Shenmue I & II HD Will Remove Brand Products And Cut Load Times

New information on Shenmue I & II HD was recently revealed, including the fact that there will be significantly shorter load times, optional bloom effects for Shenmue II, and that the brand deals have been cut from the game. [Thanks, Adam Koralik on Youtube!]

Here are the highlights:

• Shenmue II is based off the Xbox version of the game, but for this collection the bloom effects added to that version are now optional.

• Brand tie-ins such as Ryo’s Timex watch, and Coca-Cola logos, have now been removed from the games. (Note: American and European versions of Shenmue used the fake brand Jet Cola instead, bypassing this change.)

• The aspect ratio for gameplay is adjustable, and you can play in 4:3 fullscreen or 16:9 widescreen. However, cutscenes will stay in 4:3 fullscreen. There is also a high resolution mode (1080p) and an original mode (480p).

• Load times have been cut down to around 1-2 seconds between areas.

• There are no microtransactions in the game, contrary to some rumors that have surfaced recently. (The rumors were sparked by a misleading quote by Sony that was actually referring to purchasing things with in-game money.)

• There are no online features such as leaderboards in this collection, nor is Shenmue Passport included in the collection.

Shenmue I & II HD will arrive on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on August 21, 2018.