I found a cozy little shop at the outskirts of Bailu, the rural Chinese village Shenmue III starts off at. In front of the entrance were two capsule toy machines, and maps that indicate where to find medicinal herbs could be obtained from a small table next to it. As Ryo Hazuki, I pick up one of the maps and then bent down in front of the capsule toy machines, just like I did for the first time nearly 20 years ago.

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“ It beats me how director Yu Suzuki managed to do all this with a much more limited budget.

An Open World with a Unique Sense of Reality

“ I believe that by adding unnecessary elements, important things shine even more.

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Filling Ryo’s Stomach

“ I see these mini games as a form of meditation.

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“ It was obvious that Shenmue III was keen to offer me multiple methods to solve one task.

Training and Meditation

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“ While Shenmue 3's battle system is not as interesting gameplay wise, it has the potential to better depict Ryo’s growth as a martial artist.

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More like a Video Game

“ When you walk a path that you normally run, there’s always something new to discover.

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Ryo puts the toys in his magical pockets that can hold anything from stone mirrors to living ducks, and heads into the store. Before approaching the store clerk, I decide to take my time and first have a look around. Like in the previous entries, Ryo can freely explore these environments, open drawers and pick up random objects that have no importance to the main story. Objects Ryo can interact with are now highlighted with small circles, a convenience that Shenmue purists will probably find unnecessary.“That's a lot of spices,” Ryo’s English voice actor Corey Marshall says as I open a certain drawer, in the exact same stoic way as he did when he was still a beardless young man.Dolls are being displayed in the back of the store. They look like Russian Matryoshka, which is noteworthy considering Shenmue III’s late eighties rural China setting. Ryo is also surprised that “they have these in China.” Environmental storytelling like this, makes me want to investigate every single object I come across.It beats me how director Yu Suzuki managed to do all this with a much more limited budget compared to the previous entries, but Shenmue III’s open world seems to be as packed with details as before.“I think it’s because more than anything, I’m building a world.” he said.“I believe that by adding elements that are unnecessary, the important things will shine even more.” Suzuki explained.In Shenmue III, Ryo can make international calls to his friends in Japan and Hong Kong. Since the most modern device Ryo carries is probably his walkman, he needs to make use of public phones to catch up with his friends. However, Suzuki tells me that to make a call, Ryo first needs to purchase an international telephone card. While allowing Ryo to directly make the phone call sounds much more convenient for the player, by adding an extra step Suzuki somehow makes the experience feel more genuine.A new element Shenmue III brings to the series, is that Ryo now needs to eat. Ryo’s stamina decreases when he runs as well as when he gets hit during battles. To regain stamina he needs to either sleep or eat. If you don’t recover your stamina, it means that you’ll be going into battles with less HP, and Ryo will lose the ability to run while exploring. On paper that doesn’t sound fun at all, but simulating Ryo’s everyday needs of food and sleep feels like a natural evolution for the series.While exploring Bailu village, I came across various gambling parlors, pawn shops to sell my toys, fishing spots, locations to engage in part time jobs, and more. While not all of these activities can be engaged in from the start, it was obvious that Shenmue III was keen to offer me multiple methods to solve one task; in this case earning money. I decided to go back to the small store, and asked the clerk if he needed a hand with wood chopping. With both of his hands gripped onto an axe, Ryo automatically moves in a semicircle. If the player presses the button when Ryo faces the piece of wood, he will succeed in chopping it. Chop multiple pieces of wood in a row, and a cool arcade-like tune starts playing to get you in the mood, but if you miss it starts fading away again. It’s a simple rhythm based mini-game that is fun while it lasts.At the dojo, Ryo can increase his stats by hitting wooden dummies and performing the kung fu ‘horse stance’, which play out as simple mini games similar to the wood chopping.“I see these mini games as a form of meditation. There’s many different ways to achieve your goal in Shenmue III. If you’re not sure where you want to start, you might want to give it a thought while chopping some wood or performing the horse stance for a while.”In an earlier preview , I wrote that some of the activities in Shenmue don’t feel as fleshed-out as before, but Suzuki has a point in that they prevent the player from being overwhelmed at first.Inside the dojo, there is a board with names of not the masters and students. Ryo finds the name of the dealer, and sees that he has a 2nd Dan degree. The player understands that Ryo probably needs to reach that same rank in order to stand a chance. To reach a higher Dan, Ryo needs to beat someone of the next rank in a match at the dojo. You can head into these matches straight away, or choose to prepare by increasing Ryo’s stats through training first. Training can be done through the aforementioned mini games, as well as by practicing your skills while sparring a real opponent.While Ryo’s move set is similar to that of the previous games, the commands for them have been completely revamped. Before, most moves demanded the player to input combinations between the d-pad and face buttons, but Shenmue III’s moves are utilized mostly through combinations of just the face buttons and sometimes a trigger button. You block by holding the left trigger, and Ryo can make quick steps in 360 degrees by quickly tilting the analog stick. According to Suzuki, dodging an opponent’s attack and delivering a counter is an important strategy in Shenmue III’s battles.To be honest, the battle system of the original two games - which made use of the Virtua Fighter engine - is much deeper and engaging than Shenmue III’s new battle system. However, being defeated by a strong enemy, having to train to stand a chance and then heading back for revenge is an interesting RPG gameplay loop that was not present before. While it’s not as interesting gameplay wise, it has the potential to do a better job in depicting Ryo’s growth as a martial artist.The triangular relationship between stamina, food and money is another gameplay loop that is new to these series. Suzuki keeps stressing that the interconnection between elements is one of the most important aspects of Shenmue III, and it really shows.As someone that loved Shenmue for its simulation of real life, learning that Shenmue III has come closer to a traditional video game experience made me a bit skeptical. But after playing, I realized that these new gameplay loops are actually contributing to the simulation, since most players will only serve Ryo dinner on a daily basis if it’s actually necessary.I couldn’t defeat the dealer during my 15 minute playtime. I was able to reach the next Dan, but while sprinting down the mountain path from the dojo, Ryo became so fatigued he refused to keep running. While slowly descending the mountain path, I noticed there were medicinal herbs for Ryo to collect along the path. I didn’t notice these herbs before, but because the game forced me to walk I was now able to have a close look at the environment.“When you walk a path that you normally run, there’s always something new to discover” Suzuki said.Shenmue is indeed an experience that demands the player to slow down and take time to breathe in the world. A 15 minute demo at E3 is far from ideal to savor that experience, so I look forward to the game’s November 19 release on PS4 and PC.

Esra Krabbe is IGN Japan’s Shenmue professor. Ask him about his time with Shenmue III on Twitter