Shenmue IV Will Happen - Here's Why!

Remaking Shenmue 3 makes zero sense. That’s not happening unless it miraculously sells an extra million or two copies in the coming years. Updating it with a patch and fixing some things? Maybe. Better to move on and hope 4 does the things you wanted to see in 3. You’re also sort of telling Ys Net to admit they made a bad game that needs to be remade; when has Yu Suzuki ever expressed this opinion or desire?

I will say if Ys Net is a going concern, they’re definitely not publicly hiring or providing any hints to what they’re up to. I still do a regular search for jobs, etc. in the area and never come across a thing. That new office address was about it and I’m still not positive that’s actually their office.
 
tomboz said:
Hard disagree with the notion that S4 is less likely that S3.

When S3 came about the series was completely dead. There was no real way of quantifiably gauging demand for the title prior to the Kickstarter, there was no clear image of what a resurrected Shenmue game would actually look like and, even if the first two issues could somehow be overcome, there was no team in place to make the game.

Fast forward six years, however, and there’s now a blueprint in place for what Shenmue 4 will/could look like and a pre-assembled team of people who already have experience making a Shenmue game. The sales of Shenmue 3 and the success of the game’s Kickstarter offer a pretty clear indication of the potential demand for a fourth title and the impending anime and slow trickle of sales of the first three games provide hope that that number could easily increase between now and the game’s eventual release.

Shenmue 4 is by no means a certainty, but I think a fourth game is far more likely than the third ever was and by using some of the existing assets and ideas from its predecessor, would also be a lot easier to make. That Yu and Cedric are trying to secure a larger budget is undoubtedly slowing things down, but were they ever to switch to pitching a “bare minimum” S4, I suspect they’d secure funding almost instantly.
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Just giving some thoughts on what could be done with S4 if it's made.

"but were they ever to switch to pitching a “bare minimum” S4, I suspect they’d secure funding almost instantly."

I think we'd all hate that. When I kept checking on S3 progress I kept wishing they'd do it that year, or the next. It should have been letting them do it fully polished instead. Plus these dumb goals they've set. It then forced them to have 2.5 areas. I wish they just showed the costs of one character drawn, and animated, and explained how many are there. Maybe show one move motion captured, explained the costs, showed a number of moves in the game. Also maybe controlling themselves on the need for those numbers if they aren't main story/gameplay things. Set the goals that way. I think they could do another campaign for preorders, not donations with promises or whatever. Show clear interest, then pitch it to the publishers. This many people already bought S4. To me it'd work best.

Also about bare minimum. I think they need to see on YouTube what people liked about S3. There were unique qualities to it better than both S1&2, and all other open world RPGs. QTE training transferring to the real time combat expertise. Minigames using QTEs that were just plain fun. Then see what got those horrible reactions. Asking for directions. They should have learned from S1 on that. Long periods with no real time combat used. It's a martial arts game, both S1 and 2 screwed it there too. The best combat system in any open world game, and you very seldom use it. They kept trying to impress with graphics in 1&2 instead it seems to me. What was the reward? Snide remarks about sailors, stupid bits about forklift simulators. Such potential there, it should have been the most popular RPG in 2000. I think in S4 they need way, way more actual action on those winding streets. He's just mentioning fast travel, S1 had fast travel. Did anyone enjoy that fat tai chi guy at all? Some artists they had made a caricature of a potentially very solid martial arts game. Then I read simplistic martial arts in reviews. Sure if they don't explore what's actually there. They need to highlight in game martial arts in any promos.
 
I wouldn't want it to be like Yakuza where there's random encounters everywhere. That can be repetitive.

In IV, I guess if Ziming is the secondary antagonist of the first half, a lot of his followers could just be inchangable models, monks garbed with a white wolf motif, they could have more battles and they don't need to spend as much time distiguising the enemies.
 
It's not just Yakuza-styled random encounters I'd like Shenmue to avoid, it's also how Yakuza shoehorns combat into main story or substory objectives. If you've played a few games in the series you'd probably be aware of the... trope, tradition (?) of some thugs just walking up out of the blue to disrupt the current story beat or to close out the substory when it probably isn't necessary.

There's a fine line between having a sufficient amount of action and wearing out the welcome of the combat mechanics at an astonishing rate, and Yakuza more often than not treads over the line of the latter. In fairness, the reliance on this is partly down to the volume of content those games have and often how the short development cycles encouraged reuse of mechanics and assets.

Doesn't mean Shenmue IV can't be more action packed, but in my mind the most ideal way would be to tie it to the story - much like Shenmue II. If there have to be concessions to the slightly more attention deficient parts of the gaming community, just up the action by about 10% and spread it out more evenly than Shenmue II. I love the first half of disk 2 in Shenmue II and think a lot of great character development happens there precisely because it locks the player into a limited environment with some narrow goals, but can recognise how for some it would feel like a grinding halt after the Xiuying reveal that closes disk 1.
 
Spaghetti said:
It's not just Yakuza-styled random encounters I'd like Shenmue to avoid, it's also how Yakuza shoehorns combat into main story or substory objectives. If you've played a few games in the series you'd probably be aware of the... trope, tradition (?) of some thugs just walking up out of the blue to disrupt the current story beat or to close out the substory when it probably isn't necessary.

There's a fine line between having a sufficient amount of action and wearing out the welcome of the combat mechanics at an astonishing rate, and Yakuza more often than not treads over the line of the latter. In fairness, the reliance on this is partly down to the volume of content those games have and often how the short development cycles encouraged reuse of mechanics and assets.

Doesn't mean Shenmue IV can't be more action packed, but in my mind the most ideal way would be to tie it to the story - much like Shenmue II. If there have to be concessions to the slightly more attention deficient parts of the gaming community, just up the action by about 10% and spread it out more evenly than Shenmue II. I love the first half of disk 2 in Shenmue II and think a lot of great character development happens there precisely because it locks the player into a limited environment with some narrow goals, but can recognise how for some it would feel like a grinding halt after the Xiuying reveal that closes disk 1.
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Personally I’d like to see the series return to more organic encounters. One thing I really missed in Shenmue 3 was the feeling that I’d stumbled upon something special or unique. Other than perhaps the scene between the hotel owner and Dejin, I can’t think of a moment when the game rewards players for venturing off the beaten track. IMO they missed a trick with the sidequests, as they could have served this purpose rather than being glorified fetch quests.
 
I still haven't touched Yakuza. Maybe one day I will, after Shenmue is finally finished.
Maybe I'm just bitter, but I'm upset Yakuza gets so many entries and Shenmue is still stuck on 3.
 
Sonoshee said:
I still haven't touched Yakuza. Maybe one day I will, after Shenmue is finally finished.
Maybe I'm just bitter, but I'm upset Yakuza gets so many entries and Shenmue is still stuck on 3.
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Yakuza is a much more action packed franchise that doesn't have the town simulator aspect of Shenmue. It's a very different beast and I have no animosity towards it being more successful.

However I don't like when some Yakuza fans say that's what Shenmue should be. It's good they're different.
 
Demon's Triangle said:
Yakuza is a much more action packed franchise that doesn't have the town simulator aspect of Shenmue. It's a very different beast and I have no animosity towards it being more successful.

However I don't like when some Yakuza fans say that's what Shenmue should be. It's good they're different.
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I've no issues with them being different, I just felt Shenmue deserved the same kind of treatment or better treatment than it has received by Sega. If they were able to throw $20 mill at a cancelled Shenmue Online and not see any return on that, then I don't see why they can't throw the same at a Shenmue 4 and see some return. Then Yakuza gets entry after entry and even spin-offs. None of it seems fair.
 
Shenmue is classic adventure game with fighting elements while Yakuza is action game akin to the 2d brawlers like Final Fight or Street of Rage. There are no things that Shenmue could learn from Yakuza to be better. Even the slightest injection of Yakuza Genes in Shenmue would kill the "Shenmueness" and the series would dead. Even the presentation of Yakuza is a step dowm from Shenmue. No spoken Dialoges on the street just plain text fields. The pedestrians are just there for decoration do not have a schedule. The only thing from Yakuza that shenmue could need is the money invested the series.
 
Sonoshee said:
I've no issues with them being different, I just felt Shenmue deserved the same kind of treatment or better treatment than it has received by Sega. If they were able to throw $20 mill at a cancelled Shenmue Online and not see any return on that, then I don't see why they can't throw the same at a Shenmue 4 and see some return. Then Yakuza gets entry after entry and even spin-offs. None of it seems fair.
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I think the mass market prefers Yakuza because it's more action packed and faster paced, or the wacky substories make for better Let Play Videos on youtube. Shenmue as much as I love it, has always been a flop, and overall I see where Sega is coming from not giving Shenmue the same attention. I recall Yu Suzuki said Sega was very cooperative lending him the IP and I appreciate them for that. The best I hope for is IV is made, but won't be bitter if it doesn't happen.
 
tomboz said:
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9dragons said:
Shenmue is classic adventure game with fighting elements while Yakuza is action game akin to the 2d brawlers like Final Fight or Street of Rage. There are no things that Shenmue could learn from Yakuza to be better. Even the slightest injection of Yakuza Genes in Shenmue would kill the "Shenmueness" and the series would dead. Even the presentation of Yakuza is a step dowm from Shenmue. No spoken Dialoges on the street just plain text fields. The pedestrians are just there for decoration do not have a schedule. The only thing from Yakuza that shenmue could need is the money invested the series.
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I generally agree, I think it could be cool if Shenmue's cutscenes had motion capture and face models as cool as some of the ones in Yakuza, or an undemanding food/stamina system, but those aspects are in loads of games, and it wouldn't be strictly influenced by Yakuza.
 
Someone on ResetERA made a good point that typically they differentiate between Deep Silver shows/games and THQ Nordic, so they may not show anything that isn’t identified specifically under THQ Nordic, which would mean no Shenmue or Timesplitters. They operate rather oddly for a video game parent company.

EDIT: In fact, confirmed:

 
Shadow2222 said:
Someone on ResetERA made a good point that typically they differentiate between Deep Silver shows/games and THQ Nordic, so they may not show anything that isn’t identified specifically under THQ Nordic, which would mean no Shenmue or Timesplitters. They operate rather oddly for a video game parent company.

EDIT: In fact, confirmed:

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I figured as much. That said, Shenmue 4 may not be a Deep Silver game. Maybe somebody at THQ wanted to take a stab at it? Unlikely, I know, but anything is possible.
 
Don't mean to build unfounded hype and perhaps I don't understand the split between companies fully BUT let's not forget Shenmue III was included in the THQ Nordic financial presentation soooo?

Totally hypothetically, could another company besides Deep Silver take on Shenmue IV while still under the THQ umbrella?

 
sayuhhm said:
Totally hypothetically, could another company besides Deep Silver take on Shenmue IV while still under the THQ umbrella?
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Don't think so, from what's known about the structure of the Embracer Group - who seem generally more interested in IP acquisition than just offering publishing deals like Deep Silver. I expect this showcase to be more the fruits of those kinds of efforts, really.

Shenmue and YsNet are in an awkward position in that ultimately the IP still belongs to SEGA. Even though Shenmue III met sales expectations and has proved to have a long tail on evergreen sales, there's no real incentive for Embracer to gobble them up - and we would have heard if they did.
 
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