The creator of Shenmue, Yu Suzuki, confirmed that his old creations like Out Run & Space Harrier will not appear in the upcoming sequel.
During an interview with NWR at E3 2019, the acclaimed game designer Yu Suzuki explained that unfortunately his classic arcade games would not be playable in Shenmue 3.
As the head of SEGA's AM2 division, Yu Suzuki designed arcade hits one after another during the 1980s and 1990s. Games like Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA delivered addictive gameplay and bleeding edge visuals. When the original Shenmue launched on the Sega Dreamcast in 1999, it included two playable classics, Hang-On and Space Harrier. Shenmue 2 would continue this trend with the addition of two more games created by Suzuki, Afterburner II and Out Run.
When we asked Suzuki if some of his classic titles like Space Harrier and Out Run would be returning in Shenmue 3, he responded, "I'm sorry we don't have those arcade games, but instead I do have a lot of other games." Upon noting that we've already seen many of the games that will be featured (like the pachinko game Lucky Hit and turtle racing), Suzuki-san told us, "You'll see more."
Shenmue 3 will not be completely devoid of references to classic SEGA arcade games. For example, during the new wood chopping job, an upbeat tune from After Burner II will start playing if you slice multiple pieces of wood in succession. Failing to hit the next log with your axe will instantly stop the arcade music and switch it to something much more calming. Yu Suzuki described these music changes in correspondence to your actions as a feedback mode.
We'll have a full preview of Shenmue 3 in the near future.
Note: Nintendo World Report will continue to mostly focus on Nintendo games. The coverage of Shenmue 3 is a rare exception.
Disclosure: Nintendo World Report's Jared Rosenberg participated in the Kickstarter campaign for Shenmue 3.