It’s easy to forget that the classic Dreamcast game Shenmue is getting an anime adaptation this year, I mean I even forgot and it has remained one of my favorite games since 1999. That being said, it’s going to be hard for you to forget once you see the new trailer for the anime, being made in collaboration with Adult Swim and Crunchyroll.
The 13-episode anime will follow the events of the first game, which was released in 1999, as Ryo Hazuki attempts to avenge the death of his father at the hands of Triad crime boss Lan-Di. While a scene in the trailer showcases Ryo assumably traveling to Hong Kong, much of the action remains part of the 3-disk original game. It is unclear from the trailer if the anime will restore Chapter 2 of the game, which was cut for western audiences and taking place on the ship itself.
As for the rest of the trailer, it accomplishes the important task of making the classic action in the series feel as epic as fans thought it was back in the day. We also get a look at forklifts, Hang-On, and a certain mirror. What we don’t see is Ryo trying to find any sailors, but that is bound to be in there too.
The Shenmue series has had a hard life since Yu Suzuki originally created it as a spin-off for his Virtua Fighter series, before making it a brand new IP. While both games have received positive reviews, they suffered from low sales. The second game, Shenmue 2, was only released in America on the Xbox after a deal was made with Xbox to pick up several games when the Dreamcast had gone defunct. The version sold extremely low due to a lack of audience on the platform.
The game lay dormant for many years, with Yu Suzuki attempting to get a third off the ground, finally launching a Kickstarter and releasing Shenmue 3 in 2019, 18 years after the second game hit the market though it was not as well recieved as the classics.
Shenmue holds the distinction of coining the term QTE, or Quick Time Event, which played a heavy part in the game and eventually would become a common component of games such as Resident Evil 4 though Shenmue did not invent the concept. The term Open-City, a sub-genre of Open-World games, was also coined for the title two years before Grand Theft Auto III would popularize it.
For fans of the original game, and for those looking to check out the series for the first time, Shenmue: The Animation is slated to release its first episode on February 5, 2022.
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