I've heard people say that Shenmue 3 won't feel unique, as the elements it was famous for (intricate open-world, mini games, QTE's), can be found in a bunch of titles now. I obviously disagree, but it got me thinking about the one element no one really copied, having a realistic community simulation. For instance, the Funny Bear Burger guy will wake up, go to his shack, roll up the shutter, do a days work, close up, sweep outside and then walk home. You can even watch his apartment light switch off as he goes to sleep. I absolutely love this attention to detail and, apart from Animal Crossing, haven't seen it in other modern games.
During the postmortem Yu Suzuki reminisced about accidentally losing all the dock workers who'd become stuck in the Tomato convenience store. They were programmed to visit at a certain time, but couldn't leave through the narrow, crowded entrance. I find this attempt to create a functioning community amazing and I hope the NPC's in Choubu receive the same treatment. It could be something truly unique in modern RPG's.
Do you think Suzuki will keep this community simulation aspect even on a limited budget?