Suzuki talks about Shen Mue

[12.01.98] » Not an RPG, he claims, but a "FREE" game.

   The Shen Mue demo disc included with Virtua Fighter 3: Team Battle features interviews with Yu Suzuki, gaming mastermind. In these interviews, Suzuki discusses (of course) his upcoming title Shen Mue (formerly Project Berkley), and his thoughts and goals are startlingly different from what gamers might expect.

   Shen Mue is an exercise in realism. Yu Suzuki talks about his early games; while fun, he says, they were far from realistic. With recent increases in processing power, however, titles have the potential for more realism than ever before. Suzuki recounts the first time he saw a gamer exclaim "Ow!" when his Virtua Fighter character was hit. At that moment, Suzuki realized that games had the potential for far more immersiveness and realism than they had had before.

   Shen Mue is not an RPG, according to Suzuki. The demo disc makes a great point of this, flamboyantly crossing out the letters "RPG" with bright red ink. Instead, Shen Mue is a "FREE" game. You'll still have to pay for it, sadly; FREE is an acronym standing for "Free Response Eyes Entertainment." "Free Response" as in open-ended, reactive, and interactive; "Eyes" as in a visual feast for the gamer; "Entertainment" as in fun. Basically, Suzuki wants to achieve what RPGs have tried to do for so long; to completely absorb the player into a complex, fully realized world.

   Shen Mue's storyline sounds like it would make a darn fine RPG: a period piece set in early 20th century China, it features love, happiness, sadness, betrayal, action, adventure, and morality. While it may defy simple classification, the GIA will continue bringing you the latest on this intriguing title.