The ‘teaser’ for Shenmue III sparked a negative reaction towards the lacklustre facial animations (or lack thereof). I reported on the trailer and reaction yesterday. Here’s the trailer in case you missed it.

The eyes in the thumbnail tell most of the story.

Yu Suzuki addresses the facial animations and more in an interview at Gamescom with Game Watch.

translation and info via Shenmuedojo.

• The released Shenmue III teaser footage is real-time in-game graphics.
• All charterers models are temporary and subject to change.
• Facial animations were initially implemented but have been removed about a month ago.
• The teaser was especially made for Gamescom 2017, no further plans to show more of the game at this year’s Gamescom or Tokyo Game Show. However, a full-scale promotion will take place next year.
• Deep Silver will publish the game internationally, and they’ll provide budget and promotional support. A publisher for Japan is to be decided.
• Suzuki-san would like to continue the series in Shenmue IV if possible.
• Suzuki-san is not interested in forcing the Shenmue story to complete in Shenmue III.
• Shenmue III will take around 30 hours of gameplay to complete.
• The fighting engine in Shenmue III is being built from scratch, and unlike Shenmue II it won’t use the Virtua engine.
• A system that allows phone calls with characters from Shenmue and Shenmue II is planned for Shenmue III.
• Suzuki-san would like to bring as many voice actors from the previous games as possible, but some are retired now, he will audition a new voice actress for Shenhua.
• OST from Shenmue and Shenmue II will probably be reused in Shenmue III.
• The new partnership with Deep Silver is strong and it’s aimed to improve the Shenmue III experience beyond what was initially planned on the Kickstarter.

The biggest quote here is:

“Facial animations were initially implemented but have been removed about a month ago”

Shenmue III is still over a year away and there’s plenty of time to improve on placeholder animations that have already been removed. I can see where the worry came from as the budget for the game is unclear (Suzuki said in another interview that this team is smaller than the original SEGA teams) and environments are much easier to make pretty than avoiding the uncanny valley of odd faces. Heck, I’ve even criticized Chloe’s in-engine face in Uncharted: Lost Legacy. When compared to Nadine (who was created for Uncharted 4) the difference can be jarring.

How about the goofy side of Shenmue?

In an interview with Famitsu, translated by phantomriverstone.

Regarding Shenmue-esque races etc

“we’re putting a lot of effort creating them in Choubu. They also include some “Shenmue-esque” elements. Such things as tortoises, ducks and frogs will be making an appearance! [laughs]…There will also be a race. And I also want to include lure fishing. I have a system planned where various people will tell you about fishing spots, and you can sell the fish you’ve caught to earn money.”

There you have it, Shenmue III is over a year away and has plenty of time to achieve the wonderful success its passionate fans hope for. And race duckies!