'Shenmue' 1 and 2 Release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC Announced; Will They Be Remasters?
Sega is keeping the classic "Shenmue" games alive by bringing both Dreamcast classics "Shenmue I" and "Shenmue II" to modern consoles and PCs. Both games are coming back in one package for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC sometime later this 2018.
The publisher made the announcement during the Sega Fes event in Japan, to much celebration from the fans who have followed the series since its Dreamcast days. There's some confusion on how Sega aims to bring these two older games to modern platforms, with some media outlets reporting that these new versions will be remastered remakes of the originals, while some argue that these are straight ports of the classic games.
Slash Gear, for one, is calling the newly announced releases an HD remake of the original. This could be based on Sega's earlier comment back in 2016 that two of the biggest issues coming in the way of "Shenmue" 1 and 2 being brought back are the quality of the originals and the work needed to secure the licenses for all the products and logos that appeared in them.
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Sega itself is not making a distinction either way in its somewhat sparse "Shenmue" website. The official announcement trailer is not enough to base on, either, since Sega noted at the start that "This trailer uses pre-release footage, and represents a work in progress."
Gamespot, however, has pointed out that based on Sega's announcement, the "Shenmue" 1 and 2 collection pack is not something that can be considered to be full-on HD remasters of the classic games.
What little is known about the 2018 versions of the titles is that they will come with a few updates that include "fully scalable screen resolution, choice of modern or classic control schemes, PC graphics options, an updated user interface, and the option to enjoy either the original Japanese or English voiceovers."
Sega is promising that the new "Shenmue" releases will be the "best Shenmue experience to date," but it's not known yet if Sega is upgrading all the graphics of the Dreamcast originals to HD or even higher.
For now, fans can wait or subscribe to the "Shenmue" website for more updates. In the meantime, "Shenmue 3" by Yu Suzuki has been coming along nicely and could offer a good comparison point for what a good "Shenmue I" or "Shenmue II" HD remake could look like. the Kickstarter-funded game is expected to come out in the second half of 2018 for the PlayStation 4 and PC.
All three upcoming versions of the series will follow Ryo Hazuki, a promising martial arts student on a quest to find out the person behind the murder of his father, and its possible connection to the mysterious artifact called the Dragon Mirror.
The video below is the announcement trailer for "Shenmue " 1 and 2, which Sega has just announced to be coming out later this year as a two-in-one bundle.
