The video game publisher and developer Sega almost gave the groundbreaking 1999 action-adventure game Shenmue a full remake before cancelling the project.
With Shenmue 3 having finally been given what seems to be a solid release date for next year, players unfamiliar with the franchise now have plenty of time to catch up on the story so far thanks to the recent remastered releases of the series’ first and second entries. However, it looks as if history could have been much different for the property as a whole, for it appears as if Sega had been working on a full remake of the original game before cancelling the project in 2017.
As seen below in the video courtesy of Digital Foundry, Shenmue fans can get a better idea of what Sega initially had in mind for the now-defunct remake project of the original game by viewing comparison footage of the recent remasters and the cancelled gameplay. One of the best and simplest examples of how the unreleased remake version of Shenmue differs from the remasters is by using the Hazuki compound’s grounds from the first game as a comparison point, as one will notice the environment art of the former receiving a lot more attention to detail than the latter.
Several other set pieces from the unreleased Shenmue remake project are on display as well, with each location appearing to be much richer in lighting, shadows, textures, and overall presentation than those in the official remasters. For instance, the shrine in Yamanose, the town itself, and the ship yards in which the main character Ryo worked as a forklift operator in the first game all shine with much more polish in the cancelled project.
Assets from the unreleased Shenmue 2 remake project, on the other hand, seem to have focused more so on improving upon its sense of scale. A few examples of this can be seen in how Hong Kong’s texture detailing was upped, its shadow maps provided a lot of additional depth, its increased reflectivity with glass offered better realism and immersion for players, and much more.
Aside from the bugs at launch, some may contend that Sega’s Shenmue 1 and 2 HD remaster package works well as a solid introduction of the franchise to newcomers, and serves as a pleasant reminder of the series’ unique qualities that helped it stand out from other action-adventure properties in its heyday. However, considering the vast improvements seen in Sega‘s cancelled and unreleased Shenmue remake, it’s difficult to imagine players not wanting it over the official remasters.
Shenmue 3 is set to release on August 27,2019 for PC and PlayStation 4.
