Shenmue could be getting a prequel

Back in the day on the SEGA Dreamcast, the Shenmue series was a favourite of mine. In fact, I’d still consider it to be among my all-time favourites.

Sadly, the same perhaps cannot be said for Shenmue III which was finally released in 2019 after fans had waited 18 long years. Don’t get me wrong, looking back, Shenmue III was fine, but maybe it was a little too faithful to the previous games in terms of gameplay at least.

Regardless of what I may or may not think of Shenmue III with the power of hindsight, I still wouldn’t say no to a new game and according to reports, that might be happening in the form of a prequel.

When speaking to IGN, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki suggested that rather than releasing Shenmue IV, he could favour a prequel to the series in its place.

“I want Shenmue IV to be enjoyable for newcomers,” said Suzuki. “To make that possible, the most important thing is to make it enjoyable without knowing previous events in the story. I don’t think that a new player wants to know 100% of the story. 20% or 30% could be enough.”

He continued: “In Shenmue III, we implemented a digest movie that teaches the player the main events of the previous games, but for Shenmue IV, I want to integrate that part into the main game. It would be great if the player could naturally learn about previous events just by playing the game. For example, rather than watching a separate movie, having playable flashbacks could be a way to do it.”

When asked if he’s considered a prequel, Suzuki replied: “Yes, I have. I cannot go into detail at this point, but it is something I have been thinking about. I think recreating the streets of Dobuita with modern visuals on a new engine alone would make it worth doing. 

“It also connects to the topic of not simply expanding in size. Making an even more detailed Dobuita than the original Shenmue is an interesting idea, especially if it’s not a remake but a prequel with a new story.”

It does seem strange that we probably won’t get Shenmue IV anytime soon, especially when fans are eager to see the conclusion of Ryo Hazuki’s vendetta against Lan Di. That being said if we were to get a prequel on a new engine that eventually leads to that conclusion, that might have to do. I just hope we’re waiting nowhere near 20 years for that to happen. If all else fails, hopefully, the upcoming Shenmue anime will scratch that itch.

Featured Image Credit: SEGA