Along with announcing refunds and the opportunity to receive Steam keys one year later for backers, Ys Net has confirmed some changes to Shenmue 3. It revealed that one achieved stretch goal in the Kickstarter campaign – the Character Perspective System – could not be implemented. Some changes to certain systems, like the Skill Tree System becoming the Skill Book System and Baisha area becoming the Fortified Castle area, were also announced.
However, it noted that 10 stretch goals that had not been reached by backers have been implemented. These include improvements to the story, a larger free roaming environment (including Bailu and Choubu being expanded), and much more. Check out all the non-stretch goal elements below:
- Story Improvements – Shenmue 3 begins the day after Shenmue 2 leaves off. The story now includes more cinematic scenes and nostalgic flashbacks to naturally draw new players in (and fans back in) to the world of Shenmue.
- Scaled-Up Free Roaming Environment – Initially, the Guilin area was to be organized into three areas: Bailu, Choubu (Niaowu), and Baisha, but to accommodate major additions and changes to game elements, Baisha became Fortified Castle area, and focus shifted to expanding Choubu (Niaowu). We have in effect been able to achieve a scale greater than that of Shenmue 2 and bring the fun of an “open world” to life. To better experience quests and events, NPCs and things to interact with in the cities have been multiplied beyond what was originally envisioned making for a more complete Shenmue experience.
- Powered Up Battle System – With the inclusion of the Skill Book System and the Dojo System, you can train or have matches any time you want for deeper, more immersive play. Battle difficulty can be changed in-game to be enjoyable for beginners all the way to experts.
- Game Cycle Improvements – Story progression, skill acquisition, training, mini-games, jobs and other elements that were independent from each other in previous games have been worked to flow into a singular game cycle.
Shenmue 3 will be releasing on November 19th for PS4 and PC. It has been delayed a number of times over the years and faced controversy with its PC version being a timed exclusive to the Epic Games Store. Will these new policies and implementation of unreached stretch goal content shift the tides in Ys Net’s favour? Time will tell, so stay tuned.
