Shenmue II was released in 2001 for the Sega Dreamcast in Europe and Japan, where it was ported to the Xbox in 2002 for North America. The story takes place after the end of Shenmue, released in 1999, where Ryo Hazuki leaves Japan and heads to Hong Kong on a quest to defeat the mysterious Lan Di and avenge his recently deceased father.
The game ended with Ryo meeting the mysterious clairvoyant Shenhua, where they leave together for a journey into mainland China.
Since then, Sega hasn’t developed a new installment of the series.
But that is going to change with the help of Sony, where the series’ director and producer Yu Suzuki launched a successful Kickstarter campaign. In layman speak, Shenmue III is going to happen and will likely be on the Playstation 4.
Don’t be surprised if Shenmue III is also made for the Playstation 3.
Suzuki’s goal was $2 million, which was reached in under nine hours. That doesn’t mean fans have stopped funding the Kickstarter campaign, which now offers stretch goals.
Some of the stretch goals include subtitles in different languages and expanded mini-games.
Major stretch goals will include the expansion of Baisha Village.
If Kickstarter funding reaches $5 million, then Shenmue III will have a “Character Perspective System” that allows you to explore the game through different characters.
Sony will be playing a huge role in development and further funding of Shenmue III, where the company met with Suzuki last year at the Games Developer Conference. In layman speak, Sony will publish the title and a third party will develop Shenmue III.
The Kickstarter’s main purpose was to gauge public support for Shenmue III according to Sony.
Ultimately according to Sony, Sega brought up the idea to use Kickstarter for Shenmue III.
It is unknown when Shenmue III will begin development, but the game could come out in 2016 or 2017.
With Shenmue III out of game limbo, there’s a chance that the franchise’s characters could be included in future crossover titles like Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax and Project X Zone. There is the possibility that Lan Di could play an awesome antagonist in such titles.
The franchise is one of the earlier free-world titles before you had Grand Theft Auto III, Saints Row IV, Assassin’s Creed Unity, the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
The story begins in Japan as Ryo walks in on his father, Iwao, being killed by Lan Di with a fatal death strike.
Ryo spends the rest of his time finding clues on the reason behind Iwao’s death, where he crosses paths with many unsavory parties.
Combat is a core part of the game because of story battles and random encounters, where the fight mechanic is heavily borrowed from Sega’s Virtua Fighter series.
