I just want to make one more post about this subject, about why i think it is so unfair what happened with Yu Suzuki, about why i really don't understand the game industry right now because of this things.
I'm creating a story, i imagine my story as games with a Shenmue vibe but i don't have a team with me so i decided to write books, i'm writing the first book and i like writing, maybe later i will think about the story in game format.
My story is inspired by Shenmue with a lot of chapters, slow pace, calm and peaceful moments, martial arts, asian culture, the character will travel to other countries, the story will be a journey and much more, for this story is my style doing this way, a slow pace story, do i want to turn my book into a 100% action story? no, i'm doing a slow pace story.
It is wrong doing like this? no, it is just a different style, some people will enjoy my story and other people will probably think that this story is boring but there is nothing wrong in doing a story the way i'm doing, is just a different style and artists have different styles and this is good in my opinion for books, movies, games and much more.
For example Shigeru Miyamoto, Yu Suzuki, Hideo Kojima, Toshihiro Nagoshi and Fumito Ueda, 5 people that have different styles in the game industry and this is beautiful, diversity is good for the game industry, i don't want to see all the games series to look like GTA for example, i like GTA but i don't want to see the game industry become something that all the games series will be the same thing, i don't want that for the game industry, diversity is the way to go in my opinion.
Why i told this about my project? i told this because this is what is happening with Yu Suzuki. Yu Suzuki made a story with such a different style and pace, this game series don't have violence/fights all the time, the story is not fast all the time and much more.
Yu Suzuki wrote a 11 chapter story, one time he even said this...
Yu Suzuki: As you know, I wrote an 11-chapter story as Shenmue's original story. This is a base of the story, obviously. If I make it, we'd need 11 games - and that's not going to happen! Shenmue 1 was chapter 1. Shenmue 2... around 80 percent came from chapter 2. The remaining 20 percent was sliced from chapter 4, 5 and 6 - pieces of it. And in the case of chapter 3, that was actually totally removed.
"If I make it, we'd need 11 games"
So if i understood this right at one point he was so ambitious with this project that his vision really was 11 games, one chapter per game. Some things changed and that's okay, it is what it is but this just shows to me what Yu Suzuki really want for this story in my opinion.
This is one of the reasons why Shenmue Chapter 1: Yokosuka is a slow pace game with a lot of details in my opinion, because at one point Yu Suzuki really thought about 11 games, in the Saturn version i think Yu Suzuki was not thinking like this, he even wanted to make Yokosuka chapter smaller but when he started to work in the Dreamcast version i think he became super ambitious with this project and even thought about 11 games.
Bailu Village in Shenmue III have a similar vibe and style, Shenmue have this ZEN vibe and style, and this vibe and style is what i think is Yu Suzuki vision for the story, Yu Suzuki don't want Ryo with weapons like we see in other games, nothing like that, for Ryo is only his fists, it is wrong doing Ryo like this? of course not, it is Yu Suzuki style doing this way and i love that it is this way.
Shenmue have a different vibe, style, pace, gameplay and much more and that's okay, nothing wrong with doing games like this in recent days. Nothing wrong with Yu Suzuki wanting to create a closed but very deep world like he said in one interview.
For Shenmue III Yu Suzuki did a slow pace game with similar things with the first game, for Shenmue IV i don't know all the things he wants to do but i just hope that he continues to do what he feels is the right thing for his story/game series.
i create stories as well so i have 100% empathy and respect for what Yu Suzuki really want to do in relation to his story and games, i'm not saying i will like everything, all i'm saying is that i have empathy and respect for this and that i hope he continues to do Shenmue in his pace and style.