Tag: Ys Net
News The Next Shenmue Could Potentially Be a Prequel Story
Back in time
Now that the honeymoon’s long-since ended, the reception to Shenmue 3 is mixed at best. While it did stay faithful to the formula of the Dreamcast originals, it barely moved the fiction forwards – a disappointment considering fans had waited 18 long, torturous years for the release. It’s unlikely we’ll ever get a fourth entry,...
News Industry Icon Yu Suzuki Returns to PS5, PS4 Next Month
But he's not bringing Shenmue 4
Yu Suzuki, the iconic video game veteran behind classics like OutRun and Shenmue, will return to PS5 and PS4 next month with the console version of his ex-Apple Arcade exclusive Air Twister. This is, in effect, a modern reimagining of Space Harrier – and it’s got an oddball, 90s aesthetic to match. The game will...
News Sadly, There Are Currently No Plans for Shenmue 4
Yu Suzuki weighs in
There had been chatter, as there always is, that a Shenmue 4 announcement could be on the cards, especially following some loose “teasing” from publisher 110 Industries. As full-time Ryo Hazuki stans, though, we knew better than to get our hopes up: series creator and industry legend Yu Suzuki told IGN Japan recently that...
News Could the Shenmue 4 Dream Still Be Alive?
Hints and teases happening
Shenmue 3 was a strange game in hindsight. While this author was rather enamoured with its commitment to the legendary series’ plodding pacing, there’s no doubt that it failed to meaningfully move the franchise’s narrative forward – a bizarre decision, considering just how long we waited to play the threequel...
News Shenmue to Get Crunchyroll, Adult Swim Anime Adaptation
Yu Suzuki serving as executive producer
There’s still a future for the Shenmue franchise, as Crunchyroll has announced that it’s partnering with Adult Swim on an anime adaptation of the legendary series. A full 13-episode run is currently in production, which will air on Crunchyroll outside of Japan and mainland China. It’ll also feature as...
News Shenmue III's Story Expands with Second DLC Pack Next Week
Our cup of tea
It’s honestly still difficult to parse the fact that we played Shenmue III last year. This author thoroughly enjoyed the experience, although its obviously not without its issues. Nevertheless, after last month’s curious running-themed add-on pack, we’re very excited to see the story extended with Ys Net’s second DLC, simply...
Hands On Shenmue III's Battle Rally Is Bad in the Best Possible Way
Race to the bottom
What the flying Fuku-san is this? Shenmue III’s first post-release expansion pack Battle Rally launched this week, and it’s stranger than turtle racing. Somehow, this extraordinary add-on does its best Outrun impression, aping the logo of Yu Suzuki’s high-speed arcade hit. And yet we’ve never experienced anything quite...
News Is Shenmue IV in Development? Ys Net Support Studio Seems to Think So
"We look forward to working on Shenmue IV very soon"
It took nearly two decades for Shenmue III to finally see the light of day on PlayStation 4 after the series was abandoned following the SEGA Dreamcast's second entry, but could a fourth instalment be coming sooner than we think? One of the Ys Net support teams who worked on Shenmue III, Lakshya...
E3 2019 Hear Ryo Hazuki Speak in New Shenmue III Trailer
"I see"
Pinch yourself, because Shenmue III is no longer a dream. The game is getting a big blowout at E3 2019 ahead of its 19th November release date, and here’s your latest look at the long-awaited sequel. While there’s also a Japanese language version, the English edition features the first voice work from returning star Corey Marshall,...
News Yu Suzuki Implies Shenmue III Will Be Larger Than Its Predecessors
Bigger and better?
The original Shenmue is not a particularly long game, but its successor takes the best part of 30 hours to complete if you’re playing it for the first time. It sounds like – despite being built on a wafer-thin budget – Shenmue III will be longer, however, as series creator Yu Suzuki has implied in a new interview that it...
Sammy Barker recalls his history with Yu Suzuki's hit series
Republished on Thursday, 18th August 2018: We're bringing this article back from the archives in celebration of Shenmue I & II's impending release on the PlayStation 4. The original text follows. Originally published on Thursday, 16th July 2015: I don't remember the day that the snow...
News Shenmue I & II Sure Have Scrubbed Up Nicely on PS4
New trailer celebrates release date
It took one small screenshot of Shenmue in EDGE magazine to sell 11-year-old Sammy on the Dreamcast, and it still holds up today. Okay, so this trailer for the PlayStation 4 version of Shenmue I & II looks like it’s stepped out of the early 2000s – but it was a handsome title back then, and it remains so...
News Shenmue III Celebrates Backer Surveys with New Footage
For the Rin
Those of you who backed Shenmue III on Kickstarter should receive a survey soon, allowing you to select your t-shirt size and share other details depending upon the tier you chose. And to celebrate that news, developer Ys Net has released a cute little clip starring one of the title’s characters: Rin. It’s obviously not...
News Shenmue III Looks Like It's Going to Need Every Minute of That Delay
And probably more
Shenmue III was delayed recently, and by the grace of the Phoenix Mirror it looks like it needs it. The title just doesn’t seem to be coming together at all: new footage (skip to 2:15 in the embedded video) shows an improvement to Shenhua’s character model, but protagonist Ryo Hazuki and the rest of the cast still look...
News Shenmue III Shows Impressive Progression in New PS4 Screenshots
More details at MAGIC Monaco next month
Shenmue III’s scheduled to release in 2018, and a trio of new PlayStation 4 screenshots show the progress that the project’s making. First up we get a new glimpse of protagonists Ryo Hazuki and Shenhua, who are beginning to resemble their Dreamcast counterparts. There’s still work to be done, but at...
News Shenmue III Introduces New Character, Partnership with Lakshya Digital
I see
With publisher Deep Silver involved and a year of development still to go, expectations for Shenmue III have been raised. The good news is that Ys Net has been able to recruit some external support, with Lakshya Digital being brought on board to render the various non-playable characters that you’ll encounter around the world. If you’ve...
News This Shenmue III Facial Animation Video Will Not Alleviate Concerns
Her face is scary
The team making Shenmue III seem pretty naïve to us. So, you may recall the title’s first trailer releasing recently, and the ribbing that ensued regarding its non-existent facial animations. Well, now Ys Net has clumsily deployed a video showing it faffing about w
News Shenmue III Shows Off Three New PS4 Screenshots
Chillin' in Guilin
Shenmue III got a new trailer and details at Gamescom 2017, which generally divided opinion despite being a work in progress. While the new footage showcased some stunning environmental artwork, it also spotlighted some truly woeful animations. Series creator Yu Suzuki has said that
News Shenmue III's Character Models are Temporary, Facial Animations Were Removed
Yu Suzuki weighs in on game length, improvements, and forklifts
Shenmue III received its first PlayStation 4 teaser trailer this week, and it came in for some criticism. While the environments showcased certainly looked impressive, many felt disappointed with the title’s wax-work character models and non-existent facial animations. Speaking with...
News Shenmue III Footage to Debut at Gamescom 2017
Sequel scores new logo, too
After an extremely disappointing E3 2017 no-show, Shenmue III will be taking the trip to Gamescom 2017, where new footage of the anticipated PlayStation 4 sequel will debut. “While we are still working out the details with our partners, we plan to show our newest movie clips, share the latest updates, and even make some...
News Shenmue III Stalls the Search for Lan Di Until Second Half of 2018
Game is "bigger and more beautiful" than expected
Shenmue III is returning to the dojo until the second half of 2018, series creator Yu Suzuki has announced. The game was previously scheduled to launch later this year, but even the most ardent fans of the franchise must have anticipated a delay – especially when developer Ys Net ruled out an...
News Shenmue III Will Not Be At E3 2017
Here's a new character, though
Many had expected Shenmue III to be on display at E3 2017 next month, but developer Ys Net has ruled that out in an update on the title’s Kickstarter page. “We will be devoting June to game development and, as a result, will unfortunately not be participating in any game shows,” the studio said. It’s still...
News Yu Suzuki Discusses Shenmue III's Story Development
Cool story, bro
It's another Shenmue III update with very little on the progress of the project. This time, director Yu Suzuki talks about the development of the title's plot, and how he uses films as a reference for the cinematography. It's a very top-level look at the creation of games, and doesn't really provide many hints on the nature of the...
News Shenmue III Clears Some QTEs in Cruddy Dev Diary
Changed my mind
Shenmue III's supposed to release this year, but we'll save you the disappointment of a delay right here and now: it's not. Ys Net has uploaded its first developer diary in months today, and it's basically two minutes of next to nothing, as the team laugh and joke their way around the company's distinctively pokey office. There is a...
News Shenmue III's Shaping Up Nicely in New PS4 Screenshots
Way cool
Following confirmation that Shenmue III is about to enter full-production, developer Ys Net has released a brand new batch of screenshots showing off the upcoming sequel. The studio still seems coy regarding actual character models – the early images of Ryo Hazuki and Shenhua looked all kinds of wrong – but these do look pretty. In...
News Shenmue III Headed Towards Full-Scale Production At Last
Expect new videos early next year
Many had hoped that we'd get a glimpse of Shenmue III at PSX 2016 this month, but the show came and went without word of Yu Suzuki's long-awaited sequel. However, the former SEGA man has provided an update on the project at long last, revealing in the latest issue of Japanese mag Famitsu that the title will be...
News Shenmue Sub-Director Searches for More Sailors in Shenmue III
Back on the bike
Yu Suzuki's name will forever be tied to Shenmue – it was his magnum opus, after all. But as is the case with so many projects, he had a team around him to realise his vision, and one such person was Keiji Okayasu. He served as a sub-director on the SEGA Dreamcast original, and also contributed to its sequel massively. And now...
News Shenmue 3 Isn't Going to Be Ready for a Long, Long While Yet
Yu Suzuki tells us where it's at
Yesterday, Shenmue III celebrated its first Kickstarter anniversary with a short video from series creator Yu Suzuki. "Your cheers at the Sony announcement still ring in my ears," says the veteran developer, before going into detail about how the project is progressing. According to Suzuki, things have "really taken...
News Shenmue III Sizzles in Scintillating New PS4 Screenshots
Bailu's lookin' beautiful
The first Shenmue III screenshot released didn't exactly capture the imagination, but the project's been in development for a little while now, and is slowly beginning to take shape. These images, deployed to coincide with a Shibuya Productions hosted event named Magic Monaco earlier today, really impress, showing shots of...
News Yu Suzuki Wants to Evolve the QTE with Shenmue III on PS4
Push square
Back when Shenmue launched for the Dreamcast in 1999, the concept of QTEs was brand new. Yu Suzuki's pioneering 80s adventure for the first time ever required you to be paying attention during cut-scenes: a flailing fist, a falling pot, a slippery road – button prompts would appear on screen and require inputs lest the sequence branch...
News Still Can't Believe Shenmue III Is a Real Thing? This Screen Proves It
I see
Shenmue III is real. We've known this for a good six months now, of course, but it's still something that this author – a lifelong Shenmue fan – has to pinch himself over. The sequel seemed unlikely for the longest time – over a decade, in fact – and now a new screenshot has emerged out of a Monaco press event. It's a prototype, so...
News Shenmue III Will Pick Up Directly After Shenmue II
I see
Cast your mind back 14 years and you're standing in a cave with mirrors bouncing light around it. The conclusion to Shenmue II, never properly explained, is where Shenmue III will pick up, as veteran director Yu Suzuki prepares to continue the plot of his legendary adventure game. According to a new Kickstarter update, the sequel will depict...
News Shenmue III's Already Looking Impressive on PS4
Yu did it
As undeniably excited as everyone at Push Square Towers is for Shenmue III, we've never held particularly high hopes that the game will be any good. But even at this early stage in development, it's looking visually impressive. As part of a Kickstarter update sent to backers, developer Ys Net has shared a few prototype screens – and...
News Ryo Hazuki Will Face Lan Di in Shenmue III on PS4
But will he get his revenge?
Forget the Rumble in the Jungle and Chuck Norris versus Bruce Lee: the bout between Ryo Hazuki and Lan Di threatens to define a generation. Ever since the Chinese tyrant brutally murdered Iwao Hazuki during the opening moments of Shenmue, fans of the franchise have been desperate to exact their revenge on the ponytailed...
News This Lucky Person Has Already Played Shenmue III
"I see"
It's so surreal to think that Shenmue III actually exists now. The sequel – which this author has been waiting over a decade to play – raised over $6 million on Kickstarter recently, and director Yu Suzuki and his team have been busy beavering away on production ever since. This means that, while it's no doubt incredibly early, there's...
News Shenmue III's Saved, But There's Still Time to Pledge
"Maybe I should donate some?"
Shenmue III raised a record breaking $6.3 million on Kickstarter earlier in the year – but developer Ys Net's looking for more. While this may sound nefarious, the developer did announce at the end of crowd funding campaign that it'd be accepting PayPal pledges eventually – it's just taken it a little time to roll...
News How's Sony Helping Shenmue III?
Gio Corsi explains platform holder's role
Following the success of the record breaking Kickstarter last month, things have gone a teensy bit quiet in the Shenmue III camp. Hopefully that's because Yu Suzuki and crew are busy beavering away on the long overdue sequel, which is currently set to release on the PlayStation 4 and PC in 2017. As part of a...
News Yu Suzuki: We've Just Started Getting into Shenmue III Development
Take your time
There's no time for Yu Suzuki to change his mind anymore: Shenmue III is going to get made for the PlayStation 4. Following the theatrics of last week's Kickstarter conclusion, the SEGA veteran has stepped out of the public eye a little over the past few days – but he did offer an update for backers, confirming that development on...
News Shenmue III Smashes Records, Secures $6.3 Million in Funding
Long awaited sequel due out on PS4 in 2017
Forget about the day that the snow turned to rain – something even stranger is happening: Shenmue III is getting made for the PlayStation 4. It's been a whirlwind since the title was announced during Sony's press conference at E3 2015, but the crowd funding is now over – and a whopping $6,333,295...
Live Watch the Shenmue III Kickstarter Countdown Right Here
Settle down with some sailors
There are mere hours left for you to #SaveShenmue, and in order to give the project one final push, Yu Suzuki will be hosting a livestream with some of the PlayStation 4 sequel's core creative team. Join us as the clock counts down on arguably one of the most exciting Kickstarter campaigns of all time, which all started...
News Lucky Hit! Shenmue III Is Now the Most Funded Game in Kickstarter History
And there are still 12 hours to go
Shenmue III has become the most funded video game in Kickstarter history – and there are still 12 hours left for the PlayStation 4 and PC sequel to do something really special. A couple of troll pledges mean that the campaign is fluctuating a little, but at the time of typing its sitting at $5,553,410 – putting...
News Kickstarter May Be Your Only Way to Buy Shenmue III on Blu-ray
You know what you need to do
Should you back Shenmue III's soon-to-end Kickstarter campaign? Well, if your answer up until now has been 'maybe some other time' then you may want to reconsider, as Ys Net has revealed that a physical PlayStation 4 release is not guaranteed outside of the crowdfunding drive. Currently, backing the project for $60 will...
News The Snow Turns to Rain in Final Hours of Shenmue III Campaign
Let's get sweaty
Well, this is it: your last chance to save Shenmue. It's been a topsy-turvy ride for Yu Suzuki's long awaited Kickstarter campaign, but with the end in sight, it's time for one final push to make Shenmue III a reality. At the time of typing, the title has amassed $5.5 million, which means that it's agonisingly close to breaking...
News Shenmue III Smashes $5 Million Milestone
Way cool
Shenmue III may have struggled during the middle part of its crowd funding campaign, but it's really flying right now. Following the release of this morning's new trailer, the title has raised a further $100,000 on Kickstarter – and has crossed the all-important $5 million milestone as a consequence. This means that the Character...
News Shenmue III PS4 Trailer Looks Out on the Lake of the Lantern Bugs
Light our darkest hour
Before you start giggling back there, it's probably worth mentioning that work on Shenmue III has only just started. As such, this new trailer may look crude, but considering fellow Kickstarters such as Mighty No. 9 and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night didn't really have anything other than concept art to show at this stage...
News Maybe You Should Visit Shenmue III's Official Website
Some other time
With just four days left to go on Kickstarter, Ys Net has recovered Shenmue III's official website from beneath the Hazuki clan's cherry tree. The site, which is crudely put together, includes some early gameplay footage from the foray – complete with some expectedly awful voice acting – as well as a brief overview of the...
News Yu Suzuki Hints at Fresh Shenmue III Trailer
FREE at last
This is it: the final push. Shenmue III is a week away from being funded, and while the past seven days have been kind to the project, it's going to need a massive boost in order to hit some of its latter stretch goals. Fortunately, series creator Yu Suzuki sounds like a man with a plan, and he's hinted as part of a Twitter Q&A that...
News Turn Yourself into a Shenmue III Toy Capsule
Love these
Shenmue III has about week left to make as much money as possible, which means that the pressure's now on for the Kickstarter campaign. We already know that the game is going to get made, but Yu Suzuki has stressed that the more money that gets contributed, the more elaborate the final product will be. At the time of typing the funding...
News Keep Those You Love Closer with New Shenmue III Backer Rewards
Iwao would be proud
We thought that the Shenmue III Kickstarter campaign was being poorly managed at first, but developer Ys Net is getting cunning as the crowd funding drive marches confidently towards its conclusion. Two new tiers have been added to the title today, and one is aimed specifically at all those who upped their pledge to $60 following...
News Shenmue III Is Already One of the Biggest Kickstarters of All Time
Lucky hit
Fans will know that the Shenmue series doesn't do things by half. Yu Suzuki's seminal action adventure was once the most expensive game ever made – almost bankrupting publisher SEGA in the process – but now it has ten days remaining to become the biggest Kickstarter ever, too. With the Pebble Watch sitting at a cool $20 million, it...
