Shenmue Kickstarts for 2 Million on Day Two

"I'm looking for Sailors."

The Shenmue 3 Kickstarter, revealed only yesterday, June 15, met its funding goal of $2 million dollars. This promises the long-awaited third installment of the Shenmue series will find its home on the Playstation 4 and PC around December 2017.

But even though the Kickstarter is a success, Suzuki and his team have laid out stretch goals extending beyond the initial $2 million dollars to create a bigger game. If the Kickstarter is able to fund $3.2 million dollars, the development team will provide subtitles in several languages and include a brand new rapport system. Reaching the stretch goal of $4 million dollars, the developers will include a skill tree system, 5 mini games and expand the first of three explorable areas, Baisha Village.

Shenmue director and producer Yu Suziki expresses Kickstarter is the perfect platform to usher the return of the cult series. "I can finally bring you the continuation for Shenmue 2, " Suzuki added. "Shenmue 3 will be the story you have waited for."

Niao Sun of the Chi You Men

The Kickstarter states Shenmue 3 will follow Ryo and Shenhua as they travel China, specifically through three areas: Baisha Village, Chiba and Bailu Village. Shenmue 3 will run using the Unreal 4 engine.

One of the newest features, Suzuki states, are "technique scrolls, which will connect to the different aspects of the game. [They'll] allow you to use the new skills right away in battle . . . making it all the more exciting to get a hold of one."

Shenmue 3, according to the Kickstarter website, will also incorporate "new fight mechanics to achieve a new level of interactive storytelling," while keeping familiar elements from the previous games.

Many of the project members for Shenmue 3 have worked on the first two games, including Shenmue's main character design artist, Kenji Miyawaki, and the Japanese voice actor for Ryo, Masaya Matsukaze.

Shenhua in Unreal 4

Upon the publishing of this article, the Shenmue Kickstarter campaign is at $2.7 million dollars. The Shenmue team updated their Kickstarter, thanking all those who have donated and for fans to continue asking questions and voicing comments about their latest project.

Shenmue 3 is 14 years in the making and through the passion of its cult following, Suzuki and his team have managed to reach its funding goal within two days and aim to make Shenmue an even bigger game.

As Suzuki says at the end of the Kickstarter video, "The fate of Shenmue is in your hands now!"

And if you missed the hyperlink above, you may find the official Shenmue Kickstarter here: http://tinyurl.com/olf4sdl

Check back often to see how the Shenmue 3 campaigns unfolds and, of course ...

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