Hey,
As you can tell, I don't usually post here, but I've been thinking of an interesting topic. As you may be aware, in the original Shenmue, there's some level of swearing. Nothing like 'Fuck', but if I'm not mistaken, the following words are said in the game:
Shit (multiple times)
Bastard
Piss off
Goddamn (although, it's not that bad)
Hell (as in 'What the hell' - very mild, but I'll explain myself below)
An interesting thing I've noticed is that Shenmue II doesn't have any of the swears in both the Xbox dub and the English subtitled EU version. Now, you could argue that for the Dreamcast version, Japanese words like 'Kso' could be translated as 'shit'; however, the subtitles use the word 'Damn'. Even the word 'Hell' isn't really used in the same context as Shenmue I; instead, Ryo says 'What the heck?' It's like they gave the game PG-level swearing so the age rating could stay low: 7+ in the UK's Xbox version; I'm sure it's similar in other countries.
I know this seems minor, but I honestly prefer a little bit of swearing. Not simply for the sake of profanity, and certainly nowhere near to the extent of GTA games, but somewhere around Shenmue I's level so it could add a layer of authenticity when you're fighting thugs and gangsters. Shenmue II's lack of swearing almost makes the game comical at times, i.e. especially with Dou Niu ''Damn you! You rats etc'' and can take away from the realism. Although, making Dou Niu comical may have been a deliberate choice idk (I mean we are talking about some huge, bald, sumo-wrestler-looking guy here), but there could have been some swearing with the other thugs you meet.
So, I guess I'm wondering, would anyone like some level of swearing to be in Shenmue III, preferably as rare and mild as it was in Shenmue I? I honestly don't think, in this day and age, and especially with the fact that most Shenmue fans are over 18 years old, there's a need to refrain from any swearing for the sake of reducing the age rating. Even people younger than 18 are accustomed to swearing in videogames everywhere.
I think this could also make for an interesting interview question to ask Yu Suzuki; I don't see any reason why he wouldn't answer it haha.