In the real world, 16 years have passed. Those were the words of Shenmue 3 Creative Director Yu Suzuki who announced the latest trailer for the upcoming RPG via a Skype call. What followed was this trailer:
As well as teasing cinematic shots, YS Net gave us a release date of August 27th 2019; an upcoming date and one fans of the 19-year-old (going on 20) series will look forward to. After all, a main game in the franchise was last seen on the Dreamcast. Originally released in 1999, Shenmue I released onto the Sega Dreamcast and Xbox to critical acclaim, spawning a dedicated fan base in the process.
2 years later, Shenmue II released on the Xbox and Sega Dreamcast again met with positive reviews. Unfortunately, both games commercially failed despite swimming success with the critics. Fortunately, creator Yu Suzuki has been working hard to bring us the next iteration in Ryo’s chapter. Furthermore, both Shenmue I and II have been re-released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC as a bundle. If you have $29.99, head to your console’s store and pick up both.
Shenmue III raised a whopping $6,333,295 through 69,320 backers during its Kickstarter phase. Rewards included physical and digital copies of the game, in-game exclusive scenes, becoming an NPC in Shenmue III, a replica of Ryo’s jacket and even dinner with Yu Suzuki in either Monaco or Los Angeles.
Shenmue III is out 27th August 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.