Shenmue Dojo

I don't get why they went with the cartoon-like approach with Shenmue 3's graphics. I much prefer the old Shenmue 1 and 2's realistic graphics. I'm not sure if it's to cut cost, but Shenmue 3 doesn't look anything like previous games.

Any thoughts?

You might find it doesn't look like previous games because it's 20 years later.

Should also probably point out stylisation doesn't equal cartoon either. When only AAA games (or games with a very, very limited cast) can really push for modern standards of realism, it'd be stupid to chase that on a AA budget at the expense of the rest of the game.

I recall Suzuki saying in an interview that realistic graphics have pretty much already been achieved by AAA games, and that he wanted to do something different with Shenmue 3's graphics such as representing humidity and smell 'visually'.

I like the style. As Huber pointed out, it has that Dreamcast 'feel' about it.

asdfguy wrote: I don't get why they went with the cartoon-like approach with Shenmue 3's graphics. I much prefer the old Shenmue 1 and 2's realistic graphics. I'm not sure if it's to cut cost, but Shenmue 3 doesn't look anything like previous games.

Any thoughts?

The look of Shenmue 3 has nothing to do with its current budget, rather it is a deliberate aesthetic choice. The Unreal 4 engine in its very nature is designed for achieving realism, its lighting, its shaders, etc

This is an out of box UE4 rendering by a single individual:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaA2ZYhs-7I

Further to the budget issue, Hellblade was completed for 'way below $10 milion' using the Unreal 4 Engine.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2015/09/16/nin ... ndie-game/


Example:








Yu Suzuki has stated in many previous interviews that the aim (for Shenmue 3) is "reality", not "realistic". YSNet has created a completely customized set of shaders to achieve this objective.

Yu Suzuki emphasizes the "humidity" word to define Shenmue. He actually thinks that modern technologies make possible the feel of this humidity to recreate some reality. According to him, being only realistic is not interesting because realism is not an end in itself. The Suzuki's intention is to offer something more attractive, more aesthetic than the reality, to embellish it.

Source: https://shenmuemaster.fr/page.php?cat=s ... -the-recap

Just to point out- Hellblade has a cast you can maybe count on one hand (haven't played it but I know it's very limited with characters), and one of Ninja Theory's key design goals was AAA visuals on an indie budget.

Shenmue III has to realise a semi-open world with hundreds of NPCs. Although the aesthetic was an art choice, there's an element of practicality to it that probably informed the decision.

^I agree and that was sega.Why make a nascar game when you can make a hyper-pseudo realistic one like Daytona USA

I was kind of hoping for something more along the lines of the modern Yakuza aesthetic, but w/e I guess. I trust that Suzuki knows what he's doing.

No problem for me.
And from what we have seen the game doesn't look to bad for me.

About Hellblade, in fact there is only on realistic character (the main character) and the face was scaned, so it can't be compare whith Shenmue 3.
Hellblade is a great game BTW

A little bit

This is a topic that's been discussed before. The fact is, Shenmue has always had stylized (or, if you will, "cartoony") art direction. Anyone who thinks Shenmue was photorealistic is mistaken. To me Shenmue III looks like a perfect continuation of the established style, updated with contemporary tech.

I always respond to this question with this:

(c/o Centrale et al)

So, personally, my answer is no. Shenmue has always been highly stylized imo, and I believe it's just the difference in fidelity and graphical tech between a 20 yo game and an UE4 game that is causing the perceived dissonance between the old games and 3. Just my personal opinion, though.

Anonymous81 wrote: I always respond to this question with this:

So, personally, my answer is no. Shenmue has always been highly stylized imo, and I believe it's just the difference in fidelity and graphical tech between a 20 yo game and an UE4 game that is causing the perceived dissonance between the old games and 3. Just my personal opinion, though.

Agreed. Shenmue has always been a bit exaggerated, the colors always a bit saturated.

The unknown grandma in SIII looks to be a perfect continuation of this art style.

And this guy!

Centrale wrote: This is a topic that's been discussed before. The fact is, Shenmue has always had stylized (or, if you will, "cartoony") art direction. Anyone who thinks Shenmue was photorealistic is mistaken. To me Shenmue III looks like a perfect continuation of the established style, updated with contemporary tech.

I agree, and I've always said this when people accused Shenmue of just being boring realism. That said, I'd tell you it's a matter of degree. I think the previous two Shenmues were a little closer to realistic, while 3 is a little more styled.

To add to this though, I do think 2 was also just a little more stylized than the first game. Perhaps you could argue 3 is just continuing this trend, and maybe Suzuki had always intended this sort of progression.