Is it selfish and bad of me to say that I just want Shenmue to be Shenmue and I don't care if it isn't like every other game out there? I don't care if it doesn't appeal to the mainstream at this point. Look, I'm gonna be brutally honest here. I don't think there is a turning point for this series at this point in time to capture the mainstream. I think as that end number goes up, the more it's gonna have that old Yakuza problem. Where it's gonna get harder for people to jump in with every new game and thus it's gonna keep appealing to those who are already on board. Yes, I know Yakuza 0 changed everything for the franchise, but there was that time where it was considered "for the fans only" by almost everyone of note.
I think this series, as is, is always gonna be one that appeals mainly to us and no one else. I don't know if retooling it to capture that wider audience is enough at this point. Sure, we may get some newcomers along the way. But I think the chase for that wider audience gets harder and harder with every new game simply because of the perception of "it's one for the fans."
I think the only way you have a chance of capturing a mainstream wider audience would be to start from scratch and reboot the whole thing and retool to make it something that would appeal to a mainstream audience. But in doing that, you would lose everything that makes it what it is as it becomes something else. And I don't really want that. I like Shenmue for being Shenmue. I like the pacing of it. I like the fact that it's a calm game that simply asks you to exist in and explore its world. I like that money actually means something in this game. That they try to integrate every system to become meaningful. I like the casual pace of it.
Sure, there are quality of life things it could do to modernize. I actually applaud SIII for taking some of those steps to make it a little more modern feeling to play.
I think, if anything, Shenmue IV is going to resemble Shenmue II a lot more than it will resemble the first game. Much like SIII was very reminiscent of the first game with its small town vibes and take-its-own-time pace. I actually do think IV will pick the pace up and resemble SII more than it will anything else. I think IV will be a much more action packed game considering you're hot on the tails of Lan Di and the Chi You Men and I think it has all the potential to be more like SII. Which would be fine by me. That's really all I want from IV. Pick up the pacing, refine the story telling, flesh out the fighting engine. Just tighten everything up.
But in terms of retooling the game to capture the mainstream? Outside of rebooting the series from scratch and changing everything, I really don't know what else they can do at this point to capture that elusive audience.
I think we're the ones keeping this alive. Sure, it's great to get any newcomers that give it a chance and find something along the way, but getting that wider audience? I still feel its too late for Shenmue and the only way you would get that audience would be to reboot the series as a whole. Like it or not but there's still too much of that dated stigma around Shenmue in the wider audience. Still too much of the "it's one for the fans only" stigma. We saw that with SIII and the reviews that came out. The only way to break that at this point would be to simply reboot the franchise and start over.
I mean I hope SIV can make the fixes it needs and at least get some decent word of mouth, but I just fear its too late and the stigma is gonna always be around Shenmue...so at this point, I stopped caring about that wider audience. Let Shenmue be the Shenmue I love and just accept we love something others don't. Even if that isn't financially responsible.
I just want the series to see its way to the end as we know and love it for what it is. I'd rather it potentially die as its self than die attempting to change and become something else to get an audience that doesn't care for it. Not that I want it to die at all. I think, if they play it smart and keep the budgets down, they can probably get to S5 based on us. There's enough of an audience here to keep it going. Even those who didn't like SIII in this community I can guarantee will return for IV if it comes to be. I just think that chase for the wider audience gets harder as the "only for the fans" stigma around the franchise grows.