Sega has announced that versions of the first two Shenmue games are coming physically and digitally to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
The visual style of the Dreamcast will be maintained but with higher resolutions, improved textures, expanded graphical options on PC, and a more streamlined modern UI.
Sega has said that they haven’t completely ruled out a release for the Nintendo Switch, but that they’re putting all focus on the confirmed console and PC versions for now.
Shenmue 1 and 2 will be open for preorder in the coming weeks on Steam; physical editions are planned, but are currently exclusive to consoles. Details are available at shenmue.sega.com.
“This is the definitive version of these all-time classics and will be the best Shenmue experience to date,” Sega said. “The re-release will stay true to the originals with modernized features including fully scalable screen resolution, choice of modern or classic control schemes, PC graphics options, an updated user interface and the option to enjoy either the original Japanese or English voiceovers.”
You’ll see the same story from the original games, following the journey of Ryo Hazuki, a young martial artist on a quest to avenge his father’s murder.
It’s not fully known how the graphics options are being reworked to scale with more modern resolutions. Let’s just hope that the devs avoid using filters and instead scale the textures and maps themselves, that way they can avoid the problems with the recent Chrono Trigger remaster on PC.
