Ys Net’s Shenmue 3 may not have come to E3 2017 on account of progress, but it looks like the developers have used the time in between well. The first proper trailer for the game has finally landed after two years since its announcement, with a collage of in-game scenes interspersed by glimpses at the vast setting.
Ryo Hazuki and Ling Shenhua’s return had already been confirmed for Shenmue 3, and we see the former training hard in between exploring the beautiful mountains with Shenhua. Another character makes his first appearance in the video, and this is the same burly guy Ys Net had teased during their pre-E3 2017 development update. However, it isn’t quite clear yet if he is the new villain we are expecting to meet.
One other thing that becomes clear is that Ys Net does not care much for realistic animation. But at the same time, the characters look pretty close to what one may have come to associate with the series, and if that is what the developers are sticking with, they may well be deemed successful. If they succeed in finding audiences with those who aren’t nostalgic about the games, however, remains to be seen.
Shenmue 3‘s story is supposed to pick up right where it had left off sixteen years earlier. The game was first announced at E3 2015 as a Kickstarter campaign that exceeded whatever expectations the developer had by miles in triple time. Less than a week earlier, it was announced that German publisher Deep Silver has signed on as the global publishers for the game. After keeping their distance from E3 this year, the creators had promised some neat surprises at Gamescom 2017.
Shenmue 3‘s initially scheduled 2017 release window has now been pushed back to the second half of 2018. It will be playable on Windows PC and PS4.