Shenmue 3 double the length of prior games, side quests no longer separate from main story

During the G-Fusion Tour 2018 in Xiamen, Shenmue 3 director Yu Suzuki dropped new details on the game.

Shenmue 3 will be a much larger game than previous entries in the series as it will take multiple weeks to complete.

This is according to a talk Yu Suzuki and Shenmue 3's animation producer Hiroaki Takeuchi held at G-Fusion Tour 2018 in Xiamen, China.

Shenmue 1 and 2 could both be completed in one week's time. Suzuki implied the game would be playable once the main story finishes without having to start a new game.

According to a translation of the talk and information from various interviews provided by Spaghetti on the Shenmue Dojo forums, Suzuki hinted there may be more storylines or systems to explore once the game is finished.

Side quests are no longer separate from the main story in order to provide a more cohesive experience.

It was also said mini-games will have a larger impact on the game as a whole. This is due to better integration, and while some of the mini-games from Shenmue 1 and 2 return, most are new to the series. It was confirmed Excite QTE, Gashapon, Lucky Hit, and the forklift races make a return.

You should head through the link to Shenmue Dojo and give the entire post a read (thanks, resetera).

Shenmue 3 was announced at E3 2015 and is expected to release August 27 after several delays on PC and PS4.