by Xandui » Tue Jun 16, 2015 11:30 pm
Couple thoughts on this:
1) They've completely avoided any language suggesting Shenmue 3 is the end of the series. Imagine how easy it wouldve been to say things like "the long awaited conclusion to the epic saga". I'm taking this to mean at the very least they haven't decided yet how many more games they will do (could still end up being 1 after they're farther along in development).
It does sound like Yu has been planning this out for a couple years so i hope that means he's sticking to his guns on at least 2 new games.
2) I really agree with you all about loving the urban environments and mundane moments in the first two games, but 3 really sounds like a different beast with a rural setting + a focus on Ryo and Shenhua's relationship. I remember Yu saying the depth in Shenmue 3 would come much more from Ryo and Shenhua's interactions than the enormous environments we got used to, so i think everyone should be prepared for a very different game.
(i'm very fine with this as long as we get HD ports of the originals eventually)
3) To me, Shenmue represents the height of ambition in creativity. So few projects in any field are ever as ambitious as they were with Shenmue and that's something I personally value. I hope Shenmue doesn't get either too pragmatic or too limited in it's innovation because of an obligation to pander to a very nostalgic fanbase.
Forget the forklifts and sailors everyone, Yu is a visionary and i hope many of us will encourage him to be bold with this game instead of reading the community's ideas like a requirements list.
Getting the story finished in the most logical way is all fine and good, but i think the reason we've all obsessed about this series for so long is because of how far ahead it was of all other games in terms of building a world and telling a story. I'm not satisfied with the state of video games and would love for Shenmue to once again push the ball forward in whatever capacity it can.