2019-05-01+Official+PlayStation+Magazine+-+UK+Edition

042

SHENMUE 3

Flyingphoenix,hiddendragon

thebackboneofRyo’sinvestigation.

Alongthewayheformsa stronger

bondwithShenhua,aswellasthe

restofthevillagersthroughanaffinity

system.Afterall,Ryois anoutsider,so

residentsdon’ttrusthimrightaway–

whichmakesinteractionsa lotdeeper

thantheycouldbeintheoldgames.

BRAVENIOWUWORLD

You’realsoabletoexploreNiowu.

Thetownis largerthanBailuVillage,

butthesetting’sstillundeniably

rural1980sChina.YouuseRyo’s

martialartsskillsatvariouspoints.

Thecombat’shandledbyitsown

engineratherthantheVirtuaFighter

enginetheoriginalgamesused,

thoughmostofthefamiliarmoves

arereturningalongsidenewones.

Levelling up and growing stronger is

simpler to understand, governed by a

combination of Attack and Endurance

stats, and an inventory system allows

easier interaction with what Ryo

acquires on his journey. For the most

part, though, the control system is

quite close to the original games, with

Suzuki having relented to allow camera

controls on a second analogue stick.

This long-awaited sequel is still

ambitious, but not overly so, knowing

the small things are what have always

made Shenmue shine.

FORMATPS4/ETA 27 AUG/PUBDEEPSILVER/DEVYSNET

FACTRICK

Theoriginalgamewasthe

mostexpensiveevermade

in itsday,costingover

$47milliontoproduce.

1.BIGMONEY

Corey Marshallreturnsto

voice Ryo inthegame’s

Englishdub,reprisinghis

rolein thefirsttwogames.

2.SMOOTHTALKER

Gambling activityLuckyHit

returns – Ryo needstoearn

money to continueonhis

revenge journey.

3.GETLUCKY

Above Shenmue III’s game

world isn’t the biggest ever

created, but it’s detailed.

It feels alive, and there’s

plenty to discover.

“THE SMALL

THINGS HAVE

ALWAYS MADE

SHENMUE SHINE.”

Suzuki’s extensive

research on China for

the original games is

continuing to pay off in

this third entry.

That moment during E3 2015 when

Yu Suzuki took to the PlayStation

conference stage and announced

the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter was a

dream come true for fans. A dream

so true it was worth the combined

value of over $7m (despite only asking for $2m).

But perhaps mostly importantly for Shenmue 3 it

was a dream come true for Suzuki, too.

Considering the first game was way ahead of the

open world curve when it released, it’s pleasing

to learn that Shenmue 3 isn’t going to fall over

itself chasing the modern interpretation

of what that means. If anything, it seems

it’ll be walking back some of the larger

scope of the second game’s Hong Kong to

keep things focused, contained, and, most

importantly, detail-driven. The series has

never been about size, but incredible depth

• it’s packed with side-characters with
  oddly nuanced backstories you could miss,
  schedules everyone adheres to, and little
  out-of-the-way things to discover.
  This game picks up immediately where
  the second one ended. Ryo Hazuki has met
  (literal) dream girl Shenhua in Bailu Village,
  Guilin in China, having tracked his father’s
  killer, Lan Di, all the way from Japan. Bailu
  Village is where the mystical Dragon and
  Phoenix twin mirrors were created, objects of power
  that Lan Di wants to get his hands on.
  Exploring Bailu Village and asking questions
  about the mirrors, Lan Di, and your father forms