Longtime Shenmue fans may be worried that since the series took such a long hiatus, Shenmue III may end up being a completely different type of game than earlier titles in the series. However, that is no longer a concern, as Yu Suzuki stated in a Gamescom interview with Metro that Shenmue will play mostly like the previous two titles. He did mention there will be some new ideas, but these updates won’t change the core of Shenmue III.
Here’s Suzuki on how Shenmue III will stick to the original games:
Shenmue has always been very unique, I think, and so there’s nothing else that’s very similar. But I do not think it’s a problem overall as what has changed in the modern games world is that people are now used to playing different types of games that may not be action-based and have a lot of story. Shenmue may still feel strange to them at first [laughs] but I hope that in itself will be attractive to many people, and that they will find it interesting for that reason.
The style of game will be very similar to the original, but we will of course be adding some new features as well. The style of control from the original game is one thing that will be updated, but that is natural given modern controllers and the advance of that type of technology.
The controls will be updated of course, but not so much the gameplay:
I don’t think it’s necessary to change the basics of the gameplay. If I change it too much the existing fans will be very upset. Although I am always making up new ideas and things to add to the game, which can be a problem for my team who are trying to implement these ideas. [laughs]
At the moment we are trying to keep it to 30% new and the keep the other 70% of the game similar to the original. But the design is constantly changing and I am always coming up with new concepts that we can try to add to the game if there is the opportunity.
Finally, Suzuki speaks about an issue many people had with the first teaser trailer:
This has been a definite problem and what you see in the teaser is not the final development. It is a work in progress and is due to a change in the nature of the character models, rather than the facial animation itself. So what you see in the teaser is not a sign of the final game and you will see a lot of improvement before the final game,
There is plenty more to read in Metro’s interview, as well!
What are you most excited about for Shenmue III?
[Source: Metro]
