Very hype indeed. Can't wait to see how they animate Chai (maybe they could just rotoscope Gollum?)
The mind races at the "many unused story beats" - would love to see some flashbacks between Iwao and Akane. It's not impossible that it also establishes more concretely "The Four Kings", to use street fighter parlance, rather than just suggesting Lan di was de facto leader as the games have sort of done so far. Also possible that the series may answer a few of the smaller mysteries, or at least give more context/information.
While the basics of the overall plot of Shenmue have been criticised for being too simplistic, or seen as a sort of "magical realist potboiler", what the games themselves actually achieve are slow burning, deep and wide ranging character development, as well as grounding the fantastical elements in real Chinese history, culture and philosophy. Also just the overall quality of the world building, and creating a sense of place and authentic culture which for me is unmatched by any other game series.
I think the anime can definitely stay true to this by keeping/adapting scenes like Russiya China shop, Yamagishi San teaching Double blow, and some of the smaller, more impactful moments, like buying Shozo Mizuki a coffee at the harbour. Hopefully it includes, and hints at some of this stuff whilst keeping Ryo's naïveté and nobility at the same time. If it can stay true to the environments in the same way, i.e finds a way to convey their history and culture (which is admittedly harder to accomplish when you don't have 20 hour games in which to do it) it will be a winner for me. Either way, can't wait.