https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/shenmue-iii

Polygon put it best:

"It’s not the lack of elegant dialogue or the glitches that make this game so disappointing, but the idea that a series that was so obsessed with what would be possible from gaming in the future has turned into a way for people to attempt to revisit the past."

Basically, gamers ended up kick starting a nostalgia trip. 2015 reactions are cringe-worthy now that 2 out of the 3 games that created much buzz failed to live up to the hype.

How do you think FF7 will be critically received? Will SE deliver 5 years after unveiling FF7R? 

Eh, the people who like Shenmue are more than fine with this. It's exactly what they've asked for.

No need to try to spin this as if it is another Mighty No. 9.

From what I hear most fans seem to be rather satisfied. They probably would have been upset if it was radically different since what the fans always wanted was another Shenmue game after 18 years. If they can make a Shenmue 4 than maybe that game they would want to try to make more different.

As for Final Fantasy 7 it looks like they aren't just banking on nostalgia and living in the past, the whole structure of the game is completely different, different combat system, new voice actors instead of using the compilation actors, updated designs for the characters, scenes and levels being expanded, slightly altered and new stuff being added on as we've seen, making Midgar into a full game, of course though it still has it's large amounts of nostalgia obviously since at the end of the day its a remake. But at the same time thats whats making some people iffy on the remake since all they wanted was the exact same game but with better graphics.

Either way its hard to compare since FF7 is a remake and Shenmue III is a sequel.

Who was expecting anything better? I'm surprised it even came out.

Probably the last guardian. TLG, Shenmue 3, and FF7 Remake pretty much won E3 2015 based on what I've seen.

It was to be expected. The original was a technical marvel and scored better than the game should have because of it. But the game didn't save the DC, and the series died after the 2nd installment even though it was ported over to the OG Xbox. The game just wasn't very fun to play and felt outdated ...the world wanted GTA and not Shenmue.

Dint even know this game came out. To be fair I never was hyped for it. I'm very hype for ff7r. Only thing that would make it an istant no buy is that the rumored parts of the game each cost full price. So far I'm all in.

I mean, of course it will, and kind of everyone already expects it? You're acquiring the equivalent of Mass Effect, and not Life Is Strange: Episode 1.

I bought it for like $9 back in early 2001 and loved it but I recall it getting mixed reviews. Then GTA 3 came out later that year and (even though they aren't similar games at all) reviewers were calling it "Shenmue done right".

It really was a technical marvel, though. Even had internet features that I never got a chance to use because we didn't have internet access until like 2007 in my home.

The game was made for the fans of the original games. Those games aren’t for everyone, that’s for sure.

But fans of the original games, those who kickstarted it, are pleased with the game, and it achieves pretty much everything that they were looking for as a sequel to the first two games.

The first two games were received pretty much the same way. The series is different from most other games by it’s slow pace. This doesn’t sit well with everyone, and never has.

Personally, I contributed to the kickstarter and am currently enjoying the game and the fact it is just as it was back then on the Dreamcast. It is what I asked for.