Yu Suzuki announces Shen Mue for Neo Geo Pocket Color

[04.01.00] » Nomad children of the 21st century grateful.

   Yu Suzuki, head of Sega's famed AM2 development team, recently announced a portable version of Shen Mue in development for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. "Yes, Shen Mue has revolutionary graphics, sound, and presentation," said Suzuki in a recent interview. "But what really makes Shen Mue a success is its compelling storyline. The NGPC version of Shen Mue will let gamers experience Ryo's story on the go."

   Many expressed doubt that Shen Mue's three GD-ROMs of unparalleled graphics, meticulously designed environments, ambient sound effects, orchestral music, and stellar voice acting could be compressed into a single 32 megabit cartridge. They were right.

   "It may be blocky and ugly," says Suzuki, and we may have been forced to replace the FREE system with a platforming engine, but we feel that this NGPC game has it where it counts: the name 'Shen Mue' on the outside of the box." Suzuki added that the NGPC's excellent internal clock would allow the porting of Quick Time Event gameplay virtually unchanged.