White Knight Chronicles "awakening soon"
Dead Space arriving in Europe earlier than expected
LittleBigPlanet US boxart revealed(continued from previous page) ...the relief of many, the developers also implemented a ‘wait’ option when necessary, circumventing the need to walk around aimlessly for any number of game hours required to reach your objective.
^ QTE's and Free Battles became more abundant in this action-packed sequel
By this point the narrative had progressed substantially, incorporating a number of characters and back-story into the overall core plot; proverbial lines became decidedly more blurred, relationships were fleshed out and new ones formed, and what seemed like a simple revenge scenario had apparently formed the start of a destiny preordained hundreds of years ago, dating back to the very bowels of ancient history. In fact, the series had seemingly taken an almost supernatural twist, as evidenced by Shenmue II’s ambiguous conclusion played out in the depths of a cave in the remote settlement of Guilin (floating sword, anyone?) Indeed, with that final, iconic image of Shenmue II’s ending sequence forever lodged in the minds of fans around the globe, its no wonder Shenmue addicts have been craving for some kind of closure to the series six years on.
So, what of the elusive Shenmue III? Though rumoured to have flirted with the idea over the past few years, Sega has not explicitly nailed down the concept of a third instalment, nor even so much as hinted at what to expect from the plot itself. It now appears that the company has no interest in resurrecting the series anytime soon, though no reason has been given. However, it is almost a given that the Japanese software giant is simply not willing to financially “risk” another Shenmue title, given the hard fact that both the original and it sequel failed to break even. As such, the possibility of another instalment in the same mould as the full-blown epics of past games seems highly unlikely.
A lost legacy? Only Sega can decide...
In the event of this, it is possible the developers may be willing to compromise their efforts in order to see the game on store shelves, in one form or another. Though Shenmue I and II may be perceived as one whole release, they are in actuality comprised of multiple chapters in the Shenmue saga, each one based on a particular location in Hazuki’s journey. Given this, it is conceivable that Sega may opt to split Shenmue III up into individual, chapter-specific releases, thus making the project more suitable for mass-market consumption whilst retaining some of the core elements of the series. Naturally, the large, exploratory aspects may have suffer largely due to this, although there is still the possibility of containing them to a specific chapter; each one completely disparate of the other in terms of core gameplay, but equally woven together in a cohesive manner thanks to the driving narrative. A possible example of this could be having the first release in the Shenmue III saga focusing on more action-orientated gameplay, such as QTE’s or Free Battle, while another may focus primarily on information gathering and exploration, with less emphasis on action sequences. As mentioned, it’s simply the ability and willingness to compromise, even if this means deviating somewhat from what we are expected of the series.
Alternatively, if a fully-fledged sequel did materialise on PS3, gamers can expect nothing short of a sumptuous affair. Utilizing the added graphical and technical prowess of Sony’s latest piece of kit, Sega would be able to expand on and improve in virtually every area that was simply not possible on the company’s ill-fated Dreamcast, or indeed Microsoft’s original Xbox machine. Looking at Bethesda’s achievements with Oblivion, it’s perfectly conceivable that Suzuki’s final instalment may include an AI system similar to that of the mammoth RPG, enabling characters to go about a capable, functional daily schedule, complete with fully accentuated facial expressions, mannerisms and expanded conversational element for players to interact with.
Of course, Sony’s Blu-ray technology would be the perfect accomplice in facilitating such an epic, a feat that would be considerably more difficult on the Wii, or even Xbox 360. This combined with the sheer raw processing power of PS3 would allow for a far more expansive gaming environment, more locations, heightened interactivity and, of course, an improved combat system. Perhaps AM2 ... (continued on next page)
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that would be cool if another shenmue were to come.... iam hoping.... just like a remake of ff7 :)
omg thats wierd, i was thinking about shemnue yesterday, started thinking about the possibilities on ps3. they really are endless.
really hope this game gets made, if they utilize the ps3 tech and blu-ray capacity it really will be massive.
heres hopin :)
It's a massive shame they can't afford to bring this game to a next gen console, especially the PS3. I'm too attached to the first 2 games to not ever play the 3rd! im sure the day will come... I hope it will be a PS3 exclusive, i doubt it though.
Top class article :)
Glad to see that there are still some people out there who like Shenmue. Cheers for the comments so far guys. I don't expect everyone to like this to be honest, as I know the series had alot of haters, so I appreciate the warm reception! :)
I know man, I remember just starring at the screenshots for this game in class back in like 2000 (Dreamcast Mag) and just day dreaming of how many things I was gonna do in this virtual world. Then I got my hands on it and had a blast. To tell you guys the truth I don't remember much about the game, just that it was such a new/cool experience. I have given thought to buying a used XBOX just to play the second one. But then I see how hideous it is and forget about it. One thing the Dreamcast had over the PS2 for me is that it came out first and when you saw games like Shenmue your mouth just dropped. By the time the PS2 came out the graphics were great but they no longer made you turn your head. Long live the DC!!!
still have my dreamcast too
sonic adventure= greatist sonic game ever
^^ Sonic 2 = greatest sonic ever..
Also I was so annoyed..they stopeed selling dreamcast games before I could ever get my hand on a copy of I or II !! And to add insult to injury for some strange reason they only re-released them on XBOX !! WTF ?? That also tells us that if there is a III it'll likely be on the 360 !!
SEGA! needs to Wake the Fuuk UP!!!NOW.
THey are sitting on a goldmine of original TItiles that define Gaming! yet are trapped in the PAST!
SHENMUE was, and is an amazing IP.One of the greatest Epic Master Pieces ever.
Any Sega fan who played Uncharted on PS3,or other next gen games will know that Shenmue did all thoose amazing technological feats and worlds we see now ,years ago, with Dreamcast Power VR, technology!
Yet there tamed since of child gaming needs to grow the Fuuk up and mature already I.e. :an In game Weapons systems some mature violence some action and some very huge explosions!!Some stealth some Shinobi but more next gen!!
Then Sega would be back on top of Software!!!!
WHat the heck happened to Yu Suzuki the Ninja Coder the master of asembly language etc.. Why isn't he on the PS3 doin Shenmue? a mature modern version??Something astonishing.
Sega needs to just get with the times or fade away in SHAME!!!
Lame very lame....
I played Shenmue 1&2 3 times over! with The VGA adapter for the Dreamcast on my HDTV all I can say is WOW
The game still stands up as a brilliant work of technology and art!!
Quick time events and the Facial animations are still untouched and Copied to this day by others!!!!!
Sega we need a 256bit 1GB-ram Gaming system !!!
build it and make Shenmue3 for it!! or just make it on PS3, Stream off Harddrive!!!LOL
Yu and Cell Processor??? can he achive 100 percent?
shenmue is one of my fav franchises sega shoud port 1&2 right over to ps3
Shenmue on the dreamcast a ballin game, I would definitely be into this if it ever came out for muh box.
Wow the nostalgia this article gave me was unbelievable....I am so ashamed of myself ..Shenmue was on of the greatest if the greatest game I played in my life and I never spoke much of it. If anyone wants orginality then this is it. I really need a shenmue 3,
sega need to take what they started, make it look better then it already does, add to it but keeping in with the original story and finish the saga, never played shenmue 2 i don't do xboxs but really wanted it to come out on ps2, but i remember back in the day the geezer talking about there being 10 or 12 shemune titles but don't quote me on that cos not sure if i remember hearing that or making it up lol
This article sucks, getting my hopes up like that, and sending them crashing. Sega should just come out with the entire trilogy for the PS3 in a collectors box set. I don't care if i have to pay over a hundred for it.
if sega wants some moneyz then they should remake this game ASAP....only reason why i got a dreamcast was for this game and i loved this game sooo much....there was soo much you can do on such an old system....think about what we can do now with the ps3...they can make the world 50x bigger and lets us pick up any object in the game world....
my friend and i were talking about this game the other day! it's a shame that the dreamcast went out the window, but with the possibilities of the ps3 and the psn a new, remade Shenmue would be amazing! or even following the same characters in an alternate story that took place after the other, that would also be awesome! My fingers are crossed and i'm praying that this idea come to fruition!
ive bean waitin like 2 or 3 years for shenmue 3 now that the ps3 has come out a more advanced console then DC and with the ps3s power it would look amazing..
again only time will tell .. im still a big fan of this game even my mom is a big fan lol