I'd say the majority of their criticisms were valid.
Shenmue's whole appeal was that it offered an open, living city that you could freely explore and interact with in a way that people had not really encountered before. We should really get a poll going for people who have played it for the first time just recently. I did, and it certainly didn't live up to the hype.
My concern for shenmue 3 is that the open, living world thing is nothing new at this point, and it's also ridiculously expensive. They had better find a new source of a lotta money.