https://i.imgur.com/xz5MmOV.jpg

I've posted up a translation of an interview Yu Suzuki held with the media on 18th January 1999, soon after the successful Shenmue premiere events. Shenmue was still somewhat shrouded in mystery, so the "15 Secrets" this article refers to - while not representing special in-game secrets or the like - are an interesting reflection on both expectations from the media/public as well as Yu Suzuki's mindset almost a year before its actual release.

Not only that, but Suzuki mentions themes that he still holds with importance today with development of Shenmue III, such as "reality vs realism".

Link to the interview:

Part 1/2:
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2018/06/part-12-15-secrets-of-shenmue-1999.html

Part 2/2:
https://www.phantomriverstone.com/2018/06/part-22-15-secrets-of-shenmue-1999.html

My take on the technical "issues" in the HD collection pretty much come down to this:

Could they have done all the things we are requesting? Absolutely, there are plenty of options and routes they could have taken to achieve things like 4k, 16:9 cut scenes, 60 frames per second etc. The entertainment business is full of tricks and techniques to make things happen that shouldnt be possible and many people have made a name for themselves inside the entertainment industry for discovering things like that. But Sega didnt go that route, and why didnt they? Because it just wasnt in their initial budget and plan for this HD collection id imagine, this is Sega we are talking about they have always been hesitant and cautious about Shenmue ever since the first 2 games came out, they allocated X amount of money and said get it done with this and we'll go from there.

That being said if Sega had known that this thing was going to top the pre-order charts in multiple countries around the world, maybe they would have included some of these features but they took the side of caution, also the price point would have likely changed they wouldnt have been able to keep the $30 price point which would have probably hurt sales and they avoided back lash from the price being too much say if they retailed it at $60 and even if at that price point it had all these extra assests you know people would bitching about either price or lack of features at $30, seems to me they made the right choice based on the information they had at the time.

And lets not forget how much money they lost on Shenmue the first time, we dont know when the Shenmue HD collection project started work and any of the behind closed doors details to make this thing happen. I think its also very important to note that since this collection has blown up that it isnt out of the realm of possibility for Sega to maybe patch some of these features in with later updates to please fans since we came out in droves for this thing. We just need to give it time and even if we dont get updates we still have another version of the game playable on current hardware.

Hello Backers!

With the combined Kickstarter and Slacker Backer campaigns, we have reached the $7M stretch goal! Having reached this goal, the Battle System Expanded: AI Battling will be included! Thank you so much for your support!!　　

Battle System Expanded: AI Battling 　　　

This control system lets you automatically unleash the perfect technique in response to the opponent's positioning and distance. R&D for this system is based on Yu Suzuki's concept for players who are not used to fighting games or for those who want a full immersion battle experience. This battle system is highly compatible with, and will be an extension to the current battle system.

https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/021/987/714/72ca8373a797ad46bd2a4a87a6529b12_original.jpg?w=639&fit=max&v=1532329681&auto=format&q=92&s=d118ecd2b624e0a620ca15f7e5d8eddc 　　　　　　　　

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Add-on & Upgrade Announcement

The Toy Capsule Box Set is now available through Fangamer! Get the Ryo, Shenhua, Chai and Forklift set as either an add-on or upgrade. Alright! Have some more fun!

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Looks beautiful!!!

Not really, but the negative impression for failing to adapt modern standards such as a 16:9 aspect ratio will definitely have people talking negatively about Shenmue, which is much worse than if the remake just got a "neutral" reception. Shenmue has a reputation for pushing technical boundaries at the time it was released so the least thing you could expect for a "remastered" version is to be modernized for modern aspect ratios.
I think it's important to bear in mind that Shenmue III isn't happening because of newcomers, it's the result of a passionate but relatively small fan-base that refused to stop asking about it and when presented with the opportunity to help donated generously.

Shenmue does not and will never have the biggest most commercially attractive audience, I wouldn't worry about what impact reviews of the re-release will have on the future of the series. I certainly don't agree that it's worse than nothing, even an up-scaled port with a less desirable aspect ratio will give people a solid introduction to the series.

It has a lot going for it, name recognition as a (not so hidden) gem, it's available across a good number of platforms and is priced well. I certainly think it's a better accompaniment than Shenmue The Movie was when the second game got ported to the Xbox.

If you don't believe that then I think we'll have to chalk that up to a fundamental difference of opinion. Personally I'm looking forward to being able to play my favourite games without worrying about buying a 4th Dreamcast.