'Shenmue 3' Director Confirms Game Only Has 40 Percent Of Ryo's Story

“Shenmue 3” director Yu Suzuki has confirmed that the upcoming game will only have 40 percent of the main character’s story. Ryo Hazuki has long been the main character for all the “Shenmue” entries. This new information goes well with what the director is planning with the upcoming installment.

In an interview with USgamer, the director used a water bottle for comparison when asked how much of Ryo’s story will “Shenmue 3” have. Suzuki revealed that Ryo’s story in “Shenmue 3” is around 40 percent based on the content of the water bottle he showed. The remaining 60 percent of the story won’t be part of the game.

In the previous “Shenmue” entries, the story was always about Ryo Hazuki’s quest for revenge against the culprit behind his father’s murder. While his quest is mostly for vengeance, Ryo met people along the way and managed to treat them kindly despite his goals. Instead of a moody, brooding character, the players are given a straightforward character driven by personal justice.

Potentially, “Shenmue 3” might focus less on Ryo Hazuki’s quest but more on the world building as the character meets more characters from the dark side, such as criminals. In the “Shenmue 3” trailers, Ryo is seen in the Chinese countryside which is different from the previous games.

In the first "Shenmue" and most part of the second entry, Ryo’s adventures mostly happened in small towns and cities. By the end of the second game, Ryo went to China to uncover the mystery behind the important mirror that his father got killed for.

Suzuki’s plan for “Shenmue 3” is to build up hype for another sequel according to French site Gamersflag. Suzuki noted that he won’t be able to finish the main character’s story in the third entry. Finishing the game with “Shenmue 3” would feel like he was “ripping off” the franchise, according to him.

With this announcement, “Shenmue” fans can expect to have another game after the third entry. But the new game needs to be successful first, so that the next entry won’t take a long time to be released.