Shenmue’s Road to Release (Shenmue "Complete Guide" Feature, March 2000)

Not long after the release of Shenmue ~Chapter One: Yokosuka~, the Shenmue Complete Guide, with its distinctive black cover, was published in Japan by SoftBank under the Dreamcast Magazine brand. Included in this guide was a special in-depth feature that looked back on the game’s ambitious development.

In this post, we will be translating the full piece into English. It's a fascinating glimpse into how Yu Suzuki and his AM2 team transformed an experimental RPG prototype into what would become one of the most groundbreaking titles in gaming history.

The translation begins below.

A Year and a Half Following Shenmue

AM2, Sega’s most powerful development team, has produced countless hit games. But around the end of 1996, its head, Yu Suzuki, began to go quiet. Spurred by a shift in direction within Sega, Suzuki took on the RPG genre for the first time. As he became more and more immersed in his new project, before anyone realized it, it had grown into a massive undertaking involving an extraordinary number of staff members.

What would become Shenmue ultimately took over four years to complete. But the Shenmue you hold in your hands is still just the beginning.

What exactly is Shenmue? We take a closer look to find out.

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for November 2025

Every month Phantom River Stone holds a poll among our patrons to choose a topic for the blog in the coming month. After tallying the votes (including accumulated votes from previous months), the winning topic that has been voted this time is:

"Weekly AM2: Translation of Next Issues (Vols. 15 & 16)"

The topic selected this time is a continuation of our translations of the official online magazine published by Sega's AM2 team back in the day, the Weekly AM2. This magazine published content about the Shenmue series from December 1999 through to around the release of Shenmue II in 2001, and a link to issues of the Weekly AM2 thereafter became a regular feature of the Shenmue.com website.

This time we will be translating further editions of the Weekly AM2: Volumes 15 & 16, published online on 21st March and 28th March 2000.

Vol. 15 Preview of Shenmue-related content:

• Shenmue Passport Feature Commences: Total Net Ranking
• GDC Report from the U.S.A.

Vol. 16 Preview of Shenmue-related content:

• Takuan's Dobuita Visit Report (First Part)
• Wallpaper Download
• Japan Game Awards Announcement
• Masaya Matsukaze's Consultation Column
• Shenmue Chapter 1 Yokosuka Original Sound Track

These editions will be translated in a future post on the blog.

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Megumi Yasu Photoshoot - Nozomi Harasaki Cosplay | Dreamcast Magazine, March 2000

The March 2000 edition of Japan's Dreamcast Magazine featured cosplay by Megumi Yasu, the voice actress who portrayed Nozomi Harasaki in the Japanese version of Shenmue. Along with the photos, the feature included a brief Q&A section.

Megumi Yasu recreates one of the CG renders of Nozomi at her shop.

AI animation based on the magazine still.

Note: the photos in this post have been extracted from a pdf scan of the magazine, so quality is limited. Some of the photos have also been processed to remove overlaid text.

 -- The article translation begins below --

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for October 2025

Every month Phantom River Stone holds a poll among our patrons to choose a topic for the blog in the coming month. After tallying the votes (including any carried over from previous months), the winning topic this time is:

NHK documentary "Making Of Shenmue" Recap

In July 1999, Japanese broadcaster NHK BS2 aired the first episode of its new Network Jungle III documentary series. Each installment explored how digital technology was reshaping Japan’s creative industries at the turn of the millennium. Episode One was called A Vision of the Future - A New Digital Era and focused on Sega’s legendary producer Yu Suzuki and his most ambitious project to date.

The NHK production crew followed Suzuki and the AM2 team inside Sega’s development studios over a period of six months, giving an unprecedented look at game creation on a cinematic scale. Viewers saw programmers tweaking lighting and weather systems, motion-capture artists digitizing martial-arts movements, and an orchestra recording the game’s sweeping score. NHK framed it as a glimpse into a new kind of entertainment: part film, part interactive world. The episode’s closing subtitle put it plainly: “A game that plunges you into a world of another dimension.”

Later that year, and still before Shenmue's eventual end-of-year release, the Japanese gaming magazine Dreamcast Magazine published a special feature about the game's development that was closely based on this broadcast. It reused stills and quotations to turn NHK’s televised documentary into a richly illustrated print feature. While the show itself aired only once, the magazine preserved its tone and stirred further anticipation for a title that promised to redefine realism in games.

In the upcoming post, I’ll be sharing a full English translation of that magazine article, together with stills recaptured from the NHK documentary. Together, this will reveal how Shenmue was presented to Japan, as a milestone in digital culture in 1999.

Coming soon to the blog!

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Anecdotes & Insights - The Spirit of Shenmue Lives On | Famitsu Dec 2024 [Part 6]

In this post, we present the final part of our English translation of Famitsu’s 25th anniversary roundtable with the original Shenmue developers. In Part 5, the team recounted the challenges of building Shenmue II, reflected on the long road until Shenmue III, and shared their hopes for seeing the series reach its conclusion one day.

In this final part, the discussion closes with a message from actor Masaya Matsukaze, the voice of Ryo Hazuki in the Japanese version, who shares his memories of the series’ early days and what Shenmue has meant to him. The developers then reflect on their own experiences and the lasting impact Shenmue has had on their lives, careers, and friendships.

What Does Shenmue Mean to Each of You?

—As we begin to wrap things up, we’ve received a comment from Masaya Matsukaze, who plays Ryo Hazuki. Let us share it with you now.

Masaya Matsukaze – 25th Anniversary Comment

"I have so many memories tied to Shenmue that I don’t even know where to start...

First off, let me talk about the audition. It was all extremely top-secret, and a ton of people participated. One thing that really stuck with me was being told, “Bring a personal seal (inkan) to stamp the confidentiality agreement - if you don’t have it, you’ll be sent home.” I remember thinking that was pretty strange, and also telling myself, “If I forget it, I won’t just fail the audition, I won’t even be allowed to apply, which would be ridiculous,” so I made extra sure not to forget it.

By some miracle, I passed the audition. I later heard the reason I got the role was, “We knew the production would be tough, so we chose someone who looked sturdy and had a good personality.”

A few years later, the game was finally announced with a press event at Pacifico Yokohama! After years of keeping everything confidential and working in a secret facility, without even telling my own parents, Shenmue was finally going public. But during preparations for my own appearance on stage, we ran into a problem during the costume check. Apparently, it was felt that “Matsukaze’s outfit is lame.” So at the last minute, on the night before the event, I had to run to a department store in Tokyo and buy a whole new outfit! There wasn’t time for tailoring, so the fit was a little off - that’s another memory that sticks with me.

Once, in the dressing room for the motion capture, the actor Yukijiro Hotaru said to me, “You’re still young, right Matsukaze? While you’re young, you should try everything. Later on, you’ll naturally start to weed out the things you don’t want to do, and that’s how you’ll find the path you should take.” I’ve lived by those words ever since. The advice I've received from Yu Suzuki and Hiroshi Fujioka is also something I treasure. The people I met through Shenmue have had a profound impact on who I am today.

Cancellation, then revival - when I was told “The series will be put on hold after II,” I was so shocked it felt like my heart stopped. We had already recorded so much motion capture for what came next... Then, years later, when I heard the words, “We’re making a sequel!” I was absolutely speechless. And then came the anime... Shenmue is full of surprises. You truly never know what’ll happen next. I could go on and on forever.

Oh, and speaking of which - I recently made Ryo’s leather jacket as a hobby project!"

See the full video on Matsukaze's YouTube channel

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Anecdotes & Insights - From Shenmue II to Shenmue IV | Famitsu Dec 2024 [Part 5]

In this post, we continue our English translation of Famitsu’s 25th anniversary roundtable with the original Shenmue developers. In Part 4, the team reflected on Shenmue’s enduring legacy and casually revealed that a fully playable PlayStation 2 version of Chapter One once existed but was never released.

Part 5 turns to the creation of Shenmue II, an ambitious sequel built on a rewritten engine and systems to support its larger scale. The developers also share stories from the Shenmue III era and reflect on the possibility of Shenmue IV, discussing their hopes for seeing the story completed one day.

Development of the Even More Expansive Shenmue II

—So far we've mostly been talking about Shenmue I, but were there any specific hardships during the development of Shenmue II?

Hirai: I was responsible for all the system programming in Shenmue II, but as for the other parts of the game, that was almost entirely handled by Mr. Wada.

Wada: The first game was set in a small Japanese town. You didn’t need too many people on screen, the streets were narrow and had lots of corners, so you didn’t have to draw things too far into the distance. But Shenmue II was set in a massive city, Hong Kong, so we had to show more people on-screen, and draw much further into the distance to make the city feel alive and expansive.

When we looked at that, it became obvious: there was absolutely no way to achieve that using the system from Shenmue I. I talked with Hirai and the tech team, and we ultimately decided we had to rebuild everything from scratch.

Hirai: The scripting system, the engine, even the C-language parser - we basically changed all of it. At the time, I was also involved with Space Channel 5 Part 2, so if issues cropped up, I would temporarily shift my focus back to Shenmue II to help out.

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Anecdotes & Insights - Shenmue’s Legacy and the Unreleased PS2 Port | Famitsu Dec 2024 [Part 4]

In this post, we continue our English translation of Famitsu’s 25th anniversary roundtable with the original Shenmue developers. In Part 3, the group discussed Hirai’s “Shenmue Maker” system, the unique team culture under Yu Suzuki, and the creative energy that fueled the project’s breakthroughs.

Part 4 explores Shenmue’s lasting impact on the developers’ lives and the wider industry - and, casually dropped into the conversation, comes the revelation that a fully functional PlayStation 2 port was developed but never released!

Shenmue's Pivotal Role in the Developers' Lives

Okayasu: I think Shenmue really changed the lives of a lot of the people who worked on it.

—A lot of staff came and went during its development. How did all of you feel about that constant turnover?

Okayasu: It was honestly just a "throw more people at it" kind of strategy - pure manpower tactics. And that meant some of the new staff were competent, but others were completely useless.

Kasahara: We had people coming in as "programmers" who had never even written a line of code. It was total chaos. There were even people whose only job was to go out and recruit others. Their performance was judged by how many people they brought in - once they delivered someone, their job was done.

—Ahhh... so the whole staffing and operational system was unstructured, and individual tasks didn’t necessarily add up to meaningful progress overall.

Matsuda: Which made things a nightmare for those of us actually on the ground.

Okayasu: Matsuda, what did you think when you got caught up in what we called the "Shenmue Hunt" and you were told to join the Shenmue team?

Matsuda: Oh, I didn’t even get a say in whether I joined the team or not. It wasn’t optional. I still clearly remember that it was right before my very first summer vacation as a new graduate.

Before joining the Shenmue team, I was thinking, “Wow, AM2 really works hard. Pretty intense,” but I figured I’d take a nice break over summer and refresh myself. Then, right before the break, my manager called me in and said (doing an impression), “Matsuda… there’s this game called Shenmue. We’re short on people. The time has come for your talents to be of use. You want to grow as a designer, don’t you?”

And the moment I said, “Yes!” my summer vacation disappeared.

Everyone: (laughs)

Kasahara: That voice impression was actually kind of close. (laughs)

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Anecdotes & Insights - "Shenmue Maker" & Yokosuka's One-Year Build | Famitsu Dec 2024 [Part 3]

In this post, we continue our English translation of Famitsu’s 25th anniversary roundtable with the original Shenmue developers. In Part 2, the team shared tales of late nights and endless debugging, reflecting the uncompromising standards that defined the project.

Part 3 highlights Takeshi Hirai’s ingenious “Shenmue Maker” system that kept all 88 programmers in sync, and dives into anecdotes about working under Yu Suzuki, including the Zushi Marina retreats where late-night debates (and drinks) helped shape Shenmue’s vision. We also hear a special anniversary message from Yu Suzuki himself.

Hirai's "Shenmue Maker" Programming Concept

— Were there any other parts of the programming that were especially difficult?

Hirai: The "games within a game" at the You Arcade were pretty tough. You can play Space Harrier, Hang-On, and so on inside the game. But to do that, we had to temporarily set aside the data from the main game, load and run the arcade game, and then after playing, return to the main game - and deal with the fact that various internal data would come back completely scrambled. Getting everything to cleanly return to the way it was, as if nothing had happened, and seamlessly resume the main story... that was actually a pretty complex process.

— I see.

Kurooka: Here’s a funny one - you know the capsule toy machines, right? Well, one of the items you can get is Sonic. But Sonic was the only one modeled with an unusually high polygon count, and during development, there was this bug where the game would crash whenever you got Sonic.

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