Shenmue III will see sullen protagonist Ryo Hazuki’s story reach the 40 per cent point. The news will presumably baffle non-fans, but it’ll come as no surprise to series veterans, who’ll know that series creator Yu Suzuki always anticipated the saga to span a whopping 16 chapters. The first two titles in the series covered six of the chapters, although one portion – a boat journey from Japan to Hong Kong – was ultimately cut.
With no guarantees of a fourth game, many will be quick to question Suzuki’s decision not to wrap the narrative up while he has the chance. From our perspective, we’d rather see the developer stick to his original plan – even if it means we may never see the end.
The good news is that the project has come together, and it feels like a full Shenmue game – something that developer Ys Net originally had its doubts about. “At the very beginning of the project, we thought that we may not be able to do a full Shenmue,” Suzuki told USgamer.net. “But now I can say I'm confident it's a full Shenmue. This is Shenmue.” Oh, it's a Shenmue game alright.
[source usgamer.net]
Comments (26)
Sigh. Looks like I'm buying 800,000 copies then, just to be on the safe side.
When is the next KickStarter? 😁
Cant wait for my copy. If I was a Bill Gates or Bezos, I just give him a "Digital Artist Development Grant" to do all 16 chapter.
Get a few Digital Artist Undergrads as Interns, just to make it look real.
@Agramonte I always think this, too. If I was a multi-billionaire, I would definitely fund him to just get it all wrapped up. No question.
Although I then think about how a charity could use that money. But still...
that reminds me i still need to finish the other 2 on PS4
gotta finish my FF games first though
@get2sammyb Don't get me started!... Panzer Dragoon SAGA Remaster would be done by now also. What is the problem?, and who needs to get paid?
Well, it is a grant... whatever money it makes can go to charity 😉
Will back it on Kickstarter until the story is finished and I'm sure many other fans are willing to do the same... never compromise Suzuki San!
I can't even. (Comment on this I'm all worn out from FF7R)
Wow, I thought this being it was a given this whole time.... I hope it ends one day and this game delivers.
Then no doubt MS buys Ys net leaving Shenmue unfinished on PlayStation, que sad Taylor swift power ballard
maybe we will see a conclusion in shenmue 20, i may be old and grey by then.
There's a huge chance this bombs like Mighty No9
The hell are they smoking?
So hopeful that this is a commercial success. At least to the point that we get another sequel.
Yu Suzuki needs complete detailed plans for Shenmue laid out for completion in his will, just in case. 😁
@AdamNovice Was just about to say that i hope Sony buy them! Much will depend on this game's success but i wouldnt be surprised if Microsoft didn't come calling. Seems to be their thing atm.
This is a bad move. Finish the series please!.... Seriously, WTF.
Risky, if ep.3 doesn't come out well, no one will buy ep.4, then ep.5 wont be made...
I think you've all already come to that conculsion.
So by this reckoning we would need another 4-5 games to complete? Or the next few fames would have to be longer.
I say stick with the plan. This is the man’s life work and us fans will be fans for life.
while I expected this, it is still a little odd to me that there's been a what, nearly 20 year gap between Shenmue II and III? At this rate the series won't even be nearly finished until Playstation 8.
@AdamNovice @Rob_230 I don't think Shenmue would do well on Xbox, especially as an exclusive. It's the wrong market and when you compound that with the smaller userbase it looks really grim. It would the series so quickly if they did that.
Well, we thought we would never see a sequel to Shenmue again, and look at us now. I say just take it for what it is and be happy with it. I don't care if it's not the end, I just want to play it.
Hopefully all that Epic Games money they just got for screwing over the majority of their PC backers will last long enough to make the next 5 games.
Im starting to think Yu Suzuki is the GRRM of his trade. I mean for goodness sake- I am a yuge Shenmue fan and a fan of his creative vision. Why on Earth would you not either A: conclude the saga and be grateful OR B: Be pompous (on a realistic level- not his) and expect a sequel to finish your work. WTH is he thinking.
@get2sammyb If i ever struck it big time. Like Powerball 100s of millions after tax. The first thing i would do is properly fund the next Chrono game. And donate to charity😁
Jeez, this is unacceptable!
The momentum of Shenmue saga has long gone and the players funded the sequel because they wanted their best childhood game to finally conclude! Not to start waiting again for a series of games that exists on Suzuki's mind.
If that really happens, I might not get the game at all. Which, to be honest, looks outdated.
@kohiba99 - Best childhood game? I was in my 20's when I played Shenmue. Now in my 40's, by the time this series is actually finished I'll have been dead for 20 years! I can only assume that Yu Suzuki is genuinely immortal if he plans on seeing his endeavor through.
@Shigurui
Lol! Actually I was 20 too but it's been so long ago that I recall it like I was just a kid 😄!
And maybe Suzuki will transfer himself in the game's AI and live there to continue the game in the cloud, who knows!
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