Yu Suzuki speaks on Shen Mue's future

[12.20.99] » Illiterate gamers to get a break in the next installment of Shen Mue.

   Shen Mue still isn't due out in Japan for a little over a week, but creator Yu Suzuki is already at work on the second game in the saga. Current plans call for the next Shen Mue game to include chapters 2 through 5 of the story's total 20 chapters. (Originally, the first Shen Mue release was to include both Chapter 1: Yokosuka and Chapter 2: Mainland China; it now includes just Chapter 1.)

   Suzuki also revealed that the next Shen Mue release will feature less spoken and written dialog. Instead, the game will communicate primarily with gestures and facial expressions, enabling even the youngest children of the 21st century to follow the story. It seems that the technology behind the oft-displayed facial animation demos -- which aren't actually used in Chapter 1 -- will finally be put in to use.