The legendary Yu Suzuki put out a lot of industry defining games, but his crown jewel was undoubtedly Shenmue. And this week, the long abandoned story of that franchise finally gets to continue, thanks to Shenmue 3’s unlikely launch.
We already know that Shenmue 3 does not mark the end of the story for the series. We also know that Suzuki does intend to try to have future sequels developed as well. However, that is now a pledge that he has officially made to fans, in the credits for Shenmue 3.
Said credits include a letter to fans from Suzuki, which promises them that he will keep trying to follow through on his ambition of finishing this story, for as long as there are fans that want him to do that.
“For as long as there are those who wish to see ¸Shenmue live on, I will never give up on my own personal journey to complete its story. As with Shenmue 3, the Shenmue story is with you,” the letter says.
“I sincerely hope that, together, we can continue to spin the tale of Ryo and his adventures in Shenmue 4.”
I do hope he gets to do that, and that Shenmue 3, freed of the obligation to try and prop up a failing console, will be deemed a better success on its terms than its predecessors ever were.
