So after years of rumors, hopes, and dreams, Shenmue 3 is finally going to happen. In less than a day it has surpassed its Kickstarter goal of $2 million. Although $2 million was a lofty goal, it shouldn’t come as a shock that it reached its funding amount considering how Shenmue 3 raised $1.5 million in a matter of hours.
Shenmue 3 will continue from where Shenmue 2 left off over 14 years ago as Ryo Hazuki and his new partner Shenhua, start off on their new journey to find Ryo’s father’s killer. This journey will take them both into enemy territory as they learn about the legend of Shenhua’s village which seems “to foretold their path together.”
On Shenmue 3s Kickstarter page, the game’s developer Ys Net revealed that the reason why it’s on Kickstarter is because:
Since the release of Shenmue 2, now 14 years ago, I have been greeted by the passionate outpouring of dedicated fans and Shenmue community members wherever I go. They all want to know one thing: “When will Shenmue 3 be coming out?” With the advent of games using Kickstarter during these past few years, the new and now frequent demand from the fans has been, “Do a Kickstarter for Shenmue 3!”
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.
The Shenmue series started off on the Sega Dreamcast back in 1999, and is famous for being a major step forward for the 3D open world games genre. Shenmue also helped popularized quick-time events which would later be used by series such as God of War. Unfortunately due to the death of the Dreamcast and poor sales, it took 14 years for a sequel to be announced on Kickstarter.
While Shenmue 3 has passed it Kickstarter goals, gamers can still back the game and help it reach its stretch goals. These goals include a cinematic short of Shenmue 1 and 2 so gamers can catch up for $2.5 million, a skill tree system for $3.5 million, and five more mini-games in Baisha Village for $4 million. Also, there are still plenty of backer rewards available such as a thank you from Ys Net for $5 and either a copy of the PS4 or PC version of the game for $29.
So are you excited to hear that Shenmue 3 is actually coming out for the PC and the PS4? Let us know in the comments below.
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