E3 2001: GameSpot speaks with Yu Suzuki

Following Sega of America's "unleashed" presentation on Thursday, GameSpot had the opportunity to speak briefly with Yu Suzuki, creator of the upcoming games Virtua Fighter 4 and Shenmue II. Suzuki addressed Shenmue II first, saying that this sequel will be longer in gameplay time, will have three times as many characters, and will have more locations that the first game. He reiterated that the pace of the game is much faster than in the original, and although the gameplay time may be longer, the faster pace may make the game seem shorter in length to the player.

Suzuki revealed that the free fighting system will also be enhanced--he plans to add a new first-person fighting perspective. Additionally, as reported previously, the QTE system will be revamped. Rather than requiring only one button command at any given time, players must now choose from a series of button commands that will appear concurrently. Suzuki feels that this will give the QTEs a faster gameplay pace. When asked how he planned to introduce users on other consoles to the rich story of Shenmue in future versions of the game, Suzuki revealed that he hopes to include a preview movie highlighting the primary plot points of Shenmue for titles in the franchise released on consoles other than the Dreamcast.

On the subject of Virtua Fighter 4, Suzuki revealed that the second new character in the game will be named Vanessa Louis. She is a security officer from Brazil, and Suzuki described her as a powerful female character, unlike the more athletic Sarah Bryant. Of course, the other new character in the game is the Shaolin monk Lei-Fei.

Shenmue II is currently in the final testing stages in Japan and will be released for the North American market in November. Virtua Fighter 4 is currently on play test in Japanese arcades. It will also be released for the Sony PlayStation 2.