Shenmue 3 CG artist Nocon Kid shares photos of his visit to Dobuita!
Photo Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/0jFiU

Yu has always been an innovator, he's not going to ride franchises for an easy retirement unless he's doing something new with them. Remember the first Virtua Fighter was one of the pioneers in 3D polygon graphics, and by the time of 3 well...its, how do I put it....trite? For an innovator?

Yup:

The difference between Miyamoto-san and I is that he takes the same game and takes it deeper and deeper, like with the Mario series, while I like to work on different games and concepts. I don't like doing the same thing.

http://weibo.com/1820625302/D5unzkimI?type=comment

http://www.vgtime.com/article/6321000.jhtml

I Am going to post translator after i am sure everything is done.

So its confirmed we are going to get over 1 hour of shenmue information from Takshi Hirai

one of the question in the interview

- will shenmue 3 have any effect on people who never played the first 2 game before？
shenmue 3 follow the story of shenmue 2 , so there will be some challenge for new comer. but with great story flow and game design . new comer will also able to enjoy the game.



at this point i am still not 100% sure. sometime china game site is weird like that. maybe in another 2 - 3 day the full conference will be post it.. by then i will post the full conference ...

- will shenmue 3 have any effect on people who never played the first 2 game before？
shenmue 3 follow the story of shenmue 2 , so there are will be some challenge for new comer. but with great story flow and game design . new comer will also able to enjoy the game.



at this point i am still not 100% sure. sometime china game site is weird like that. maybe in another 2 - 3 day the full conference will be post it.. by then i will post the full conference ...

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/SeJr7FAGI-Y/

Is this it ???

Seems like an old documentary on Shenmue (I don't think I've ever seen it).

This is the Making of Shenmue video that was subtitled recently for the Dojo. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend checking it out.
http://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=49298

http://i.imgur.com/C2FZ9m4.png

Today is the 15th anniversary since Shenmue was released in North America on the Sega Dreamcast. (December in Europe) To commemorate this day we are sharing a special video that goes behind the scenes in the making of Shenmue. Back in the late 90's NHK aired a TV program on the development of Shenmue at SEGA. They spent 6 months with Yu Suzuki as he was developing Shenmue on what would be Sega's last home game console. English translation provided by Switch .

Making of Shenmue: Youtube | DailyMotion | Vimeo

Available Captions/Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese.

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.

People should fucking stop bothering Biscay for everything and fucking use their brain. Shenmue 3 started production barely 3 months ago, of course nothing will be ready to be shown by fucking december 2015.

Let them work :/

Just played Emily is Away, it's a free 30 minute game of Steam.

If you grew up using AOL or MSN messenger or any of those chatrooms I'd seriously suggest giving this a go. It would ruin it if I told you what it was about. I always say that everyone can relate to the film 500 Days of Summer in some way due to past experiences and I feel this is like that.

Everyone should give it a go since it's free and as long as a sitcom episode.

Both Michael Huber and Kyle Bosman from Gametrailers have spoken on different aspects of why Shenmue 3 was a top highlight of the year (and who can blame them!) Here are the respective videos:

Huber Hype - The year of dreams (part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnGARsW-Joo

Wraps up the video with June, the E3 of dreams, and his infamous reaction to the Shenmue 3 announcement. (10:14)



The Final Bosman - The top 10 best things in 2015

https://youtu.be/n_BCVGGDpnU

Lists the amount Shenmue 3 got funded by, ironically as the 3rd best thing of this gaming year.(7:28)

if any of those 341 people managed to pledge and cover the $50 cost in advertising I am happy.

Hi all, Its been I long time since I posted here, I have been playing a little with Shenmue 2 and found some interesting unused models.

The first is an unused character, and while shenmue 2 have alot of them like I showed in the past, we can agree that this one was supposed to make a major role in the game, her profile can still be seen in Shenmue Goodies.
The funny thing is seems like they messed up with its code, so in HTML the code says 'SYI' but in game its 'YSI', no wonder we never found it before. I pretty confident its the same character, if not by the similarity of the code to the cothing and hair style.
http://i.imgur.com/R1B7Fso.jpg

Second model its the original Joy's bike, it was supposed to have the Honda's longo printed, probably not making it due to licensing issues.
http://i.imgur.com/oHmBIcd.jpg

Now some funny textures, first are some unused buidlings names in kowloon, they read 'White Snake Bldg.' and 'White Phenix Bldg.'
The second its a map from Shenmue I of the harbor, they intended for us to use one like in Shenmue 2 and I actualy belive its still in game code and can be unlocked...
http://i.imgur.com/4bjCWZV.jpg

Awesome Japan is the real life Asia Travel Company.

Someone has made this artwork recently, the best Niao Sun charadesign so far.

http://s19.postimg.org/b20bylr9f/image.png

I'm also intrigued by what Takeuchi wanted to mean by making the characters "cuter" like Shenhua. Does it imply massive changes ? Whatever I'm completely excited to see their next gen faces, at MAGIC if possible.

Basically it comes down to human nature and psychology.

Take the new Star Wars movie. One contrarian person called Rey a "Mary Sue," and now everyone (mostly people who had never heard that term before and don't even fully understand its context, since they seem to think it simply means "overpowered," which it doesn't) is parroting it in an effort to appear aligned with the hip, contrary, against the grain opinion of someone they perceive as vaguely intelligent and therefore desirable as someone to emulate so that they themselves may also appear vaguely intelligent/hip/non-mainstream, etc.

And it doesn't matter if you feel Rey is sort of a Mary Sue character - that's not my point. My point is that many people will tend to, in an almost Nietzschen "will to power" sort of way, unconsciously be attracted to the aggressor and to immitate them. Especially when the target of the aggressor is something unabashedly positive, uplifting, or "feel good," which many people see as weakness. People's unconcious desire to "not be taken in" coupled with the desire to appear "above it all" and intelligent, kicks in and overrides their empathy, ability to think in nuanced, proportional terms, and so they just knee-jerk.

If something is an underdog and seemingly unlikely to ever happen - e.g. the resurgence of the space combat and trading sim in Star Citizen - then they clamor for it and support it. No matter how much money it makes. They exalt it as a success story. But when something is perceived to be somehow insulated or guaranteed to succeed (which, ironically, Shenmue 3 isn't and wasn't - if anything, it's the biggest big name crowdfunding underdog there is in a sense) because, say, a company like Sony introduces it at E3 and everyone erroneously assumes that means it has corporate backing in every imaginable sense... then they want to tear it down and look for conspiracy theories because their ego demands they avoid being suckered or appearing gullible.

It's ridiculous of course, makes zero sense, and is completely irrational. But welcome to human nature, sadly. A huge proportion of everything human beings do is unconscious, instinctual, and unwitting. We just... do stuff. Without thinking, without considering, without sensitivity or insight. We just react. Then we invest in the reaction, and become entrenched and egoic about it, and thus defensive of that position, such that no one can admit they were wrong and CHANGE anything. That's just how it works.

Things like Shenmue 3 finally happening, people overcoming the odds, miraculous things that we never thought would happen... those are the bright spots that make life in a world such as that bearable and at times, magical.

End ramble. Don't mind me, I'm sick and delirious.

Hello.

Today I give you all a mirror for the files needed to play in some unplayable areas in Shenmue 2X.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwOr2HqtAhc&feature=youtu.be
------------------------------------------------------
Information:
Who deserves the credit?
Kakuzawa. He did all of the work. I am just providing a mirror in this new thread to not necropost in the old thread.
Original Thread: http://shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=41968&hilit=KSH1&start=15#p909287
------------------------------------------------------
What are these files?
These files allow you to explore some unexplorable areas in Shenmue 2X.
------------------------------------------------------
Which areas?
1. Shenhua's Flashback Area (The Shrine)
2. Ziming and Xuying's Flashback Area
3. The Ghost Town outside Kowloon (The intro to Kowloon area)
4. The Shenmue 2X version of the Hazuki Dojo.
------------------------------------------------------
Why reupload these?
The original links are dead so I am supplying them for everyone to grab.
------------------------------------------------------
How Do I Use Them?
Click above link to read Kakuzawa's original post
------------------------------------------------------
Download Link?
PM me for it. This helps keep the link alive and allows me to generate stats.

We all know what nocon kid is capable



I hope they manage to pack up a good looking teaser to get people hyped within a couple months.

Video recorded and translated by Shendream (Shenmue Master)

I finally finished the shenmue phoenix and dragon mirrors. These are modeled from scratch with the texture file as a reference and it is a 1:1 replica of the mirrors. I modeled these to be a flat plane and when I print them i will hand paint the phoenix and dragons on the mirrors on the raised parts. ITS GOING TO LOOK GREAT! just wanted to share it with you all. hopefully soon i can begin the 3d printing process and painting i may put a few up for sale as well in the future.

https://cdn.pictub.club/2016/01/30/reJa.md.jpg

to see the full HD image head over to my portfolio RYOHD.CARBONMADE.COM

sword handguard crest work in progress almost finished.

http://oi64.tinypic.com/344fwac.jpg

Was looking forward to this quite a lot since seeing someone post a quick video of it a while back. Just came out today, and I finished it today. Can't remember the last time I could say that about anything.
It's... a hard game to pin down. No doubt the biggest thing everyone was anticipating it for was to hear the interactions between the voice actors. See, the game is all about a guy named Henry who takes a temp job as a fire watchman at a national park in 1989, in an attempt to forget about the troubles in his normal life. Obviously, a job like that comes hand-in-hand with a whole helluva lot of solitude. Except for the very last seconds of the game, you never come into contact with anyone, outside of a couple unreachable characters yelling to you from off in the distance and (more importantly) a fellow fire watch(wo)man named Delilah, who communicates with you entirely through a walky talky. It's the interaction between Henry and Delilah that really makes the game worth playing. The writing is gold, and the voice acting is just as good. It's a joy to listen to them. Overall the game could really be considered a "hiking simulator" of sorts, because that's pretty much all you do; you hike. You go from one part of the map to the next, following whatever trails the game sets up for you. Without the great voice acting, the game would probably be a bit of a drag. The sights are nice, sure, but that's not always quite enough to get me moving. So y'know, it's great that the characters have such brilliant chemistry.
THE PROBLEM is, it really doesn't amount to anything in the end. See, the game starts out ridiculously intriguing, pulling a lot of cool tricks to make you wonder about what's really going on... because of course there's got to be a slightly grander story to it, right? Henry and Delilah start making small discoveries which lead them to believe that someone is observing them, tracking their movements, listening to their conversations, all that. Is Delilah on the level? Is Henry going crazy? Is anything really what it seems?
Creepy shit, and I was really, genuinely gripped by how things were proceeding as I played through it. Felt like the meat of a great thriller.
But then you find out what's really going on... and it's just about the most disappointing "reveal" I've come across in quite a long time. Spoilers, obviously:
So after theorizing that they've unknowingly been taking part in some kind of behavioral experiment, that someone high up has been watching them, working toward some kind of scientific ends... Henry and Delilah find out it's just some crazy guy.
That's it.
Some former fire watchman that Delilah knew, who's been living in the woods after his son died in a climbing accident. So he starts fucking around with Henry and Delilah, trying to make them think someone is experimenting with them, because... um.
Reasons?
Pft, reasons . He's crazy. That's about all the reason you're given.
It's just a very, very weak reveal that ultimately makes the whole thing feel... pointless. You find yourself so intrigued initially, only to be completely let-the-fuck-down.

So it's a weird little dichotomy; the game is totally worth playing for the character interactions, but it's still pretty damn disappointing because the story goes fucking nowhere .
And for a 19.99 digital-only release, is a few hours of nicely-delivered dialogue and pretty nature sights really worth it?
I dunno, man. I mean, I'm overall happy I played it; it's not an easy game to hate , because there's so much personality there. But that narrative... good lord, what a disappointment.

Apparently the writer worked on the Walking Dead Telltale games, so I have no doubt plenty of people will be raving about how the game is pure artistry, that it's a beautiful story with so much meaning, that it's an instant classic or somesuch other nonsense... but really it's just an okay experience with some pretty sights and likable interactions between good actors. It's certainly not a great "game" by any stretch. Could have been so much more... but it's not.

While taking my sweet time buying toy capsules and shopping at the Abe Store on the first day of my new playthrough and didn't visit Yamagishi-san until the next day I encountered this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdRahSZGYe4

I saw the English version of this dialogue too so it is accurate. The "It is isn't it?" dialogue wasn't in the English version though.

I'll call people butt-hurts if that's what they're being. Seriously, I don't give a fuck. I hate listening to nerds complain about dumb things.


I'm sitting here, i'm trying to play Yakuza 2. I can't get into it... I just don't give a FUCK. I've been stuck in the past for so god damn long. I'm sick of retro video-games, I'm sick of playing anything that doesn't either keep me going forward in life or bring me together in some sort of community. I don't want to play lame-ass old shitty b-movie-esque video games in my GOD DAMN ROOM anymore.

I'm selling everything I own. I'm even selling my old Shenmue shit. Shenmue was great, as was a lot of games I played, but they were great to me when I played them, not forever in my fucking closet. I'll play Shenmue 3, i'll have a great experience, and then I'll MOVE ON WITH MY LIFE. No more collecting, none of this nonsense bullshit. I'm only keeping things I actively use. I will have a Super Nintendo (for competitive Super Metroid) and a Playstation 4 (for new games and fighting games).

I don't know why I'm so angry with this post -- probably because I'm a little bit drunk.. but fuck retro videogames. Fuck 'em once and for fucking all.

It begins...

After the press conference in shanghai. I was able to get a little more information about the game from Yu during our meal time.

After I got home. I re-watch the conference and I was able to come up with some my own speculation. Let’s get sweaty.

I made 2 pictures. The first picture is each location of the entire 11 chapter. The second picture is the flow of the entire story line.

http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/w%3D580/sign=8cfe190c8c13632715edc23ba18ea056/4ab2a7efce1b9d1660db1fb1f5deb48f8d5464b2.jpg

http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/w%3D580/sign=c3375b24b14543a9f51bfac42e168a7b/d524352ac65c1038236d4b12b4119313b17e8947.jpg

From the 2 pictures here is the information I get.
Shenmue chapter break down.
1. Japan Yokosuka
2. Hong Kong
3. Chapter 3 and 4 is (Su Zhou and shanghai) not sure which one come first.
4. Chapter 5 and 6 is ( Guilin)
5. Chapter 7 ( Luoyang ) http://nsa37.casimages.com/img/2015/07/07/150707114637212257.jpg
6. Chapter 8 Cang Zhou Miao village
7. Chapter 9 Xi An
8. Chapter 10 Bei Jin
9. Chapter 11 is Lan Lou ( XinJiang )


3 and 4 was cut which include shu Zhou and shanghai

The last chapter the final battle takes place in ancient city (Lou Lan)

Here is the detail

First. I got all the location and the name of the city from the map of the second picture. Which chapter 3 and 4 is Suzhou and shanghai. And during the meal with Yu. I heard with my own ear that Shenmue 3 will be the story of Shenmue 5 and 6. Therefore 3 and 4 is being cut at this point.

There is a couple of detail worth mentioning here. The Niao Sun character in chapter 6 also appears in chapter 7 which is Luo yan. So Niao Sun follow Ryo to Luo yong ? Is to kill Ryo or help him? Also in chapter 10 the person ryo holds (is it landi or ziming? or someone else) if its LanDi does it mean Ryo defected him and forgive him in the end? Did Ryo reach a new ground of moral conscience? And what happen before that?

Finally I am most curious part of the story is the last chapter. The story takes place in Lou Lan. Note (the Chinese words on the map is Lou Lan not xinjiang) so the story must have a connection with the ancient city of ( LouLan). The ancient city of Lou Lan use to be the ruler for the land of Xing Jiang (it uses to be a country with rich culture and power) but suddenly disappears overnight. Similar like Maya Civilization. It becomes a historical myth.

So if the final battle is taken place there. Is there any connection between the two?

http://f.hiphotos.baidu.com/baike/c0%3Dbaike80%2C5%2C5%2C80%2C26/sign=54f7c6476a061d95694b3f6a1a9d61b4/e4dde71190ef76c65a1944549916fdfaae516782.jpg
Picture of Lou Lan

Finally there is one last detail I would like to share with everyone. During meal time Yu mention he will visitor shanghai and Suzhou, Wuxi, and Xiamen. Notice he mention shanghai and Suzhou the location of the two chapter that is cut from the game. Does that mean he is location scouting these two place? Will he add these 2 missing chapter in Shenmue 4? Will Shenmue 4 be chapter 3 and 4 (sshen1127 I personally don’t think so) we don’t know. But the most important part I think is still the budget. We need to keep support the game that is only way we can get more content from it. One last thing. During the meal time Yu mention in the future he may creator a brand new fighting game. What is that fighting game? I think it might be Shenmue character base fighting game. I believe after all of this set and done. Shenmue will no doubt become a legend of a game!

Also, the "surprise" next to Astroboy and Shenmue III is likely to be an animation.

May it be the "Samurai lone wolf (and cub)" anime Yu did retweet the kickstarter page yesterday ? Run by the mighty Awesome Japan... :-k

That's the other news. Awesome Japan is planning to buy YSnet very soon. Stay tuned ;-)

haha, You dragged the family to see Yu Suzuki too? Awesome! :mrgreen:

If I'm not wrong, the "Family Guy" in the picture is Shenmue Dojo user "rdk_nl" :mrgreen:

Yes, correct; I'm the "Family Guy".

Arrived today from AMS to NCE. Stay in Beaulieu-sur-Mer; a nice little town, only some minutes by public transport to Monaco.

Was present at 2013 MAGS (Monaco Anime Game Show) alone.
Went back in 2014 with my own Family and Parents, unfortunately no show that year.
2015 Magic-IP was planned, but I had to cancel because of chickenpox within the family.
2016 Was planned immediately after the 2015 cancelation, but I never thought SIII release was upcoming.

Glad to be here for the 2nd time during Mags/Magic Show.

Hey guys, if anyone wasn't aware Sega Europe are doing a 24 hour live charity stream in aid of Special Effect for Gameblast16, playing loads of different Sega classics! They're currently playing Vanquish and Sega Bass Fishing is the next game on the list.

You can watch at the following link - http://www.twitch.tv/sega

They are live right now, started an hour ago, so 23 hours to go :), nows your chance to directly ask your burning questions whilst they're playing :D

Games played so far:

Vanquish
Sega Bass Fishing
Toe Jam & Earl 1
Shinobi 3
Golden Axe 3
Gunstar Heroes
Super Monkey Ball
Alien Isolation
Typing of the Dead Overkill
NiGHTS Into Dreams
More Super Monkey Ball
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Sonic Adventure
Valkyria Chronicles
Tembo The Bad Ass Elephant
Warhammer 40K Space Marine
Virtua Fighter 5
Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed
The Cave
Sonic Adventure 2

Total amount raised: £1,047.73

6.20am here in Monaco. I will do my best for you guys, making posts here and taking pictures for the Instagram account. Then hopefully Zim is on point linking those to here, and 500k. There's no many places to post, and copy and paste links!!

But I will try my upmost best. At the moment the aim is to be out of here by 7 and down at the Grimaldi Forum for 8am. Things to do lol. I don't even want to think about what can and will happen today!

Ok, so i am at the airport now, ready to fly back to Ireland and the reality of mundane life. Of course, i don't want this weekend to end! But it must, and since i have quite a bit of time to kill i will try to go through an entire play by play of the weekend. I have no ides where this post will go, how long it will be, or if its even interesting. I just hope it gives you all an insight what it was like to be here in Monaco, and also at such an even like MAGIC, where Shenmue 3 was presented.

So, Thursday morning - 3am. I left Belfast by coach to Dublin where i flew to Nice from. The usual no sleep related fatigue, mixed with adrenaline and excitement! I arrived in Nice airport around... 10 i believe, and David DeVille had messaged me beforehand and we had worked out him and Maki (his wife), would be arriving from Paris around the same time! So i waited outside the terminal and shortly after, David and Maki arrived! It was great to finally meet David aster talking for so long online over the years. We spoke for quite a while, about the conference, and other things. So much so, that they missed their bus to Nice! Oops lol. So we came back inside and sat for a while longer chatting, but we all knew how tired we all were so we said our goodbyes and let him get to Nice to prepare for his bay day on Saturday.

Getting the coach to Monaco was pretty standard, and the Hotel was decent enough. I knew i hadn't splashed out top dollar for a 5 star hotel, so it was fine by my standards. So after getting settled, it was time to do the whole trail run practice, to the Grimaldi Forum, but since i was pretty tired i didnt make it that far on Thursday. Monaco is small, but its very elevated per road and street, so the walking was very demanding, even for 0.5km. I will be the first person to admit that i am not a fitness guy, so my legs are killing me right now in the airport lol. I had researched the quickest way to the Forum, and essentially walked about 3/4 of the way there. Getting lost of course the first time. Monaco is all very hidden, from winding roads, to every shop being underground or inside an unmarked building. Trying to find a place that sold toothpaste or body deodorant was a nightmare!! Plus, Monaco is of course, home of the rich. Its extravagance can be seen visually everywhere, with the same amount of car show rooms on every street corner as much as there is a pub/bar on every street corner in Ireland. Bentley, Ferrari, McLaren. They are all here. As well as property shops, with their ad cards in the windows, escalating from 3 million to 250 million was the most expensive looking in the window i can remember. Think the cheapest place i did see, was an apartment with a monthly rental of 30,000 a month. Alrighty then! You also have the fashion labels at every corner. Prada, St Laurent, Rolex, Gautier, Hillfiger, Vuitton, Armani..... More of these shops, and easily more recognisable than a shop where you can buy a loaf of bread thats for sure.

Anyways on Friday, it was finally time to meet the Grimaldi Forum. Inside the foyer, having my picture taken beside the MAGIC banner out of the corner of my eye i seen someone who looked like Yu Suzuki on the escalator going up to my level. He went past a pillar, and i was like, "nah. I hope thats not him" As i froze on the spot, Yu Suzuki and Cedric Biscay walked towards me and i shat enough bricks to build a house in Monaco. I wasnt ready to meet them! I turned the opposite direction and pretended not to notice them as they walked out of the Forum, behind me lol! After pacing around not knowing what to do, and with the shock of seeing them for both the first time, i decided to visit the Japanese Gardens across the way from the Forum, and as i entered, i seen them again!! They were having their pictures taken for the local press! Fuck that, i just turned around and left lol!

Friday night was when shenmuemaster.fr guys, Remy, Emmanuel, Catherine, David, Arnaud, and Mickael were to arrive and we had arranged to meet. But i knew they would be tired so we arranged to meet up at the Forum in the morning.

Then finally the big day arrived. With little/zero sleep, 6am hit and i was awake and ready. Met up with everyone from Shenmuemaster and it was great! Just being with other Shenmue fans who you have talked to, known of, or seen over so many years of posting online within the Shenmue community was an experience merited of making the trip as awesome as it was already. As we were standing at the door, Rob introduced himself and it was great to finally meet someone who was not only going to one of the Kickstarter dinners, but also the on in Monaco! We also then seen David and Maki arrive so it was great to have a quick chat with them again before letting them get inside before us since he had a lot of work to prepare for.
So skipping over a few details, we get inside, and head downstairs to the Conference Hall. It was great, being greeted by a HUGE projection screen with the MAGIC logo on it. (You can use the instagram pics for reference lol). I completely forgot to get one of those translation earpiece devices, so i legged it quickly outside to grab one. We all sat relatively near the front and before long Sebastian Abdelhamed appeared for the introduction. All of the guests were brought out individually, from Kavinsky, to Peter Cross, as well as Yu Suzuki! Also Cedric have a brief speech. Following that, the stage was set up for the Shenmue presentation, and away we went! You guys probably can remember it all right now, more than i can, because i havent watched any footage i recorded on my phone, or Shenmans posts here yet, and its all a blur. But the emotions felt sitting there listening to Yu and then his translation work by Kenji is as you can imagine. No words. Instead of watching an E3 video, or GDC video.... you are really there. Its insane.

After that, we left and of course were all in shock at what we had just seen. Yu Suzuki, Cedric Biscay, Shenmue 3 HD screens, videos, the music as loud as you could want it bellowing around the auditorium. It was amazing. We walked over to another area where interviews and the signings would be happening later, and as we were hanging around there, Cedric walked past and i gave him a shout. We shook hands, and when i said Peter he knew who i was, probably from annoying him on Twitter all the time lol. We chatted, and i had brought him a gift for all the work he has done for getting Shenmue 3 going. He looked surprised by it, so i hope he liked it. We took a picture and i let him get back to the event, since it was his day and i knew he would be busy lol. But before he left, he said to "make sure" to attend the "Crazy Time" segment he was presenting. It seemed strange, but it was easy to begin to think he was saying that specifically since there may be more Shenmue material to come! After that, i met quite a few Shenmue fans in that area, of course wearing a Shenmue 3 t shirt helped. It was great! So many enthusiastic people just as happy as i was. I wish i was more composed and organised to have taken pictures and get their names written down, but it was so chaotic all day, with conversations jumping from between 3 -10 people in quick succession! I still cant even keep up now!

Skipping some more details again, we went up to ground level and we all chilled out. Grabbed some fresh air etc, and i met Julien from gamerblog.fr. A really nice guy, and we had an in-depth chat about all things Shenmue, the gaming industry, our backgrounds, the dinner, Shenmue 3, his visits to friends in Ireland and e-cigarette advice which we went outside for a while to partake in lol. He gave me his business card and also exchanged details so hope to see him the next time he travels to Ireland!

We then went back downstairs to where Yu was doing the signing, and it was great to stand before him and get a few items signed. Although it was only 2 items per person, i went twice as i had stuff for other people to get signed who couldnt make the trip lol. Suzuki-san still seemed very jolly and laughed as i approached for the second time, and also commented on the specific pen i gave form him to sign something. It was a great interaction.

After some sitting down and relaxing, time came to attend the "crazy time" event Cedric had told us about. When we got in, the results of the Cosplay competition were being held, so it was great to watch that. There were some AMAZING outfits, so hats off to those guys!! The event was running late, and i looked at the manual to see what was going on. Crazy Time was next, so pretty soon, Cedric appeared on stage, and they started off with bringing out Peter Cross (played Spocks Father in the Star Trek remakes) to talk about his directed feature with Shibuya. He seemed like a nice man, and spoke in English which was always appreciated lol. It was confusing sitting there, since we didnt know what was coming! But then, after him, we heard Shenmue being mentioned and the excitement welled up inside! Suzuki-san was brought back on stage by Cedric, along with the interpreter, Kenji, and thats when we seen the Shenmue House trailer in full HD with the music cranked up to the max. I swear, thats when it hit me the most, like a tonne of bricks. This game is really, really going to justify Shenmue. It was unbelievable. I could not get over it, seeing the Shenmue tree, the cows and woks outside the house, then as the camera panned inside thats when my heart pounded and i could feel my eyes well up. Shenmue music is so emotional on its own (i have the soundtrack on right now, blasting in my headphones as i type this), but combined with how faithful, and BETTER Shenhuas home looked was simply astonishing! Yes, its not a full blown trailer, but we are only 7 months into full development, and my expectations were on such a level of what to expect and what not to expect. The new weather trailer, as well as the fishing pond trailer were excellent, and i expected something like that, which i was more than happy with. BUT that second trailer really went above anything i expected to see. Just, no words....

After that ended, the shenmuemaster guys had some things still to do, so we hung around for a little while longer and i seen Suzuki-san with them. David called me over for a picture, and after that i chanced my arm to get a picture of just me and Yu. Wow!!!! Where do i begin? I cant. I cant even speak about it, when i look at that photo each time...... maybe one day i will be able to tell you more lol.

I forgot i had to return the headset and get my passport back, so i went back downstairs and after returning it, Cedric was walking by again, so quickly said goodbyes, shook hands and said thanks for coming! Awesome ending! It wasnt too late, and despite being tired, i took everyone to McCarthy's Irish bar (hey, its what we do!!) and we all had a beer. Mostly everyone had a Guinness which was amazing lol! We then all said our goodbyes, and that was that. Back to the hotel to lie in bed and try to get my head around everything that had taken place that day. Rest assured, there is more information to come about the day, but not quite right now... i just wanted to give you guys an initial update on how the day went, and an insight into some of the thoughts and emotions of attending a live event with Suzuki-san present, and new Shenmue 3 material announced. I am now at the airport and all good things must come to an end. But fortunately we still have a very long road ahead, so enjoy it! Dont get bogged down in Shenmue HD, or wheres a full trailer! Or voice actors, or logos. Try and enjoy it, because one day this will all be over!


Final thoughts, i have to give heaps and heaps of thanks to all of the shenmuemaster gang. Trent was fantastic to chat to, and i hope again we can meet again in the future, and have more time to just sit down and relax instead of it being such a chaotic day! David is so jolly, and great to be around. My go outside for a smoke buddy lol. So passionate and motivating, it was great sitting beside him during the conference, and seeing the fist pumps of excitement and thumbs up when we got good info lol. Kenji and Catherine were a delight, and it was great to finally talk with Kenji after seeing his interview videos over the years! Mickael was great, and like Trent, a great balance to talk total Shenmue on a more intimate level. Last but certainly not least, Shenman (or Arnaud). You guys already know him from the guy having 4G inside the conference and posting the updates to twitter! He did such an amazing job, and it was great to meet him! He was so helpful during the day, taking my photos with Cedric and Yu, as well as being a huge Shenmue collector, and has also been to Tokyo! All of the guys were amazing, and hope to meet them again soon! Next year guys??? ;)

Of course, David DeVille was a pleasure to meet, and of course his wife. I wish them all the best in the upcoming months with their new addition to the family! He did a fantastic job, not just onstage, but the entire conference, working behind the scenes all day helping out Suzuki-san during his schedule. I hope he can get some kind of work in the Shenmue 3 team, and he is as passionate about Shenmue as anyone i have met!

Also have to say good luck, and enjoy, to Amir, Rob and Chao at today's dinner! It was great meeting you guys, and again i wish the day wasnt as chaotic as it was to get a more relaxed chat with you all. Today will possibly be one of the biggest days of your life so enjoy it!! Also to all of the Shenmue fans i met, it was amazing, and hope to do something like this again! E3?? Who knows! But this trip has definitely given me the thirst to attend more gaming events across the world if the money allows it.

Hope you enjoyed the write up. Any questions, i will do my best to answer, and stay tuned for more to come over the coming weeks!

Thanks for posting this, I'd be happy with mobile ports of the first two games.

Cédric Biscay interview at MAGIC Monaco 2016 by Gameblog.fr

http://www.gameblog.fr/interview_948_shenmue-3-notre-grande-interview-de-yu-suzuki-et-cedric-bisc
(read Yu Suzuki interview here )
https://i.imgur.com/rkB6NXo.jpg

Julien : Beyond the great spotlight they put on you at the E3, what is the Sony's role?
Cédric Biscay : First of all, they're "facilitators" for the PS4 release, which is a console exclusivity, so it's Sony who will manage the Shenmue III release on that machine.

So is that about marketing means?
CB: Yes. A lot of marketing means.

So that's their financial investment. Is that all?
CB: No but I can't tell you just like that.

But Sony has also a "direct" financial investment there, hasn't it?
CB: I can't tell you neither, sorry! Really, what is certain and what I can confirm is that their marketing investment is true.

https://i.imgur.com/DtYi3gC.png

All right. So since the tremendous hype has been generated by the Shenmue III announcement, are there new publishers or investors who came forward to join you?
CB: There are people who came up yes but anyway, we have already a team in place. There are interests, indeed, because there was a lot of hype but I cannot disclose this kind of information.

So, beyond the media hype, do you confirm there is a business hype too?
CB: On the business side too, yes absolutely.

Do you still receive requests on your side ? Additional financial means? A support in other areas?
CB: No there aren't specially requests. There was a request for a second campaign (Paypal) because that's the wish of the fans but originally, it was not ever planned. We really followed the fans request since they wanted to back more. Yu also said more he gets funds, more he can make a bigger game but really it's the only reason of why this second campaign exists.

Well in any case, Shenmue III is fully funded now, isn't it?
CB: Yes.

Then the release is still planned for December 2017, do you confirm again?
CB: Yes. In any case, that's what is planned at the present time.

https://i.imgur.com/CSuyvCQ.jpg

After 14 years of waiting, all the fans are happy but keeping ask themselves about the following story since Yu stated clearly that Shenmue III will not be the story end, meaning the necessity to make at least Shenmue IV, maybe more... So I ask: Is a new Kickstarter campaign going to be needed or a relative success of Shenmue III might be enough to fund it?
CB: I will talk very personally and independently from the Yu Suzuki's opinion. In my opinion, if the game is a big success, obviously there won't be troubles to get the sequel. Obviously if it's not the case, chances to get that sequel will really grow slimmer...

When you said "big success", do you mean a lot of sales plus the kickstarter ones?
CB: Yes, exactly.

So what is the goal in concrete terms ? Business side, you have obviously an idea of what you need to reach, haven't you?
CB: Yes I've the idea. Obviously, I can't share you the information but we have to sell it as a "normal" hit.

Do you mean like an "AAA"?
CB: Hmmm, I would say like a good game.

Globally, at least one million sales worldwide?
CB: Ah, that would be cool yes. It's a friendly target for us.

Enough to say "it's certain, Shenmue IV is happening"?
CB: No, I can't tell you just like that. But we would really like to reach that one million sales level, that's for sure.

It's clear this adventure represents a risk for you since the IP does not belong to you but Sega. And considering they lend you the IP, they obviously expect some result too. So, are they involved that much?
CB: They're not specially involved. They give us the IP so we are committed to release Shenmue III, and that's all actually. They indeed own the IP but we earn a return from the sales. It's licencing so a part of the sales is intended to them, logically.

By the way, I believe there is a subject that is dear to you. It's the Saturn version of Shenmue which really exists and is partially playable. I was told that you're personally involved to make the Saturn version a kind of bonus...
CB: Infact, what I would really like, it's not specially Shenmue Saturn as a bonus. My real dream - and I'm not saying that's impossible but I'm aware that's complicated - it's to make Shenmue III on Dreamcast. That would be awesome. Can you imagine this, in your collection? It's one of the first things I told to the team, and they stared at me saying "are you crazy ?!". Because obviously it's difficult in regards of the Dreamcast technology, the IP rights. It's really complex but If I would have a dream about Shenmue, that's it. But it's really hard to set up something like that.

Despite what you said, could it be ever possible ?
CB: For now... I don't feel any particular enthusiasm ! (laughs) That's something I want but it's a fan's fantasy I must admit. After all, you can see how we really are. Above all, we are enthusiasts. Look, I organize the MAGIC and I made the entrance free. We really want that people enjoy themselves. Same here, I want people pleased with Shenmue III on Dreamcast. That wouldn't be a question of business, because if we produce a Dreamcast version and sell 3000 copies, no money can be earned, or you would have to sell it as 150 euros per copy.

https://i.imgur.com/vN8d9f4.jpg

To quickly focus back to my question about Shenmue Saturn, it's about the assets owned by Sega. I wonder if they really open their door for you?
CB: Yes of course thanks Yu Suzuki. They opened their door but obviously you cannot make everything you want. You have to negotiate with them to know what can be used or not, and goes on.

So you logically talked to them about Shenmue 1 & 2 HD... What can you tell us about that?
CB: I can't tell you much about this. What is certain is that Sega can make it. They're aware of the Shenmue III campaign success, so I'm telling myself, as an independent businessman, with all the hype, releasing the HD versions would make sense. But again, it's only my opinion. They told us nothing special. It's not like they're showing little enthusiasm, it's just a different topic than Shenmue III. Sibuya Productions is charged of the Shenmue III production and we have no relation with what it remains. We don't have any information with extra Shenmue III stuff neither.

We can also imagine that Sega is awaiting the result of your work on Shenmue III, to note the good sales and finally come forward to say "Ok guys, let's go together!"?
CB: We can imagine everything but we're building castles in the air, really we know nothing.

Did they ever tell you "if you reach some goal, we invest with you about such and such subject"
CB: No, we never have discussions like this.

https://i.imgur.com/JKIPjhy.jpg

We recently have an interview with Phil Spencer. He told us that he met Yu Suzuki before things have been settled with Sony, that some things happen and some other ones not, that all cannot be done. Then you reacted pretty curtly on Twitter . Can you tell more about what happened?
CB : What it made me a bit annoyed is that he was like to say it was our fault. But it's not. Things haven't been made because he didn't have the arguments which would have make this possible. He didn't have the adequate offer to be considered.

So, he made you an offer but you found it inadequate?
CB: Well in any case, the content of the discussions was not enough. At the timing level, they also woke up a bit late.

Then while you're discussing with Sony, you felt a lot more of enthusiasm?
CB: Sony has immediately been a super partner. They wanted to do it. They proposed to do something exceptional at the E3. Like them or not, they really support Shenmue III.

Getting back to Kickstarter, how the backers from the outset are going to chose between the PC and PS4 version? Will the procedure take place shortly before the release of the game?
CB: Sorry I can't ask you because I'm not in charge of this.

https://i.imgur.com/o1Up4mr.png

Concerning the Kickstarter rewards, the figures, etc., do you know when we're going to see them? Are the designs been validated?
CB: Yes of course. All the Kickstarter rewards have been validated before. We can't propose things that are not possible to make.

But concretely, are these prototypes real?
CB: Yes, yes of course.

Did you have a look at the figures yet?
CB: Yes obviously, we have private informations right now.

For instance, why not to share some photos with the backers then?
CB: For now, we don't think it's the right time to do so but the time will come.

What are your next communication plans? Are we supposed to expect a dead time until E3 2016?
CB: We do like to please the fans. For now, nothing definite has been done until the E3. I can't even tell you whether something will happen at E3 but perhaps we'll decide to show something new. We really intend to maintain the contact between us and the fans. They're important for us so the desire is strong. It's like the MAGIC which is specially made for the fans. We really want to show up stuff. Same intention for the big international events like E3. Here it's a very little exhibition but it's ours, so we enjoy ourselves!

By the way, are you happy to see all these people here, who come from everywhere?
CB: Oh yes completely, we have 50 people who come from United States. There are also the media, the great newspapers...

And Gameblog!
CB: Yes, and Gameblog! It is busy and we can feel a real excitement.

Is it the beginning of a great move upmarket for MAGIC?
CB: Yes because last year was the first edition which needed 5 months to be made and we had great guests like Yuji Naka, Yoshitaka Amano, Shinji Hashimoto from Square Enix... Now we're really focusing on Shenmue - and Life Is Strange too - but for the following year, yes, perhaps we'll get even more stars from video game world... Each year we try to upgrade the formula. Anyway, we have already announced great things.

Alright, see you in the next year and thanks you for your time.
CB: Thank you!

^If you like weird FMV games through DosBox I recommend Burn: Cycle. Music is great cyberpunk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfym9O_Jwq8

Or just weird games in general through DOSBox - Lost Eden (talking dinosaurs living with humans in an alternative historical setting, it's half Real time strategy and half adventure game). The music is amazing .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twbDhMNEwH8

I've found (like, a year ago...) an unused scene in Shenmue I, that I've never seen before!

Unfortunately, it seems to belong to a really old beta map, and the textures of the buildings get in the way, so I've to remove them in order to see the characters clearly.

I've to set the levels of expectations, though: it's short and a lot of the voices/lip syncing and lines are missing. But still interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTYXq5PfcVA

There are three recordings of the scene: 1) with some textures removed to not get in the way (because the camera's movements are not consistent with the current map), 2) with nothing removed/ripped, 3) with using the beta/old map of Sakuragaoka.

Back then I was trying to change the map with another (like, with Dobuita's) but after some tries didn't make it and then 'forgot' about it. Give it a try, too, if you want and see if something changes or look better. Probably, that scene takes place in another area, or in one that is not even in the data.

Hello backers!
In this month’s update, we are happy to announce some changes to Ryo Hazuki’s model, changes to the logo and clarification to Sony’s involvement in the funding of Shenmue III.
Here is a render of the new model:
https://i.gyazo.com/91688467361ae469c5abde7e5de230ee.jpg

As you can see, we’ve made many significant improvements. The first thing you might notice is the new eye texture. Shenmue I and II were very depressing games and we wanted to take Shenmue III in a new direction and make it a happier and more positive game. To achieve this, we’ve replaced Ryo’s cold staring eyes with brand new super happy eyes. We feel that this gives much more of a positive and happy vibe.

The next thing you might notice is the purple lipstick. We don’t have any information regarding this to share at this time.

If you look at Ryo’s shirt, you may notice that it is no longer plain white as shown in pervious iterations of the model. During the Kickstarter campaign, the social media website Twitter was vital. Backers and fans worldwide took to it to spread the good Shenmue word. We’d like to pay homage to that and to do so, we’ve included the iconic Twitter phrase #YOLOSWAG on Ryo’s shirt.

As for Sony’s involvement with funding, we can now reveal that we have secured a sponsorship deal! As you can see from the image above, Sony are now sponsoring the bandage on Ryo’s face.

And finally, we are pleased to announce some long awaited changes to the logo font. Many of you have voiced distaste in the Papyrus font and we hear you loud and clear. We’ve taken your feedback very seriously and used it to craft a new, improved logo that we think you’re going to love. We present to you, the new Shenmue logo:
https://i.gyazo.com/6b5ca8bc73c6a4e9d401da1088f1d5d5.png

Oh and also, Shenmue III is cancelled.

We hope you are as happy as we are with the new changes! Have a wonderful April.

- The Awesome Japan Team

Happy April, Dojo!

Shenmue Dojo & Team Yu went to MAGIC Monaco 2016 to interview Yu Suzuki about Shenmue III.

Click here to read all about it and watch the full video to hear what the head of Ys Net had to say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-_kR2fnYKc


Yu Suzuki speaks on Shenmue III, the role of developers, and the future of gaming

Traduction en français: cliquer ici

Traducción al español por Jose Guerrero:
_________________________________________________________________________
Yu Suzuki habla sobre Shenmue III, el papel de los desarrolladores, y el futuro de los videojuegos

La última vez que jugamos en Shenmue como Ryo Hazuki, se encontraba inmerso en un viaje de descubrimiento en tierras extranjeras, siguiendo el rastro del hombre que alteró inesperadamente el curso de su historia; guiada por los hilos del destino.

Igual de inesperado ha sido para dos representantes de Shenmue Dojo y de Team Yu , tras numerosas coincidencias, verse envueltos en un viaje con el objetivo de dar con el creador de la saga, Yu Suzuki; y lograr así que fuera entrevistado por primera vez por la comunidad angloparlante.

http://s16.postimg.cc/lg1jcaco5/1_beach.png

Al igual que nuestro camino a Mónaco, el camino a Shenmue III ha sido montañoso. Pero gracias a una cascada de eventos: una comunidad fan organizada , el alzamiento de Kickstarter , los equipos de producción 3rd party de Sony, e inversores privados (con Shibuya Productions en cabeza), se pudo construir un túnel que facilitara el acceso a este impenetrable paisaje.

Con la soñada secuela ya en desarrollo. En el MAGIC Monaco organizado por Shibuya Productions (conferencia anual de videojuegos, anime y fandom), pudo verse un nuevo e inédito avance del juego. Al nuevo material le cayó literalmente una tormenta encima, ya que una de las cosas que pudieron verse fue el renovado sistema meteorológico dinámico; una vieja y célebre característica de la saga.

Cuando preparábamos nuestra entrevista (la que existe gracias a los veteranos de ShenmueMaster.fr , ¡os debemos una!), hicimos una larga lista de preguntas entre las que elegir llegado el día. De tener más tiempo, una de ellas hubiera tenido que ver con una pregunta que Suzuki contestó de forma divertida en su primera aparición en el Shenmue Tweetathon mensual.

Cuando se le preguntó sobre las semejanzas argumentales entre Shenmue y el clásico de Shakespeare Hamlet, Suzuki twiteó : "Lo siento, no he leído Hamlet. Aunque sí que conozco a Hamtaro." Hamtaro es un hámster de animación japonés, y la fuente de muchas de las bromas que hacían más amenas nuestras sesiones de planificación en línea.

Así que llegar a la ciudad y encontrarnos con un póster publicitario del mismísimo Hamlet en mitad de Montecarlo... tuvimos que mirarlo por lo menos dos veces ante nuestro desconcierto.

Y una vez empezamos a ver cosas, no pudimos parar.

Un coche negro esperando fuera del hotel. Trabajadores ajustando un cartel en mitad de la calle. Máquinas expendedoras de Cocacola y de cápsulas con juguetes cerca del lugar de la conferencia. Pasos de piedra encima del agua en un jardín japonés cercano. Máquinas recreativas con volantes y réplicas de motos, sin olvidarnos del juego de Kung-Fu Panda titulado Mojo Dojo.

Pero, por supuesto, solo nos podemos percatar de este tipo de referencias con la predisposición adecuada. En junio, haciendo escala por Seattle en su camino al gran anuncio de Shenmue III en el E3, el equipo de crowdfunding del juego estuvo imbuido por la ironía cuando se dieron cuenta de que la puerta de embarque de su vuelo era la S3.

Pero por fortuna para nuestra salud mental, las tempranas previsiones meteorológicas que indicaban que nuestro encuentro en Mónaco caería en un día el que la nieve dejaría paso a la lluvia no eran del todo acertadas, ya que finalmente no cayó nada de nieve. Las correctamente predichas gotas de agua impidieron que pudiéramos grabar escenas en el exterior para nuestro vídeo ; pero podréis leer lo que hicimos en forma de relato en multitud de idiomas para saber más detalles y sorpresas que no hemos cubierto aquí.

http://s27.postimg.cc/bwhf9s977/4_banner.png

Al llegar al MAGIC, nosotros; Peter, contribuyente de cinco dígitos del Kickstarter y James, fundador de la campaña #SaveShenmue ; nos sentimos sobrepasados positivamente por nuestros huéspedes; llevaban unos cosplays increíblemente elaborados, basados en todo tipo de animación, ilustraciones y artes interactivas. Se anunciaron nuevos proyectos en vivo para los emocionados fans, y había colas de gente esperando pacientemente para recibir autógrafos de sus creadores favoritos. Este evento ha sido un refugio y una mina de oro para los apasionados seguidores de un entretenimiento nicho, quienes, por un día multicultural, han venido al Foro Grimaldi como una fusión colorida de descarado entusiasmo.

Y ese es el tipo de dedicación y apego emocional a trabajos de arte moderno que brotó de la mente de Yu Suzuki cuando le preguntamos cómo se sintió, tras quince años de incertidumbre, por estar por fin creando su juego más esperado.

"Creo que a muy pocos desarrolladores del mundo se les brinda este tipo de oportunidad," nos dijo. "Y luego están los fans, que han esperado quince... dieciséis años sin perder la esperanza." En algunos de los vídeos del día del anuncio hay hasta fans llorando de felicidad.

Cuando se le preguntó si ha tenido alguna vez alguna experiencia semejante con alguna historia en una película o libro, nos dijo que no se le ocurría nada que se acercara al sentimiento al que los fans de Shenmue se han acostumbraron tras años de dura espera.

http://s24.postimg.cc/ef2imhaph/3_interview.png

Cuando hablábamos sobre otros medios de contar historias, le preguntamos cuán de importante era para él completar Shenmue como videojuego; ya que algunos jugones, cansados de esperar ; veían con buenos ojos la posibilidad de conocer el final de la saga en un formato más pasivo.

"Ser un juego es lo más importante," dijo de la saga aún sin conclusión. "Creo que el propósito de Shenmue radica en ser un videojuego." Añadió que, a pesar de ser únicamente uno de los aspectos que conforman Shenmue, recibió muchas preguntas sobre el argumento, así que siempre sintió la responsabilidad de contar cómo concluiría; por ello había considerado otras opciones, como la novela gráfica o el anime.

Ahora que ya ha tomado la decisión de que Shenmue III sea un juego, le preguntamos si el proyecto se ha encontrado con algún reto inesperado. Suzuki nos contestó que, ya que Unreal 4; su motor gráfico preferido; era relativamente nuevo, y disponía de poco soporte en japonés, fue difícil encontrar expertos en su país. "Por suerte, ahora en nuestros despachos tenemos expertos cualificados," dijo sonriendo.

Algo que se sabe de Shenmue III, antes siquiera de saber que motor usaba, era que Ryo por fin podría cambiar su característica chaqueta de cuero por nueva muda de ropa limpia. Pero, ¿hasta donde llegará el nivel de personalización?

"Todavía no hemos llegado al punto en el que nos encargamos de eso, así que es difícil contestar," admitió Suzuki-san, "Pero al menos me gustaría que se pudiera cambiar de ropa. Y sobre Shenhua, como su casa está cerca, si su ropa siempre fuera la misma, implicaría que solo tiene un traje, ¡y eso no sería bueno!"

Suzuki añadió que quiere "crear buenos diseños" para la indumentaria de Shenhua, y cooperar con algún diseñador de ropa real para lograrlo.

http://s23.postimg.cc/vpp7fig7v/2_gate.png

Pero, ¿y qué ocurre con el diseño del juego? A Shenmue se le conoce, para bien o para mal, por popularizar los QTE ; una mecánica jugable que otros desarrolladores suelen usar de forma abusiva; pero que en las aventuras de Ryo estaban implementados de forma intuitiva y natural.

Cuando comparaba el uso de los QTE de la nueva secuela con la de los juegos originales, Yu explicó, "Los conceptos básicos serán los mismos: Es un 'Quick Timer' (temporizador rápido), así que las pulsaciones de botones son fáciles; hasta las personas que no son buenas en juegos de reflejos podrán hacerlo bien. El nivel de dificultad se ajusta automáticamente dependiendo del número de veces que falles, es un sistema que casa muy bien con los juegos narrativos. Aún si eres un jugador malísimo, serás capaz de progresar."

Ampliando sobre el tema, añade: "Lo que describí eran las cosas buenas que tienen los QTEs, pero hay otras con las que no estoy muy contento, estas pulsaciones de botones son demasiado fáciles para los jugones muy muy buenos en juegos donde los reflejos tienen importancia, como en Virtua Fighter. Espero poder solucionar este problema."

Sabemos que los veteranos del Ghost Hall Building de la ciudad Kowloon en Shenmue II disfrutarán de los retos. Pero aquellos sin la habilidad de poder pulsar botones que aparecen solo un instante en pantalla no tienen por qué preocuparse, Suzuki os tiene a cubierto: "Ser fácil está bien, mientras sea divertido".

Cuando le preguntamos sobre el uso de la música en Shenmue III, el maestro explicó: "concibiendo la saga pensé en composiciones musicales que encajaran en las escenas que formarían cada capítulo, es por ello que tenemos bastantes composiciones disponibles, todas magníficas. Me aventuro a decir que ni siquiera el 20% de ellas han sido usadas en Shenmue I y II."

"Con Shenmue III estaremos creando muchas piezas musicales nuevas, pero también le daremos uso a las viejas en las composiciones, por ejemplo. Hay muchas piezas que pegan bien con el concepto original, este es el planteamiento que querría seguir."

Fue música para nuestros oídos saber que, gracias a un pozo inexplorado de pistas musicales producidas al principio de la saga, y a nuevas melodías aún por añadir, la banda sonora digna de salón de fama de Shenmue será aún más épica con el lanzamiento del tercer juego.

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Un sorprendente tema de interés entre los fans desde el comienzo de la campaña de crowdfunding el año pasado ha sido los dos logos que se han usado en avances, páginas web e imágenes promocionales. Uno usaba el estilo a mano tradicional visto en los dos primeros juegos, mientras que el otro es nuevo en la saga, y usaba un estilo con letras más separadas. Con tanta curiosidad al respecto sentimos la necesidad de preguntar a Yu sobre ello.

"El que más me gusta es ese logo," dijo, mientras apuntaba al nuevo logo, en la camiseta de Peter. "El motivo es que, desde hace poco... ¿sabes lo que es la letra cursiva? Ese tipo de letra que se pegan tanto unas a otras entre sí, con el estilo de tu camiseta las letras están separadas entre sí. Dicen que ahora hay muchos jóvenes que no pueden leer la cursiva, es por eso que he decidido separar los caracteres del logo de Shenmue, y así hacerlo más fácil de leer."

Si Shenmue quiere alcanzar nuevas audiencias en estos tiempos, uno de los obstáculos que tendrá que superar es que su nombre no significa nada para los no japoneses que no sepan con antelación de su relevancia. Como su nombre es tan poco conocido en el resto de idiomas, quizás hacerlo más fácil de leer es un paso importante para evitar que los jugadores casuales lo ignoren cuando lo vean en tiendas de videojuegos.

¿Pero es un hecho que Shenmue III se podrá comprar en tiendas físicas y digitales por aquellos que no hayan contribuido en su campaña de crowdfunding? Suzuki se dio bastante prisa en negar cualquier cosa que pudiera sugerir lo contrario: "Sí, por supuesto que podrán."

Aprovechando que salió el tema, le preguntamos si los fans recibirán nuevas recompensas en la campaña Slacker Backer que sigue abierta; como la versión de PC del juego, que está ausente en esta campaña; o la posibilidad de que los contribuyentes de la campaña Kickstarter puedan mejorar el nivel de su recompensa incrementando su donación original a través de PayPal.

Por desgracia, como suele ocurrir en cualquier interacción bilingüe, cuando interpretaron nuestra pregunta para Suzuki-san, esta se transformó en un "¿Se añadirá algo nuevo a la campaña? Como la versión de PC o algún objeto de la campaña de Kickstarter, por ejemplo."

"No puedo decir lo que ocurrirá en el futuro", contestó Suzuki a la interpretación de nuestra pregunta. "Pero no hay nada nuevo planeado por ahora, esta campaña está únicamente dirigida a la gente que no pudo adquirir recompensas, por el motivo que fuera, en la campaña de Kickstarter. Lo que queremos es darles la oportunidad de comprar los mismos objetos, bueno, menos los que son exclusivos de la campaña Kickstarter. Pero quise hacer que los no exclusivos pudieran estar disponibles para aquellos que perdieron la oportunidad con el Kickstarter."

Otro tema candente de discusión entre la comunidad es si Shenmue III tendrá las icónicas escenas de carga de la saga, en las que podían verse la hora y el lugar donde Ryo se encontraba cada vez que entraba en una zona.

Suzuki no tenía planes de incluirlas en el nuevo juego debido a los nuevos avances tecnológicos que han hecho a las escenas de carga obsoletas. Pero tras barajar el tema en nuestra entrevista, añadió: "Entonces creo que son algo muy característico de Shenmue, ¿verdad? lo pensaré mejor."

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Algo que sabemos que sí que hará acto de presencia en Shenmue III es el sistema de Perspectiva de Personaje (Character Perspective), una nueva funcionalidad que se desbloqueó para ser desarrollada tras alcanzar uno de los objetivos extra de la campaña de crowdfunding. Ahora que podríamos tomar el control de los aliados de Ryo por primera vez, nos interesamos en saber cómo de diferente sería la experiencia de jugar como Ren o Shenhua. Por ejemplo ¿el líder de la banda callejera de Hong Kong emplearía un estilo de lucha diferente al del protagonista?

Suzuki confirmó que el estilo de combate de Ren sería diferente al de Ryo, y que Shenhua no pelea, "es inteligente y usa otras tácticas," añadió, antes de explicar que el sistema de Perspectiva de Personaje no es simplemente un sistema que cambia a tu personaje; simula la personalidad de la persona, la forma que tienen de pensar y de comportarse.

Eso es ya de por sí un nuevo reto para un desarrollador que nunca se ha cortado creando diferentes estilos de juego. Con un catálogo de juegos tan diverso a sus espaldas, ¿existe algún género nuevo con el que le gustaría probar?

"Sí, sí que lo hay," contestó Suzuki-san, diciendo que había varios "estilos" con los que le gustaría probar, "¡puede que uno que ni siquiera exista aún!" Ya más suelto, nos contó su frustración a la hora de usar mandos, y confesó ser muy malo con ellos; se imaginaba el día en el que los personajes en pantalla serían manejados por las ondas cerebrales del propio jugador, moviéndose en la dirección deseada únicamente con el poder del pensamiento.

Esta es más que una queja pasajera, es la segunda vez que escuchamos describir su visión del futuro; y ya que la industria está invirtiendo tanto en la realidad virtual y en el control de movimiento, no es complicado pensar que el pionero de los días de gloria de los arcades de Sega está adelantándose a su tiempo nuevamente.

¿Pero es cierto que Yu Suzuki es uno de los pocos desarrolladores al que se les reconoce por su propio nombre? El jugón medio suele como mucho reconocer al estudio o al editor (que es precisamente lo que los editores quieren, que los fans permanezcan fieles a su marca en vez de a aquellos que diseñaron los juegos). Le preguntamos a una de las figuras más célebres del mundo de los videojuegos si esto es algo que tiene que cambiar. ¿Deberían los diseñadores ser más reconocidos individualmente?

"Pienso que es algo que tiene que ocurrir", contestó Suzuki con convicción. "Los creadores de videojuegos deberían ser propiamente... por ejemplo, a los compositores, artistas y directores de películas, a día de hoy se les acredita correctamente. Así que sí, pienso que sus nombres deberían ser mostrados apropiadamente. Creo que los niños (la próxima generación) necesitan referentes a los que aspirar. Es por ello que la industria tiene que darles un reconocimiento adecuado."

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Así que como Suzuki tenía ganas de compartir el protagonismo con sus olvidados compañeros, ¿cómo definiría su propio legado en este negocio?

Esta se convirtió en la pregunta más difícil de contestar para él.

Tras meditar empezó a considerar sus contribuciones y lo que significaron para los videojuegos. "Empecé con juegos arcade. En ese momento creaba juegos 'de montarse', aquellos en los que la cabina se movía," apuntaba a la camiseta de Space Harrier, que James llevaba puesta como ejemplo. "Y eso creó un nuevo género, un nuevo 'movimiento' en la industria del videojuego. Después trabajé en juegos como Virtua Fighter y Virtua Racing. Estos abrieron el mercado 3D. Lo siguiente que hice fue Shenmue, con el que nació el género del mundo abierto. Cada juego creó un movimiento, una corriente en la industria del juego. Es por ello que me gustaría pensar que he logrado que tanto creadores de videojuegos como aquellos que juegan se unan en un gran movimiento."

Y esperemos que ese movimiento perdure, no solo con Yu Suzuki y su Shenmue IV (que de momento solo existe en su mente); también con aquellos que al igual que él, rompen moldes constantemente.

Sea experimentando la historia de Shenmue desde la perspectiva de diferentes personajes, o redescubriendo lo sorprendentemente divertidos que son unos QTE bien hechos, los fans pueden esperar una secuela digna, con las cosas buenas de la franquicia, pero que no rinde cuentas a nadie. Cuando llegue a las tiendas, y, con una nueva generación de jugones; Shenmue III quiere ser un reto tan divertido como accesible; mientras cumple también con la gran responsabilidad contraída con los fans que han esperado quince años a esta continuación.

Para estos fieles seguidores, jugar a Shenmue III por primera vez será como un rito de iniciación. Un momento imaginado en infinidad de formas diferentes desde la infancia. Y ahora, después de un esfuerzo hercúleo para revivir la saga, Yu Suzuki tiene todos y cada uno de esos sueños en la palma de su mano.

Por fortuna, no podemos pensar en otro dúo que brinde tal seguridad.

Seguridad que te protegerá mientras no seas un molesto mando.
_________________________________________________________________________

When we last played as Ryo Hazuki in the Shenmue saga, he was on a mission of discovery in a foreign land, in pursuit of the man who had altered the course of his life in ways that were both surprising yet guided by fate.

And so it was that two representatives of Shenmue Dojo and Team Yu found ourselves crossing borders and tripping over coincidence after coincidence on our way to meet series creator Yu Suzuki, for his first ever interview with the English-speaking fan community.

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Like our destination of Monaco, the road to Shenmue III has been mountainous. But through a uniquely synchronized sequence of events, involving an organized fan base , the rise of Kickstarter , Sony's third party productions team, and private investors led by Shibuya Productions , a tunnel was finally carved through the impenetrable landscape.

With the impossible sequel now in development, Shibuya Productions would play host to exclusive preview footage at MAGIC Monaco , its annual conference event celebrating video games, anime, manga, and all around fandom. The unseen material went down a storm - appropriately, as one of the features demonstrated was the series' famed dynamic weather system.

In preparation for our interview - for which we owe the veterans at ShenmueMaster.fr a debt of gratitude - we had readied a long list of questions to choose from on the day. If time were no object, one of them would have made reference to a question Suzuki answered in fun last July, during his debut in the monthly Shenmue Tweetathon .

Asked about similarities in plot between Shenmue and the classic Shakespeare play Hamlet, Suzuki tweeted , "Sorry, but I have not read Hamlet. I know Hamtaro though." Hamtaro being a Japanese cartoon hamster, and the source of many jokes lightening our online planning sessions.

So to arrive in town for MAGIC and find a poster advertising Hamlet itself in the middle of Monte Carlo was cause for a double-take at the very least.

And once we started, we couldn't stop.

A black car outside the hotel. Workmen adjusting a sign above the street. Machines selling Coke and capsule toys near the conference venue. Stepping stones over water in a neighboring Japanese garden. Arcade cabinets controlled by steering wheels and replica motorcycles, not to mention a Kung-Fu Panda game titled Mojo Dojo.

Of course, these inferred references are everywhere when you're in the right frame of mind to look for them. When passing through Seattle on their way to the big reveal of Shenmue III last June, the game's crowdfunding team couldn't help but note the irony of boarding their flight at gate S3.

Fortunately for our sanity, early weather reports forecasting that our meeting in Monaco would fall on the day the snow turned to rain proved inaccurate, with not a flake in sight. The correctly predicted downpours however did prevent us from filming outdoor scenes for our video , which you can watch with captions in a variety of languages for details and surprises not covered here.

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On arriving at MAGIC, both of us - Peter, a five figure Kickstarter backer , and James, founder of the #SaveShenmue campaign - felt positively outdone by our fellow guests in wonderfully elaborate cosplay , taking inspiration from all corners of animation, illustration, and interactive arts. New projects were announced on stage to excited fans, and lines waited patiently for autographs from their favorite creators. This event was both a haven and a goldmine for the passionate supporters of arguably niche entertainment who, for one multicultural day, had descended upon the Grimaldi Forum in a colorful fusion of unabashed enthusiasm.

And it's that kind of dedication and emotional attachment to works of modern art that sprung to Yu Suzuki's mind when we asked him how it felt, after a decade and a half of uncertainty, to be finally making his most requested game.

"I think very few developers in the world get this kind of chance," he told us, "And then there are the fans, who have waited for as long as fifteen years, sixteen years without giving up... In some videos there are even fans shedding tears. I think there's no other developer in the world as happy as I am."

Asked whether he could relate to feeling so strongly about any tale in a book or film that he would endure such a long wait for the next chapter, he could think of nothing that came close in his own experience to the undying anticipation that Shenmue fans have become accustomed to.

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Speaking of other storytelling media, we asked Suzuki-san how important it was for him to complete Shenmue as a video game, when some gamers had resigned themselves to the possibility of concluding the saga in a more passive format.

"Being in game form is the most important thing," he said of the ongoing series, "I believe that Shenmue's meaning comes from being a game." He added however that although it forms just one part of Shenmue, he had received so many questions about the story that he has "always felt a responsibility" to tell how it plays out, and had therefore considered options like a graphic novel or anime.

Having made the decision to proceed with Shenmue III as a game, we asked if the project had encountered any unusual challenges. Suzuki explained that with his preferred engine Unreal 4 being relatively new, and with little information available in Japanese, it had been difficult to find experts in Japan. "Fortunately, now at our offices we do have skilled experts," he smiled.

Something known about Shenmue III before even the game engine was revealed is that Ryo will finally have the chance to swap his trademark leather jacket for a fresh change of clothes. But how far will this customization extend?

"We haven't reached the point of testing that part yet, so it's hard to say," admitted Suzuki-san, "However, I guess I'd like at least to change his clothing. And with Shenhua in particular, her home is located nearby; so if her clothes always stay the same, it would imply she only owns one costume - that wouldn't do!"

Suzuki added that he wants to "create some good designs" for Shenhua's clothing, and team up with an actual clothes designer for the task.

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But what of game design? Shenmue is often credited (or blamed) for popularizing QTEs , a gameplay mechanic commonly abused by other developers but applied with intuitive logic in the early adventures of Ryo.

When comparing the new sequel's use of QTEs with those in the original games, Yu explained, "The basic concepts will remain the same: It's 'Quick Timer', so the button presses are simple; even people who aren't good at reflex-based games can participate. The difficulty level adjusts automatically according to the number of times you fail, and fundamentally, it is a system that integrates well into a story-oriented game. Even if you're hopeless at playing games, you'll still be able to advance along."

Elaborating, he added, "What I just described were the good things about QTEs, but there are some things that I'm not satisfied with. For example, for players who are really good at playing reflex-based games like Virtua Fighter [another Suzuki creation] - for them, the button presses are too easy. That's one problem that I hope to improve."

We're sure veterans of the Ghost Hall Building in Shenmue II's Kowloon will relish the challenge. But for those without the knack to follow on-screen button prompts in an instant, Suzuki's got you covered: "Being easy is OK, as long as it's fun."

When asked about the use of music in Shenmue III, the maestro explained that when originally planning out the series he "thought of musical pieces to fit the various scenes" that would form each chapter. "And so we have lots of music available to us now: a great many pieces, that were composed and created back then. And I would say not even 20% of them have been used in Shenmue I and II."

"With Shenmue III," he continued, "There are a number of musical pieces we will be creating, but we'll also be making use of past ones, for example in arrangements. There are many pieces that fit the original concept well, so this is the approach I'd like to take."

It was certainly music to our ears to learn that, with a mostly untapped well of tracks produced at the beginning of the saga, and new tunes still to be added, Shenmue's Hall of Fame soundtrack is set to become even more epic with the release of the third game.

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A surprisingly hot topic amongst fans since the launch of the game's crowdfunding appeal last year has been the different logos used on various trailers, websites, and promotional images. One follows the traditional handwritten style seen in the first two games, while the other is new to the series with distinct lettering . With so much curiosity surrounding the matter of which logo will make it into the actual game, we had to put the question to Yu.

"The one I like at the moment is that logo there," he said while pointing to the newer block-lettered version on Peter's T-shirt, "The reason I say that is that recently - you're familiar with cursive writing? Where each letter is joined to the next. With this one the letters are separated from each other, right? With cursive, the letters run together. They say there are many young people nowadays who can't read cursive writing. So that's why I decided to separate out the Shenmue logo, to make it easier to read."

If Shenmue is to reach a new audience in the modern era, one obstacle it may have to overcome is that its name is essentially meaningless to any non-Japanese speaker unaware of its relevance. With the word being unfamiliar to all other languages, perhaps at least making it more easily readable is an important step to avoid premature dismissal by casual browsers of game store shelves.

But is it even a given that Shenmue III can be bought in stores and online by those who haven't backed the crowdfunding campaign? Suzuki was quick to dismiss any suggestion to the contrary: "Yes, I think they will of course be able to."

On the same theme, we took the chance to try and clarify whether fans should expect new additions to the ongoing Slacker Backer campaign, such as the PC version of the game which has always been absent from the PayPal rewards list, or the ability for Kickstarter backers to upgrade to the next reward tier by increasing their original donation via PayPal.

Unfortunately, as can happen in any bilingual exchange, when translated on the fly for Suzuki-san the question morphed into "Will there be anything new added to it, such as the PC version or another new item from the Kickstarter campaign, for example?"

"I can't speak to the future," replied Suzuki to this interpretation of our question, "But there's nothing new at the current time. It's really for people who weren't able to purchase rewards during the Kickstarter campaign, for whatever reason. It's to give those people the chance to buy the same items. Well, apart from the items that were exclusive to the Kickstarter, of course. But I wanted to make the non-exclusive items available to people who had missed them during the time of the Kickstarter."

Another point of discussion within the online community bubble of late has been whether Shenmue III will feature the loading screens that became an iconic staple of the original games, denoting the in-game time and Ryo's location while entering a new area.

With technological advances making loading screens functionally obsolete, Suzuki had no plans to include them in the new game. But after musing on the topic in our interview, he noted, "I guess they're very characteristic of Shenmue, aren't they? I will give it some proper thought."

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Something we know will be in Shenmue III is the Character Perspective system, a new feature unlocked for development as a crowdfunding stretch goal. With the player able to take control of Ryo's allies for the first time, we were interested to learn how different an experience it would be to play as Ren or Shenhua. For example, would the leader of a Hong Kong street gang employ a different fighting style to the lead protagonist so far?

Suzuki confirmed that Ren's style of combat will differ from Ryo's, and that Shenhua doesn't fight. "She's smart and uses other tactics," he noted, before explaining that "the Character Perspective system is not a system that simply changes your character. It simulates each person's personality, and the way they think and behave."

That in itself is a fresh challenge for a developer who's never shied away from different styles of game. With such a diverse back catalog already decorating his résumé, is there any new genre he'd still like to take on?

"Yes, yes, there is," replied Suzuki-san, saying there were "various" styles he would like to try, "Possibly one that doesn't even exist yet!" Becoming animated, he demonstrated his frustration when using controllers, confessing to being hopeless at it, and imagines a day when characters on the screen will be controlled by the player's own brain waves, moving in the direction desired by the power of thought.

More than a passing whim, this is the second time we've heard him describe this vision of the future, and with the industry investing heavily in virtual reality and motion control, it's not hard to believe that the pioneer of Sega's arcade glory days is once again thinking a step ahead of the game.

But is it fair that Yu Suzuki is one of so few developers to be known by name? The average gamer tends to recognize only the studio, and often just the publisher - which is exactly how the publisher likes it, to keep fans loyal to their brand instead of those who design the games. We asked one of the most distinctly celebrated figures in gaming whether this is something that ought to change. Should individual designers receive more recognition?

"I think that is something that needs to happen," replied Suzuki with conviction, "Game creators should be properly... For example, with song composers, artists, and movie directors, nowadays they have their names credited. So yes, I think their names should be properly shown and made clear. I think that children - the next generation - need people to aspire to. So I think the game industry needs to provide the proper recognition."

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So with Suzuki-san eager to share more of the spotlight with his unsung peers, how would he define his own legacy in this business?

This proved the toughest question of all for him to answer.

Eventually he began to consider his contributions and what they had meant to gaming. "At the beginning, I started off with arcade games. At that time, I was making ride-on type games - ones which move the cabinet," pointing to Space Harrier on the T-shirt worn by James as an example, "And that created a new genre, a new 'flow', in the game industry. Next, I worked on games like Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing. These opened up the 3D market. After that I did Shenmue which formed the open world genre. Each created a flow, or stream, within the game industry. So I would like to think that I have been able to bring together both the creators of games and those who play them into one large flow."

And long may that flow continue, not only with Yu Suzuki and his mind controlled Shenmue IV, but also those who consistently break the mould as he has. If they are granted the status in the industry that they deserve, then Suzuki will have been amongst the first of many young programmers to enter the business and turn it on its head, time after time after time, expanding the art form in new and interesting ways.

Whether it's experiencing the Shenmue story from the contrasting perspectives of different characters, or rediscovering the surprising joy of QTEs done right, fans can expect a sequel that both honors the strengths of the franchise while standing still for no man. When it hits store shelves in front of a new generation of gamers, Shenmue III aims to provide a challenge that's both fun and accessible, while delivering on a heavily felt responsibility to the fans who have waited fifteen years for this continuation.

For these loyal supporters, playing Shenmue III for the first time will be like a rite of passage. A moment imagined in countless different ways since childhood. And now, after a Herculean effort to revive the saga, Yu Suzuki holds every one of those dreams in the palm of his hand.

Fortunately, we can think of no safer pair.

Unless you're a bothersome joypad.

Hey Guys,

Was browsing through Polygon today and found an article with Yu Suzuki and other developers . Something interesting to read


http://www.polygon.com/features/2016/6/9/11799986/yu-suzuki-tim-schafer-hype-in-game-development

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=208859785&postcount=2741

Downloading now. Will update the OP with interesting info about Shenmue III, Yu Suzuki, and the series at large.

EDIT 1:

Ryan Payton is working on Shenmue III as part of its advisory board. He meets with Yu Suzuki every two months.

EDIT 2:

Yu's passion for creating games has been ignited, he's sleeping at the office, and is full of enthusiasm working on Shenmue III. His game creation style is very different to what Ryan Payton is used to (likely waterfall vs agile development methodology), but says there is "method to the madness".

Ryan Payton keeps prodding and poking about the Saturn Shenmue build. Yu doesn't know where it is.

The team are working hard on making Ryo look like he should.

Yu has been able to hire back a lot of veterans of the series, dating back to the Shenmue Saturn build of the game.

The ambition for Shenmue as a series was to release two games, the first part would be the story of Shenmue + Shenmue II, and the second Shenmue III onwards.

EDIT 3:

Yu and Ryan have had constructive arguments over the game, with Yu pushing revolution and Ryan pushing for evolution. They seem to have met a compromise that works for both, and their overall goal is to make a great game for the fans .

The team are fully dedicated to both the game and Yu, a lot of the people working on the game are there for Yu's benefit as someone they know, love, and respect, Ryan Payton included.

-----

Overall not hugely informative, and the Patreon exclusive content isn't too big on information. The largest bombshell is that Ryan Payton is actually working on the game in a supervisory role.

I have no words guys. My mind and body have been stretched to the limits in Japan, from partying with voice actors, Sega staff and Shenmue 3 developers, the dinner with Yu-san, a Shenmue pilgrimage of all Shenmue pilgrimages and secrets galore (some not even Shenmue related!!!).......

Maybe I will try a full blog when I get home, but God knows when I will post again. My mind and body need a complete backup, reset, restart.

Hope the Shenmue Dojo doesn't start turning political and fill with Trump fans. I'd rather not associate this game series with this nonsense.

Here at the Shenmue Dojo we have the best members, great people, believe me. Nobody makes better forums than these people, and I know forums. We're gonna make this the biggest message board in the world and a pig like ShenmueForeseen can't stop that. He'd like to but he can't. It's gonna be HUGE.

A lot of people have been wanting to know what we saw on that laptop. I can safely say there were no story spoilers in there. The majority of the footage consisted of location shots. What blew us away was the quantity that was shown, however. I think most of us have had doubts as to how far they've actually gotten into development, after only seeing a few shots of Bailu Village after all this time. But when we saw Bailu Village, Baisha and Choubu, any doubts I had were put to bed. They looked very fleshed out and beautiful already (and note that the footage was 3 months old when we saw it). There were bits of cutscene material, and a QTE testing scene, but those were really early tests and not much to talk about.

As some of you may now, YsNet recently started hiring additional staff to work on "high-end cutscenes." They are working their asses off, no doubt in my mind. I'm not saying this WILL happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if we got the first official trailer by December at Playstation Experience. Hang on a little longer, it'll be worth the wait.