Shenmue III OT - I CAN believe that it's bad!

[VomKriege]

Yeah as I said, my impressions are derived from the communication with the KS and everything : design may be may more focused in his head. I'm following from time to time the news about At the Gates, a crowdfunded 4x game by Jon Schafer (head design for Civ V) with his small company and the thing has been very long in the oven. It's just the reality of doing ambitious games with a small team and on a budget which seems to be what they are headed at, without the comfort of having a whole infrastructure with you like Suzuki had at Sega.

Also, the French guy with him is an unknown quantity to me. His somewhat nebulous professional activity is to be a middle man between Japan & France for business purposes. His company apparently seized some of the licencing rights for Tezuka characters, he's producing a Japanese movie,... I gather he bonded with Suzuki a few years back and he acts like a sort of press agent or something.

Anyway only time will tell.

[Himu]

I wouldn't bank the games development based on the KS. The KS is handled by a company they hired called Awesome Japan.

[VomKriege]

I wouldn't bank the games development based on the KS. The KS is handled by a company they hired called Awesome Japan.

Yeah I read that in your post earlier.
So on top of paying the KS commission, you also have to give them their cut ? Sounds  but I guess it's a better deal than to pay 2 people to do it ?

[nachobro]

There you go, Himu. They added a $3000 tier to get a replica jacket

[Himu]

They need a 1000, 2000, and 5000 tier too but it's a good step in the right direction for people who have more money than me.

[Positive Touch]

queen you know a guide that'll let me see as much as possible of s1 in a single playthru?

[Himu]

Sure. First step should always been buying Crawl Cyclone or whatever. It's a low kick sweep and THE move for using against Chai in the arcade on disc 2. You can beat him if you concentrate on practicing leg moves, but that one if probably the most important one.

If you want to see Ryo and Nozomi's Christmas scene, fail the Warehouse QTE and you'll repeat it every day until you pass it. Do it until like, the 23 or something. Take your time, you don't want to be on Disc 3 with a job at Christmas or New Years day because you will miss the scenes.

http://www.shenmue-uk.com/shenmue_uk_tips_s1.html

How are you playing it? Emulated? If so, I suggest playing the Eu version because when you play Eu II DC, you can transfer files.

[Positive Touch]

lol I didn't mean you had to type up a bunch of stuff for me but thx. I was about to dust off the old dc and play my copy.

[Himu]

wtf server error

[Himu]

Enjoy! Shenmue is a great summer game. Not as good as it is as a winter game though Click the link. It has more tips. I typed the Nozomi Xmas thing up because it's not on there for some reason and a lot of people miss it. Eri

There's also the school girls thing. On disc 2 while at the docks for the first time, talk to uhhhh, I forgot her name but she's at the Hoku Hoku Lunchbox stand next to the soda machine near the New Warehouse district where you'll find Warehouse 8. Talk to her and she'll talk to you about her sister Mai. After that, you'll get to do some school girl punchin' even if it's a QTE.

Shenmue is chock full of secrets and stuff that it's hard for one list to have it all.

Edit: for further characterization on Ryo and Iwao on the first day only (they disappear after that), examine the carrots on the kitchen table, walk up the cherry blossom tree, and examine the Kanji display at the head of the dojo to get flashbacks.

[Positive Touch]

god dammit how do I access the passport section I dug a fucking phone cord out of the basement for this

[Himu]

What do you want to use on the passport

[Mr. Nobody]

Haven't tried nullDC in a while but my computer is likely too flabby for it. 

Handles PSX games like a champ with mednafen though 

[Himu]

My computer runs it great on Core 2 Duo. Have beaten both games on NullDC with it and it runs better than it does on DC. Has a few graphic glitches but no other issues.

[Positive Touch]

What do you want to use on the passport

the nozomi section that had all the neat stuff

[Himu]

What do you want to use on the passport

the nozomi section that had all the neat stuff

Besides the profiles, which are all on Shenmue Dojo, it's only available in video form now.



I'm jealous because I never got to experience it.

[Positive Touch]

great job Sega on making most of that shit online for no reason. not having access to all that really sucks. I still had all my old prize cans stored on my memory card tho lol

[Himu]

great job Sega on making most of that shit online for no reason. not having access to all that really sucks. I still had all my old prize cans stored on my memory card tho lol

http://shenmuedojo.net/new/games/s1characters.html

[Mr. Nobody]

My computer runs it great on Core 2 Duo. Have beaten both games on NullDC with it and it runs better than it does on DC. Has a few graphic glitches but no other issues.

There's hope 

[Himu]

Interview with the programmer Tak Hirai!

The website has all the cool stuff that should be on the KS page.  they even have a What's Shenmue history section.

http://shenmue.link/us-en/topics/#item25

Also, there needs to be clarification on the Sony front. They are not publishing it or fully backing it. They are giving it SOME funding. Shenmue III has a lot of investors apparently. This means that the majority of the budget will be gained from Kickstarter. Donate what you can!!!!

[Himu]

My computer runs it great on Core 2 Duo. Have beaten both games on NullDC with it and it runs better than it does on DC. Has a few graphic glitches but no other issues.

There's hope 

If you're going for it, especially for II, get the optimized Shenmue Null DC version.

http://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=46995

[Great Rumbler]

The website has all the cool stuff that should be on the KS page. 

They should be pushing out an update nearly every day, getting this information out to people through one centralized location. Apparently, they picked somebody to run the Kickstarter who has no idea  how to run a Kickstarter past setting up the initial project page.

[Himu]

It's a great interview too. He goes over the development like how they had no reference point for making an open-world game and why making it was so difficult.

I'm going to bring up the bad KS updates on the AMA. Hopefully he answers. Eek! Yu Suzuki answering a question I ask?!

[Great Rumbler]

They haven't even posted an update to thank people for hitting the project goal. 

[demi]

Just saying I was there front and center when Shenmue 3 was announced and Himu wasnt.

True Shenmue fan right here

<-

[Positive Touch]

I just remembered SHITMOO

legendary thread

[nachobro]

I get like two emails a day with updates. Surprised they aren't putting them on the site.

[Great Rumbler]

moar like shit-moo

Shenmue 1 IS boring, and that's part of the novelty.

[Himu]

moar like shit-moo

Shenmue 1 IS boring, and that's part of the novelty.

Explains it better than I could.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/117856/Analysis_On_Shenmue__Dare_to_Be_Dull.php

[Himu]

So YSnet is self publishing Shenmue III. It's completely indie. This worries me because it seems that most of the money will be made from KS, and I'm not sure that amount of money (and a liberal estimation for the max amount of money that will be made from the Kickstarter is around 6 million) is enough for a full Shenmue experience. It could very well be a Walking Dead situation where it's barebones and follows a linear structure, but that isn't Shenmue to me. Here's hoping it's more in line with past games in terms of overall experience. Doesn't seem like Sony is giving much.

[Himu]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/06/19/yu-suzuki-shenmue-iii-interview-e3-2015.aspx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[VomKriege]

I guess I should have gone with my first hunch : Sony is really doing all this on the cheapest way possible. All good for Sony astroturfers anyway.
This is why I would like those announcements to be worded more straightforwardly.

Sorry to have been a blowhard with this shit. Guess you should never reach conclusions in the heat of the moment...

[Himu]

You're not being a blowhard. It's been an emotional week for Shenmue fans!

Read the GI link? Maybe there's hope.

[Himu]

You can laugh all you want! Never thought it was going to happen, and felt for a while that even if it did happen it wouldn't be too good, but right now I don't give a fuck. Positivity train!

[Himu]

YU RESPONDED TO ME IN THE AMA

[Mr. Nobody]

YU RESPONDED TO ME IN THE AMA

 

[VomKriege]

YU RESPONDED TO ME IN THE AMA

- "Suzuki-san, what about ludonarrative dissonance in regards to Shenmue ?"
- "Shenmue was a mistake, it's nothing but trash."

[Himu]

Suzuki says that they need 10 million for a full open world of the previous games. I predict this KS may end with 6 million, but if they enable paypal donations and the ability to donate after the KS ends it will hit 10 million easily.

[Vertigo]

I've put in for my digital copy, but I can't see this game living up to the older ones. Nostalgia is a son of a bitch.

I'm expecting a very clean, straightforward experience with a smidgen of the exploration the older games provided.

[Himu]

I've put in for my digital copy, but I can't see this game living up to the older ones. Nostalgia is a son of a bitch.

I'm expecting a very clean, straightforward experience with a smidgen of the exploration the older games provided.

I refuse to play a water downed Heavy Rain esque Shenmue. Refuse.

[VomKriege]

[Himu]

The reddit AMA was amazing. At the end it had over 1600 comments, And Yu replied for at least 4-5 hours. He went completely out of the way to talk to us. I went to bed around your three but even by then it was still my favorite AMA!

Here's the QA. I'm so proud that Shenmue Dojo and I curated so many quality questions and we got pretty much all of them answered.

How accurately will Shenmue III be compared to your original vision of the game or will there be major compromises?

YS: There are a total of 11 chapters that make up the whole story. Over the past 14 years I originally planned for there to 4 or five games to the series. If at all possible, I would still like to realize the full story of 11 chapters.

Will Shenmue III enable PayPal or a means to donate to the project when the Kickstarter ends? Projects like Star Citizen gained tens of millions in donations by allowing this.

YS: I am still thinking about it, but have not decided yet.

Shenmue is a Peach Blossom tree correct? Could you tell us what type of tree exactly?
I would like to plant one.

YS: It is more like a cherry blossom tree, that blooms its flowers in the springtime. It is actually a tree I made up for the story.

Hello Suzuku-san! Will a day-to-night cycle and weather system return to Shenmue 3? They added so much to the atmosphere of previous games. Thank you Suzuki-san!

YS: Of course!

Will you reassure us that Ryo's face will be changed back to the Ryo we all know and love when Shenmue 3 releases, and not this impostor wearing Ryo's jacket that you have on Kickstarter? That is NOT our Ryo!

YS: I am not happy with Ryo's face. It will be the face I have in my mind in the end.

Will the gameplay in Shenmue III be more contemporary or will it be more in line with past Shenmue iterations?

YS: As for III, I would like to make a less stressful user interface, that will feature more usability. From now on, I will make that a focus.

Yu are my hero!
Shenmue is credited with introducing the QTE. Given the significant advances in gaming systems and technology over the last decade, are you confident that you can show the gaming world something we have not seen before?

YS: Thank you very much.

Will we see any capsule toys based on Ape Escape or any of the Sony franchise in Shenmue 3?

YS: I have not decided the capsule toys, so please keep your ideas coming.

Have you ever consider telling the rest of the tale for Shenmue in a book if the opportunity to make Shenmue III never came up?

YS: Yes, I have but if I did do that, it would give away the end of the story, and I thought that would be a big minus.

What was your inspiration for the story behind the first two Shenmue games?

YS: When I was making Virtua Fighter, I went location hunting in China. I was very inspired by Chinese martial arts. That very well may have been the beginning.

Will practicing moves make a return in Shenmue 3 along with the FREE battle system? A lot of fans feel not being able to practice moves was big piece missing in Shenmue 2, and I also personally loved being able to practice and make the moves stronger. It really makes you feel as if you are learning marital arts and then performing them in a skill-based actual battle feels very satisfying.

YS: I want to do it yes!

Will players have access to both the Japanese and English voice overs for the game?
And I wanted to say thank you so much for Shenmue and Shenmue II, it brought a tear to my eye seeing those games at E3 during the Shenmue III announcement, I cannot wait. Those two games are what made me curious about Japan as a child, and I am now trying to work as a Japanese translator!

YS: I am thinking about that, yes. However it is not for sure.
It is because of fans like you, I wanted to make a sequel. Thank you very much.

Will the band-aid ever come off?

YS: I am considering a special option where it could be removed.

Will we see Ryo's Journal return? Would be cool to be able to flip the pages using the PS4's touchpad.

YS: I would like to bring back the Journal. That is an interesting idea, I will look into it. Thank you.

What do you think of the current state of Japanese game development?

YS: I see the share of mobile games increasing, the budgets of games decreasing. It will be harder to express a game's vision.
I would hope the console and PC markets gain more popularity.

Any possibility of a bicycle finally being added to Shenmue 3? Thank you so much again, Yu!

YS: There is a 60 horsepower bike in Shenmue 1. For Shenmue, 3 I was thinking about something with 1 horsepower.

Will character polls compromise your artistic vision?

YS: I really want to get everyone's opinion on the characters. I have something in mind that won't break the world immersion.

In Suzuki-san’s opinion, what is the essence of arcade games? Are those influences in Shenmue?

YS: With an arcade game, you are restricted to a 3 minute window to express what the game is. That is how I made games for the longest time. I wanted to create a game that could be played at a more leisurely pace, so I created what ended up being Shenmue.

Yu, are you really going to be signing your autograph on the illustration for the $300 kickstarter signed collectors edition? So far there is almost 2000 backers, that is a lot of illustrations to sign!

YS: Of course I will write them all myself!

Will Shenmue 3 have any sort of multiplayer component? Perhaps Co-op or a versus mode?

YS: I am thinking about something that would resemble that.

Do you have any more details to share about the stretch goals? It's not clear to me what a "Rapport System" or "Character Perspective System" entails.

YS: They are new systems, so naturally they need new names. The Rapport System will govern changes in Shenhua's actions depending on your conversations with or actions towards her. The "Character Perspective System" will highlight different characters personalities as they go through the story.

What will Ryo do to earn money in Shenmue 3?
As great and engrossing as the story and gameplay were in Shenmue 1 and 2, I (and many others) really really liked the forklift driving. It was like I could learn a new (video game) skill, get good at it, and putter around the docks like a badass.

YS: There will be part time jobs that will be indicative of those you would find in China. In the Stretch goals there will also be the old favorites.

Do you have any dogs or cats?

YS: 3 yorkshire terriers and a turtle.

Love your work! You are a pioneer in this industry! As for my question:
How much game elements/features will we be missing in the game if the campaign doesn't reach the $5 million mark?

YS: I will say this: if we reach the $5 mil mark, one of the things I really want to do with Shenmue 3 will become a reality.
At $10 million, it will truly have the features of an open world.

Who would win a fight between Ryo and Akira?

YS: Akira! Akira is up to 5 now, and Ryo is still on 3.

Can we expect more duck racing in Shenmue III? That was the best easter egg I've ever seen in a video game.

YS: I would love it.

How was it working with mega64?

YS: It was really fun. I would love to do it again.
I hope they pitch in for the replica Ryo jacktet!

Will there be forklift gameplay in Shenmue III?

YS: Look for it in the Stretch Goals!

Given Shenmue 2's ending and previous items found within the series; will swordplay enter gameplay at all? What about the story, can we expect Ryo to use a sword at some point?

YS: I can't answer that.

Do you have a favorite game that you've developed other than Shenmue?

YS: I had fun making all the games I worked on, and can't say one was better than another. Boring answer I know, but it really is true.

I only have one statement. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that Shenmue is one of the greatest game series of all time. And one quick question, what can we expect for surprises in the 3rd installment without spoiling the storyline at all?

YS: How could I do that? Sorry, gotta pass. Thank you very much though!

I've always wondered, why did you set the game in the 1980s rather than present day?

YS: I wanted put forward the differences in culture and values between the two periods.

(Suzuki-san, thank you for coming today! Shenmue is the reason I came to Japan. Those living towns and people you showed in your games were so natural and real, that I wanted to see it for myself. So, now I am in my fourth year of living in Japan.
What I'd like to ask is, if you had billions of yen, what would your dream Shenmue be?
Also, were there any features or gameplay you liked that didn't make it into Shenmue 1 or 2?)

YS: One where the player could live in that world. A second life.

I have two important questions for you:
Do you know where I can find some sailors?
Would you like to try a game of Lucky Hit?

YS: Yes, but not right now.
Uh, ok.

I love the music from Shenmue, if anything kept me thinking about Shenmue from time to time during these 10+ years it was the music. Was is your favorite piece from the soundtrack? Thank you for bringing Shenmue to our lives, I can't thank you enough.

YS: Of course I love both the Shenmue and Shenhua themes, and all of them really, but the one that really sticks with me is the Tomato Mart.

Will there be more funding tiers added to the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter, specifically between the $500 and $3000 tier?

YS: Yes.

Shenmue 3 is just the start. How successful does the game need to be for us to get Shenmue 4 and so on until the saga is complete?

YS: If the fans are not happy with 3 there will not be a 4. So I please hope we can together make this game the best it can be.

What Sega console is your favourite and why?

YS: The Dreamcast. It has really good balance. I was involved with the hardware as well, so it had a lot of meaning for me.

Suzuki-San...welcome to the fantasy zone! It's finally happening. Any plans on more arcade games within Shenmue III?

YS: I plan on making plans.

Why do you create?

YS: Why does one climb the mountain?
The shark cannot breath when it does not swim.

Any info on the stretch goals for Choubu and Bailu village?

YS: Choubu is a riverside village with lots of shops, souvenir stores, hotels and temples. The quests in this village should be very enjoyable, I think.
Bailu is the village where Shenhua was raised and also a place that Ryo's father, Iwao, had visited when he was younger. Here as well the quests will play an important role as Ryo and Shenhua start their journey.

Are all the towns listed in the Kickstarter stretch goals in the game already, or are the stretch goals only there as a means to help give them more features and spice?

YS: They are there, but with more powered up through the stretch goals.

Will Ryo ever go back to Japan?

YS: Not in 3.

Who is your favorite Shenmue character?

YS: It has always been Shenhua.

Are you still involved in any programming activities?

YS: I still write algorithms, logic verification, and make simple prototypes.

Do you play airsoft, paintball, or anything similar?

YS: I think it was Afterburner that I really got into airsoft. The office floor was covered with plastic BBs. Yeah, the Berretta 93R rocks. I put a real hunting scope on that one.

Are you at all a fan of Anime? If so, what are your favourites?

YS: Sure, but its all pretty old stuff.

Will the game take advantage of the virtual reality goggles on PS4 and PC?

YS: Right now, there are no plans for a vr system compatibility, but I love the idea of using it to peer into the world of Shenmue.

When creating Shenmue 3, will you use any assets at all from 1 & 2? Or do you have to start all over from scratch because SEGA still owns the first two games?

YS: The assets from 1 & 2 will get a lot of use.

Also gaf has a great summary on the funding thing and we need all the help we can get!!

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1067382

PLEASE DONATE WHAT YOU CAN

[thisismyusername]

Have you ever consider telling the rest of the tale for Shenmue in a book if the opportunity to make Shenmue III never came up?

YS: Yes, I have but if I did do that, it would give away the end of the story, and I thought that would be a big minus.

Welp, congrats on never finishing Shenmue then. If he doesn't complete it with 3, it's never gonna happen.

[Himu]

Have you ever consider telling the rest of the tale for Shenmue in a book if the opportunity to make Shenmue III never came up?

YS: Yes, I have but if I did do that, it would give away the end of the story, and I thought that would be a big minus.

Welp, congrats on never finishing Shenmue then. If he doesn't complete it with 3, it's never gonna happen.

Did you read that question right? It says nothing in relation to what you said. Yu has a book of his story outline. The person asked if Yu considered posting it before. Yu said he had, but decided on not to because it'd spoil the story. He says nothing about not finishing the story in III.

[thisismyusername]

Have you ever consider telling the rest of the tale for Shenmue in a book if the opportunity to make Shenmue III never came up?

YS: Yes, I have but if I did do that, it would give away the end of the story, and I thought that would be a big minus.

Welp, congrats on never finishing Shenmue then. If he doesn't complete it with 3, it's never gonna happen.

Did you read that question right? It says nothing in relation to what you said. Yu has a book of his story outline. The person asked if Yu considered posting it before. Yu said he had, but decided on not to because it'd spoil the story. He says nothing about not finishing the story in III.

I read it exactly right, couple it with this:

Shenmue 3 is just the start. How successful does the game need to be for us to get Shenmue 4 and so on until the saga is complete?

YS: If the fans are not happy with 3 there will not be a 4. So I please hope we can together make this game the best it can be.

AKA: "I have no plans of finishing the story with Shenmue 3. Please be excited buy Shenmue 3 to get 4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11 to finish the series!"

Which at this point is " It took you YEARS to even get a sniffing chance of doing Shenmue 3. Now that you're doing it, why WOULDN'T you attempt to finish the story or tie up ends and have a suppliment comic/novel/whatever for the plot-strings you want to leave for a '4' in case that DOESN'T happen."

Why would he leave that hanging for a chance of another game? Just... doesn't seem like a good idea to me, after Sega gave up.

[Himu]

Then maybe you quoted the wrong quote because the quote you posted in relation to a book and not the ending.


Anyways, it's not going to end in III. Most likely it end in IV. If III goes well, we will get IV. If III doesn't go well at least we got III. No compromises. I have been waiting for this for a decade. I refuse to compromise. Yu refuses to compromise. Fuck compromise.

[thisismyusername]

Then maybe you quoted the wrong quote because the quote you posted in relation to a book and not the ending.

No, I quoted the right quote: He has the complete story mapped out and could've finished it years ago. He didn't want to because it would "spoil the story." Now that he has a chance with Shenmue 3 to finish the story, he then says in another question "please buy Shenmue 3 and have it be successful so I can do a Shenmue 4."

If he has that complete story mapped out, why wouldn't he finish it with Shenmue 3 thereby saving himself the agony of praying that a "Shenmue 4" will happen to allow him to complete the story? Double so: If he had that story completely done and could've done it years ago, why wouldn't he? People begged him for a Shenmue 3, at that point he could've done a novel and washed his hands of it.

Basically, Himu my problem is this: It feels like he's going to pull another Shenmue 2 ending and leave 3 on a "to be continued" in the hopes of being able to do a 4 and thereby leaving fans in a lurch of praying for a Shenmue 4 if 3 fails (I'm not calling that yet, it's wayyy to early to say given dev costs/etc. not there yet). Meanwhile, he has the complete story mapped out and could EASILY have given fans what they wanted, a conclusion to the story. It may not have been interactive or graphical/"movie"-like, but it would've been better than nothing for all these years. Now he's doing the same thing again that Shenmue 2's "to-be-continued" with 3. Why wouldn't you call that out as a "uh... why?" move.

[Tasty]

Shenmue 3 is just the start. How successful does the game need to be for us to get Shenmue 4 and so on until the saga is complete?

YS: If the fans are not happy with 3 there will not be a 4. So I please hope we can together make this game the best it can be.

Dis bish already lining up 4 an 5

Suzuki-San...welcome to the fantasy zone! It's finally happening. Any plans on more arcade games within Shenmue III?

YS: I plan on making plans.

 

[Himu]

Then maybe you quoted the wrong quote because the quote you posted in relation to a book and not the ending.

No, I quoted the right quote: He has the complete story mapped out and could've finished it years ago. He didn't want to because it would "spoil the story." Now that he has a chance with Shenmue 3 to finish the story, he then says in another question "please buy Shenmue 3 and have it be successful so I can do a Shenmue 4."

If he has that complete story mapped out, why wouldn't he finish it with Shenmue 3 thereby saving himself the agony of praying that a "Shenmue 4" will happen to allow him to complete the story? Double so: If he had that story completely done and could've done it years ago, why wouldn't he? People begged him for a Shenmue 3, at that point he could've done a novel and washed his hands of it.

Basically, Himu my problem is this: It feels like he's going to pull another Shenmue 2 ending and leave 3 on a "to be continued" in the hopes of being able to do a 4 and thereby leaving fans in a lurch of praying for a Shenmue 4 if 3 fails (I'm not calling that yet, it's wayyy to early to say given dev costs/etc. not there yet). Meanwhile, he has the complete story mapped out and could EASILY have given fans what they wanted, a conclusion to the story. It may not have been interactive or graphical/"movie"-like, but it would've been better than nothing for all these years. Now he's doing the same thing again that Shenmue 2's "to-be-continued" with 3. Why wouldn't you call that out as a "uh... why?" move.

You say easily, but it isn't easy. Cutting out the entire last two games and relying on only one game to finish the story would make for a very, very, muddy experience.

Easily?



Shenmue II ended on that fifth image. We are on chapter 5.

Never mind this.



Easily? You really, really shouldn't use words like that in regards to Shenmue and cutting chapters. Suzuki has said ending it in 3 is impossible over the years. Although his vision is 5 games, if need be - and we are definitely in "need" here - he can cut it to 4 but no more. 3 ending the story is impossible. The problem is your own expectations of the story ending. Suzuki has never said it would over the years. Never. Ideally, he wants 4. If 3 does well, and it very well may, we will get Shenmue 4. If it doesn't do well, at least got 3. There is no reason to compromise quality for a need to rush to the ending. Especially a game like Shenmue, which is as much about the journey.

Fans don't want an ending from 3. We want continuation.

[Tasty]

Another 15 years of trolling Shenmue fans about a game that may never come out sounds great to me.

[Mr. Nobody]

Not gonna lie, not ending in 3 sounds rather far fetched.

This existing right now is somewhat of a miracle...slow your roll breh

[cool breeze]

I spent some time digging out old systems and games to see what I need to replay 1 and 2.  just learning I never ripped shenmue back in the day, probably because it's 3 gdis, and the process is a pain.  don't want to download anything, emulation is out.  but I have a VGA adapter so playing it on my old, noisy, musky dreamcast is an option.  For shenmue 2, I don't have the pal version for dreamcast and glancing at prices online, forget it.  they were high and shenmue 3 made them higher.  I can play my old xbox copy but I'd have to take my xbox apart and remove a time capacitor or something.  I'm reading it's backwards compatible on the 360 with some glitches, that seems to be the best option.  I wish they released versions on steam or gog.

[Himu]

360 version for II is your best option if you want to go the legal route.

Or you can just burn II DC to cd-r's and play that way.

[Himu]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/141291-Sony-will-be-involved-in-marketing-and-production-for-Shenmue-3

great article

also, 3.5 reached

[Lucretius]

These were my predictions on the future of Shenmue III April 2014.

Shenmue III

Free-to-play, card based battle system. 
Facebook exclusive.
In-app purchases of card booster packs.
In-app purchases of virtual quarters to play Outrun and Space Harrier. 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

(Virtual quarters cost $1.99.)

[close]

 
Send out mass messages to your entire friends list asking "Please help me find sailors!" 
Amazing voice acting…

spoiler (click to show/hide)

in Japanese only with no subtitles because Sega doesn't localize their RPGs anymore.

[close]

 
Amazing story…

spoiler (click to show/hide)

that ends in a huge cliffhanger teasing Shenmue IV which will never get made.

[close]

[Himu]

Amazing article. This sounds soooo gooood! The return of Ren!

http://www.4gamer.net/games/305/G030593/20150618126/

Thanks for being here.
YS: Thanks for having me. before jumping into questions I just want to make clear that Shenmue is a Kickstarter project and the scope and contents depend on the stretch goals.

-- Yeah, looking at the Kickstarter stretch goals there are the rapport system and skill tree and other added.
YS: We add more stretch goals so as more people pledge the scope of the game will get bigger. So as of now I can’t talk in detail about the mechanics of the game. What I’m able to accomplish will very much depend on the funds we can gather. I want to avoid telling too much and end up betraying those who have paid.

-- Under those circumstances, what do you want to do with Shenmue III?
YS: I want to show the relationship between Ryo and Shenhua in more detail. Even further than previous games.

-- It’s kind of hard to imagine how that would work.
YS: Maybe so. I want to to challenge myself, but new things are hard to get people to understand and therefore harder to gain support for. That’s one of the reasons we have prepared stretch goals like larger map and mini games.

-- So you made easy to understand stretch goals first.
YS: As more money comes in, the world of Shenmue III gets larger, and the game becomes more complete. But if it becomes a question of what game has the largest world, the game with the largest budget has a sure advantage. When it comes to Shenmue III, I want to ensure that there are other parts to enjoy besides just the open world aspects.

-- Can you give us any examples?
YS: At 3.2 million dollars there is the rapport system stretch goal. Actions and conversations will affect the relation between Ryo and Shenhua in subtle ways. The way Shenhua speaks and cooperate etc. will change.

-- It seems like the story could change depending on the relationship.
YS: Let’s just say that it depends on the budget. Making statements like that is just asking for trouble (laugh).

-- I get it (laugh). Could you explain the 5 million dollar stretch goal; the character perspective system?
YS: That is where the player will take control of characters like Shenhua and Ren instead of Ryo.

-- At a certain point in the game will we be able to change characters freely?
YS: I can’t talk about details yet, so I will just say that it’s not necessarily like we are letting you control the other characters exactly like Ryo.

-- So it’s not like you can just change characters at will.
YS: The personality of Ren and Shenhua is different from Ryo, so even if they see the same thing the reactions would be different. When you played as Ryo it was his decisions, but playing as Ren and Shenhua would make it very interesting.

-- Hearing that makes me even more interested (laugh).
YS: I’m unable to describe it any more until the 5 million dollar stretch goal is reached, so I’ll stop here for today.

-- By the way, will the story end with this part.
YS: To tell the truth, the original story is too long to end here. So I decided against trying to fit it all in to Shenmue III.

-- Which means that after the Shenmue III project has been finished we have to wait for the the next part.
YS: First we have to do our best to make Shenmue III a solid game.

-- Let’s leave the appearance of Shenmue III and talk about the backend. Can you tell us why you chose to use Unreal Engine 4?
YS: It’s because it’s easy to use and fits with how I imagine Shenmue to look. There are like rendering tendencies for the different engines, and the base colors of Unreal Engine 4 added with “dampness and scent” makes it Shenmue.

-- Are the colors you imagine the same as with the first two parts?
YS: Of course. Shenmue had that air humidity feeling well presented and it had a smell too. That’s what I aim for with Shenmue III.

-- So you’re saying that if you take a scenery out of the game and look at it you’d be able to say “That’s Shenmue!”?
YS: Yeah, That’s what I want to do. But the promotional video we made for Kickstarter felt dry. Kind of ended up like the Californian humidity level (laugh).

-- Your idea of the exact colors or the “scent” of the graphics, is it hard to convey that to the developers?
YS: It it very very hard to explain it. It’s like trying to explain what a melon is to someone who only has seen watermelons and mandarins. Well, you can say the size is about in the middle, but trying to explain the taste is very hard.

-- With that said, do you have members from the former parts working on Shenmue III?
YS: Yes. So we have the original members that kind of know what Shenmue is about.

-- After fifteen years, it’s quite the thing to bring everyone together again.
YS: I think so. Everyone has gone independent or changed their positions, but even at this stage when the scope of the production isn’t set in stone they have gladly offered to join. That’s really heartwarming.

-- It feels like the relationship is deeper than what you could expect from work colleges.
YS: That’s because Shenmue was a project that was more than just work. Ten years after the development of Shenmue II we had this get-together and more than 100 people came.

-- That’s amazing. I’m not sure if I would call that just a get-together.

-- The level of creativity in the games you have created is often very high. Is there any secret to this?
YS: No. I never play games outside work, so I don’t get that influenced by other games. Maybe that’s the reason.

-- I had this idea that you researched other games thorough and tried to make something different, but I guess that’s not true then.
YS: Yeah. it easier to just make something from zero (laugh).

-- So maybe If someone from the media like me hear an explanation for a game and say “Is it like the mechanics from that other game?” you might not be able to get it?
YS: I’m sorry, but I guess that’s true. Well, maybe I have to study the trends in the most popular games.

-- By the way, this is the first in a long time that you get to work on a game this big.
YS: Yeah. It feels like it was a long time ago I got this invested in a game.

-- It’s not like you totally left the game industry, but what do you think of the game industry in Japan looking from a bit afar.
YS: The game engine Unity came out and made it easy for just one person to make his own game, which is a good thing. It wouldn’t be healthy if only big budget games were able to survive. It’s good that the market has expanded with more alternatives. But it’s kind of sad that a majority of games that make money are small like games for smartphones.

-- Do you feel like more effort should be made in making titles for the consoles?
YS: Yeah. Before, Japan was said to be number one in game making. It’s sad that the knowledge that had amassed during that time wasn’t used better.

-- Many of the people during that time went over to make games for smartphones.
YS: It’s not like games for smartphones are necessarily bad, but what’s characteristic of smartphone game making is that the development cycles from start to finished tend to be fast. It might be good for business, but I’m not really satisfied with that. If you compare to cars there’s the really popular cars that sell well. They make a lot of money for the company, but if they don’t develop their flagship model their technical advancement will suffer.

-- In USA there is still a lot of money spent in games for game consoles and PC.
YS: Yeah. That kind of rich content helps activate the whole industry. I hope the industry in Japan gets back on track like before...

-- Oh, the interview got very negative suddenly. Could you maybe give a word of encouragement to the young developers of today or people thinking about making games?
YS: Today is different from before. It’s possible for anyone to make games now. Before it was impossible to make games if you didn’t know how to program, but now there are tools for that. It’s also possible to study game development, and it’s easy to learn from the internet. Living in this age you shouldn't think too hard and just try for fun, go in the direction that feels best for you. Begin with having fun creating.

[Great Rumbler]

[Human Snorenado]

I've put in for my digital copy, but I can't see this game living up to the older ones. Nostalgia is a son of a bitch.

I'm expecting a very clean, straightforward experience with a smidgen of the exploration the older games provided.

I refuse to play a water downed Heavy Rain esque Shenmue. Refuse.

Stop lying. You will play this even if it's a Tell Tales games clone.

[thisismyusername]

Then maybe you quoted the wrong quote because the quote you posted in relation to a book and not the ending.

No, I quoted the right quote: He has the complete story mapped out and could've finished it years ago. He didn't want to because it would "spoil the story." Now that he has a chance with Shenmue 3 to finish the story, he then says in another question "please buy Shenmue 3 and have it be successful so I can do a Shenmue 4."

If he has that complete story mapped out, why wouldn't he finish it with Shenmue 3 thereby saving himself the agony of praying that a "Shenmue 4" will happen to allow him to complete the story? Double so: If he had that story completely done and could've done it years ago, why wouldn't he? People begged him for a Shenmue 3, at that point he could've done a novel and washed his hands of it.

Basically, Himu my problem is this: It feels like he's going to pull another Shenmue 2 ending and leave 3 on a "to be continued" in the hopes of being able to do a 4 and thereby leaving fans in a lurch of praying for a Shenmue 4 if 3 fails (I'm not calling that yet, it's wayyy to early to say given dev costs/etc. not there yet). Meanwhile, he has the complete story mapped out and could EASILY have given fans what they wanted, a conclusion to the story. It may not have been interactive or graphical/"movie"-like, but it would've been better than nothing for all these years. Now he's doing the same thing again that Shenmue 2's "to-be-continued" with 3. Why wouldn't you call that out as a "uh... why?" move.

You say easily, but it isn't easy. Cutting out the entire last two games and relying on only one game to finish the story would make for a very, very, muddy experience.

Easily?

Yes, easily. I'm not even talking about the third game/concluding there. Let me requote it since you seemed to have missed the golden opportunity:

Have you ever consider telling the rest of the tale for Shenmue in a book if the opportunity to make Shenmue III never came up?

YS: Yes, I have but if I did do that, it would give away the end of the story, and I thought that would be a big minus.

Fans don't want an ending from 3. We want continuation.

Then continue to pray your "continuation" attempt will be successful. I'm not going to sit there and pray a 4/5/6... happens for a saga that could have the story's writer flesh out his plotpoints into a novel and have it be translated into English after for the niche fans.

AKA: "Easily" end the fucking thing instead of having people beg Sega for years who washes their hands and pawns it off onto Sony.

[Himu]

There won't be a 5 or 6. More than likely, Yu will end it in 4.