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[Kazza]

Ok folks, this is it! Ever since the 2015 E3 reveal, we've only got a smattering of information about this game, from badly translated French/Chinese/Japanese interviews, to work in progress "trailers" with the facial expressions removed. It's been a weird mix of weak kickstarter updates and amateur marketing efforts. Recently though, things have been looking up, with a glossy front page exclusive article in Edge Magazine, which gave plenty of new info about gameplay mechanics and such. Today, the proper marketing campaign is due to begin in earnest, with a gameplay trailer at Magic Monaco.

Spoiler: A reminder of how far the game has come since the 2015 E3 reveal

WTF is Magic Monaco and why is Shenmue 3 being showcased there?

Monaco Anime Game International Conferences (MAGIC) is an annual open event organised by Shibuya Productions in Monte Carlo’s Grimaldi Forum. The one-day event is dedicated to several worlds – manga, comics, animation, video games and pop culture.

Shibuya Productions have been heavily involved in Shenmue 3 from the very beginning (its CEO, Cedric Biscay, is a co-producer of the game), so it's not surprising that it was chosen as the place for the big reveal. Sometimes, it has seemed that Shenmue 3 has been used to promote Magic Monaco rather than the other way round, but given the instrumental role the company has played in Shenmue's revival, they probably deserve to share a little of the limelight.

What can we expect to see?

Here is the schedule:

We have been promised a trailer featuring gameplay, and apparently "selected people" will actually get to see the game in action, so we should get plenty of first hand impressions. I would imagine the conference itself will reveal some new details as well. As you can see, there's also "Shibuya Productions Crazy Time with Cedric Biscay" to, er, look forward to...

When is it happening?

Rather than mess about with time zones etc, someone has gone to the trouble of producing this cool countdown clock. I can't find trace of any livestream, so we'll have to wait until someone posts news to Youtube/Twitter etc.


After all the hype and waiting (almost 20 years in the case of the hardcore Shenmue fans), we should all have a much better idea of what this game will be like by the end of today.

 

[Kazza]

What I'm personally most interested to see:
- How the animation and facial expressions look (the models themselves look great in still photos, but the most important thing is how the move)
- The English voice acting (I hope the trailer features this, as I really want to know if they have moved away from the cheesy 90s voice acting. Since the new stuff was recorded in LA, I expect it to be much improved on the first two games)
- The combat (the Edge article provided some info, but I'm really curious on seeing the new fighting system in action. With Suzuki being the father of 3D fighting games, I have quite high expectations for this)
- Info on the mini-games included
- More info on the how the game's "social system" will work (the Edge article mentioned how characters interact with you will depend on the level of trust and rapport you have established with them. I'm looking forward to hear how this works in practice)

Despite being a relative newcomer to the series (first playthrough around 2016), I'm pretty excited for this reveal. I'm only a $30 digital copy slacker-backer, so don't have much invested in this financially. However, given Suzuki's pedigree in the industry and how unique the first two games were, I'm happy to have played a (albeit small) part in its existence.

 

[RPS37]

Dude I can’t believe I’m staying up to watch this.

 

[Kazza]

Dude I can’t believe I’m staying up to watch this.

It's a shame we don't know exactly when the trailer will be. I've got 6 hours till bedtime where I am, so I'm hopeful most of the good stuff will be revealed before then.

 

[Kazza]

Suzuki enters the stage to a round of applause. This reminds me that we are going to have to put up with Japanese-French-(delayed)English translation all day today