Like the original Duke Nukem, Shenmue has been teasing a new game for longer than many gamers have been alive. Also like Duke Nukem, Shenmue is being revived after over a decade with Shenmue III. After this many years of hype and anticipation, it’s worth referring to the ancient wisdom of Jeff Goldblum in Jurrassic Park: Are we so concerned with whether or not we could make Shenmue III that we didn’t stop to ask should we make Shenmue III?

Shenmue III continues the story of Ryo Hazuki as he searches for his father’s killer, at least that’s what he says. But most gamers who played the game spent a lot of time driving forklifts, playing pachinko, and hanging out in arcades, which is sort of what the Shenmue series is actually about. But it has been seventeen years since the last Shenmue, and the gaming world has changed pretty dramatically.

Much of what made Shenmue iconic was the originality it brought to gaming. It is largely credited with creating quick-time events, open-world exploration, and a world that operated outside of the primary story. Buses ran on set schedules, people went to work and followed patterns, and the world generally didn’t stop for Ryo.

The only problem with that is that gaming has left much of that behind. Quick-time events were abandoned years ago (for the most part), and while having a living world is exciting, that’s more a staple of gaming now than a unique trait. Even Mario and Zelda have jumped on the open-world train, so Shenmue III will be competing with a host of other games instead of being the only one on the market. It doesn’t help that the Chinese pulp films that Shenmue capitalized on have faded into obscurity, making the over-the-top and silly circumstances of Shenmue not something that readily resonates with audiences. That doesn’t even begin to mention the character models which are – frankly – horrifying.

It’s also worth mentioning that Shenmue wasn’t ever really successful. Though it left a lasting impact on the industry and had a cult following, that didn’t really translate into success for Sega or the series as a whole. There were plans for Shenmue Online in 2004, which seems even in retrospect like a terrible idea, but it suffered numerous delays and was more or less canceled in 2007. Sega also tried Shenmue City, a social game service that launched in 2010 and died in 2012. In fact, over its 19 years of life, Shenmue has never been a hit, and it has failed to relive even the modest reception the original titles received.

It seems a lot like at a certain point it is time to call it quits. After all, Zoolander was a cult classic for a reason, and let’s be honest, how many people went on saw Zoolander 2? Shenmue III might have something new to offer, but with garish models, ugly animations, and a history of failed ventures, there isn’t a lot to indicate that this game is going to break the mold. Although, to Shenmue’s credit, at least they have followed up on the promise of a third game, which is more than we can say for Valve and Half Life 3.

The hype train for Shenmue III will be arriving in Q3/Q4 of 2018, but a more concrete release date should be coming soon. We’ll see if it brings Ryo back to life or buries him for good.