110 Industries have been teasing Shenmue IV a lot lately

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My only other thought? Hire some of the Anime guys to help out with the story telling. Because the anime guys are doing a bang up job retelling the first two games and I want more of that for a future Shenmue game.
This a 1000 times!

I recently replayed Shenmue 3 (and by "recently", I mean I finally finished it a month or so ago, but I had to take a large break because it became a bit of a chore) and whilst I did enjoy a lot of what it had to offer, I believe the biggest flaw by far is the story, how it was told, the overall writing and the characters. The rushed ending was the real sore spot. There was a lot to enjoy and they nailed a lot of what makes Shenmue special to me, but its flaws really let it down for me.

I can deal with the so-called "jank" and other Shenmue oddities, but I feel it really needed superior writing to elevate it to be in the same calibre of the first two games. I liked how they built on the slice of life aspects of the first two games (herb collecting and fishing were both highlights for me) and built some gorgeous environments, but I just didn't feel invested in any of the characters or the story like I did in Shenmue 1 and 2. I mean, I still obsess over characters like Nozomi, Tom, Master Chen, Guizhang, Mark, Joy, Wong, Ren, Xiuying, Shenhua and all the others I have forgotten. Then I think of Shenmue 3 and the new characters they introduced and all I can think of is Fat Man #1, Fat man #2, Broom Girl, Kung Fu dude, Mr Muscles, Generic Boss, Poundshop Pai and Poundshop Shun Di. What are even their names? Who cares!?
 
This a 1000 times!

I recently replayed Shenmue 3 (and by "recently", I mean I finally finished it a month or so ago, but I had to take a large break because it became a bit of a chore) and whilst I did enjoy a lot of what it had to offer, I believe the biggest flaw by far is the story, how it was told, the overall writing and the characters. The rushed ending was the real sore spot. There was a lot to enjoy and they nailed a lot of what makes Shenmue special to me, but its flaws really let it down for me.

I can deal with the so-called "jank" and other Shenmue oddities, but I feel it really needed superior writing to elevate it to be in the same calibre of the first two games. I liked how they built on the slice of life aspects of the first two games (herb collecting and fishing were both highlights for me) and built some gorgeous environments, but I just didn't feel invested in any of the characters or the story like I did in Shenmue 1 and 2. I mean, I still obsess over characters like Nozomi, Tom, Master Chen, Guizhang, Mark, Joy, Wong, Ren, Xiuying, Shenhua and all the others I have forgotten. Then I think of Shenmue 3 and the new characters they introduced and all I can think of is Fat Man #1, Fat man #2, Broom Girl, Kung Fu dude, Mr Muscles, Generic Boss, Poundshop Pai and Poundshop Shun Di. What are even their names? Who cares!?
I actually liked Master Sun...that was a highlight of Shenmue III for me.

I do agree to some degree though. We were spoiled with Shenmue II and the introduction of Ren, Xiuying, Wong and Joy. In S3, it felt like there was potential wasted with some of those characters that could have been further fleshed out in side quests.

That's the other thought, make the side quests more meaningful. I really enjoyed the side quests in SIII but couldn't help but wonder how they would have felt if they were just more meaningful in building out those side characters.

Oh well, live and learn.
 
I am curious that where does Yu-San budget comes from. If Yu-San does not have too much budget, I think he will compromise and make an pitch that not so "Shenmue". But the pitch sounds like that he is very confident.
 
I actually liked Master Sun...that was a highlight of Shenmue III for me.
Ah that was his name! Yeah, to be fair, out of the list I gave he was definitely the best. I agree though, the characters did need fleshing out more and the side quests could have been better. If you look at Shenmue 1 and 2, the characters were interwoven within the story, whereas in Shenmue 3 they were just kinda... there. They just felt superficial and like they were afterthoughts.
 
It was something to do with something Cedric said, but then some "insider"/leaker said that from what they had heard, we were over egging what Cedric had said.
Think you're referring to the journo from Gameblog who poured cold water on the idea the pitch had gone anywhere, not specifically that the pitch ever existed. This was some time ago though, so what might have been true then may not be the case now.

I don’t want to go into too much detail (not that I have all of the details anyway, mind), but from what I gather it was all quite formal with test gameplay footage and a budget requested. I will say that the person I spoke with didn’t seem all that enthused by what they saw (iirc, they said something to the extent of “It was fine but it was basically just more Shenmue” when I asked if it was any good).
This is more like what we've heard since Cedric first revealed they'd pitched w/ gameplay tests.

Lukewarm reaction from whoever they pitched it to makes me glad YsNet didn't do a deal with them, though. Shenmue has a ton of untapped potential without needing to drastically reinvent it, and you're not likely to get the feedback to point it in the right direction speaking to people who simply don't "get" it.
 
This a 1000 times!

I recently replayed Shenmue 3 (and by "recently", I mean I finally finished it a month or so ago, but I had to take a large break because it became a bit of a chore) and whilst I did enjoy a lot of what it had to offer, I believe the biggest flaw by far is the story, how it was told, the overall writing and the characters. The rushed ending was the real sore spot. There was a lot to enjoy and they nailed a lot of what makes Shenmue special to me, but its flaws really let it down for me.

I can deal with the so-called "jank" and other Shenmue oddities, but I feel it really needed superior writing to elevate it to be in the same calibre of the first two games. I liked how they built on the slice of life aspects of the first two games (herb collecting and fishing were both highlights for me) and built some gorgeous environments, but I just didn't feel invested in any of the characters or the story like I did in Shenmue 1 and 2. I mean, I still obsess over characters like Nozomi, Tom, Master Chen, Guizhang, Mark, Joy, Wong, Ren, Xiuying, Shenhua and all the others I have forgotten. Then I think of Shenmue 3 and the new characters they introduced and all I can think of is Fat Man #1, Fat man #2, Broom Girl, Kung Fu dude, Mr Muscles, Generic Boss, Poundshop Pai and Poundshop Shun Di. What are even their names? Who cares!?
I’m in the exact same situation. I was having fun but it was a chore to get through. I’m Shenmue 1 and 2 there was more of a sense of story progression. Even if I was looking for someone like Yuanda Zhu I felt like I was getting closer and finding out more info. But with 3 I was looking for Shenhua’s father the entire time and the story beats during the search just weren’t interesting. I decided to just look up spoilers to see if we were going to get any major lore dumps and saw it was incredibly light on lore and I completely lost interest. I still haven’t finished it. Partly because I know that may be the last Shenmue I will ever play. And partly because I just wasn’t enjoying it like the first two.

Yu needs someone to help him move the story along. He excels in the slice of life aspect. But that’s only part of what makes Shenmue so great.

After 18 freaking years I was looking forward to learning some more about the chiyoumen and what happened at Meng Cun. But what I got was picking up flowers and fishing. And those are fine and fun if they’re meaningful but they ultimately weren’t.
 
It's so fascinating to me how "out of touch" so many of these publishers are when I read things like the aforementioned regarding Shenmue IV's pitch.

Nostalgia is at an all time high. Franchises that were long thought gone are being resurrected left and right. The same is true in films these days(Keaton back as Batman? Sign me up!).

Niche titles become something more. NiER took off after an underappreciated PS3 gem got an unlikely sequel. The Souls games were NEVER a giant, mainstream hit(but still successful), now Elden Ring is *everywhere* being played by >80% of my Friend List.

People *want* to relive the days of yesteryear and see and play things they hold dear once again. The whole "I'm gonna dismiss it because it's more of the same" is such a foolish notion to have in these times.
 
It's so fascinating to me how "out of touch" so many of these publishers are when I read things like the aforementioned regarding Shenmue IV's pitch.

Nostalgia is at an all time high. Franchises that were long thought gone are being resurrected left and right. The same is true in films these days(Keaton back as Batman? Sign me up!).

Niche titles become something more. NiER took off after an underappreciated PS3 gem got an unlikely sequel. The Souls games were NEVER a giant, mainstream hit(but still successful), now Elden Ring is *everywhere* being played by >80% of my Friend List.

People *want* to relive the days of yesteryear and see and play things they hold dear once again. The whole "I'm gonna dismiss it because it's more of the same" is such a foolish notion to have in these times.
Souls games are a good example IMO, especially when you hear the stories about how people thought Demon's Souls was terrible during development and that it would flop. Now that type of game is a genre unto itself, and is an idiosyncratic megahit among a sea of games that are broadly alike in most respects.

I don't think such a future awaits Shenmue, and there's more work to be done dialling in to what has made these games so memorable and exciting for fans while wrapping it up in an accessible, modernish package; but dismissing out of hand as "it's more Shenmue" is just silly. Think the anime has also proved there's an inherently compelling hook too.
 
Niche titles become something more. NiER took off after an underappreciated PS3 gem got an unlikely sequel.
Yeah, but with Nier they had to remove the last-gen quality graphics, the jank and awkward design choices etc and get Platinum to AAA-ise it. Souls is also a bit different.

I think the comparison is kind of apples and oranges, but I do agree that I think Shenmue could easily have a healthy future and there is certainly an audience for these games if handled properly.
 
Screenshot_20220412-160629.pngI often look back on this famitsu interview and i try to see if I can personally see anything in what he says here and tie together with what is currently happening. See he says he wishes to work with people from different industries and 110 can make that happen with a proper budget as they're not so restricted in one particular area, they're branching out in all areas of business. His already worked with the anime team and will be recieving a return investment as he was an executive producer and judging by the consistent rating numbers it'll be a nice cheque . Another thing playing new games to know what the current trends are they might of told him he needs to do this to appeal to the modern player what worked when we were growing up, isn't working anymore unfortunately, so the franchise needs a fresh lick of paint in some areas and of course the obvious the 2022 announcement... This could be absolutely anything but the immediate thing that is coming to mind is S4. The year before this in a separate famitsu interview he mentioned he wanted to make a sequel but never said the title.Screenshot_20220412-163154.png
 
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Funny to see that Shenmue is now likelier to get a new game than Jet Set Radio lol. If we get S4 and something Jet Set related in the current century I will be a happy camper.
 
Yu needs someone to help him move the story along. He excels in the slice of life aspect. But that’s only part of what makes Shenmue so great.
Tbh, I would personally be wary of ascribing any particular blame for Shenmue III loading most of its plot into the final hour.

Ryan Payton summarised it quite well in one of the podcast interviews with the Dojo where he said the team had to devote a lot of time to building essential systems over content. Some hard choices were made to get the game out the door, and I think that runs all the way up the chain to the story composition too. Shenmue III excelling at small moments is probably because that was more achievable in a pinch than trying to fulfil the original story plan.

Better choices could have been made, but it is what it is.
 
Think you're referring to the journo from Gameblog who poured cold water on the idea the pitch had gone anywhere, not specifically that the pitch ever existed. This was some time ago though, so what might have been true then may not be the case now.


This is more like what we've heard since Cedric first revealed they'd pitched w/ gameplay tests.

Lukewarm reaction from whoever they pitched it to makes me glad YsNet didn't do a deal with them, though. Shenmue has a ton of untapped potential without needing to drastically reinvent it, and you're not likely to get the feedback to point it in the right direction speaking to people who simply don't "get" it.
I mean, in an ideal world it would be the other way around and potential publishers would be pitching to Yu for the right to publish his next game, but we are where we are!
 
I mean there is that whole Bluebox studios saga going on right now that people are still debating as to whether its a scam or <psyche> it's actually Silent Hill.

I don't know, I still find it curious that they're doubling down as hard as they are. I feel like most professional companies would have came out by now and said "we have no affiliation with Yu Suzuki" if there was none. I mean even Hassan of Bluebox Studios has come out and said "we're not involved with Kojima." (whether you believe that is entirely up to you).

So yeah, it's curious that they're doubling down on this as much as they are.

Still, I remember a story Kevin Smith told on one of his Evening DVD's. Where there was a rumor going that he was involved with the Clones Star Wars TV show. He would jokingly state that he could neither confirm or deny. Eventually he came out and admitted that it was all a joke and there was absolutely nothing to said rumors but that joke did grow to the point where even George Lucas was playing the "I can neither confirm or deny" answer.

I mean, that could be what's happening here. Just social media managers having fun with this and letting it grow for the sake of free publicity. Any publicity is good publicity.

I'm hoping its all leading to Shenmue IV but we shall wait and see.
The Blue Box guys deserve way more shit than they actually got for all that.
 
I mean, in an ideal world it would be the other way around and potential publishers would be pitching to Yu for the right to publish his next game, but we are where we are!
Yeah, but you get what I mean.

If this 110 Industries stuff is legit, then I think overall it might be a better fit to see that inherent potential in Shenmue, if that makes any sense.
 
Yeah, but you get what I mean.

If this 110 Industries stuff is legit, then I think overall it might be a better fit to see that inherent potential in Shenmue, if that makes any sense.
Of course, I agree wholeheartedly that a company like 110 Industries is a much better fit for the Shenmue franchise than the suits of Deep Silver ever were. Given where we are though, I’m willing to take whatever I can get if it means seeing the story finished in video game form at some point before my eightieth birthday.
 
In my opinion Shenmue III characters are interesting but they just need more story and character development, i love Shiling Lin but the character would have been even more interesting if she had more story and scenes with Ryo.

I love Grandmaster Feng and he had a participation in the story, but it would have been nice if Feng had more scenes and moments with Ryo, same thing with Grandmaster Bei, the characters are interesting to me i just feel that some characters could have more story, scenes and development, this way the final battle and the goodbye scene would have been more emotional in the ending.

Everything about Master Sun is wonderful to me, the training is slow pace and i can really feel Ryo learning the Body Check little by little, Shenmue is a martial arts story, when Ryo learn important moves like the Body Check the story progress a lot as well, everytime Ryo learn a bajiquan move it is an important part of the story.

I never expected to see in Shenmue III the revelation about what happened in Meng Cun and things like that. Shenmue IV will probably have a lot of story content, it will probably be the Chi You Men Arc, i feel that Shenmue IV will be an intense game.

I'm writing my own story with a Shenmue vibe, it will be a long story, and i will never make my story fast just for the sake of finishing, depending on the situation this can be really bad for the quality of the story, so i have a lot of empathy for Yu Suzuki with this things.

I see only people caring about their own desires for the Shenmue story, i think different about this, I really care about how Yu Suzuki want to continue and finish his story, i really hope he can finish his story in a way that will be satisfying for him.

Shenmue III for me is a calm and peaceful game, the calm before the storm, is about Ryo getting to know more Shenhua, living with her and strengthening the bond with her, we can see the bond getting stronger in the game little by little and this is so lovely and peaceful, now Ryo is important for Shenhua and Shenhua is important for Ryo. The night conversations with Shenhua are part of the story to me.


It is about a peaceful time in Ryo's journey living in Bailu Village with Shenhua like a second home for him, it is about Ryo training more and getting better about martial arts, Ryo learned two important moves in Shenmue III, the Body Check and the Reverse body check, and these moves are not the same moves, everytime Ryo learn Bajiquan moves is important for the story.

Sure the story of Shenmue III could have more things like flashbacks of Iwao and Sunming Zhao training in Bailu Village for example, but with 18 years of waiting people expected too much of the game, 18 years years of hype really did damage in my opinion. Shenmue III have some revelations about the story like the origin of the mirrors, that at one point Sunming Zhao had the mirrors, that Lan Di was raised by the Chi You Men and much more.

I feel that is important to remember that Shenmue III is a kickstarter game, Yu Suzuki was not with SEGA anymore and he had a limited budget. With interviews i saw it is clear to me that Yu Suzuki wanted to make more with the game, and that he probably had many problems with development of the game.

Shenmue III is like a miracle and i'm really glad Shenmue III exists. Yu Suzuki is not obliged to continue Shenmue but he continued, i will always be thankful for that and many other things.

Probably people imagined for 18 years the perfect Shenmue III, that we would see all the leaders of the Chi You Men, Xiuying returning, Ziming, Meng Cun and all the theories that people imagined for all these years but this didn't happened, some people felt disappointed with that. Just to make it clear i respect people that dislike Shenmue III i'm just saying my opinion about some things i read in this thread.


Sometimes i feel sad for Yu Suzuki, Yu Suzuki is trying to tell his story at his own pace, but people want Yu Suzuki to move the story quickly just for the sake of finishing, just for the sake of having all the answers of the story quickly, this is sad. It was not his fault that he had to wait 18 years to release Shenmue III, during a lot of years Yu Suzuki always wanted to make the game but didn't had the opportunity.

I agree with many people that Shenmue IV needs to progress the story a lot and i think that this will happen and that Yu Suzuki plan now is to finish in Shenmue V, but like i said i just feel sad when i think about everything that Yu Suzuki had to handle all these years. In my opinion Yu Suzuki deserves more credit and respect for everything he did not only about Shenmue but in relation to other things in the game industry as well.

And here we are... we don’t even know if Shenmue IV will happen, but... but i still have hope, i hope 110 industries is involved with Shenmue IV, all i know is that i will always support Yu Suzuki and Shenmue.
 
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Sometimes i feel sad for Yu Suzuki, Yu Suzuki is trying to tell his story at his own pace, but people want Yu Suzuki to move the story quickly just for the sake of finishing, just for the sake of having all the answers of the story quickly, this is sad. It was not his fault that he had to wait 18 years to release Shenmue III, during a lot of years Yu Suzuki always wanted to make the game but didn't had the opportunity.
I prefer Shenmue IV to end the series, I don't think there is any need to guilt shame and suggest they're disrespecting Yu Suzuki for having their own personal opinion.

I think it's at a good place to set up a conclusion with the characters reaching the cliff temple where the treasure scroll leads. We're all Shenmue fans here, there's enough hate for the series already, without painting those with a brush as acting "sad" who'd prefer to see the series reach a conclusion with IV.
 
Finishing it in IV is not ideal. I think he should for sure finish it with Five. That's my viewpoint.

Perhaps, after all, is said and done. We can finally see those scripts to see how it originally was supposed to go. The fact that some random person has them, it would be nice to see it's contents after everything is ended and Yu has completed the saga. I don't think you can say it's "sad" per se that we wanna see it end on the highest note of all. It's sad that Sega turned its back on Yu after all he has done for Sega.
 
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