Why exactly is the Shenmue series constantly dumped on by gamers?

I get it, the games are not that fun but let me tell you something, the so called spiritual successor Yakuza is also no excuse to say Shenmue sucks since there aren't many similarities there to begin with.

There is a reason why there's this fanbase that wanted Shenmue 3, a story had to be continued, people enjoyed the Shenmue universe, it's characters, settings and theme of Martial Arts in rural china (which is very unique to Shenmue of all games)

I just fail to see why people cannot stop with this bullshit argument that the games are bad "because Sega lost money" and they are financial failures. That never means a product isn't good per se it just means there's no audience there, it is niche. Many people wan't action and Shenmue only offers a fraction of that.

With Shenmue 3 there's way too much unjust by the entire gaming community, instead of looking at this game's existence and quality in good faith everybody is trashing it (not speaking of the Kickstarter's issues) but game quality wise. It is very much in the spirit of Shenmue with it's wonky English VA and funny looking NPCs. So why?

I haven't seen a single person attack Shenmue 3 until it decided to take Epics blood money,

Shenmue hasn't aged well for starters.

Back in the day we had never seen a game like Shenmue before, an open world game with time and date mechanics and characters with specific schedules was a cool novelty.

But time and date management was pretty boring, I found myself wondering the town for things to do to pass the time by, you can only play the same mini games for so long. There's a reason most games don't do this.

Now Yakuza has a lot of the same elements but instead of having to manage time and dates you are free to progress the main story at your own leisure. So you can play as many mini games, side stories, or explore as much as you want. Or you can play straight through the story.

@sleevefix: Didn't exactly sell well back then. Because not only was it on limited systems, but walking simulators (which Shenmue mostly is) tend to have mixed results. Also during the time was the most expensive game ever made. Which made many be far more critical on its quality.

Clunky controls, very out of date compared to some of Dreamcasts excellent offerings. And Quick Time Events was also neutrally disliked back in 2000's, comparable to the lootbox issue we have now. It was rare exceptions people praise QTEs and even then a loud vocal made it clear QTEs went too far in games like Shenmue.

One could say Shenmue has more to dislike than praise. And those that like the games are more invested in the story-telling and immersive world than the actual gameplay mechanics.

Meanwhile Ryū ga Gotoku had far superior gameplay mechanics and less restrictions in how it handles tasks. Shenmue was designed to be a simulator, Ryū ga Gotoku is an Action RPG in all intents and purposes.

P.C. Gamers tend to be the most vocal when complaining, so this is likely true. Yet I've seen complaints about Shenmue 3 since its Backer trailer. Questioning the development team, the budget, and also lack of Backer feedback given unlike some other high profile KickStarter projects.

I didnt know people hated on the Shenmue games. Arent they the most popular games on the dreamcast?

Shenmue is loved by many gamers. Not heard any hatred towards it apart from the recent Epic Games and Steam news. Maybe I am missing something here

Aside from the epic store stuff, I think people hear all this praise from its vocal fanbase, and then go into it expecting a typical action/adventure, or something very similar to Yakuza, but that is not Shenmue. It's a series about immersion and patience, which isn't everyone's cup of tea.

I don’t see people “constantly” dumping on Shenmue myself.

In my experience Shenmue was NOT the game i was expecting when i got it on DC and was put off by it, but it got me and I went away thinking it was a good game after completing it, but not a great game.

Shenmue II on the other hand, is a phenomenal game, it gets going a lot faster and never lets down.

@sleevefix:

The Shenmue series was never good. They were more like, pinnacles reached in videogame tech. Their innovation is what drew the audience. But now that everyone has not only caught up but have gone way beyond the technology that was available at that time, Shenmue is just left with its cliche storyline and boring world.

Original Shenmue actually wasn't much of a hit. Just developed a fanbase.

Also the birth of QTE's might be tied to Shenmue, someone fact check me on that. It was cool with the amount of things you can do in the base game but there were also some serious technical issues that limited it.

Also copy and paste combat from a popular fighting game at the time Virtua Fighter. However, in spite of all that, I have fond memories of Shenmue

Being a PC gamer has nothing to do with it. Shenmue 3 kickstarter goal was to have it on Steam, the developers made a promise ti Steam, fans who wanted it so badly supported kickstarter and out of nowhere, Deep Silver was offer lots of money from Epic and so with that, Shenmue 3 will be on Epic store exclusive and Steam version will be release a year later. As you can, whoever supported this kickstater felt betrayed after they were promise releasing it to Steam.

Oh well, I never care for Shenmue 3 cause I move on after Shenmue 2 and never bother supporting kickstarter so none of this doesn't bother me. But I have heard Epic is giving refunds, for better or worse, at least it was the right thing to do.

@davillain-: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night also promised both Vita and WiiU fans copies during its contribution period. And as a Backer can state that wasn't nearly as fussy as I've seen P.C. Gamers with Shenmue 3. Most seem to even understand the situation. Especially considering those who expected it on Steam was granted a complete refund if not happy with the Epic Deal with Shenmue 3. Which from what I read is helping with development cost, to make the game, better.

Honestly I never understood the launcher war on P.C. I have a ton of launchers and barely makes a difference. Sure I wish everything was on GoG but the world just doesn't function like that.

So yes, based on what I just mentioned above I would argue many these vocal P.C. Gamers are just drama queens. Installing a different launcher isn't exactly going to burn your worlds. Not to mention Fortnite is one of the biggest games on the planet. So chances are most already have it anyway without even noticing. Seems stupid and pointless to complain about honestly.

On both Steam and Epic you don't exactly own the game at anycase. GoG however, you do. Just throwing that out as food for thought.

@RSM-HQ: I'm not part of this whole Client wars at all. Epic itself doesn't bother me to say the least. I use just about all Clients anyways and Steam just happens to be my main HQ and GoG my second as well only a game isn't on GoG of course. I did pre-order Cyberpunk 2077 on GoG for obvious reason.

I agree that this whole launcher war is just stupid if you ask me.

@davillain-: Yeah I find a lot of wars regarding game platform and launchers just stupid. Sure some have benefits and negatives but its these bigger companies funding and helping these developers complete these games to begin with. Either from distribution aid, or finical backing. Some around here seem to drastically overlook that. In some cases they co-develop the games.

Do agree that Backers not getting the exact product they ask for is annoying. Never had it myself but dread the day it happens. When Backers are namely the people most looking forward to the game it is understandable to raise concerns. However I imagine not only are the Steam Backers in the minority (Shenmue is a console franchise before all else and majority Backers are console owners), but also with the full refund option; they have little reason to complain. And yet they did anyway_

Or you know they could just switch over to the Epic edition, it's not exactly going to change much honestly.

I haven't play any games from Shenmue franchise. Therefore, I can't comment on how good or bad it is. But, I've heard nothing but positive things from that franchise. Maybe I'm missing something.

shenmue its masterpiece and reason buy two consoles on the past dreamcast and the original xbox i cant wait for shenmue 3

I replayed both recently and it's amazing both were available on dreamcast. They were ahead of its time there was nothing available in a similar mould on any other system.

I played Shenmue back on the Dreamcast and was blown away by it. Recently played it on PS4 and it's still amazing and ahead of it's time. Shenmue 2 I recently started and it's been years since I played it and it's way better than Shenmue. I think had I not played Shenmue back in the day, I probably would find it boring today.

I played Shenmue back in the day on Dreamcast and I loved it. There was just so much you could do that you couldn't really do in other games. I played it again recently on PS4, though, and it bored me to tears. I felt like I wasted a whole day when I could've played something else and had fun. The controls are also really stiff too.

Well the Shenmue 3 development has been a mess to say in the least. Once they backers from Kickstarter were pretty much told they could piss off it went downhill from there. I would be surprised if this game doesn't get axed REALLY hard on Metacritic when it comes out.

I always thought I’d have lots of fun playing these games but I’ve never had a chance to try them. They’re kind of really exclusive or hard to get your hands on.

I agree. You rarely hear anyone talk negatively about it. I recently bought the remastered version too. It's still a great game!

I think it's mostly coming from people who have imaginary Valve shares.

I think people who hate the epic store are always trying to find reasons to justify themselves after the fact. It's embarrassing to admit that you suffer from baseless brand loyalty, so you need to find excuses like "but they promised a steam version" or "they don't even have a shopping cart!".

At the end of the day, developers get a better cut from Epic. And these exclusives are diverting the massive hoard of fortnite money to better games. This makes the world of game development more equitable. It's a good thing. This is just stupid system wars crap appearing in a form contained entirely in the PC ecosystem.