Shenmue characters were like the most realistic looking characters around during the game's release, those three exceptions in those pictures (which I consider only the first to count anyway) do not account for the overwhelming majority of characters who look pretty realistic.
I don't disagree that it may have been a bit stylized even back then, it was realistic compared to anything contemporary though (stuff like wrinkles and spots were rare on character faces back then).
But these new characters look straight out of a comic book, way too cartoony, that old master dude in the trailer even clashes with Ryo's more 'realistic' look, making that scene look a bit comedic, which was probably unintentional.
Let's be honest here, they simply couldn't be faithful to the artistic direction of the original, because they couldn't afford it. We all knew what we were signing up for, is OK, the fact that they got the characters to look half decent after that original Kickstarter trailer, is a miracle.