Why I'm optimistic Shenmue's future

Bambi

Bambi

Joined
Jul 27, 2018
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I see a lot of negativity regarding the state of the game and people expressing concerns about III not getting enough mainstream success to warrant a 4th game/continuation of the series but this isn't something I'm worried about at all and here's why.

  1. It's a relatively low budget indie game, even the biggest detractors will have to acknowledge this if complaining about technical aspects of the game.
  2. The game even being made is already a miracle, made possible not by the mainstream gaming community but by existing die hard fans.
  3. The aforementioned fans won't be put off by seemingly poor graphics etc. I remember a time where I would have been grateful for a novel finishing the story.
  4. The re-release has sold far better than expected and will expose people to the games in a way Shenmue the Movie (packed in with IIx) did not.
  5. These new fans that got started on the re-release probably have a degree of tolerance for less refined graphics etc.
  6. The average age of a Shenmue fan now means we're probably in a situation where financially we can put our money where our mouth is. If we want a continuation of III then I'm sure we can pump up those sales numbers.
  7. Dan - Be brave and stay calm to make the right decision
  8. Don't really try and change my mind on Shenmue III being a success.
 
Very well put
 
I think the graphics look very good, personally. People are complaining and being negative about how a game looks when it's still in development. I have no doubts that Shenmue 3 will sell far better than a lot of mainstream gamers are expecting, and that will undoubtedly lead to the creation of Shenmue 4 and 5.
 
I also think SH3 will be a success, but I will not claim it repetitively, to not jinx it.

At the very least, SH3 will ease the trouble of us fans, waiting for a continuation.
Maybe we are going to be disappointed by this continuation,
but, honestly, this is better than getting nothing for long.

(For your knowledge, and, for comparison, I'm a fan of Golden Sun, and,
even though GS3 "Dark Dawn" definitely has flaws...
Well, at least, it brought some new lore and long awaited content to fans.)


In the end, I still brace myself in case we have a "Dark-Dawn-like" SH3.
But, I think what us, fans, want is that the story go on until its natural conclusion,
even if we dislike it, in the end, at least, it will not stay unfinished.

For non fans, this is slightly different, but,
I think that the perspective of enjoying a cult and epic saga should work.
We shouldn't be dead set on SH3 being successful.
But, I think it will definitely help the franchise live on longer and reach new people.
(And, this, is already quite a good thing to happen.)
 
I'm pretty optimistic as well, and I'm normally a miserable fuck. I & II HD have surpassed SEGA's expectations and I've seen a hell of a lot of first time players enjoying the experience. III still needs some work, but its shaping up nicely and I'm pretty confident that the end product will be excellent. It's a very good time to be a Shenmue fan.
 
KidMarine said:
I'm pretty optimistic as well, and I'm normally a miserable fuck. I & II HD have surpassed SEGA's expectations and I've seen a hell of a lot of first time players enjoying the experience. III still needs some work, but its shaping up nicely and I'm pretty confident that the end product will be excellent. It's a very good time to be a Shenmue fan.
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That's also considering the issues with the ports at the moment. So the fact they have sold well is a bonus and actually have been reviewed quite positively.

Also can you remember the last time Yu shipped a total mess of a game? I can't remember the member who brought this up in another thread but it is a certainly valid point.
 
I am optimistic too. Sure, the marketing is still very bad and working on the trailers to make some stuff better will be better to take away some over dimensioned worries, but every time we saw something it looks better. Scenarios are beautiful as hell, Shenhua looks miles better than the Passport model, and you can feel that Shenmue vibe all over around. The adventure will continue, the story will be develop and it is not going to be like Traveller Tales title.

I have said that before, but if you left aside those 1st party titles that start promotion 2 years before release and they spent a lot of money on only the demo area to look closer to the final product while the rest of the production is on hold, nowadays are announcing titles with a 6-9 months to release window. Check for example RE2 Remake, announced at E3 for the first time and it will be relased in January, 6 months from announcement. Something similar with Devil May Cry 5 or DOA6 that will be published in March. My point is that this game does not have the budget to do the first thing but due to the Kickstarter nature we know of it since 3 years ago, and we keep demanding to see some progress. I am pretty sure that when the game will be 5-6 month away from release it will look great. Also from my experience, game graphics and animations are improved almost until the last day.

At the end of the day I just want to play something I have been expecting for so long, it is like the Twin Peaks 3 of videogames and I am happy with that.
 
I’m still expecting Shenmue to still keep its cult status but hopefully, thanks to the success of Yakuza, it can reach the level where it can still have sequels and spin offs.

I think Shenmue works best by spreading word of mouth
 
Graphically aside, which is understandable given this is a Kickstarter, I think this is the only instance of a crowdfunding project managing to use a major IP which it is based on, in all of its unadulterated form. So we are not looking at a spiritual sequel like so many in that scene, but the direct sequel. And more incredibly, Yu managed to bring back all the major players that had hands at making the previous games, plus the the main voice actors (both English and Japanese!) which practically have retired from the industry at this point if not for Shenmue 3. To cap it all off, this indie project has some backing at whatever capacity from one the big three, Sony. That is simply unheard of. So what isn't there to be optimistic about?
 
Kyo_JP said:
Check for example RE2 Remake, announced at E3 for the first time and it will be relased in January, 6 months from announcement
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Um Resident Evil 2 Remake was announced a couple of years ago...

Guppy said:
Graphically aside, which is understandable given this is a Kickstarter, I think this is the only instance of a crowdfunding project managing to use a major IP which it is based on, in all of its unadulterated form.
Click to expand...

Nah, there's been a few. Broken Sword 5 comes to mind.

Anyways, on topic, I'm optimistic too. Very optimistic. And I honestly feel like people here, the fans, hold Shenmue to higher standards than other games. There's loads of games that don't have the greatest 3D graphics or most amazing animations, particularly a lot of lower budget titles, that go down well with critics and gamers.
 
swimingdeer said:
I also think SH3 will be a success, but I will not claim it repetitively, to not jinx it.

At the very least, SH3 will ease the trouble of us fans, waiting for a continuation.
Maybe we are going to be disappointed by this continuation,
but, honestly, this is better than getting nothing for long.

(For your knowledge, and, for comparison, I'm a fan of Golden Sun, and,
even though GS3 "Dark Dawn" definitely has flaws...
Well, at least, it brought some new lore and long awaited content to fans.)


In the end, I still brace myself in case we have a "Dark-Dawn-like" SH3.
But, I think what us, fans, want is that the story go on until its natural conclusion,
even if we dislike it, in the end, at least, it will not stay unfinished.

For non fans, this is slightly different, but,
I think that the perspective of enjoying a cult and epic saga should work.
We shouldn't be dead set on SH3 being successful.
But, I think it will definitely help the franchise live on longer and reach new people.
(And, this, is already quite a good thing to happen.)
Click to expand...

Yikes, I sure hope we don't get a Dark Dawn situation. Not only did that game not hold a candle to its predecessors, it ended on a cliffhanger with no resolution. It's a shame because the game technically didn't need to exist, GS2 concluded the story (with some loose ends to set up potential sequels).

At one point, I would've said the only 3 games I'd care to ever see would be Shenmue 3, Beyond Good and Evil 2, and Golden Sun 3. They mucked up GS3 pretty bad, they're currently mucking up BGE2, but I have faith that Shenmue 3 will be worthy enough.
 
Beyond Good and Evil 2 doesn't even look like it belongs in the same franchise or universe as the original game. It really is bizarre.
 
I think with BGE2, the only way Michel Ansel could get Ubisoft to greenlight it was to develop it as a technological platform that could be used for other Ubi games going forward... hence the galaxy-scale engine they're creating. I don't really mind the expansion of scope because there's still a very creative spirit to everything they're designing... I just question whether they can really create a solar system's worth of interesting locations, and whether they can complete it any time in the next decade. Look at something like Destiny, which purports to be several planets and moons you travel between but is really just fragmented maps joined by a menu (map) screen. And even that required an immense investment.
 
For every new gamer who's enjoying Shenmue for the first time, is another person who's going to share the epic moment when we finally get to start Shenmue III.

I'm just jealous they only had to wait 1 year whereas we waited like 16 years.
 
Thats the thing about the future, you cant really predict it. We can have hunches and justifiable evidence and still it rains when it was supposed to be sunny, kinda like whats happening right now. I dont know what will happen with Shenmue but the events of the HD collection have not instilled confidence that they are setting up Shenmue III to be as successful as it can be.
 
The quality of Sega’s porting has nothing to do with Yu Suzuki or the Shenmue III team. It was stated publicly that Sega decided not to work with them. YS Net have no responsibility for Sega’s decisions.

I have faith the remaining character model & expression issues will be resolved this year. Arguably, the most difficult task, the ambient scenery has been breathtaking...

I believe in Yu Suzuki and YS Net...

They’re true artists...

E6FDEE4E-490E-468C-8B64-A46F91555A55.jpeg
 
Zoyous said:
I think with BGE2, the only way Michel Ansel could get Ubisoft to greenlight it was to develop it as a technological platform that could be used for other Ubi games going forward... hence the galaxy-scale engine they're creating. I don't really mind the expansion of scope because there's still a very creative spirit to everything they're designing... I just question whether they can really create a solar system's worth of interesting locations, and whether they can complete it any time in the next decade. Look at something like Destiny, which purports to be several planets and moons you travel between but is really just fragmented maps joined by a menu (map) screen. And even that required an immense investment.
Click to expand...

You may be right about that, but the world doesn't need yet another massive open world game full of fetch quests, which is what this looks like it'll end up being. And why is it a prequel? Originally, Jade and Pey'j weren't even set to appear, but they backtracked with the second trailer -- which to me is a sign they have no idea what they're doing as far as telling this story goes. Evil Jade? I mean, the first game indicated she had a mysterious past but...meh. To top it off the character you play as is basically an NPC - completely customized. So lame.

All I would have liked to see is another 12-15 hour, story driven action RPG with simple but fun gameplay that continued the story -- which ended on a pretty major cliffhanger. They shouldn't be affixing a '2' to this game at all.

Not saying there isn't a chance my mind will be changed on it, but I'm fairly bummed about what's happening with it.

At least Shenmue 3 picks up the day after Shenmue 2 ended, imagine if they announced it and then said it'll be a prequel about Iwao and Ryo and Shenhua wouldn't play a role.
 
When you really think about it. Over the course of time, this is the most popular Shenmue has ever been. I'd say that it's reached a new peak. Even in comparison at it's launch, it's crazy that this game is still breaking records in 2018. In terms of it's place in gaming history, you can't tell the history of gaming without Shenmue. Even if you dissect it to the history of E3, now you have to mention Shenmue III and how it broke the internet. It belongs in the Smithsonian right next to Virtua Fighter imo.

This is a very unique circumstance as I've never seen a franchise revived from the dead like this before. Which is why I agree with OP in terms of Shenmue's future. Huber's Reaction vid, the first Shenmue teaser all have over a million views on Youtube which means eyes are on this series. Although I have my personal issues with the remasters as a fan(DC version is still the definitive and authentic Shenmue expierience until the current gen version is patched), people are responding well to the re-release.

The impact that the first two games left on us OG's is now being experienced by a group of young, new gamers and I'm confident in saying that over 90% of the new gamers who finish Shenmue I and II will be right there with the OG's on August 27th. That factor can't be underestimated for the future of the series going forward.
 
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I hope by the time III comes out, it’ll get a perfect 40 from Famitsu.

But I do believe Shenmue is back and better than ever. Does its present success prove it was too much ahead of its time of debut? Or does it have to age like a fine wine? Or a mix of both?

I hope Shenmue comes back as a multimedia franchise. Can we get Manga and anime adaptations? New figures? Piano books for the soundtracks? Shenmue cereal? Or Shenmue sushi?

Shenmue has always had this unique impact. It encouraged a good number of us to visit the real life locations, study asian culture, martial arts and programming.
I am hoping III can ignite that same reaction
 
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