An annoucement about shenmue is coming ?

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SMDzero said:
Well it's possible that we've already guessed correctly.
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I’m pretty sure between us we’ve guessed pretty much every possible outcome, but that we still can’t say for sure whether it’s even a game or a video is really bugging me. I feel I could rest east if I knew that it was something interactive.

You’d think after 18 years, waiting another 5 or 6 days would be no big deal, but I feel as though my patience has well and truly gone when it comes to waiting for news on Shenmue!
 
While fans are set to anticipate the announcement for the fourth entry in the series, it might be more primitive than that. Elaborating on a previous reporting, it was shared by employees part of Sega’s localization team who spared the first entry could arrive to Nintendo Switch. “We’re taking the fan’s opinions into consideration,” one employee shared in regards to a Switch port. “Following up on that might take some time, but it’s definitely something I want to consider.”

rectifygaming.com

Rumor: Shenmue Series Said To Receive A New Announcement In The Coming Weeks

The notable Shenmue series has been in a radio silent state since the release of its latest entry this past November. As Shenmue III arrived to PlayStation 4 and PC, it is presumed that developer Ys Net would not address… Read more ›
rectifygaming.com rectifygaming.com
 
Sergeynest said:
While fans are set to anticipate the announcement for the fourth entry in the series, it might be more primitive than that. Elaborating on a previous reporting, it was shared by employees part of Sega’s localization team who spared the first entry could arrive to Nintendo Switch. “We’re taking the fan’s opinions into consideration,” one employee shared in regards to a Switch port. “Following up on that might take some time, but it’s definitely something I want to consider.”

rectifygaming.com

Rumor: Shenmue Series Said To Receive A New Announcement In The Coming Weeks

The notable Shenmue series has been in a radio silent state since the release of its latest entry this past November. As Shenmue III arrived to PlayStation 4 and PC, it is presumed that developer Ys Net would not address… Read more ›
rectifygaming.com rectifygaming.com
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That'd have nothing to do with people who are specifically "into the story" of Shenmue, though. If it was a port of Shenmue I & II, it wouldn't have been teased in this exact way more than once.
 
orient said:
That'd have nothing to do with people who are specifically "into the story" of Shenmue, though. If it was a port of Shenmue I & II, it wouldn't have been teased in this exact way more than once.
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I also think you are right but these are the news that have been circling around at the moment and if indeed Shenmue 1 & 2 comes out on the Switch it can only mean it is a good thing for us and the Shenmue series; it can even open up to the possibility that Shenmue 3 may come out on other platforms. In fact I believe that the Shenmue series would fair better with the Nintendo crowd because they tend to enjoy more games like Shenmue rather than the mainstream gamers from Sony and Microsoft. Just look at the success of Animal Crossing that was referenced severall times to have similar gameplay mechanics to those of Shenmue 3.
 
If it was a port to the Switch, that doesn't do much for the story. It expands the audience, but that's about it.

Also, I think something like that wouldn't be so vaguely hinted at. That's kind of a thing you say "Yeah, it's coming." even if you're a leaker.
 
If it were a Switch port of 1 and 2, I'd still take it though. Having Shenmue 1 and 2 on my Switch Lite for portable play would be pretty sweet.

But I hope it's not just a port or whatever. Even though I would take a Switch port, I would hope for something more.
 
danielmann861 said:
If it were a Switch port of 1 and 2, I'd still take it though. Having Shenmue 1 and 2 on my Switch Lite for portable play would be pretty sweet.

But I hope it's not just a port or whatever. Even though I would take a Switch port, I would hope for something more.
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Same here, although a Switch port would likely do more for the series than anything else they could put out (other than a 4th game, of course).
 
Sergeynest said:
I also think you are right but these are the news that have been circling around at the moment and if indeed Shenmue 1 & 2 comes out on the Switch it can only mean it is a good thing for us and the Shenmue series; it can even open up to the possibility that Shenmue 3 may come out on other platforms. In fact I believe that the Shenmue series would fair better with the Nintendo crowd because they tend to enjoy more games like Shenmue rather than the mainstream gamers from Sony and Microsoft. Just look at the success of Animal Crossing that was referenced severall times to have similar gameplay mechanics to those of Shenmue 3.
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I have Switch and i will be really happy if Shenmue come for Switch so i can play Shenmue anywhere, 😊 I agree, i believe that Shenmue would fair better with the Nintendo crowd.

Maybe we will have two good news, the port of Shenmue I and II and the other thing that Golem said, i hope it is true.

At this point all i know is that i'm anxious, we don't have Shenmue announcements frequently, when this happens it is always a nice thing for me, and it means that Shenmue is alive, that we will have more Shenmue content and products.
 
I'm starting to warm to the idea of potential extended universe material in the form of comics or anime. I was initially worried that making Shenmue cross-media might rule out future instalments in video game form or deviate Sega/Yu too much from completing the core story to create something absolutely nobody wanted (Shenmue Online replete with Hadoukens). Also, I think covering the exact same story events of Shenmue 1 & 2 just in a different format feels a bit redundant when we could be covering new material we have not seen before. I think so long as Shenmue 4 is still planned and if this extended universe material is executed well and leads into it, this could indeed be a good way to satisfy fans who care about Shenmue's story.

I recently rewatched this video where Yu Suzuki talks about the enigmatic third chapter of the Virtua Fighter RPG concept.


Here, Yu says that the scenario in the third chapter where Akira (Ryo) is on a train might be repurposed into Shenmue 4. We also know that while Shenmue 3 adapted chapters 5 & 6, it also tried to adapt select events from chapters 3 (train) & 4 (martial arts tournament) to expand the Guilin portion of the story slightly. However, Shenmue 3 did not tell the rest of chapters 3 & 4, only just some parts. Just check out this image from a Gameinformer interview with Yu Suzuki which shows that bits and pieces were extracted from chapters 3-6 for Shenmue 3, instead of Shenmue 3 fully realising all these chapters in their entirety.

Gameinformer.png

This got me thinking: if future Shenmue games keep attempting to go backwards to fill in the blanks of previously cut material instead of focusing forwards to wrap up the series, this story will never be finished. This presents a bit of a problem, as we know that Yu is also passionate about more fully realising the story he had planned in this eleven chapter concept.

So, rather than keep having to go back to adapt cut material in something as expensive as a video game which takes a lot of time and resources to make, perhaps the events that we have skipped over but that Yu also still wants to re-integrate back into the story going forward could instead be repurposed into a side comic or anime series? That way, people who 'care about Shenmue's story' will be seeing more of Yu's original 11 chapter vision but just with a slight compromise.

Just thinking about how this could work: The material would adapt any leftover scraps in the 11 chapter concept while acting as a bridge between Shenmue 3's ending and Shenmue 4 to build hype for the next game. The key characters would be Ryo (the headstrong and impulsive hero), Ren (the comedic relief) and Shenhua (the brainy one of the bunch). The series would pick up with the group still travelling to the Emperor's temple where the Chi You Men are gathered as they try to figure out how to open the treasure vault. During Ryo, Ren and Shenhua's journey to this clifftop location, they will get tangled up in some side quests along the way, such as stumbling into various towns and villages where more of the scrapped 11 chapter story events could be repurposed.

For example, in one episode/issue Ryo and friends will get off the Great Wall and stumble into a village that's holding a martial arts tournament where an affiliate of the Chi You Men is participating which could adapt more from the previously cut chapter 4. The series would adapt leftover scraps from the original story while also introducing new locations and content (e.g. an episode/issue dedicated to an Iwao Hazuki and Sunming Zhao flashback in Bailu). You could even introduce all Four Leaders (maybe even Ten Tei) of the Chi You Men having their sinister discussions at their shadowy base of operations as they send their underlings (Chai, Dou Niu, Ge etc) to pursue Ryo while they continue trying in vain to open the Emperor's treasure vault (perhaps the mirrors are not enough but Shenhua's power is also needed as the final key).

The series would end with Ryo, Ren and Shenhua arriving in Baisha village/Luoyang where the Emperor's temple is located with the words...

shen 4.png

...to hype up the next game. That way, casual players who don't follow Shenmue's expanded material will still be picking up where the core story left off in Shenmue 3 with the group arriving in Baisha/Luoyang after their long trek across China. However, more diehard fans like us who read/watch all this extra material would pick up on any of Shenmue 4's winks to that side content (e.g. Ren: "I'm still not over that train ride with that creepy skinhead!").

Just me blabbering away, Shenmue rumours are not good for my health.
 
Something to bear in mind is it can also be used to plug in gaps in the story, tell side stories and provide back stories to various characters. So it doesn't have to be an exact A-B and 1:1 recreation of the existing story.

I'd love some kind of 'origin' stories for Ren and Shenhua. They could add so much depth, character development and back stories for the various supporting cast.
 
Reprise said:
Something to bear in mind is it can also be used to plug in gaps in the story, tell side stories and provide back stories to various characters. So it doesn't have to be an exact A-B and 1:1 recreation of the existing story.

I'd love some kind of 'origin' stories for Ren and Shenhua. They could add so much depth, character development and back stories for the various supporting cast.
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I’m fairly certain Shenhua’s backstory is going to serve as a pretty big plot twist further down the line and so I can’t see them going into any detail until the time is right, but I would love to learn more about Ren, Xiuying, Joy, Wong, Guizang and all of the other side characters once the story has been concluded.
 
A long time ago we got a manga Shenmue: Side Story, we even saw Ziming talking with Niao sun, we saw a little bit of what Ziming was thinking, we saw a little bit of Ryo in the boat, a little bit of Guizhang with Joy, was short but it added a little more to the story, i think is possible to have more stories like this but this time with a lot of content.

I dont know if it will be a manga, anime or other thing but it is possible that we will see new things, and like Revan said maybe in the end will appear "To be continued in Shenmue IV"
 
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tomboz said:
I’m fairly certain Shenhua’s backstory is going to serve as a pretty big plot twist further down the line and so I can’t see them going into any detail until the time is right, but I would love to learn more about Ren, Xiuying, Joy, Wong, Guizang and all of the other side characters once the story has been concluded.
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I nearly added, but yeah, I was thinking more something that would serve as a 'filler episode' for Shenhua about before she met Ryo, but not anything that would give away major plot details. These doesn't have to be anything that give away major back stories, but could be smaller stories in the same universe.
 
Reprise said:
I nearly added, but yeah, I was thinking more something that would serve as a 'filler episode' for Shenhua about before she met Ryo, but not anything that would give away major plot details. These doesn't have to be anything that give away major back stories, but could be smaller stories in the same universe.
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At this point in time, I’m not sure that pumping out filler is particularly helpful, especially as they’re seemingly having to cut content that was originally written into the story. It really depends on what Yu has planned for the remaining game(s) and whether or not any chapters or significant events have (or have had) to be cut, but assuming there are - they should be taking priority over everything else right now.
 
In my opinion Final Fantasy XV is a good example that a game story can have a lot of things in different types of media, telling stories that they had to cut in the games or something like that.

About Final Fantasy XV we got the game and DLCs with story, we got the online mode, we got the CGI movie that added more things to the story, we got the short anime that i think it was 5 episodes, we got a mobile game, i think we even got a book and other things.

All i am saying is that Shenmue can have this things too to add more to the story, and we can still get the game Shenmue IV. 😊
 
Revan said:
I'm starting to warm to the idea of potential extended universe material in the form of comics or anime. I was initially worried that making Shenmue cross-media might rule out future instalments in video game form or deviate Sega/Yu too much from completing the core story to create something absolutely nobody wanted (Shenmue Online replete with Hadoukens). Also, I think covering the exact same story events of Shenmue 1 & 2 just in a different format feels a bit redundant when we could be covering new material we have not seen before. I think so long as Shenmue 4 is still planned and if this extended universe material is executed well and leads into it, this could indeed be a good way to satisfy fans who care about Shenmue's story.

I recently rewatched this video where Yu Suzuki talks about the enigmatic third chapter of the Virtua Fighter RPG concept.


Here, Yu says that the scenario in the third chapter where Akira (Ryo) is on a train might be repurposed into Shenmue 4. We also know that while Shenmue 3 adapted chapters 5 & 6, it also tried to adapt select events from chapters 3 (train) & 4 (martial arts tournament) to expand the Guilin portion of the story slightly. However, Shenmue 3 did not tell the rest of chapters 3 & 4, only just some parts. Just check out this image from a Gameinformer interview with Yu Suzuki which shows that bits and pieces were extracted from chapters 3-6 for Shenmue 3, instead of Shenmue 3 fully realising all these chapters in their entirety.

View attachment 8797

This got me thinking: if future Shenmue games keep attempting to go backwards to fill in the blanks of previously cut material instead of focusing forwards to wrap up the series, this story will never be finished. This presents a bit of a problem, as we know that Yu is also passionate about more fully realising the story he had planned in this eleven chapter concept.

So, rather than keep having to go back to adapt cut material in something as expensive as a video game which takes a lot of time and resources to make, perhaps the events that we have skipped over but that Yu also still wants to re-integrate back into the story going forward could instead be repurposed into a side comic or anime series? That way, people who 'care about Shenmue's story' will be seeing more of Yu's original 11 chapter vision but just with a slight compromise.

Just thinking about how this could work: The material would adapt any leftover scraps in the 11 chapter concept while acting as a bridge between Shenmue 3's ending and Shenmue 4 to build hype for the next game. The key characters would be Ryo (the headstrong and impulsive hero), Ren (the comedic relief) and Shenhua (the brainy one of the bunch). The series would pick up with the group still travelling to the Emperor's temple where the Chi You Men are gathered as they try to figure out how to open the treasure vault. During Ryo, Ren and Shenhua's journey to this clifftop location, they will get tangled up in some side quests along the way, such as stumbling into various towns and villages where more of the scrapped 11 chapter story events could be repurposed.

For example, in one episode/issue Ryo and friends will get off the Great Wall and stumble into a village that's holding a martial arts tournament where an affiliate of the Chi You Men is participating which could adapt more from the previously cut chapter 4. The series would adapt leftover scraps from the original story while also introducing new locations and content (e.g. an episode/issue dedicated to an Iwao Hazuki and Sunming Zhao flashback in Bailu). You could even introduce all Four Leaders (maybe even Ten Tei) of the Chi You Men having their sinister discussions at their shadowy base of operations as they send their underlings (Chai, Dou Niu, Ge etc) to pursue Ryo while they continue trying in vain to open the Emperor's treasure vault (perhaps the mirrors are not enough but Shenhua's power is also needed as the final key).

The series would end with Ryo, Ren and Shenhua arriving in Baisha village/Luoyang where the Emperor's temple is located with the words...

View attachment 8798

...to hype up the next game. That way, casual players who don't follow Shenmue's expanded material will still be picking up where the core story left off in Shenmue 3 with the group arriving in Baisha/Luoyang after their long trek across China. However, more diehard fans like us who read/watch all this extra material would pick up on any of Shenmue 4's winks to that side content (e.g. Ren: "I'm still not over that train ride with that creepy skinhead!").

Just me blabbering away, Shenmue rumours are not good for my health.
Click to expand...

Yu's a very smart man. I need to watch that interview in full.

I was taught about energies when I was around 28. I was always resistant to learning about it or thought it was a waste of time, probably due to me growing up in the west and studying in a scientific area. But there's definitely a lot to learn from it and how it applies to everyday life. I would love to pick Suzuki's mind about that.

We should know more info soon. Whatever is announced is great news for the series. Shenmue has returned with a vengeance in the last few years. It looks like 2021 will be dedicated to this fun side project. I'd expect a Shenmue 4 announcement in 2022.
 
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