Shenmue 3 New Screens Now Out, Show Graphics Improvement

We haven’t gotten to see a whole lot of Shenmue 3 ever since its initial announcement at Sony’s E3 conference earlier this year, but the few glimpses we have had at the long awaited third installment in the Shenmue saga have been pretty excellent- they’ve rekindled our desire to sink into the shows of Ryo, and embark on his quest for revenge, yet again.

Now, we have a new update on the game, and exactly what all it will entail when it launches in 2017- and to put it simply, what we hear sounds promising- nothing like the compromised, cutback version of the more ambitious original Shenmue games that many feared it would be.

“The composition for Shenmue 3 has been finalized, and will begin with Chapter 5 as the continuation of Shenmue 2, to move on past Chapter 6,” wrote Suzuki in a Kickstarter update. “The story has been written to align with this structure; and the planning for the game elements that will go along with the story have been completed. This project was conceived to be scalable, since the game would necessarily need to be adjusted based on the Kickstarter.”

He also talked about the game’s systems- it sounds like the game will have a very immersive and interactive open world, of the kind that you would usually expect in a Bethesda game.

“The basic systems have been put in place and we are currently testing the Destruction (when objects break) and High Ground (environmental interactivity) effects,” Suzuki said in the update. “Unlike the development from 15 years earlier, we have assets already available to us and we are in an era where we can create prototypes even without a programmer. Programs, artwork and planning have become more closely related, realizing a new type of work flow for a new age. This new work flow utilizes both game engines, which used to be very expensive, and allows for work to be done on a more open, individual basis. I hope this will lead to everyone more fully enjoying their work.”

Shenmue 3 is due out in 2017, on PS4 and PC.