A leading Spanish gaming magazine has expressed its hopes for 2025, spotlighting the announcement of Shenmue 4 as a major wish for the year. However, they’ve raised important concerns: can ININ Games successfully scale such an ambitious project on their own? They’ve also questioned whether Yu Suzuki’s remarkable talents are being underutilized in the realm of mobile gaming. Finally, the magazine shared an intriguing thought — their enthusiasm at the prospect of a powerhouse like RGG Studio stepping in to lead future Shenmue titles.
Full translation and image credit: Iago Molist – thank you for translating this article for us!
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Looking for “ultrainstinct” Yu Suzuki
I remember like it was yesterday the moment Shenmue III was announced at E3 2015. It was
the most enthusiastic applause I’ve ever had in my life! I have to admit that I was a little
disappointed with the game’s outcome, as Yu Suzuki didn’t have the “blank check” he
enjoyed at Sega. A lower budget led to a game that was more technically limited, but with
all the other ingredients that made Ryo Hazuki’s odyssey great.
In any case, it was clear that the team needed the support of a major company for a
hypothetical Shenmue IV. Inadvertently, five years have passed since that launch and… wait,
twenty-five since the first game blew us away on Dreamcast.
Of course, Yu Suzuki hasn’t been idle all these years. He made Air Twister, a modest but
heartfelt project based on Space Harrier, another of his masterpieces. It was distributed by
ININ, who now have the rights to Shenmue III. Not only that, but in their press release they
predicted “exciting announcements for the future”. Hence, it looks more and more like we’ll
have an announcement of the sequel soon. That’s undoubtedly good news, but I can’t help
but feel worried.
ININ has a certain cachet, but… will it be enough for such an ambitious project? Or perhaps
Yu Suzuki is planning a more linear fourth installment and with a smaller budget?
I would love to see a “truly” big company signing up to the idea. You can’t tell me that it
wouldn’t be cool if Konami, Capcom or, of course, Sega went for it. If Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
is going to bring back Virtua Fighter, from which Shenmue was a spin-off, why not close the
circle completely?
It is true that we live in very complicated times. The proof is this 2024 that we leave behind,
with thousands of layoffs in the sector. For this reason, most companies will prefer to play it
safe. But I reiterate: many recent resurrection projects have been successful, and there are
few sagas with a more legendary status than Shenmue.
What is clear is that Suzuki, at least in the short term, has his focus set on a less powerful
project, that Steel Paws for mobile that he presented at the Game Awards a few days ago
and that, we assume, will be in an early stage, because we only saw a conceptual preview
more than anything else. Which is all well and good, hey: every new game from the master
is welcome. But I think his talent should be directed towards more ambitious tasks, with all
due respect to mobile games. Is he perhaps working on both game developments at once?
In any case, cheers to a great 2025 that brings us back the boy with the plaster on his face.
That and a new Chu Chu Rocket!, since Sega seems to be working on resurrecting its
classics…
By Daniel Quesada (@Tycho_fan)
Hobby Consolas, No. 402
