Shenmue III has been a game that fans like myself have been waiting for since 2001 (2002 for Xbox owners) so when it was announced that it'll be coming out and will be backed by Kickstarter funding, that was a very big deal. The Kickstarter page ends in 2 weeks and so I had some fun ideas to celebrate Shenmue III finally being a reality and to bring attention to the series hoping that more people become fans of the game.



All versions of Shenmue I & II Available to Everyone for 0 Viz
Shortly after Dreamcast games were added to Vizzed, I made all of the Shenmue games cost 0 Viz because I really want everyone to experience the game. Just now I also made it so that you no longer need the Beta Test Ticket (which costs 10,000 Viz) to play the games. The reason that Dreamcast games currently require a Beta Test Ticket is because the games haven't all been tested yet and when I introduce new features to the site, they go into a beta state until they've been fully tested.



Shenmue Games on Vizzed
Below are all of the versions of Shenmue we have on the site. The above and below updates apply to all of these versions.

Shenmue
Shenmue (recommended)
This is the version of Shenmue that everyone in the United States grew up playing. If you don't plan to play Shenmue II on vizzed or don't care about transferring your save file, then play this version.

Shenmue (PAL)
This is the version of Shenmue that was released in the UK. I'm not sure what the differences are with this version but the only reason you'd want to play this version instead of the US release is so that you can transfer your save file from Shenmue I to Shenmue II. I'm pretty sure that with both versions of Shenmue II on vizzed you can load your Shenmue I save file so that you can transfer items you've collected.

Shenmue II
Shenmue II (English Translation) (recommended)
This is the PAL version except in English. Basically someone ripped the audio from the Xbox version of Shenmue II (which was in English) and dumped it into this version so that anyone can experience Shenmue II in full English on the Dreamcast.

Shenmue II (PAL)
Shenmue II was never actually released in the United States so the only way to play Shenmue II was either by importing it or by playing it on the Xbox. This version is in Japanese with English subtitles.



Earn Double CP & Viz for Submitting Content to the Shenmue game pages
For the next a few weeks, or until July 20th August 1st, you'll earn twice the CP and Viz when you submit content to any of the Shenmue game pages (Walkthroughs will qualify longer).

Affected actions include:
-Review
-Screenshot Submission
-Video Submission
-Walkthrough (double CP & Viz until August 1st)
-Game Content and Game Content Request
-Game Streaming (may not work properly)

Additional actions affected include: Game Rated, Graphic Adding, Moving Ebay Listing, Removing Ebay Listing, Review Rating, Screenshot Edit, Screenshot Rating, Video Edit and Video Rating.



If you have any questions or feedback, please let me know in this thread.

No wonders it completely reached the amount they did aim for It's not too late to be a backer of that project. I might become one in the near future. I've been waiting for this and I'm really looking forward to Shenmue 3. Hopefully we can get a PC version (I don't own a next-gen system T_T ).

EDIT: Apparently they have the intention of making a PC version. I skipped that, my bad ^^'

Laian : Yeap they're doing doing a PC version of the game as well.

Also, have you started your Walkthrough for this month yet? Any chance you'd be willing to do a Shenmue game? I'm actually going to make it so that the Walkthroughs for the Shenmue games give out double CP and Viz for the entire month since they're longer to write.

A thorough walkthrough for this game that contains all of the things that can be done wold be a massive undertaking. It has to be the most in depth an immersive game for the Dreamcast, in my opinion.

I am so stoked that Shenmue III is on track after so many years. I am also very glad that it is being released for PC. I don't have a PS4, and wasn't planning on getting it. I don't have anything against Playstation, it is more a practicality thing for me. I could not buy a PS4 just to for one game, so being able to have it on my computer gave me a huge sigh of relief. I would be very sad if it came out and I couldn't play it.

My one concern is that Suziku said it would be a continuation of the Shenmue story, not the conclusion. Don't get me wrong, I would love it to have many more games. But does that mean it is possible that Shenmue III won't finish the story? If that is the case, does that mean that we risk being stuck with yet another cliff hanger and likely NEVER getting to finish the story?

rcarter2 : Well keep in mind that there's more than 1 type of "Guide" a user could submit to the site. Here's a list of all the types of guides a person could write:
-Walkthrough
-Character Guide
-Boss/Enemy Guide
-FAQ
-Hints/Tips Guide
-Lists/Charts
-Maps

A complete list with more information here:
https://www.vizzed.com/boards/thread.php?id=77745

I agree though, it is a huge undertaking no matter what type of guide a user does, especially a full Walkthrough. However, someone could also look up other Walkthroughs and Guides on the internet and write their own based on those and based on their own experience playing the game.

Regarding a Shenmue IV and possibly a Shenmue V, I do agree that it is a bit risky to not conclude the story with Shenmue III but at the same time, I think if Shenmue III is good enough, they'll definitely be able to pull off a Shenmue IV and V. Shenmue III kickstarter shattered so many records so it's getting the funding definitely doesn't seem to be a concern and getting the interest also doesn't seem to be a big concern.

I'm not sure how Kickstarter works, but aren't those pledges, not actual money that they have? Is it possible that most of the people who pledged money did so to spark more interests under the assumption that most of the other pledges will go through? If so, is it possible that maybe not even 1/4 of those pledges actually decide to give the money? I have my doubts that all 3 (unless there have been more since then) of those $10,000 pledges will actually be followed through.

I think having multiple people working on different guides would probably be best & then have someone doing the main walkthrough possibly condense them all. So, for story purposes, which one do I play first? I'd like to go in order.

rcarter2 : From my own experience with kickstarter pledging, the majority of those pledges actually do remain. In fact, kickstarter projects usually receive a ton more pledges right before they end. These projects usually start strong and end strong so they'll definitely be guaranteed at least $4 million which is about what they're currently at.

It's also interesting that nearly 50,000 people have already pledged this game and I could easily see it hitting 100,000 before it ends since a lot of people wait to see how much they can afford when the project is near it's end before they pledge. That's crazy because if it does get 100,000 pledges, that's around 10% the number of people who bought Shenmue for the Dreamcast which sold 1.2 million copies. None of this factors in how many copies the game will sell when it releases which will probably be at least 10 times more than the number of pledgers so if the game sold lets say 1 million copies and the game cost $60, that's $60 million right there. I'm not sure what percentage of that money goes back to the actual developers but it's safe to say that the amount they make off of the sales of the game will be way more than the amount pledged on kickstarter which means almost all of that money can go toward a 4th installment since they would have already paid for the game itself.


Surgiac : That'd be a pretty smart idea.

You'd want to play Shenmue I first and then Shenmue II.

Alrighty. I know that some series(looking at you MGS & TLoZ) have the origin story either come later or be remade dozens of times. :/

Davideo7 :
Oh please, don't make me want to switch to another game. I've already started the new one and I'm really enjoying the game I chose so far. I know it's tempting to play the sequel since I published the walkthrough of Shenmue a few months ago and all the good things mentioned in this thread.  But honestly, after what happened last month, I don't really feel like changing my plans once more. Or maybe yes, who knows. I shall see, David.

rcarter2 :
Basically, according to how much you pledge for the project, you get goodies. If the project reaches the goal, the amount you pledged goes to the maker(s). If not, the project is cancelled and you keep your money. I usually pledge when I see potential in a project and/or if I'm interested in this. A Shenmue 3 planned? Sure, I'm willing to give some cash, even though they already completed their goal. At least, they'll get more cash in order to add cool features

Laian : I wouldn't ask you to switch if you've already started, don't worry about that.

I think I see why the Dreamcast emulator is still in beta testing...

I downloaded Shenmue earlier while I was at work, and it seems to have downloaded just fine, but every time I load up the game, it takes me to a date and time adjustment screen, and I can't do anything because the keyboard controls don't work.....

jokool : Dreamcast doesn't support a keyboard on vizzed, you need to use a controller.

Davideo7 : *facepalm* I don't have a controller that works on PC.... Guess I'll have to get one if I want to play. I was thinking about getting one anyway, so this just motivates me more.

If that's the pal/European shenmue game then it's the same one that was released here in the netherlands, right?
Asking, cause I have the original Shenmue and would like to play that version.

imamonster : It should be the same version, yeah.