you're going for a Dreamcast look then go all out with the shading).

But the Shenmue games have always been corny and weird so I'm not sure what people were expecting. It's like Yooka-Laylee all over again where people got what they asked for then realized they never wanted it in the first place.

Yeah, like I said, it's not a dig at anyone personally and not you, I'm just a bit tired of the pessimism and hate. I've been a fan since the early days of Project Berkley. And if people just need to chill out a bit and wait and see. I don't understand why people work themselves into such a frenzy over games. No Mans Sky is a prime example. I never jumped on the hype train and enjoyed the game just fine for what it was. I got plenty of enjoyment out of it, without stressing about all the politics over what was allegedly "promised" or worrying whether it lived up to the "hype" (a competely self-created construct).

The pattern I see with these big-nameKickstarters is people back the games in excitement and the communities formed by the backers slowly descend into chaos as problems and delays occur, then by the time they're shown something and it ends up not being the perfect version they pictured in their head they're already in hate mode and ready to attack. People treat Kickstarter like a pre-order service. If you want to know whether or not you like what the finished game is going to be then crowd-funding isn't for you, it's for people who want to help make an idea into a reality. I understand the buyer's remorse feeling, but investing is a gamble and sometimes you lose.

It's unfortunate that stuff like this causes so much drama because it turns people off from investing in other, smaller games that really need the money and oftentimes turn out great like EverSpace, one of my favorite games of the year thus far.

At least with No Man's Sky the backlash has resulted in a better game. A year later I'd argue it's everything they promised and lots of things they didn't. That wasn't Kickstarter though, that was Sony marketing making pumping up an interesting indie experiment with AAA expectations (and Sean Murray being a little too ambitious for his own good).

Just saying, Shenmue III isn't an indie project. An indie game is one made without the financial backing of a publisher; Deep Silver definitely counts as a big enough publisher to make Shenmue III definitely NOT indie.

I haven't been following the development (because I'm not a fan of Shenmue as previously stated) but are they funding development or is this like the Mighty No. 9 situation where they were brought in for the physical versions and marketing?

[ElkinFencer10]

Just saying, Shenmue III isn't an indie project. An indie game is one made without the financial backing of a publisher; Deep Silver definitely counts as a big enough publisher to make Shenmue III definitely NOT indie.

I haven't been following the development (because I'm not a fan of Shenmue as previously stated) but are they funding development or is this like the Mighty No. 9 situation where they were brought in for the physical versions and marketing?

Not 100% sure, but I know that in addition to the Kickstarter, Sony is providing at least some level of funding even if Deep Silver isn't.

[Reprise]

Meh, whatever. The character models are clearly an intentional art direction and clearly still a work in progress. People forget that the original character models were very anime in style and quite cartoony. Just look at Cool Z or Goro. It just reminds me of Zelda and how everyone used to think that it should be a super realistic looking game, because they ignored or did not notice the cartoony style that was abundant in OoT.

I like it. The most Important thing is the environment and atmosphere looks absolutely spot on and fits the Shenmue style perfectly.

[ElkinFencer10]

I have a radical idea. What if the naysayers chill the fuck out and let those of us who are hella excited be hella excited?