Q: Will practicing moves make a return in Shenmue 3 along with the FREE battle system? A lot of fans feel not being able to practice moves was big piece missing in Shenmue 2, and I also personally loved being able to practice and make the moves stronger. It really makes you feel as if you are learning marital arts and then performing them in a skill-based actual battle feels very satisfying.
A: I want to do it yes!
Q: How accurately will Shenmue III be compared to your original vision of the game or will there be major compromises?
A: There are a total of 11 chapters that make up the whole story. Over the past 14 years I originally planned for there to 4 or five games to the series. If at all possible, I would still like to realize the full story of 11 chapters.
Q: Hello Suzuku-san! Will a day-to-night cycle and weather system return to Shenmue 3? They added so much to the atmosphere of previous games. Thank you Suzuki-san!
A: Of course!
Q: Shenmue is a Peach Blossom tree correct? Could you tell us what type of tree exactly?
A :I would like to plant one.
A: It is more like a cherry blossom tree, that blooms its flowers in the springtime. It is actually a tree I made up for the story.
Q: Will Shenmue III enable PayPal or a means to donate to the project when the Kickstarter ends? Projects like Star Citizen gained tens of millions in donations by allowing this.
A: I am still thinking about it, but have not decided yet.
Q: Have you ever consider telling the rest of the tale for Shenmue in a book if the opportunity to make Shenmue III never came up?
A: Yes, I have but if I did do that, it would give away the end of the story, and I thought that would be a big minus.
Q: Will players have access to both the Japanese and English voice overs for the game?
A: I am thinking about that, yes. However it is not for sure.
It is because of fans like you, I wanted to make a sequel. Thank you very much.
Q: Did you see Michael Huber’s (of GameTrailers) intense emotional reaction to your announcement of Shenmue 3?
A: Yes, I liked it a lot.
Q: Will the gameplay in Shenmue III be more contemporary or will it be more in line with past Shenmue iterations?
A: As for III, I would like to make a less stressful user interface, that will feature more usability. From now on, I will make that a focus.
Q: Will you reassure us that Ryo’s face will be changed back to the Ryo we all know and love when Shenmue 3 releases, and not this impostor wearing Ryo’s jacket that you have on Kickstarter? That is NOT our Ryo!
A: I am not happy with Ryo’s face. It will be the face I have in my mind in the end.
Q: Will the band-aid ever come off?
A: I am considering a special option where it could be removed.
Q: What was your inspiration for the story behind the first two Shenmue games?
A: When I was making Virtua Fighter, I went location hunting in China. I was very inspired by Chinese martial arts. That very well may have been the beginning.
Q: Will we see any capsule toys based on Ape Escape or any of the Sony franchise in Shenmue 3?
A: I have not decided the capsule toys, so please keep your ideas coming.
Q: What do you think of the current state of Japanese game development?
A: I see the share of mobile games increasing, the budgets of games decreasing. It will be harder to express a game’s vision.
I would hope the console and PC markets gain more popularity.
Q: Will we see Ryo’s Journal return? Would be cool to be able to flip the pages using the PS4’s touchpad.
A: I would like to bring back the Journal. That is an interesting idea, I will look into it. Thank you.
Q: Will character polls compromise your artistic vision?
A: I really want to get everyone’s opinion on the characters. I have something in mind that won’t break the world immersion.
Q: Any possibility of a bicycle finally being added to Shenmue 3? Thank you so much again, Yu!
A: There is a 60 horsepower bike in Shenmue 1. For Shenmue, 3 I was thinking about something with 1 horsepower.
Q: Yu, are you really going to be signing your autograph on the illustration for the $300 kickstarter signed collectors edition? So far there is almost 2000 backers, that is a lot of illustrations to sign!
A: Of course I will write them all myself!
Q: In Suzuki-san’s opinion, what is the essence of arcade games? Are those influences in Shenmue?
A: With an arcade game, you are restricted to a 3 minute window to express what the game is. That is how I made games for the longest time. I wanted to create a game that could be played at a more leisurely pace, so I created what ended up being Shenmue.
Q: Our twenty eighth question from the 500k community. -Will Shenmue 3 have any sort of multiplayer component? Perhaps Co-op or a versus mode?
A: I am thinking about something that would resemble that.
Q: Do you have any more details to share about the stretch goals? It’s not clear to me what a « Rapport System » or « Character Perspective System » entails.
A: They are new systems, so naturally they need new names. The Rapport System will govern changes in Shenhua’s actions depending on your conversations with or actions towards her. The « Character Perspective System » will highlight different characters personalities as they go through the story.
Q: What will Ryo do to earn money in Shenmue 3?
A: There will be part time jobs that will be indicative of those you would find in China. In the Stretch goals there will also be the old favorites.
Q: How much game elements/features will we be missing in the game if the campaign doesn’t reach the $5 million mark?
A: I will say this: if we reach the $5 mil mark, one of the things I really want to do with Shenmue 3 will become a reality.
At $10 million, it will truly have the features of an open world.
Q: Can we expect more duck racing in Shenmue III? That was the best easter egg I’ve ever seen in a video game.
A: I would love it.
Q: How was it working with mega64?
A: It was really fun. I would love to do it again.
I hope they pitch in for the replica Ryo jacktet!
Q: Given Shenmue 2’s ending and previous items found within the series; will swordplay enter gameplay at all? What about the story, can we expect Ryo to use a sword at some point?
A: I can’t answer that.
Q: If a younger gamer wanted to get a feel for your body of work, which games would you suggest that they play? Do you have a favorite game that you’ve developed other than Shenmue?
A: I had fun making all the games I worked on, and can’t say one was better than another. Boring answer I know, but it really is true.
Q: I’ve always wondered, why did you set the game in the 1980s rather than present day?
A: I wanted put forward the differences in culture and values between the two periods.
Q: What I’d like to ask is, if you had billions of yen, what would your dream Shenmue be?
A: One where the player could live in that world. A second life.
Q: I love the music from Shenmue, if anything kept me thinking about Shenmue from time to time during these 10+ years it was the music. Was is your favorite piece from the soundtrack? Thank you for bringing Shenmue to our lives, I can’t thank you enough.
A: Of course I love both the Shenmue and Shenhua themes, and all of them really, but the one that really sticks with me is the Tomato Mart.
Q: Will there be more funding tiers added to the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter, specifically between the $500 and $3000 tier?
A: Yes.
Q: Shenmue 3 is just the start. How successful does the game need to be for us to get Shenmue 4 and so on until the saga is complete?
A: If the fans are not happy with 3 there will not be a 4. So I please hope we can together make this game the best it can be.
Q: What Sega console is your favourite and why?
A: The Dreamcast. It has really good balance. I was involved with the hardware as well, so it had a lot of meaning for me.
Q: Suzuki-San…welcome to the fantasy zone! It’s finally happening. Any plans on more arcade games within Shenmue III?
A: I plan on making plans.
Q: Any info on the stretch goals for Choubu and Bailu village?
A: Choubu is a riverside village with lots of shops, souvenir stores, hotels and temples. The quests in this village should be very enjoyable, I think. Bailu is the village where Shenhua was raised and also a place that Ryo’s father, Iwao, had visited when he was younger. Here as well the quests will play an important role as Ryo and Shenhua start their journey.
Q: Are all the towns listed in the Kickstarter stretch goals in the game already, or are the stretch goals only there as a means to help give them more features and spice?
A: They are there, but with more powered up through the stretch goals.
Q: Will Ryo ever go back to Japan?
A: Not in 3.
Q: Who is your favorite Shenmue character?
A: It has always been Shenhua.
Q: Are you still involved in any programming activities?
A: I still write algorithms, logic verification, and make simple prototypes.
Q: Will the game take advantage of the virtual reality goggles on PS4 and PC?
A: Right now, there are no plans for a vr system compatibility, but I love the idea of using it to peer into the world of Shenmue.
Q: When creating Shenmue 3, will you use any assets at all from 1 & 2? Or do you have to start all over from scratch because SEGA still owns the first two games?
A: I think most everything will have to be made from scratch, just because it needs to work with the updated hardware. (EDIT: The assets from 1 & 2 will get a lot of use.)
