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Thoughts From a Long Time Fan

Greetings!

To be honest, I don't know if posting this is relevant, or has any meaning, but as a long time fan of this series I just feel like I want to put my two cents out there somewhere.

Every once in a while I'll be on the computer, and I'll get this random bit of intuition to suddenly search Shenmue III, obviously with the naive hope I will one day see some news about this. Of course it saddens me when I don't find anything, or even worse, false hope, but still, whether it be months or years it seems like I will eventually type those words into the search engine once again...

I've read a lot of opinions about this game, both good and bad, but overwhelmingly good. Like many others have said, this game holds a very special spot in my heart. On this board in particular are some very good conversations, even the threads that haven't been updated in a long time, that show people truly care for this game and want to see the best for its future.

Some people say this game isn't commercially viable anymore, or that it would be ruined by the current generation of games if released. I don't believe that is the case. Others have said that this title would never reach the heights of GTA or CoD or AC, but I don't believe this either. It's apples and oranges. Shenmue is Shenmue, and honestly I think people don't get enough credit today. People can't come if you don't build it! Gamers like lots of different types of games, they don't all have to be the same. Assassin's Creed blew me away too back in the day, and is also one of my favorites, and I've played plenty of GTA and such, but that doesn't mean I don't like other types of games, and I'm sure it's the same for most others.

I actually think that if things had gone only slightly differently, this game would be up there with the best of them even still. Allow me to elaborate on that a little.

Back in the day when I bought my Dreamcast, I was the only one of my friends to do so. I only knew one other kid with one, and that was in a different school when I moved to another city for a year. However, my friends and I played that system so much it wasn't even funny. Jet Grind Radio and Shenmue were just two of the many favorites we played a ton. However, I believe this is the first way that Shenmue got derailed from a legacy of greatness, that is, the unfortunate legacy of the Dreamcast.

The second mistake, over here in the U.S. at least, was NOT releasing Shenmue II on the Dreamcast platform. You had to get an xbox if you wanted to play it. By this time I was older, and the console stage had changed. My core friends from back in the day and myself were excited about Shenmue II, but no one else knew what it was, and like others have said, trying to explain Shenmue hardly ever works. You have to play it. That was more difficult to do though by then, as Dreamcasts had been sold or had died the death of a console. There is the ROM option, but not many were doing anything like that at the time, so if they didn't already know about Shenmue, it was already a losing battle.

So Shenmue slipped ever further into obscurity. It saddens me greatly to think of this, because I do think that even in the semi-wasteland of games today, this title would still succeed if it weren't for its unfortunate start and split. Games like Sonic survived these issues because Sonic himself was just a huge, popular name, that he transcended the obscurity. Ryo and his radically split console games did not have this advantage.

So how is all this relevant now? It shows that SEGA really needs to remaster this series and offer them BOTH on the same platform. I believe there will not even be a shadow of a chance of Shemue III until this happens. After all, the games have been split by not just one console generation, but 2 at this point (xbox - xbox 360 - xbox one) However, I also believe that if this were to happen, this series might get the second chance it deserves, and people may see the gem they missed. They need BOTH gems together though to see it, and not in a ROM, but a truly remastered and updated experience (which still keeps 100% to the true games of course).

Rather than pushing for a movement for Shenmue III, those of us who know its majesty should be pushing for re-done versions of the first two games on the current or next gen consoles, so those who don't know can see what they have missed. I believe with the loyal fan base of this game helping, developers would find that the re-make would succeed, and set the stage for making Shenmue III a successful game instead of a pipe dream. I don't think those who don't know could help but be interested when they seen the buzz from those of us who are.

If Suzuki-san can't get SEGA (or another publisher with their OK) to fund the re-makes, then I think, as difficult as it may be, he should shelve the series for a little bit and try to get a developer interested in another title or series. Doing so, hopefully he can create a successful brand that would allow him to generate the funds necessary to finish the series, or at least give him better leverage to continue pursuing it.

This game's failures aren't about content or mechanics. I replayed the first one last year (ROM though :( ) and it still held my attention just fine. After all, if you can watch the opening video with Hazuki Sensei's death and NOT want to play it, then all hope is lost. This game just got snagged up in unfortunate circumstances that make it APPEAR that it wouldn't be viable. I still truly hope to see the third one some day, but honestly I would just be super excited to have access to upgraded or remastered versions of the first two.

Though, maybe buff up the npc intelligence a little. It did always kind of irk me that people doing nothing were too busy to talk to me...

Anyways, there's my two cents, though maybe a little more considering how long winded it is, or a little less by the content. Either way, I do want to finish Ryo's journey some day, so here's to hoping! If you read all of this, then thank you for your time.
by Hazuki-Sensei
Sun Apr 26, 2015 4:24 pm
 
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