Sony E3 2015 - Shenmue 3

Published: June 15, 2015 10:58 PM /

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Shenmue Header

The long awaited next installment in the Shenmue franchise, Shenmue 3, was announced for Kickstarter during Sony's E3 press conference. This is going to be a direct sequel to Shenmue 1 and 2 and is already upon kickstarter for people to donate to. Shenmue is a series of action-adventure games that was originally released on the Dreamcast. The game is confirmed to not be a spin-off of any sort, but will be a continuation of the original story that people have wanted a conclusion to for a long while now. They promise the "full-on Shenmue experience" that you have dreamed off, for those fans of the franchise. The game is targeted to be on the PS4 and PC platforms with a projected target date of December 2017. A bit of a wait for the game in question, but considering it doesn't have the funding yet, that can be a little bit understandable. To get a digital copy of the game for the PC or PS4, the reward tier for it is $29 dollars. The highest tier has you have a dinner part with Yu Suzuki himself, and an original script set from Shenmue 1 and 2.

https://youtu.be/GPw3EUHh9Cw

If there was any doubt regarding the fans wanting more from the series, it was shattered when the kickstarter achieved it's goal of $2,000,000 already, and there's still 31 days to go. Needless to say: there's probably some real fans of the series out there, with the game already hitting 34 thousand backers. It was indicated on the kickstarter page that part of the reason to use kickstarter was Yu Suzuki saying: "I wanted to make it with the fans. Through Kickstarter, I knew that could happen. Together, with Shenmue fans everywhere, I knew we could build the game that the series deserves." The members on the project have a variety of games and productions under their belt, from voice actors featured in Fairy Tale and Death Note, to the original environment designer for the first Shenmue.

Shenmue III lady in the autumn

The story will involve the protagonists Ryo Hazuki tracking down his father's killer in China. On the way, he meets Shenhua, and learns that a legend has foretold their destiny together. The third segment in the series may be able to answer how his father was connected to his destiny, and if Ryo can track down Lan Di to finally get the revenge that he's wanted for so long.

Will Lan Di finally get what's coming to him?
Will Lan Di finally get what's coming to him?

The game currently has stretch goals available to the 4 million dollar mark, which includes more language support, a skill tree system, and expanded mini games for Baisha Village. Really curious on the skill tree system considering what it could possibly add to the gameplay in question. They've also hinted at more stretch goals beyond this regarding more locations to be added to the game.

They've already hit one goal, the question is how many more.
They've already hit one goal, the question is how many more.

Are you excited for another Shenmue release, and did you get a chance to play the original game? What do you think of Sony putting it during their press conference, but not seemingly backing the game themselves?

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