Kickstarter Update #74: New Ryo Pics

Kickstarter Update #74 has just been released for the end of August.

In addition to some photos of the recent Gamescom event and a message of thanks to Shenmue fans for their support, of particular interest are these three new images of Ryo which were not released at Gamescom.

For the first time, we get to see Ryo standing on the main street of Choubu.

Check out the images below (high-res versions; click to enlarge).

"The look of gallantry!"

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Seven Interesting Details from the Shenmue III Teaser | Gamescom

The Shenmue III teaser video that was unveiled at Gamescom contains several scenes and images, many of which flash pass by in an instant.

In this post we'll pause and take a closer look at seven points within the teaser which hint at promising depths beneath the surface of the game.

1. Masks on Display

Shortly before the camera sweeps down through the main road of the riverside town of Choubu, a line of colorful and distinctive masks is shown -  presumably merchandise for sale at one of the shops Ryo will be able to visit. Masks of other designs can be observed in the background.

Masks on display in Choubu.

It turns out that the design of these particular masks, which are carved from wood, originates from the Indonesian island of Bali.

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Video Interview with Cédric Biscay by Team Yu | Gamescom

Interview in progress (via Cédric Biscay on Twitter)

While in Cologne for Gamescom last week, Team Yu spoke with Cédric Biscay, President and CEO of Shibuya Productions and co-producer of Shenmue 3.

In the interview, Cédric talks about topics such as Shibuya Productions' role, the new Shenmue III teaser video and why Shenmue I and II remasters need to be released by SEGA ahead of Shenmue III.

Watch the 10-minute interview video below, or read Team Yu's summary write-up on Facebook here.

For information on how to participate in the #SaveShenmueHD Tweetathon on the 3rd of every month, head over to the Team Yu website.

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4Gamer Interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom | Full Translation

We're pleased to present another fresh interview with Yu Suzuki from the Gamescom event, this one by the Japanese site 4Gamer.

The interview translation begins below.

Release Date Extension For a "Pretty Positive Reason"

Q: Thank you for your time today. To get started right away, there was a teaser trailer released to the public for Gamescom. Why Gamescom and not E3?

YS: If the contract with Deep Silver had been completed prior to E3 2017, that might have been an option.

Time was needed for the final signing, so the trailer's release timing ended up being Gamescom.

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Dengeki Online Interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom | Full Translation

This is a full translation of an interview that was held with Yu Suzuki by Dengeki Online at the Gamescom event.

The interview begins below.

Q: How is the current state of development?

YS: Progress on the environments and stages is very good. I would say overall they're at around 70%.

Lighting settings are also in good shape, and we're now adjusting the indoor lighting. We're still at the stage of fine-tuning for dealing with changes over time.

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GAME Watch Interview with Yu Suzuki | Full Translation | 22 Aug, 2017

This is a full translation of an interview that was held with Yu Suzuki by GAME Watch at Gamescom on August 22nd, 2017.

The interview begins below.


Q: I have really been looking forward to today's interview, and getting the chance to ask you about Shenmue III after so long.

YS: Would you like to watch the video? Not the 90-second version released on the internet, but the long one that's two-and-a-half minutes.

Q: Yes, please.

[The trailer starts to play]

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Game*Spark Interview with Yu Suzuki | Full Translation | 23 Aug, 2017

This is a full translation of an interview that was held with Yu Suzuki and Hideaki Morishita (Shenmue III's executive producer) by Game*Spark at Gamescom.

The interview begins below.


Q: What shape is the current development status of Shenmue 3 in?

YS: The other day we announced a change to the release date, but at that point talks of a publishing contract with Deep Silver were already advanced.

Working with Deep Silver also means increased stability on the budget front, and since I had been thinking in a scalable manner from the start, we have been able to set our sights a bit higher. Since that brings with it a corresponding increase in things we need to do, I extended the deadline a little.

With this new upward revision to the original plans, the number of developers has also grown slightly.

Currently, we are in full production mode.

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Famitsu Interview with Yu Suzuki | Full Translation | 22 Aug, 2017

This is a full translation of an interview that was held with Yu Suzuki by Famitsu at Gamescom on August 22nd. (The accompanying images are not from the original article).

The interview begins below.


Q: To start with, could you tell us about the current state of the development?

YS: When we announced the revision to the release schedule the other day, our discussions with Deep Silver were already advanced. With Deep Silver to become our partner, I realized that we would be able to aim even higher than our initial goals. However, for that additional development time would be needed, so in order for us to adopt these, I set the release timing to the last half of 2018.

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New Shenmue III Logo Designed by Yu Suzuki | Kickstarter Update #73

In the most recent screenshots and publicity material, the appearance of a new Shenmue III logo has been the source of some confusion.

Following feedback on the "Papyrus font" logo style that had been used at the initial Kickstarter project launch, YS Net announced at the end of June (see previous post) that the logo would change to the "classic" Shenmue style. And now, at Gamescom, a third, handwritten-style logo has been presented.

Top: the old "Papyrus font" style from the Kickstarter launch.
Middle: the "classic" Shenmue style, as revised at the end of June.
Bottom: the latest logo design, seen at Gamescom.

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Shenmue III Title Screen Image | Game WATCH

An intriguing new image has been released among the Shenmue III screenshot images on the Japanese site Game WATCH that I have not seen elsewhere.

Although no comment is provided, it appears to show the Shenmue III title screen in Japanese: the golden Shenmue III logo (using the new design, and in Japanese characters) over the backdrop of a dragon and phoenix motif.

Beneath the main title are the words (in Japanese): "Chapter 3  Guilin".

This subtitle suggests a return to the style of naming of the first game - where the game's full name in Japanese was "Shenmue Chapter 1: Yokosuka". It would make sense for the public numbering to be separate from the mysterious internal chapter numbering that Yu Suzuki is known to have assigned to various sections of the game's story.

Just looking at the screenshot, you can almost feel the motif spinning before your eyes, ready for Ryo's adventure to continue.

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New Shenmue III Character + Promo Screenshots | US PlayStation Blog

In addition to the set of images of Ryo and Shenhua (see previous post), a new set of in-game screenshots has been released.

The first shows what appears to be a new character, in the form of a grey-haired elderly man, while others are a mixture of scenery and character screenshots.

Click on each image to enlarge.

Update: this post originally contained images sourced from the Japanese site Famitsu, however a PlayStation blog post contains higher-resolution versions, so the images in this post have been refreshed accordingly.

Ryo and a grey-haired old man - learning a new martial arts move?

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Ryo & Shenhua Images on Famitsu.com

A new set of images of Ryo and Shenhua was posted up today on Famitsu.com, accompanying their brief article about the recent Shenmue III trailer release at Gamescom.

The article, which is in Japanese, is brief and does not contain any specific comments on the images.

Check them out and leave comments below.

Images of Ryo released by Famitsu.com

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Yu Suzuki's Journey to Gamescom | Photo Selection

Here is a selection of recent photos of Yu Suzuki's journey to Gamescom, hot off the Twitter press.

Yu Suzuki departed from Haneda airport (picture in this previous post) outside Tokyo on Sunday evening, arriving in Frankfurt the following morning. From there he caught the ICE high-speed train and arrived at the Gamescom event venue in Cologne.

The first two photos are from Yu Suzuki's own Twitter account, and the last two were posted by a member of the Deep Silver team, Will Powers.

Yu at the station platform at Frankfurt airport terminal.
Twitter message: "Heading for Cologne by train @Frankfurt".

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Shenmue III Video "The First Teaser"

In conjunction with Yu Suzuki's attendance at Gamescom, a brand new Shenmue III teaser video (entitled "The First Teaser") has been released!

The video description on the Playstation YouTube channel:

The first teaser of Shenmue III is built from a small slice of an in-development build of the game, and it delivers small peeks in new look of main characters, new characters, and feels of Shenmue world. 

As mentioned, the video shows in-development footage, something to keep in mind when viewing.

We will be putting out an additional post on the blog covering the teaser content in more depth, but for now... sit back and enjoy.

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Close-up on the New Shenmue III Art | Kickstarter Update #72 [3/3]

Having got the "real-world" focused updates from the recent Kickstarter update #72 out of the way in previous posts (namely, the confirmation of Yu Suzuki's meet-and-greet schedule at Gamescom and the announcement of Deep Silver as publisher), in this third post we at last turn to an aspect that relates entirely to the Shenmue world - in the form of the surprise inclusion of new art from the game, contained in the press release material.

A benefit of waiting a day or two before posting on this topic is that I have had time to examine the images carefully and let my thoughts settle.

Let's run through the new images, as sourced from the press releases.

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Yu Suzuki Selfie: "About to Head to Gamescom"

Yu Suzuki has just tweeted this photo of himself, captioned "I'm about to head to Gamescom".

Behind him is the Edo-themed restaurant and souvenir area of the Haneda international airport terminal.

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Global Publishing Partner Announced for Shenmue III | Kickstarter Update #72 [2/3]

One of the major announcements in the latest Kickstarter update is that YS Net has formed a contract with Deep Silver, a company headquartered in Germany and owned by Koch Media, for publishing Shenmue III.

The press release states: "The global publishing deal will cover the release exclusively on [the] PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and PC, both physical and digital versions."

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Meet Yu Suzuki at Gamescom 2017 | Kickstarter Update #72 [1/3]

Kickstarter Update #72

We are now heading into the last few days before the Gamescom event in Cologne (Aug 22~26, general admission from the 23rd) in which Shenmue III will be participating, and a new Kickstarter update has just been released that has set social media and fan sites buzzing.

The new update, Kickstarter Update #72, covers three main news items:

• Confirmation of the schedule for Yu Suzuki's "meet & greet" sessions with fans during the event;
• Announcement of a new global publishing partner; and
• New art from the game revealed!

In this post we'll take a look at the first, with the other topics to follow in separate posts.

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List of Ryo's Goals | Shenmue Passport Disc

With our recent Shenmue Passport disc hack, some interesting sections of the disc can now be easily accessed.

One of these is the Data Review section, which spits out statistics on almost every imaginable aspect of a played game, from the number of game saves made, down to the number of times Ryo has walked into a wall(!).

Within this data is an item called "Present Goal" that describes what Ryo is currently trying to do - for example, after his battle with Chai in the arcade, it reads "Searching for the suspicious guy":

Ryo's Present Goal is displayed on the Data Review screen of Shenmue Passport.

Below is a list of all the goals, extracted from the Shenmue Passport disc. Reading through makes you appreciate the amount of effort Ryo - and you, the player - expends in the first game in his hunt for Lan Di!

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Shenmue Passport Unlocked! | Hack to Skip Dial-up Check

I'm excited to be able to share a hack I've put together which allows easy access to the online section of the Shenmue Passport disc - without the standard requirement of a Dreamcast console + internet connection.

It is in the form of a small, targeted patch to apply to the Shenmue Passport disc which effectively skips the check for an internet connection, thus allowing the "online" section of the disc to be accessed and browsed (to the extent possible while offline).

Read on for an overview of the unlocked content - and see the end for simple instructions to patch the Shenmue Passport disc image.

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Two Dazzling Shenmue-Inspired Projects: a Rock Opera & a Fan Manga

The talent and creativity of Shenmue fans know no bounds! Demonstrating this are these two recent fan-made projects that have been inspired by the game: one is musical and the other visual art. The artists' love for Shenmue shines through in the care and attention given to the works.

We'll be introducing these two amazing fanmade projects:

• A Progressive Rock Concept Album: "The Samurai Boy Saga: 1986" by Andy Hughes
• A Shenmue Manga: "Shemmue Doujinshi" by Sebastian Riera

Links are provided in the descriptions to find out more about each. So, let's get started!

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