Yea I'm not entirely happy with the new Shenhua look either, so lets hope the end result looks better.

What we can see of the environments, despite the really poor video quality, they look good though.

I don't know, I like the new Shenhua but it does feel like a different character wearing Shenhau's clothes. I almost think it's more Ming-ming's face with Shenhua's clothes. But if this is the final Shenhua or close to it, I wouldn't mind. She's still cute despite the change.

One thing I've noticed with these new models is the tonal colour of the skin. It's more white rather than that of a yellowish tinge of Asians. So not sure if it's intentional or not. Even some northern-fairer Asians have a tinge of yellow.

This was also published today if anyone wants to check it out.

http://www.dualshockers.com/2015/10/20/ ... much-more/

On a scale of 1-10, how spoilerific is the spoiler? (still haven't clicked on on it yet)

2/10

It's about the number and the name of the main bosses of the game. And we learnt nothing (as long as you followed the interviews at the E3). The today's Dualshocker interview releases the same info but did not use a spoiler on their side. I'm still grateful to David for having taken no risk for all the fans.

Now you know why I took my time and kept waiting for Yu Suzuki's approval before publishing anything.

I am not sure how DS handed their ITW, but in Japan, you have to show some respect and this time, I didn't feel like posting right away without getting the green light. I once screwed up with the Paypal release date and will do my best to never let something like that happen again.

When you're doing an interview, you always get info that you cannot publish and even tho that's the most rewarding part, it's also the most difficult one because you have to avoid posting spoilers.

I can't thank you all enough for your support and feedback, really appreciated. My goal was to provide new info and even tho I had to do it on my own, with my own budget, I have no regret, it was fantastic.

Next one should happen during Magic Monaco but many people will try to interview Yu Suzuki and I might not have as much time as I had in Japan.

I am waiting for Paypal's campaign to end and I'll probably ask the fans if they want to bring some questions to the table again, just like this time.

Thank you very much for reading the interview. That's by far, my best reward. ;-)

To 14 I'm shocked Yu actually came forward with such info, but I hope Ryo doesn't succeed already. I hope the encounter involves him hitting Lan Di, Lan Di hitting him, and Ryo hitting the floor.

However being that' that's now most likely going to be the case, I give it a 98% chance that Lan Di is going to take off with the Phoenix Mirror at the end of Shenmue 3

It makes me nervous for Yu to say silly stuff like, he would like to allow Ryo to beable to pick up things, I mean WTF is he saying that he's not sure he'll get around to adding such in?

That should be one of the very first things being calculated into the game from the start, not all these so called new things.

It's not a Shenmue game, if Ryo can't interact with the environment.

welp, i clicked the spoiler...

Considering that suzuki is still not planning to end the story with 3, im shocked that we will fight Lan Di in this one, it kinda shows that the story evolves more than just a vs revenge story, oh giddy imma excite!!

i highly doubt the revenge arc ends in shenmue 3. this is probably just a preliminary fight where Ryo tastes the true difficulty of his task. he survives (or is saves) but vows to become stronger. the true battle will be in shen 4 or 5, imo.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too.

Also, he's fought the bosses of the first 2 games at least once (and encountered them more than twice) before fighting them at the end of the game, so Ryo fighting Lan Di in III would definitely not be their final battle. i hope there's some kind of achievable objective in the battle though, instead of just having to lose and watch the cutscene.

Also, Ryo/the player/the game spent far too long and put Ryo through way too much shit, especially in the second game, only to get a 5 second glimpse of Lan Di towards the end of Shenmue II. even if Shenmue III had been released right after II, it would've been mandatory to have some kind of significant encounter with Lan Di that would last longer than 5 seconds.

Frankly, I don't think even Yu has a damn clue what he's talking about, when it comes to the battle system. He even goes on mention the stupid Ragdoll physics, first explaining what that is(so we do know, he knows what that is), and then agrees that such is goofy/unfitting for a Shenmue game, so he's going to edit the mechanic.


Yeah, because you know better for sure.

I'm honestly shocked by the low faith of some fans...

Yu Suzuki will deliver what he feels is the best to deliver in the form he thinks fits better. Period.

Good if he listens to fans requests but for god sake, leave him with HIS VISION and trust him.
He didn't give up on Shenmue for 14 (!!!) years, that's enough to deserve some respect.

I'm glad nothing was shown. Its far from presentable next to the likes of FF7 Remake and Uncharted 4.

People telling Shenmue fans that are blinded by nostalgia. I guess those people are blinded by stupidness. Also, those people consume the thoughts of others, without making their own. They can't think for themselves. They are so shallow and narrow-minded (and mind-numbed), who of course cannot understand and feel the APPEAL Shenmue has on the fans. When something is deep and requires you to philosophize on it, you cannot expect airheads to give it the green light.

Furthermore, the term "nostalgia" is their cliche explanation on why fans love a game, who the former cannot appreciate in the slightest. Personally, I love Shenmue not because of nostalgia, but because it's the only interactive audiovisual experience that touches my symbolic heart. It lets you feel human in a virtua reality space. It evokes emotions on you, which are of empathetic and uplifting nature.

Additionally, it's a portal to another cultures (and history, geography, mythology, wisdom etc), those of Japan and China, and lets you learn and experience that interactively, without you actually visiting those places. I can feel free, in a open world, to explore the sights and inspect the minute crafted details, without being forced or chased. Especially, it is a play-space/story-world of teaching morality/ethos. Finally, the mundane/everyday and familiar/ordinary are elements that you can really identify with in your life.

What's so bad about nostalgia?
It's so often stigmatically talked about like it's some kind of negative angle on a person's opinions, but I find it's just as much a legitimate reason to love something as anything else. It's all about one's personal experiences and the fond memories they have of them. So where's the negative part?
I'd honestly say some of the greatest feelings I've ever had -- the ones that made me the happiest in those particular moments -- were nostalgic feelings. Nostalgia is a beautiful thing, specifically because no one else can fully understand it in quite the same way as you do. It's yours . And I don't think there's anything wrong with that, just so long as the nostalgia can be separated from objective analysis. You can have a favorite game, and still recognize that it's not necessarily the "best" ever made. There's never anything wrong with that. If nostalgia is half the reason you love something, then so be it.
I can't say I necessarily agree with you on all points about Shenmue (non-fans aren't against the game because they can't wrap their heads around depth or philosophy; games like Shadow of the Colossus or Bioshock wouldn't hold the level of prestige they do if that were the case), but don't get too upset about talk of nostalgia; it's a good thing. If someone else doesn't get it, you can just tell them it's personal. Because it really is.

Did you even read what I said?
I specifically said that as long as a person can separate nostalgia from objective analysis, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it (while you're going on as if no one ever admits flaws when nostalgia is involved; not true at all). If a person can admit DBZ's faults but still likes it anyway, what's the problem? They're perfectly free to enjoy it if it makes them feel good. There's nothing negative about that.
Nostalgia with a level head is an amazing thing, and I don't get why people try to shove it away constantly, like we have to be robots and only like things that are agreed upon as being objectively "good." I say savor your personal experiences. If Superman 64 is your favorite game despite it's flaws, because it was the only game you had as a kid and it makes you remember the good times, then shucks to anyone who hates it; you value it on a personal level, so why try to push that nostalgia away?
There are those who can't separate nostalgia from objectivity, obviously, but they're easy to pick out from the crowd anyway (and I'd actually include a large percentage of Shenmue fans in there as well).

Nolstalgia can't be separated or it wouldn't be nolstalgia in the first place.

Nostalgia is just a fondness for the past . It can easily be separated from so-called "facts."
I'm nostalgic for the Genesis Jurassic Park game, but I still recognize that, playing it now, it's a buggy mess. How is that not separating nostalgia from the truth?
I know the truth of it, and I can tell others that if they're playing it for the first time now, they probably won't like it. And yet, I'm still capable of enjoying it on a personal level.
If you aren't capable of separating things in that way, it's your problem. I have no problem with it, and I know a number of members on here who don't seem to either.

If someone wants to cling on to something because they feel nostolgic for something, fine, but then they shouldn't ever be the people suggesting whatever to someone or writing reviews about such.

:lol:
As if there needs to be some kind of system in place to separate the biased from the "fact"-focused robots.
Everyone is free to suggest whatever they want. Everyone has opinions, everyone is free to share them. It's up to the person listening to decide whether it's worth heeding those suggestions.

I always thought it was weird, for someone to like something because of nolstalgia.

:-s
Okay, now I'm convinced you just have no idea what nostalgia is in the first place.
You don't like something because of nostalgia. Nostalgia is a fondness already in place. It's about already liking something, or rather, enjoying the memories of your time with it.
Hate to break it to you, but if you played Shenmue years ago and it still makes you feel something special, you're nostalgic for it. That's all the word implies.

People should just chill a little, it's not like every month we'll see new footage, specially for a game that hasn't even begun production (literally).

I also find it weird how people rationalize that Ryo and Nozomi's relationship takes precedence over Ryo's grieving over his father's murder. Having a parent die is hard already. But having your father murdered in front of your very eyes?

Yet, from what ShenmueTree described, Ryo merely has "his own agenda", when for most players, Nozomi's confession comes not even a month after the murder of his father.

I think a lot of you are far too used to games overloading the player with romance idealization. Ryo's going through a lot, but Nozomi should be pissed because her childhood friend is on a person journey?

If Nozomi should be mad at anyone, it's Lan Di. Ryo and she were close before Iwao died. Ryo was close to her and told her things. Now he's guarded. Lan Di is why she was sent back to Canada, because her parents feared for her safety. Lan Di is what made Ryo distance. Lan Di is what made Ryo leave Japan. Lan Di is what took Ryo's innocence and turned a caring, respectful boy into an aggressive teen who fights people.

Are you sure we've been playing the same Shenmue?

Lan Di is searching for anothet mirror. If Ryo settels down to live peacefully with Nozomi, then he'll end up just like his father. Noone near Ryo is safe until he deals with Lan Di/Chiyou men.

We all know exactly what the headlines would have been if Sony had urged people to donate to the Slacker Backer.

Some websites probably had the articles all written up and ready to publish. Picture the disappointment on their faces.

Interview with Andy Hughes, who is creating a music album inspired by #Shenmue.

I like how Corey talks about how Yu Suzuki / SEGA wanted to maintain the Japanese tone and accent with the English voice acting. It shows how well Corey played his part in portraying a Japanese boy speaking English.

Can someone tell me what this has to do with Shenmue III?

Exactly!!! This game will be an experience where YOU determine how long it becomes. I'm getting angry, so if I drop some language here, apologies in advance...


Yeah but that's quite an idealist speech. Of course, the Shenmue's philosophy will be enough to enhance the experience. But you can have the most open mind, the game design limits will still be there. If a developer can't determine a precise length of play for most of us, they can with ranges so the question is worth asking. And we don't have much information about the density of Shenmue III's world. Some words from Yu about objects interactivity or scale can be worrying.

The apprehension is completely relevant, specially when you consider our upcoming waiting/playing ratio which is outstanding. Thankfully, we're waiting a video game not a 2-hour movie.

The battle to gather more money for Paypal is still on as bigger the open world is, the more quests we'll get. We should all think to find a way to promote efficiently Shenmue III in the last campaign days. Not only to gamers or unaware Shenmue fans who would live outside internet but also those who are passionate of China, those who practise martial arts and goes on. That's the deal we should treat.

Returning to our initial topic, it would be also interesting to know which pace would fit better the story flow. On the one hand, if you follow the strict straight storyline, you're sure to miss the YSnet core work and the original purpose of the game. On the other hand, if you take too much your time, you may lose the story intensity and that's a waste. It's the eternal debate about how to make the better use of your freedom when you own it.

Personally, I have no problem to complete Shenmue III in a straight fast line (if I have to). With the dreamcast versions aging year after year, I got into the habit to pay less attention to the environment and follow the strict storyline. And you know what, the game felt as good as a "normal" playthrough if not better. After all, that doesn't disallow you to discover Shenmue III afterwards. There are so many different ways to appreciate this game.

You don't have played Shenmue II, do you?

I'm playing again Shenmue 2 at this moment, after so many years, but now in my DreamCast, instead on my Xbox. I've details to remember yet, so please no spoilers :)

My point is that Lan Di was searching for the man who killed his father, and Ryo is doing the same.


Lan Di: Do you remember Zhao Sun Ming?
Iwao Hazuki: Zhao?
Lan Di: That's the name of the man you killed in Meng Cun.
Iwao Hazuki: It can't be... You!?


https://i.warosu.org/data/vr/img/0020/21/1414184122206.gif

Here's a new video by Adam Koralik & Corey Marshall to help support the Shenmue 3 Slacker Backer campaign.

This happens only on emulators. And yes this is ugly. DC emulation still sucks.
This is a reason why every respectful game should be on PC. Only PC platform gives you the opportunity to play games long time after the games release.

That's amazing, can't wait to read more. Thank you very much, Switch! All these relics talking about the making and essence of Shenmue, it's a fantastical read.

What????

Lol! You know I am always trying to be the positive chap on the forums, but Jesus Christ, is it just me or does this entire PayPal just been a piss poor outgoing? You are not guaranteed your items?? :rotflmao:

The only thing I can think of, is that after China, or whenever, Yu Suzuki has gotten full investment for a full Shenmue game, and the PayPal has been completely unnecessary from a financial standpoint. Now either this PayPal is a genuine gesture to those fans who missed the KS campaign to get some merchandise, or this has essentially been a "closing down" sale of whatever numbers of items they have left? Either way, there is a reason for this being not up to scratch, and when I say not up to scratch, I mean the PC version issue, as well as next to zero updates or revamps. The question exists as to why this was the case. It's either a positive ignorance, because financially Shenmue 3 is completely invested privately, or AJ or whoever has ran it, has just folded and moved onto other things.

Shenmue III doesn't worth the comparaison with a MMO. What would be the equivalent of buyable spacecrafts in Shenmue ? Owning a house ?
Your right, shenmue isn't the type of game that could sell in-game 'stuff' and nor would i want it to. If this is all that has made star citizen successful then there is not much that shenmue could to learn from it.

Some rich crazy person might donate 3.5 million on the last day to get us to 10 million.

I believe in miracles!

Honestly, until E3 this year I never payed much attention to this new version of GameTrailers. I dismissed them as just another games reviews website; a curious holdover from the days before YouTube became the primary means for releasing new video game trailers. However, after seeing Michael Huber's reaction to the Shenmue 3 reveal I really do have to commend GameTrailers for their earnest passion, both for gaming in general and towards Shenmue specifically. It’s refreshing to find people in the media still excited for the future gaming, as opposed to so many other internet personalities who want to only wallow in cynicism.

Years from now people will look back and seek to understand why the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter is one of the most profound moments in the history of gaming. It might be hard for people in the future to grasp that moment in time, not having been watching Sony's conference live to experience that pure joy first hand. Still, if there's any chance of conveying the significance of that event, when people all over the world celebrated the return of Shenmue, it's through a video of the GameTrailers' Shenmue 3 reaction. There’s something about the way Michael Huber (along with the rest of the GameTrailer’s panel) reacted to the news that really captured the energy of the moment.

i wish shenmue had this level of good-willed support at other gaming media outlets. thanks gametrailers, especially Huber.

I watched/listened more than a hundred of podcasts about E3 2015 founded in Youtube or Google in my country. I was surprised to see the number of youtubers who have played Shenmue and were sincerely fans (actually between 10 and 20 channels). Globally, almost all the youtubers expressed happiness or their pleasant surprise, meaning they reflect respect or even admiration to the franchise. Of course, half of them also debated the legitimacy of the kickstarter.

Another detail that amazed me, the misinformative english-speaking videos got usually as much as thumbs down than thumbs up. It's not the case of the popular channels who trash-talked the game but you can feel that the negative comments are some kind of anti-conformism thinking, meaning that Shenmue is really embedded in the pop culture in a positive way and has become something that you like to criticize freely because it's a social phenomenon that you can't stop.

I also found out that one of the main leaders of MO5 (the association taking charge of the retrogaming section at Paris Games Week 2015) is Douglas Alves. He's a well-known French Sega specialist, journalist, video games history teacher and a Shenmue fan. Some of you are subscribed to his twitter. He's very well informed as he talked to many Japanese developers including Suzuki during his career. He also predicted the Shenmue III announcement on PS4 few months before the E3.

Just to say, if you do the sum of all these Shenmue ambassadors on the web, plus your friends and colleagues, the word of mouth can only get better until Shenmue 3 release.

And have to keep in mind that Shenmue's story has changed. Like Yu Suzuki loves to say, there's the "original story" and what Shenmue is today.

I'll probably watch trailers etc as I don't really mind spoilers anymore. But I have to agree about the Nico Nico's video spoiler. That one was huge and I wasn't expecting him to reveal it so soon. :mrgreen:

Until which point the story has changed ? If it's just about quests between keys points of the story, it's not a big deal. But if the change concerns the identity or the will of some characters , that would sound really enigmatic.

Cut chapters, characters etc.
Has he expressed any desire to release the novel he created for the basis of the story? I'd be interested in reading that, after Shenmue is over and done with.

To be honest I never had this conversation with him, we never talked about a novel or a book. His wish is to release the full story through a game if he has the chance to and that's probably why Shenmue III is not ending the story.

It's been said plenty of times, but fuck Konami.

I hope Kojima can somehow get the rights to his older IP's, like Snatcher, Policenauts, or Zone of the Enders, but that's likely a pipe dream. Surely he'll make something great though.

But I will not support a developer that has treated a game creator that I love dearly and have enjoyed his creations for years, when he was just trying to do the best thing for those creations. As one artist to another I will say fuck the corporation every single time when it comes down to marketability/deadlines/forcing an artist to do things they arent comfortable with and dont agree with and its THEIR project when it ends in a situation like this.

Do you boycott companies like Nintendo, Dell, Google, Amazon, Sony, Microsoft and Apple that use companies like Foxconn famous for its terrible working condition causing employees to commit suicide?

I just have re-watched a terrible cg from shenmue online and I think is what all these fantasy stuff is not that I want from Shenmue III. I hope it will be more stick to reality with deep phylosophy of the east.

These comments always make me laugh. Shenmue had magic/fantasy stuff in it from early on in Shenmue 1.

Here's an English translation from the Japanese (so hopefully it retains most of the original meaning!)

Hello Master Suzuki,

We are big fans of the Shenmue series. You have come to Shanghai this time to tell the young people of China about your experience with game development. On behalf of everyone, I would like to welcome you and express our thanks.

Most of us were part of the Dreamcast era, and so we have deep feelings for your creation, Shenmue. We experienced this wonderful game and Ryo’s adventures. It would not be going far to say this was a part of our life experience. In Shenmue we have seen many experiences of loneliness, growth, love and strength, and they won’t be forgotten as long as we live. It was such a shame that the story of Shenmue did not continue at that time. We felt as sad as if we had lost part of our family, or a girlfriend/boyfriend. We thought this regret would stay with us for the rest of our lives.

In the 14 years that followed, we avidly followed all news about Shenmue. Although occasionally we could not bear to see the reports, as our raised hopes would always be dashed. Little by little, we tucked Shenmue away deep in our hearts. As the Chinese poet Guo Moruo once wrote, “Disappointed year after year, Year after year, my hope's still fierce”.

At last, there was a turning point. At the 2015 E3 conference, you announced the Shenmue III Kickstarter project. At that moment, tears overflowed from everyone’s eyes, and we smiled with joy. We have a saying in China, “A man cannot cry easily. But when he can, it is true sadness”. Actually we have already turned 30, and have not cried for many years – some of us probably have not cried for 10 years. However this time we cried plainly. Tears of emotion, tears of happiness. We are really grateful to you for your efforts. Without these we would not believe we would ever cry so much again.

From the time of the Kickstarter project announcement, we have gathered together again and have continued to support Shenmue III. Everyone is putting in maximum effort, I am happy to say. The funds gathered in China may not be great compared to elsewhere, but it represents the hearts of the Shenmue fans across China. We will never leave the Number 1 Shenmue club. Thanks to Shenmue, we have all become friends, which has made us happy. We are grateful to you for this also.

We have one request for you, which is that we would like Shenmue III in Chinese. Naturally this will require budget but please consider it. It will please all the players who speak Chinese. We are also hoping for HD versions of Shenmue I and II.

Finally, we celebrate the smooth development of Shenmue III, and pray that it will be a big hit. We pray for great happiness and health to you, your staff and families from the bottom of our hearts.

Shenmue Fan Club of China

If Chinese subtitles weren't already on the cards, I certainly hope they are now. Chinese Shenmue fans should be rewarded for their efforts.

This is a troll impersonating wude. Banned.

I don't know if this is the proper topic but whatever.

In the campaign page of the kickstarter Project there is a list of gameplay requirements with money on the side. As the the kickstarter has arrived at 6.3 million, the things that are left up to 11 million will be included in the final game? maybe that part is financied by private fundings or shibuya productions?
Nobody really knows if YSnet got additional funding from a new source after the Kickstarter ended, but it seems Shibuya's investment is probably related to start-up costs (as in, buying equipment, properly outfitting an office or work space) and licencing the Shenmue IP from SEGA. That isn't an insignificant cost, and likely was essential to get to the point of even having the Kickstarter in the first place.

We do know that Yu is experimenting with game elements from stretch goals that have not yet been hit. It's possible external funding came in and they haven't talked about it (and why would they? It is of zero concern to the press, or even backers), or it could be a result of being able to stretch the Kickstarter money further than they originally thought (as has been claimed by Yu at some point after the campaign ended).

At this stage, it's a case of waiting for the final game and seeing what un-hit stretch goal features made it in.

The entire promotion and management of the slacker backer campaign has been poor if you asked me. They should have hired some committed driven fans to help out. The passion would have led to better results.

I haven't heard anything of this campaign in the media or anywhere else for that matter since it launched. I just pray the promotion of Shenmue 3 is handled better, otherwise history will repeat itself.

If they announce the PC version 24 hours before the campaign ends, Im gonna facepalm myself x 1000000
To be honest, why would they do that when we know we do it for free? I've been keeping the GAF paypal thread sorta active in the last few days to raise awareness, because I want to see us hit a stretch goal before the campaign ends. Awesome Japan were the same during the Kickstarter, reactionary, unprepared, and relying heavily on fans to do the heavy lifting on awareness.

It's a real shame 8-4 weren't available for the campaign, because I'm sure they would have been more proactive in getting new people involved and engaged. I know it's tough to do that when there is no way to play Shenmue on modern platforms outside emulation on PC or phones, but Awesome Japan wanted to preach to the choir and little else.

Day after day I was in that Kickstarter thread trying to keep it active, be positive, and stop people eating each other when things got negative. It was rough but I do think it worked in the end, because when the campaign was closing there was more focus on the positives. It's kinda hard to do that right now because even I am uninterested in the paypal campaign because of how non-existent the engagement is. Outside a bump in interest when a new Kickstarter update comes out, nobody really gave a shit about talking about the paypal campaign.

Extra dialogue, asking around for Chai. That's pretty much it.

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k488/williammlees/Mobile%20Uploads/lpshen_41_01.jpg

Wishing all Shenmue fans around the world a very, merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.

Christmas 2017 will be here in no time!

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k488/williammlees/Mobile%20Uploads/SantaMaeno.jpg

Guys I thought this deserved its own thread as people will be super excited to see this now its in full quality! They just uploaded the Bailu Village Hut video from the Chinese presentation to the Shenmue 3 Official Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_NppngNCC8

It looks so great! I'm so giddy right now! haha! You can look at it and see within 1 second that it just fits the Shenmue feeling and atmosphere! So happy!

The thing that blows my mind the most, is the fact that the whole game is going to have to match this graphical fidelity and I couldn't be more pleased. What you guys think?

That's exactly what I was going to say. I just love how Shenmue it looks!

This was very Shenmue. The way the details are handled, how the camera pans around the room.
It looks pretty damn good too. Not super impressive but evenly well detailed. Everything fits together and like I said, has that Shenmue feeling.

I couldn't even believe my eyes at how detailed the bricks looked considering how early in to development the game is.

This is going to be a tough 2 years to endure.

I'm in favour of it happening sometime in 2016. Maybe after the big February update and Shenmue 3 is shaping up into a more concrete thing and we have lots more to speculate about.