New Shenmue 3 footage gives goosebumps but not face

Shenmue 3 is long anticipated, not just because it’s a sequel to a much-loved franchise that is almost twenty years old, but also because it made a lot of money when it was put on KickStarter two years ago.

After not making E3 a couple of months ago and the announcement that the game was going to be delayed until the back half of 2018, backers and fans (myself included) have been hungry just to see something from the title. The first teaser for the game was finally shown at Gamescom… watch it below!

The environments, soundtrack and just seeing some familiar faces certainly makes me happy, although the trailer has been criticised a bit online for the very wooden facial expressions that don’t seem to move much at all, even during the scenes with Ryo where you’d imagine he would show some emotion.

Producer and Director Yu Suzuki has commented on this already via Japanese website Game Watch Impress, stating (translated):  “we haven’t yet put in the facial expressions. Until a month ago, we had put in the facial animations, but for the moment, they have been removed.” He also noted that the music was taken from Shenmue 2.  He also stated that the game should take around 30 hours to complete, at least – but of course Shenmue is known for its very addictive side activities, so that’s only an estimate.

We can’t wait to get stuck into more of the universe when Shenmue 3 eventually launches in late 2018. Hopefully we’ll get some proper gameplay footage soon!