Regarding Shenmue IV viability

[Dmitriy1]

I'm worried that if we get Shenmue 4 at all it will be an at least somewhat compromised experience from Suzuki's original vision and it may be the last Shenmue game he is able to make. This means it will either truncate the story or leave it on another cliffhanger.

While I prefer he get the chance to realize his full vision in games I believe that ship has sailed. I'm not beholden to it being a game or nothing and I do want closure on the story. Whether or not Shenmue continues in game form I would love to see the original VFRPG script/story released to seen what it could have been before all of the compromises. If the Shenmue story cannot be completed in game format then I would prefer something, probably a novel or visual novel, to end it off.

Can you honestly at least watch bits of 1&2 on YouTube, and still maintain it was heavily about the story? It had the story in it yes. Once you got to Xuying and learned about her brother, then Yanda Zhu, maybe 10 minutes max of the actual story, not the usual quest upon quest typical for RPGs. People have this nostalgic feeling about 1&2, they were good games, that's all. The story was there, but it wasn't the main reasons you actually remember 1&2. Anything but an actual video game would defeat the whole purpose of Shenmue. It's never about just watching like FF 13 was. And thank god for that IMO.

 

[hmjohnny]

Can you honestly at least watch bits of 1&2 on YouTube, and still maintain it was heavily about the story? It had the story in it yes. Once you got to Xuying and learned about her brother, then Yanda Zhu, maybe 10 minutes max of the actual story, not the usual quest upon quest typical for RPGs. People have this nostalgic feeling about 1&2, they were good games, that's all. The story was there, but it wasn't the main reasons you actually remember 1&2. Anything but an actual video game would defeat the whole purpose of Shenmue. It's never about just watching like FF 13 was. And thank god for that IMO.

The story is so much more than just the plot, of which there is a lot more than you imply. The character moments and action are just as much a part of the story as well and the previous games excel at that. Shenmue 3 feels a lot more bare bones in this regard, no doubt due to budget.

I've always said that making into a game is the best way to do it, but only if it can be done properly. At the end of the day if he releases Shenmue 4 and has to compromise because of budget I'll still be happy and I'll still buy it. But if he leaves off for another cliffhanger and isn't able to finish the story, then yeah I want closure. Whether he just releases the scripts or whatever format I want to see how the story goes, that's what I waited 18 years for.