10 Mistakes Video Game Franchises Made TWICE
1. Ending On A Cliffhanger - Shenmue 2 and 3
Words cannot describe the feeling that washed over that E3 audience when Shenmue 3's Kickstarter was announced. Within two hours, the Kickstarter was filled out by fans desperate to finally have an ending to the story of Ryo Hazuki and Lan Di. Shenmue 2 had ended on an aggravating cliffhanger in 2001, so seeing that finally be resolved was too tantalizing for fans to hang onto their hard-earned dollars.
And boy oh boy was that trust ever punished.
In the ultimate act of auteur arrogance and delusion, creator Yu Suzuki proceeded to end Shenmue 3 - an already abysmally primitive game in its own right - on an unsatisfying cliffhanger, promising to continue the story in Shenmue 4.
The assumption that one would even get a 4th try after the miracle of existence that was Shenmue 3 says a lot about Suzuki, and none of it is good. Especially since Shenmue 3 wasn't even very good in its own right.
Shenmue 2 and 3's cliffhanger endings aren't just a flaw shared by two entries in a game series, but a flaw that has most likely killed Shenmue as a franchise. Really, who is clamoring for Shenmue 4 nowadays?
Exactly.