Shenmue – Will the Saga Ever Be Completed?

Shenmue was the pinnacle of mine and many other peoples’ gaming nostalgia. I had never played the original Shenmue and the sequel; Shenmue 2 for the Dreamcast. Although I came across the Xbox re-release of Shenmue 2 and was stunned by its now iconic open world. The series is about the protagonist; Ryo Hazuki’s quest for vengeance for his father’s murder and the significance of these two peculiar items, that hold some kind of mystical value. With the follow up to the story, I was in luck with the Xbox version because it provided a separate disk, with all of the story of the first Shenmue told through the use of all the in game film sequences (FMVs)

The Shenmue series creator Yu Suzuki has recently launched a social mini-game entitled Shenmue Cities. The game was released in Japan and for the PC and is obviously based on the series, with the inclusion of new story arks and characters, but further details haven’t been provided of late. According to Suzuki, the Shenmue series could be completed if the social game becomes exceptionally popular. It’s not set in stone but at least the hardcore fans have something to satisfy them. Also the game will apparently span across more than one game, that’s if they actually release it.

Shenmue 3 has been cancelled multiple times and I actually remember Sega releasing a S3 trailer which showed off some sort of online integration, was it true? Who knows?

I sincerely hope that Ryo will be able to finish his quest and exact revenge on Lan Di (?). If you want something similar to the franchise, the Yakuza games have been clinically compared to Shenmue and the GTA series. That’s if you have a PS3..and you don’t have a problem of importing the recent IPs; Yakuza 3 & 4.

Make the game Yu, Yu Know Yu want to. ( He does btw. )

Goo.

Here’s some Shenmue II Gameplay Footage on Xbox If you are interested:

The infamous Shenmue III Trailer: