Something to look forward to: For those who nostalgically remember playing Shenmue on the Dreamcast in the early 2000s, the release of the series' long-awaited third game is highly anticipated. Now, a new trailer for Shenmue III has arrived, and it appears quite faithful to the originals.
Having raised $6.3 million on Kickstarter in 2015, Shenmue III is the sixth-highest-funded video game in the platform's history. After originally being scheduled for a December 2017 release, it was delayed to the second half of 2018 before getting pushed to 2019.
It was announced last year that Shenmue III would launch on August 27, 2019, almost 20 years after the original was released, and around 18 since Shenmue II arrived. That announcement came alongside an official trailer for the game, which some complained showed the characters looking a little stiff.
The new trailer, which was shown off at the Magic 2019 convention in France, does make Shenmue III look slightly better than the last clip, though it retains the series' distinctive look and the expressionless faces. Still, it will likely appeal to those, myself included, who were entranced by the original game first time around, and don't mind that it hasn't been given a major overhaul like many modern takes on classic titles.
If you've never had the pleasure of playing the Shenmue games, you can grab both remastered versions from Steam ahead of the third installment's release. These update the originals with high-definition graphics, smoother gameplay, reduced shimmering, and the choice of modern or classic controls.