This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of apply.

Shenmue3

Two years ago, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki took to Sony'south stage at E3 and appear a third game in the Shenmue series. The Shenmue series had always been intended to run for 4 games but had prematurely died after Sega killed Dreamcast evolution. When Suzuki announced that the game would launch on Kickstarter, Shenmue fans immediately collection it into the stratosphere, setting a record for the fastest KS to break two million dollars (8 hours, 43 minutes). Nosotros haven't seen much of the championship since then, but a new teaser trailer has surfaced online. It's… well, information technology's really something.

At first, things look pretty expert. The master theme (carried over from Shenmue and Shenmue Ii) is gorgeous, the environments are visually interesting, and the get-go shot of the girl, Shenhua Ling, looks pretty expert. Then the camera turns to Ryo, the primary protagonist of all three games, and we're treated to this dead-eyed, confront-locked marionette:

Ryo

This is, literally, the only face Ryo makes throughout the entire trailer. Apart from managing to blink once he shows no facial expressions. Fifty-fifty when engaged in gainsay with a human being who resembles an Asian version of the Joker crossed with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in his prime, Ryo can't muster then much every bit a sneer.

HowIGotTheseScars

Did I ever tell you how I got these scars?

Some of the background and scenery shots truly are impressive. They may not wait exactly like real life, only Shenmue Three's terrain and locations are an first-class case of how a game can use stylized depictions to make a world more interesting.

Shenmue-1

The environments and scenery are genuinely gorgeous.

But the animation… whoo male child. Characters move like wooden puppets, if nosotros're being generous. This is less a dip into the uncanny valley and more an in-depth exploration of the Uncanny Mariana Trench.

CrouchingTigerFacialParalysis

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Genetic Susceptibility to Long-Term Facial Paralysis?

Shenmue fans have already poured out in legions to defend the indefensible, claiming that this is adequate because either 1). The game isn't a AAA title, 2). Shenmue players want terrible animation considering that's how the games looked back then, or 3). It'south an honor to pay for a terribly animated game that wouldn't laissez passer muster as a flash-based title circa 2022. None of these are particularly compelling explanations. Commencement, nosotros don't know how much coin investors and Sony poured into Shenmue III; the original Kickstarter entrada was a contemptuous ploy by Sony to drum up cash for a game they refused to backing entirely but still plowed greenbacks into. Yu Suzuki subsequently admitted that the game would seek exterior funding in addition to the Kickstarter, with Sony also assisting with product rather than focusing solely on marketing Second, the game uses Unreal Engine four, ane of the most robustly supported engines effectually. At that place are entire middleware libraries devoted to handling character blitheness, and no reason not to deploy them.

I have no doubt that there are people who would play Shenmue: ASCI Edition if it meant getting another game. I don't take a trouble with that; people have a correct to play any game they want, any mode they please. But for many people, Shenmue III will be the first look they ever get at the game series, either because they never owned a Dreamcast, or because they were too young to exist gaming when the serial launched nearly 20 years ago. Pushing the nostalgia gene may appeal to some, but few modern gamers are going to find a series attractive when the lead character'due south ability to blink similar a mammal is in some doubt. A trailer like this could impairment the game's ability to find an audience outside its die-hard fan base of operations, and the all-time manner to ensure a Shenmue IV is to make certain Shenmue III is as skillful equally possible. Right now, the animations are terrible to the indicate of yanking you out of the world the video is trying to create.