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Shenmue III achieved its Kickstarter goal in July of this year. In June the game hit its original target of $2 million in 8 hours, thus making it the fastest Kickstarter campaign to reach said amount.

The original Shenmue was originally developed exclusively for the the Sega Dreamcast. It did not do so well in terms of sales, but it gained notoriety as a cult classic. Fans of the original Shenmue called the game "ahead of its time" as an open world sandbox game.

This month, Shenmue III yet again sent shockwaves in the gaming industry by finishing its Kickstarter campaign with 69,320 backers pledging $6,333,295. Shenmue III development studio YS Net claims that Shenmue 3 has become the most funded video game on Kickstarter.

No detailed information was ever said about the game after that. That is, until a few days ago.

In a translated interview that DualShockers published, Yu Suzuki, the creator of Shenmue, bared the gameplay, technology, as well as some romance in the game. The new innovation that Suzuki is excited about is the AI battling system. "It’s a system that will make the character respond intelligently to the commands given by the player during battle. With simple commands you’ll be able to execute complex techniques," said Suzuki.

According to Gamespot, Suzuki also disclosed that the game will be rendered at 30 frames per second and will have improved graphics using the Unreal 4 Engine. He said that the controls will be "simpler than in the past, and combat will be more cinematic. It will look more like a movie."

As for the romantic aspect of the game, Susuki said that he will make sure that there are gender nuances as romance is a very important aspect of the game.

With more than $6 million at the disposal of YS Net, the Kickstarter campaign is still open for slacker backers. Fan expectations are high as the original Shenmue set the bar high when it comes to innovation and originality.

Shenmue 3 will be released December 2017 for PS4 and PC. Xbox One release is yet to be announced.