New Shenmue 3 Trailer
A new trailer for Shenmue 3 dropped over the weekend. At two and a half minutes and with real gameplay footage, it’s the most revealing look we’ve gotten to date for the highly anticipated sequel.
The trailer was revealed during MAGIC, a Japanese developers’ conference described as “conferences and round tables with famous international authors, game designers, producers, writers and illustrators”, though it’s also sort of a regular con with gaming, manga and cosplay contests.
The original Shenmue was sold as “the most realistic game ever,” and upon its release it looked impressive, but time and advancing technology have shattered that illusion. It’s clear with Shenmue 3 Yu Suzuki and crew are no longer shooting for realism.
The environments are pretty, but the animations have almost a stop-motion feel, as if Will Vinton stepped through a portal from the 1980s and created a few cutscenes for Shenmue 3 in between raisin commercials. I’d be very surprised to learn there was any mocap involved — either that or they got their mocap software from Dollar Tree.
But hey, we don’t mean to depress you. A Shenmue 3 that looks goofy is still better than no Shenmue 3 at all. For the time being, the game is scheduled for an August 27, 2019 release. We wouldn’t be shocked, though,