Fourteen years. Fourteen bloody years since Shenmue II was released. With the exception of the now industry-wide joke that is Half-Life 3, no other game series in existence has an unreleased sequel as hotly anticipated as Shenmue III. To give a brief history lesson for the uninformed (however unlikely that may be), the Shenmue series, from the very beginning, was conceived by the game's director Yu Suzuki to be a trilogy that detailed the life of Ryo Hazuki and his quest for revenge after his father is murdered by the enigmatic Lan Di. So begins the player's journey in the shoes of Ryo to investigate the whereabouts of his father's murderer by interacting with the local populace of his home town Yokosuka. Shenmue is perhaps one of the greatest adventure games ever created, and is frequently lauded by critics as being one of the best games of all time, featuring pioneering visuals at its time of release, a gripping narrative and its thoroughly interactive world. Sadly, due in part to the poor sales of Shenmue II, Sega have indefinitely shelved Shenmue III, frequently having to deflect questions about its existence and whether it will ever see a release. With rumours abound that Yu Suzuki is contemplating starting a kickstarter for the final game in the trilogy, there's still hope that gamers may one day be able to finish Ryo's mission. Which other Sega classics do you want back instead of Sonic? Let us know in the comments!
Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.
