Do you think Yu Suzuki will let you use save data from Shn2?

[nikeboy94]

I know it's early days but if SEGA releases Shenmue I and Shenmue II HD before Shenmue III do you think Shenmue III will have a feature where you can start from the 'clear' save in Shenmue 2 like before? I always thought it was cool to still have your move set and items from Shen1 carry over into Shen2. I doubt we'll ever see a VMU converter for PS4.

[LucBu]

It would probably be the only way we could. What actually carried over would be limited unless Sega starts developing the HD ports and opening up a line of communication with the Shenmue 3 team - so the Shenmue 3 can still build those features into the game comfortably.

[Amir]

I'm not even sure how importing moves would work with the as-yet-unseen Advanced FREE Battle system. To be honest there's not that much of importance in save data (Nozomi photo, Fangmei amulet, various other photos, capsule toys), most of them could be chosen at the beginning of Shenmue III before entering the full game. I think III is where save data will really start to matter with the Rapport System and Skill Tree System, and also if this is the game where chapters start to branch based on decisions (though that might be Shenmue IV, who knows).

[BlueMue]

Yu Suzuki has answered questions about importing saves during the Kickstarter, stating numerous times that he has no plans of including such a feature, even with possible HD remakes. As the available items and capsule toys are going to be very different and the move profession system is going to be changed there is no real use for an import feature, at least as of now.

[Amir]

I mean, the photos are mostly shown to Shenhua when you're chilling in the cave in Shenmue II, aren't they?

I just want the White Leaf and the Mysterious Scroll to be in Ryo's inventory along with Xiuying's half of the yin/yang charm and Nozomi's amulet.

[nikeboy94]

Yeah after hearing what you guys have to say, I think most likely all the key items from past games will already be in Ryo's inventory and the move set probably won't matter with a new battle system. Might just be too much effort into transferring old saves over, considering aswell that Yu Suzuki is working with a limited budget.

Yu Suzuki has answered questions about importing saves during the Kickstarter, stating numerous times that he has no plans of including such a feature, even with possible HD remakes.

Ah right sorry, I didn't know about that.

[Yokosuka]

I was disappointed by the lack of consistency between Shenmue 1 and 2 if you continue your save as the move set was never exactly the same. But I view it as a bonus option, no real need of this and it's better to let some more game design freedom and money material to Yu for the proper game.

Shenmue 4 however...

[johnvivant]

i'm a big fan of the save transfer system, and if HD ports happen then i would love and strongly advise that they implement the feature. you get a real feeling of continuity between the games, especially when dates coincide, capsules toys carry over, white leaf, mysterious scroll. etc are all sitting on your inventory.

they could just add it all into your inventory as standard when starting a new game, but who knows whether they will or not?

i agree that the move list and move xp isn't going to mean much in s3 because the whole battle system is being overhauled, but maybe there is someway that they can make the old data mean something in the new game, like a kind of boost to xp or bonus move scroll or something (if HD happens i mean, otherwise its impossible)

stuff that is highly likely to be included at start of s3 imo:
-phoenix mirror
-sword hand guard
-mysterious scroll (i really hope Suzuki hasn't forgotten about this)
-Xiuyings yin/yang bead
-photo of father (in bailu village)

stuff that potentially might not:
-white leaf*
-photos of friends*
-Ren's coins*
-Duck
-bronze, silver, gold medals
-chawan note
-letter to father
-master chen intro letter
-Nozomi amulet*
-xun (fangmei) amulet*
-heavens zippo*
-slot machine coins
-maps of hong kong,
-pawn shop fliers
-move handbook

* = stuff i believe should be in your inventory at start of s3.

[alexh86]

It absolutely will not happen if we don't get the remasters and even if we do, I don't think it would be likely. I hope they find a way though as I really like the option of carrying over your save. Even if there was an issue with bringing over the licensed capsule toys and the moves were no longer compatible, it would be nice if they did something easy like bringing over your money and Shenmue-specific items (leaf, photos, etc). They could even find an inelegant way to do it like giving you an option to go into a menu when starting a new game and selecting which items you had. Who knows though, they will probably be cutting a lot of these "extras" just to make the game with their given budget.

[Ziming]

stuff that is highly likely to be included at start of s3 imo:
-phoenix mirror
-sword hand guard
-mysterious scroll (i really hope Suzuki hasn't forgotten about this)
-Xiuyings yin/yang bead
-photo of father (in bailu village)

You forgot about the white leaf. This is found in the Hazuki dojo basement from a book.

[BlueMue]

Well, even though Ryo takes a lot of seemigly important-in-the-future stuff with him, the white leaf is not in his bag when you start the game without loading a cleared file. I always thought it would be used for some scene later in the story but it may not have any significance after all.

[PacemaŜinobo]

I know it's early days but if SEGA releases Shenmue I and Shenmue II HD before Shenmue III do you think Shenmue III will have a feature where you can start from the 'clear' save in Shenmue 2 like before? I always thought it was cool to still have your move set and items from Shen1 carry over into Shen2. I doubt we'll ever see a VMU converter for PS4.

It actually wouldn't be that hard to upload the vmu save file to one of the unofficial vmu savefile sharing websites using your Dreamcast then download the vmu file to your PC to convert its data. If vmu files can be hacked with PC tools, there is no reason why they couldn't be converted as well. Indeed, hacking data means being able to read said data. If you can read the data, you can also re-encode them into a Shenmue 3 compatible format. So it's definitely feasible to include an algorithm for this conversion process in Shenmue 3.

But that could open a Pandora box, as it would allow for the possibility of importing preliminarily hacked vmu files into Shenmue 3. So you could cheat the game into giving you plenty of money or maximum fighting skills for free from the very start. Such temptation would prove hard to resist, I think. This would definitely interfere with the Shenmue experience, part of which is dealing with real life problems and lessons such as making a living or building skills through patience and dedication.

Also I agree that other major problems would be the likely incompatibility between different moveset systems (basically a set of independant moves versus a branching skill system) and the possibility that few items from the previous games will actually make it into Shenmue 3.

[Tigrr]

Unless we get the HD remasters, I don't think we'll be getting this feature. As for selecting the items you had previously, I think this would lead to a lot of dishonesty in people just picking items they never actually had (or like me, just plain don't remember).

If anyone's played the Xbox version of Shenmue II, you actually just start off with a bunch of items and capsule toys. I can't remember what exactly you get, but I can see Shenmue III starting off like this, at least for people who haven't played before.

[fittersau]

Unless we get the HD remasters, I don't think we'll be getting this feature.

How great would it be to get Shenmue 1 & 2 HD remasters before Shenmue 3 so we can carry on our progress.

[FlagshipFighter]

Even if there is a way it ain't worth spending the time and resources on it imo. Just give him a selection of items like shenmue 2 on xbox (or dc without the s1 save file.)