The Verge reports that Shenmue 3 has become the most funded video game on Kickstarter to date, surpassing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, which raised $5,545,991 as of June 11. As of this article, the Shenmue 3 project has just 7 hours to go and has gathered $5,779,046 from 63,856 backers. Yup, we have a new champ, folks.
Shenmue 3 is slated for a December 2017 release and is a “true sequel” to the original Shenmue and Shenmue 2 chapters. The game will be offered as physical and digital copies for the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC and will be based on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4.
“If you were not around in 1999 when Shenmue first came out, or did not have the opportunity to play it if you were, you may have missed this game which has gone on to win the hearts of gamers everywhere, and influenced so many games to come after it,” the Kickstarter page reads.
The story focuses on Ryo Hazuki who travels to China from Japan to seek out his father’s killer. The Kickstarter page reveals that Hazuki studies Kung-fu and will make both friends and enemies during his training. The game is open world, meaning that players can take their time in following the story. Shenmue is even packed full of mini-games to play.
“If Shenmue 3 was going to get made, I wanted to make it with the fans. Through Kickstarter, I knew that could happen. Together, with Shenmue fans everywhere, I knew we could build the game that the series deserves,” says Yu Suzuki.
The first Shenmue game appeared on the Sega Dreamcast back in November 2000 here in the States, followed by Shenmue II in 2002 on the Dreamcast and Xbox consoles. Both were developed in the same timeframe and featured not only an open world, but some fighting action, role-playing and life simulation.
According to the Kickstarter page, the new entry will be similar to the first two but feature “new fight mechanics” that will pull gamers into the virtual world like never before. Suzuki aims to not only reward long-time fans of the series, but to draw in a new audience with updated gameplay.
The Kickstarter project originally sought out $2 million. However, the stretch goals reach $11 million, which will expand the Bailu Village and add a magic maze. Other goals include expanding the battle system, expanding the Choudu area, adding more mini games, adding a part-time job and more.
Image: Ys Net
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