WATCH: First trailer for ‘Shenmue 3’

MANILA, Philippines – More than a sequel, upcoming PlayStation 4 and PC game Shenmue 3 feels more like a revival of the series.

The action-adventure series began life as an exclusive for the Sega Dreamcast back in 1999. Its sequel arrived in 2001 for the same console before being ported to the original Microsoft Xbox in 2002.

The game, especially the first one, was lauded for its ultra-realistic, free-roaming style before games like Grand Theft Auto III popularized the full-fledged open-world genre. It was also memorable for wrapping up the game in a story about martial artist Ryo Hazuki in a quest to find his father’s killer in ’80s China.

Since the 2001 Shenmue II, however, the series hasn’t seen a new entry as the games weren’t commercial hits – and fans were left with an unfinished story. It wasn’t until 2015 that the series was resurrected as a result of a record-setting crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter by series creator Yu Suzuki and his company Ys Net. 

Two years later, the world finally sees a trailer for the title, its first, released on Tuesday, August 22. Watch it above. 

The game is expected to come out in the second half of 2018, to be published by Saints Row publisher Deep Silver. – Rappler.com