Shenmue I & II launches a week before a Yakuza 2 remake. — AFP Relaxnews
Though Shenmue III might still seem like a dream, the Shenmue I & II HD collection is now set for an Aug 21 launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC, per an official trailer.
In 2001, two ambitious titles were paving the way for 3D open-world action adventures over the decade and a half to follow.
Just as Grand Theft Auto III was enchanting players with its tales of daring enterprise and narrow escapes in a US criminal underworld, whether scripted by its developers at Rockstar Games or the result of player interaction with its thugs, crimelords, cops or passers by, Shenmue II was casting its own vision of go-anywhere, do-anything video game immersion with perhaps a more optimistic message.
Following the ecstatic fan response to the 2015 announcement that a very long awaited Shenmue III would be given a renewed development push thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, the series' first two entries have been prepared for release on PS4, XBO and PC.
As a pre-order trailer demonstrates, the pair might not yet look as if they were first designed or developed over the last few years, but graphical upgrades mean that their true age is not as painfully apparent as it could be.
Some tolerance of, or willingness to laugh at, 1999 and 2001 animation standards will be required but by Aug 21, nostalgics and curious newcomers will be able to take young Ryo Hazuki through Japan towards Hong Kong and, finally, into mainland China on a search for his missing father.
Critically acclaimed upon initial release, the relatively detailed Shenmue was considered the most expensive video game of all time in terms of development cost, its budget estimated to have been between US$47mil (RM190mil) and US$70mil (RM283mil).
With the franchise in turmoil following its inability to break even on Shenmue II, it was effectively superseded by the critically and commercially successful Yakuza games, also developed by Sega, and likewise dedicated to recreating some of the daily activities of its protagonists as well as providing a detailed world and an overarching narrative for players to explore.
And, as it happens, the Shenmue I & II collection debuts a week before the international release of PlayStation 4 Yakuza 2 remake, Yakuza Kiwami 2.
Originally announced for December 2017, Shenmue III was first delayed to the second half of 2018 and then into 2019. It is being developed and published independently of Sega. — AFP Relaxnews
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