A planned interstitial chapter set aboard the Genpuumaru, the boat on which Ryo sailed for China at the end of Shenmue, was axed alongside other scenes even after motion-capture work was completed. This likely influenced Sega’s decision not to cancel the game in spite of Shenmue failing to break even on its unprecedented $70,000,000 budget, though a handful of concessions were made to the studio’s financial realities. Shenmue II was largely finished during the later stages of its predecessor’s development. A fraught localization process inexplicably performed internally at Sega of Japan rather than being produced in coordination with IMages, the English-language company contracted to handle voiceovers, was less successful at producing a corresponding level of audio naturalism. Extensive cutscenes were motion-captured using a small team of dedicated actors. Even building interiors were crafted by an architect on the AM2 team rather than being assembled from cut-and-paste assets in an effort to inspire nostalgia in the player. Ryo has access to an open city rich in period-appropriate detail, including hundreds of uniquely NPCs milling about Yokosuka and experiencing their own short stories. The presentation was immediately arresting at the turn of the century and, thanks to a high-definition remaster released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PCs in 2018, remains impressive twenty years later. Though its voiceovers leave much to be desired, Shenmue‘s in-engine cutscenes are highly expressive. Suzuki likewise replaced the project’s core themes – “fight,” “sadness,” and “starting afresh” – with three new keywords: “leisurely,” “fully,” and “gently.” While it would retain a combat system, Shenmue was increasingly being geared toward life simulation elements rather than traditional RPG mechanics every non-player character (NPC) would have their own daily routine while changing weather patterns would reflect the actual meteorological conditions of the game’s real-world 1986 setting. Akira was replaced with an original character named Ryo once Suzuki, the primary architect behind the Dreamcast’s cutting-edge arcade-style hardware, decided to have his team create an entirely new game engine from scratch. Virtua Fighter RPG: Akira’s Story shifted platforms to Sega’s upcoming Dreamcast console in 1997 and was renamed Shenmue: Chapter 1: Yokosuka in 1998. Unfortunately, Suzuki’s experience with the Dreamcast and his pivotal role as the man behind its most famous piece of software would be the undoing of his career at Sega.Ī handful of alternate titles, including Tale of the Mysterious Wind, were considered during Shenmue‘s Sega Saturn phase. His position as project lead on the development of Sega’s popular Model 1, Model 2, and Model 3 arcade boards made him the natural choice when the studio decided to discontinue its failed Saturn console and move on to a new platform in the late 1990s. Please consider supporting that website, as its staff tirelessly catalogs key information and art assets for an often ephemeral medium.Īt Sega AM2, Yu Suzuki got his start designing punchy arcade experiences like Hang-On (1985) and Space Harrier (1985) before pioneering the nascent world of 3D graphics with Virtua Fighter (1993). This week we’ll be carefully inspecting Shenmue. Older entries can be found in the archive here. Welcome back to Franchise Festival, a fortnightly column where we explore and discuss noteworthy video game series from the last four decades.
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