Shenmue 3 is ready to get an Enhanced version, which may even see the sport coming to Xbox and Nintendo platforms for the primary time.
As introduced by creator Yu Suzuki and writer ININ Video games, Shenmue 3 Improved shall be formally unveiled at Gamescom this week, and can characteristic “overhauled visuals, efficiency boosts and quality-of-life updates”.
The improved model shall be launched on PS5, Xbox Collection X/S, PC (by way of Steam and the Epic Video games Retailer) and ‘Nintendo‘, although ININ has but to specify whether or not this implies Swap or Swap 2.
Gamers who already personal the PS4 and PC variations of the sport shall be “provided an improve path” to the improved version, ININ says.
New options deliberate for Shenmue 3 Enhanced embrace:
- Enhanced graphics and efficiency, with sharper textures, quicker load instances and smoother body price
- 4K “texture uplift” providing extra refined and detailed environments and characters
- Assist for DLSS and FSR upscaling
- A rise within the variety of NPCs populating the village, to make it “really feel extra alive”
- A “Basic Digital camera Mode” impressed by Shenmue 1 and a couple of
- Gameplay tweaks together with “non-obligatory stamina system changes, well being restoration earlier than fights and decreased cash limitations for smoother development”
- The flexibility to skip cutscenes and conversations, and an expanded QTE timing window
- Menu and UX enhancements
ININ says all the most important adjustments which have been added to Shenmue 3 Enhanced might be turned off, ought to gamers desire to play one thing nearer to the unique launch.
The long-awaited RPG sequel was launched for PS4 and PC by way of the Epic Video games Retailer in November 2019. It appeared to get off to a troublesome begin, debuting at No. 17 on the UK chart and promoting simply 18,000 copies throughout its launch week in Japan.
Within the UK, Shenmue 3 bought a bit of greater than half of the earlier 12 months’s Shenmue 1 and a couple of remaster at launch.
Nevertheless, gross sales can have been skewed by Shenmue 3’s enormous Kickstarter success. In 2016 the undertaking raised over $6.3 million from 69,320 backers, making it the highest-funded online game Kickstarter in historical past.
In November 2023, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki mentioned that if Shenmue 4 occurs, he desires to make it extra accessible to new gamers than Shenmue 3, which was primarily designed to please hardcore Kickstarter backers.
“I need Shenmue 4 to be pleasant for newcomers,” he mentioned. “To make that potential, crucial factor is to make it pleasant with out realizing earlier occasions within the story. I don’t suppose {that a} new participant desires to know 100% of the story. 20 or 30% may very well be sufficient.”
Suzuki has additionally contemplated the thought of creating a prequel, much like Yakuza 0, as a result of he thinks “recreating the streets of Dobuita with fashionable visuals on a brand new engine alone would make it value doing”.
