Haunting Music & New Art in the S3 Character Concept Theme | PlayStation Store

Pre-orders for Shenmue III for the PS4 are now open on the PlayStation store, and with it comes a Shenmue III Character Concept Theme pre-order bonus, for both the Standard and Deluxe editions.

Firstly, there is a beautiful (though short) and haunting new piece of piano & violin music that is a variation of the Shenmue theme. It has been shared via youTube by VG Life:

Next is a glimpse of one of the wallpaper images (image credit: Alfonso Martínez on Twitter), which shows concept art of five characters from the game:

Shenmue III Character Concept Theme for PS4

Update: a video of the theme has been posted on YouTube:

We can see a number of familiar faces from past trailers and development previews.

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"Shin Shōryūken" Hidden Move in Shenmue Unlocked After 20 Years By Fan in Japan

Amazing. A fan has successfully created a hack to unlock the previously-rumored "Shin Shōryūken" move (as used by Ryu in Street Fighter III) that developers put into Shenmue but which can't be produced through normal control input. Once unlocked, Ryo uses it against Goro in the harbor blackmail QTE scene.

The existence of the move was first made known last year by a former AM2 developer who revealed that staff came up with it during development as an easter egg (with an immensely-tricky input sequence) but apparently Yu Suzuki, as producer, stepped in and put a stop to it before the final release - although the code was just disabled not removed, waiting to be dug up 20 years later!

Watch the move in action below.

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Yu Suzuki and Shenmue III Banner | E3 2019

Yu tweeted out a photo of himself at E3 2019, with a large promotional banner of Shenmue III and its November 19 release date displayed at the top of the escalators behind him.

His tweet reads: "E3 Day Two. 11.19.19 is a nice sequence!"

Link to tweet

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Ryo Wins a Chibi Chai | Shenmue 3

At Bailu village, Ryo comes across a Shenmue I chibi toy capsule machine. The front label shows the complete set of chibi figures: Nozomi, Guizhang, Ine-san, Chai and even Ryo himself on a forklift!

Ryo puts in his 10 yuan and wins one that looks remarkably similar to a creature he propelled into the ocean at New Yokosuka harbor. (Judging from his remark, he is barely able to suppress his shock.)

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Shenmue III Gameplay Footage from E3 2019: Combat, Mini-games & Capsule Toys

The moment many Shenmue fans have been waiting for has arrived! We get our first substantial look at gameplay footage of Shenmue III posted up by IGN Japan, which newly-captured at E3 2019 where the international media is being given hands-on access to a demo of the game, in 15-minute slots.

On watching this footage, it is abundantly clear that there are Shenmue vibes in abundance: from the style of the conversational interactions Ryo has with characters to the return of old favorite games like Lucky Hit; right down to the sound effect that plays on acquiring a capsule toy.

Note that the sound in this footage is English voice-over and sound effects only, but music has been turned off - it will of course be present in the full game. Some of the areas will be familiar from descriptions by the press of the gameplay shown in private screenings of the game at MAGIC 2019 earlier in the year.

Video 1: Amusement Area

After purchasing some tokens, Ryo tries his hand at the Lucky Hit, Roll It On Top and... Turtle Racing!

"When the turtles start racing, if you press the indicated buttons correctly, you can cheer one on. The turtle will flash and speed up a bit. But if you press the wrong buttons, it will slow down! If you cheer as hard as you can, the chances of your turtle winning will be slightly raised. But things won't always go your way, no matter how hard you cheer."

- Yu Suzuki (Famitsu Interview, April 2019)

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Shenmue III Collectors Edition, Deluxe Edition & Pre-Order Bonuses

In this post we look at the details announced regarding the following editions of Shenmue III:

• Collectors Edition, announced by Limited Run Games
• Standard Edition
• Digital Deluxe Editions

together with the pre-order bonuses for the PS4 version on the PlayStation Store, as well as the PC version on the Epic Games Store.

Shenmue III Collectors Edition

Limited Run Games has announced they will be distributor of an exclusive Shenmue III Collectors Edition for North America, in very small numbers: 4000 for PS4 and 1000 for PC.

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PC Version is a Timed Exclusive for Epic Games | Kickstarter #102

The release of a new Shenmue III trailer was not the only news coming out of the PC Gaming Show on Monday: it was also announced that the PC release of Shenmue III will be distributed exclusively on the Epic Games Store. (However a Steam version will still be coming, as detailed below).

Epic Games is the developer behind the development software used to make Shenmue III, Unreal Engine, and they opened a digital store front in December 2018 as a competitor to Steam.

Although it was not explicitly stated in the announcement, a FAQ on Deep Silver's Shenmue III site confirms that this is a timed exclusive:  the game will still be released on Steam, but at a future date

The Shenmue III Steam page release date now reads "Planned Release Date: coming soon" from its earlier November 19th date.

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New Shenmue III Trailer: "The Hidden Art Returns" Unveiled at the PC Gaming Show 2019

A brand-new Shenmue III trailer was unveiled at Monday's PC Gaming Show, with Yu Suzuki introducing it himself on stage in English with the words "The wait is almost over!"

The trailer is called "The Hidden Art Returns" and starts with Ryo undergoing training with a grandmaster on a bamboo raft at the Niaowu port, who explains how kung fu has been passed down through the ages despite being banned at times. The second part of the trailer shows Ryo confronting thugs, chasing them through the streets and facing an ambush in a warehouse.

Here is a clip of Yu Suzuki introducing the trailer, captured from the Twitch stream. Acting as interpreter is Shenmue III executive producer Hideaki "Harry" Morishita.


A Japanese-voiced version of the trailer has also been made available:

There is a lot of interesting detail in the scenes, which we'll run through in a separate analysis post.

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