Well if we're being that optimistic, the best chance for it is to start over with a AAA budget. Realistically, there's little chance for another successful KS especially after the controversy of the previous one, and almost zero chance that any partner will invest. I'm kind of stunned that he didn't factor this in when he was making S3; imo he should have found a way to secure the future of the series when it was riding high.
I'd rather get that than nothing but, to be frank, I would never watch 24 episodes of Shenmue 3-level storytelling. Animes are also still very expensive to produce so a manga/graphic novel is probably more realistic.
Agreed. Even people on the dojo who excuse S3's story keep claiming that it's somehow due to the budget. Well, if S4 is gonna be working with a smaller budget, then how do you think the story is going to get better?