Corey Marshall, the voice actor who played Ryo in the English versions of Shenmue 1 and 2, is now confirmed to continue with Shenmue 3.
After earning more than $3 million on Kickstarter, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki said the game would need up to $10 million to be able to take advantage of a fully-featured open world.
It seems that plenty of people want to see Shenmue 3 become reality, as the game has already raised more than $4 million on Kickstarter with about two weeks to go. While that's far from the $10 million Suzuki mentioned, it's enough to fund the game.
A new announcement now brings good news to Shenmue fans: Corey Marshall is confirmed to be the voice actor for the third installment.
In the latest update on the Shenmue 3 project on Kickstarter, the team boasts that support for the return of Marshall as Ryo in the upcoming installment has been "overwhelming" so far. At the same time, the Shenmue team is also grateful for Marshall's involvement and support.
"We would all like to thank Corey-san for coming back, and especially for all the support he has given to Shenmue over the years," the team posted.
The good news doesn't end here, however, as Corey Marshall has a treat in store for his fans. More specifically, the actor is willing to record a "very special message" and send it to willing customers, as long as they're willing to pay. Simply put, Corey Marshall is offering his voice as a special reward for those willing to donate a minimum of $1,000 to the campaign.
Fans who have $1,000+ just lying around can choose what message they want to hear and receive it in Ryo's voice.
"The $1,000 Reward for the Corey Marshall as Ryo Voice Message will include the $500 Reward. The Ryo Voice Message will also be included in the Rewards for $2,000 and up," further explains the Shenmue 3 project page on Kickstarter.
The Kickstarter campaign sought to raise $2 million for Shenmue 3 and it already blazed past that goal, but additional goals always pop up during such campaigns. Lastly, Yu Suzuki will be taking questions this Friday, July 3, starting at 7 PM PDT, on Twitter. Fans who would like to send a question can do so by using the hashtag #YouaskYu in their message.
