Longtime Shenmue fans may be worried that since the series took such a long hiatus, Shenmue III may end up being a completely different type of game than earlier titles in the series. However, that is no longer a concern, as Yu Suzuki stated in a Gamescom interview with Metro that Shenmue will play mostly like the previous two titles. He did mention there will be some new ideas, but these updates won’t change the core of Shenmue III.
Here’s Suzuki on how Shenmue III will stick to the original games:
Shenmue has always been very unique, I think, and so there?s nothing else that?s very similar. But I do not think it?s a problem overall as what has changed in the modern games world is that people are now used to playing different types of games that may not be action-based and have a lot of story. Shenmue may still feel strange to them at first [laughs] but I hope that in itself will be attractive to many people, and that they will find it interesting for that reason. The style of game will be very similar to the original, but we will of course be adding some new features as well. The style of control from the original game is one thing that will be updated, but that is natural given modern controllers and the advance of that type of technology.
The controls will be updated of course, but not so much the gameplay:
I don?t think it?s necessary to change the basics of the gameplay. If I change it too much the existing fans will be very upset. Although I am a...