Unused Shenmue Map #2: Island Town

In this second part of our maps feature, we will be looking at another map from the 36-page art book that was available at the Shenmue Premiere events around Japan in late 1998 / early 1999. 

Cover of the Shenmue Premiere Art Booklet

In Part One, we looked at a map that could be identified as Suzhou.

This time, we turn our attention to a second unknown map that appears further down on the same page of the Shenmue art booklet. This one is displayed in black ink and depicts a town situated on - or, more accurately, around - an island.

Inspecting Unused Map #2: Island Town

This map is distinctive and appears to show an island location surrounded by a tightly-packed city of buildings built out upon water. Tall mountain peaks rise up from the island:

Page detail: island town map

As with the first map, certain buildings and features have been labelled with Japanese text and there are small black star indicators dotted around the water's edge.

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Unused Shenmue Map #1: Suzhou City

During the 1998/1999 Shenmue Premiere showings in various cities across Japan, ahead of the game's original release on the Dreamcast, a 36-page art book was available as merchandise. It featured concept art, photographs, design diagrams, and other materials related to the game's development.

Cover of the Shenmue Premiere Art Booklet

In past posts on this blog we have analyzed some of the fascinating snippets of early design documents that can be glimpsed in this booklet, such as:

• Ryo's Arrival in Hong Kong: Shenmue II Design Document Translation
• Earning Money to Meet Ren: Shenmue 2 Flowchart #2 Translation
• Shenmue 1 Start of Game Flowchart: Early Design Document Translation

This booklet makes creative use of charts and drawings as decorative images to accompany the pages describing the making of the game.

Unseen Maps in the Art Booklet

On one page of the booklet, two maps can be found that don't match any of the places Ryo has visited so far in his journey. One map sits at the top left in blue ink, and the other, which lies to the right further down the page, is in black. (The maps are partially obscured by an image of an early map of Aberdeen/Wan Chai, and a photo of a computer monitor displaying a map of Dobuita).

The page containing the mysterious maps

In this post, the first in a two-part series, we will start to examine the maps and labels in detail to uncover hints about Ryo's initially-planned or potential future travels.

Image credits: thanks to James Brown for providing the booklet page images

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Two Pre-Release Screenshots of Langhuishan Village in Shenmue 2 | Analysis

Today we will examine two early-development screenshots of Ryo's arrival in Guilin from a Japanese magazine from the time of Shenmue II's development, showcasing the charming riverside village of Langhuishan.

Accompany an article about Shenmue in Japan's Famitsu DC magazine in February 2001, these images offer a fascinating glimpse into how its design changed during the game's development.

Langhuishan (Feb 2001 image 1)

Langhuishan (Feb 2001 image 2)

Analysis of Langhuishan Image 1

The first image depicts Langhuishan's village square, overlooking the tranquil river. A comparison with the final release version of the game reveals some intriguing differences:

Langhuishan view towards river showing a stall in the early screenshot (top) that was relocated in the release version (bottom)

The background mountains and dock are almost unchanged in the release, but the pre-release image features an additional element: a vegetable stand beside the dock, facing away from the river.

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Phoenix & Dragon Mirrors: Lore at a Glance | Mind Map

In our recent lore-related posts, we carried out a detailed examination of the lore surrounding the Mirrors, and all the various events, beliefs, clues and motivations surrounding them that we as players have learned (along with Ryo) during the first three Shenmue games. These were also covered in depth by SkillJim in his stream for the Shenmue Dojo channel (which are linked at the end of each post).

• Mirror Lore & Celestial Connections in Shenmue | Part One
• Mirror Lore & Celestial Connections in Shenmue | Part Two

Mind Map:

As a summary of what was covered in these posts, and to make it easier to visualize how the various pieces of the puzzle fit together, here is the complete "mind map" diagram illustrating how these concepts relate to each other.

The diagram can be seen as a preview below.

There is also this direct link to the image for easier viewing and zooming. It has been saved as a high resolution image to retain the text detail, and will require zooming in close!

Mirror Lore Mind Map

A few elements have been highlighted in yellow on the diagram as they represent some of the core recurring themes seen in Shenmue: the Prophecy that Shenhua recites, the symbolism of the Dragon and the Phoenix together with the Mirrors, and the mysterious "Treasure" they may point to whose nature is unknown.

Hopefully it will not be long before we can see how the mystery of the Dragon and Phoenix mirrors and the lore surrounding them plays out in the rest of the Shenmue story.

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Mystery Location in Photo at Shenhua's House Identified? | Shenmue II

Last year, we posted an article about an unidentified photo that can be glimpsed at Shenhua's house in Shenmue II.

The photo can be partially seen on the desk in Shenhua's father's room, in the pile where Ryo finds the plans for the Phoenix and Dragon mirrors. But there is no way for the player to move the other papers aside to examine it, and Ryo makes no comment about it.

It is, however, possible to view the full photo by accessing the game files directly, which looks as below. It appears to be some kind of outdoor scene with arches, trees, and some kind of structure in the center:

The mystery photo uncovered

In our post about this photo, we posed the question of why this photo would have been present among the design documents (albeit largely obscured), whether it had any significance and - most of all - whether such a location exists or existed in real life.

Well now, a possible candidate for this mystery location has been identified!

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Mirror Lore & Celestial Connections in Shenmue | Part Two

In this post we complete our investigation into the secrets of the Dragon and Phoenix mirrors and related lore surrounding them as revealed throughout the Shenmue games.

In Part One, we looked at the following topics:

• Ancient Beliefs: the Guardians of the North Star
• The Xing Xiu and People's Fates
• Five Stars Corp.
• Sword of Seven Stars
• I Smell Treasure
• The Chi You
• The Mirrors & the Qing Dynasty

This time, we will go deeper into the mysteries with the following topics:

• The Prophecy
• Shenmue's Bad Ending
• The Origin of the Mirrors
• Photo of the Imperial Envoy
• The Last Emperor: Pu Yi
• The Purpose of the Verdant Bridge
• The Envoy's Mission
• The Scroll
• The Cliff Temple

Spoiler Warning: This post covers story-related aspects from the first three games.

The Prophecy

A reference to the Dragon and Phoenix together also occurs outside of gameplay, in the prologue of each of the games in the series, in which Shenhua is heard reciting the prophecy (see also our comparison of the various versions of the prophecy to date).

This wording is from the Shenmue II version:

Shenhua: A Dragon shall emerge from the earth, and dark clouds shall obscure the heavens. A Phoenix shall descend from above, its wings will create a purple wind. In the midst of the pitch-black night, a morning star shall glisten, alone...

These words paint imagery of a conflict or dramatic event involving a Dragon and Phoenix in some form.

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Mirror Lore & Celestial Connections in Shenmue | Part One

The Phoenix and Dragon mirrors lie at the core of Shenmue's story right from the beginning, with Lan Di and his henchmen seizing one of the mirrors from the Hazuki Dojo in the shocking opening scene of Iwao's murder. From there, Ryo stumbles upon a web of interconnected topics and events, ranging from the significance of constellations in the sky, to an imperial order made long ago.

In this series of posts, we will carry out an in-depth review of several inter-related elements and clues that Ryo learns along his journey in the course of the first three games and see how they fit together.

We'll also highlight a number of translation clarifications along the way, where the English version of certain lines gives a different (possibly even incorrect) impression from the original Japanese.

Spoiler Warning: This post covers story-related aspects from the first three games.

These are the topics we will be covering in today's post:

• Ancient Beliefs: the Guardians of the North Star
• The Xing Xiu and People's Fates
• Five Stars Corp.
• Sword of Seven Stars
• I Smell Treasure
• The Chi You
• The Mirrors & the Qing Dynasty

We start our exploration with the Phoenix Mirror that Ryo discovers early in the first game in the basement of the Dojo.

Ancient Beliefs: the Guardians of the North Star

Ryo visits the Russiya China shop in Dobuita, and shows the Phoenix Mirror to the shop owner, Xiuyu Xia.

Xiuyu explains the significance that people in China attach to the Phoenix, and that it has a presence in the night sky:

Xiuyu: In China the Phoenix is the legendary bird of fortune... It's a guardian for the Sky Lord. 

Xiuyu examines the Phoenix mirror at the Russiya China shop

Xiuyu: The other guardian is the Dragon. In China, people consider the North Star to be the lord of the sky. Look, there. [pointing to a map on the wall] That is an old Chinese map in stone, see? It's a map of the Big Dipper from the Han Dynasty.

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Shenhua's Home Renovations - What Changed in Shenmue III

It has been a while since our earlier post on the blog in which we looked at changes in appearance to the exterior of Shenhua's house and the surrounding landscape from Shenmue II compared to Shenmue III. In this post, we'll turn our attention to the house's interior to cover what changes have been made within.

House Footprint

One notable difference seen from external observation, even before Ryo steps inside, is that Shenhua's house in Shenmue III has a difference in shape compared to Shenmue II.

Originally, the house's footprint was previously a simple "L" shape:

Shenhua's house, Shenmue II

However in the later game, the right-hand side of the house has been extended with a new wing:

Shenhua's house, Shenmue III

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for February 2023

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:

"The Significance of the Big Dipper in Shenmue"

The Big Dipper is what is known as an asterism, which is a recognizable pattern of stars that is not a formal constellation in itself, but can often be part of one. In the case of the Big Dipper, it is part of the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). In Chinese culture, the Big Dipper is often associated with the mythical creature the Dragon.

The stars and their constellations are a recurring topic encountered throughout the Shenmue games, and are woven into the story. For example:

• Ancient beliefs: in Shenmue I: the Russiya antique shop in Dobuita, where the owner, Xiuyu Xia, explains the significance that people in China attach to the Big Dipper and other nearby stars.

• Celestial harbinger: Ryo notices a book about constellations when visiting Shenhua's house for the first time. When Ryo asks about it, she recounts that while observing the Big Dipper the night before, the behavior of a neighboring star gave her an uneasy feeling that something bad had happened.

• Symbolism: the Sword of Seven Stars that has been left at the Stone Pit by Shenhua's father is inscribed with the same seven-star pattern of the Big Dipper.

Another aspect we will touch on is the extent to which the symbolism and importance of the Big Dipper and other star formations that has been hinted at throughout the first two games, carries through to the third game in the series.

Watch for this article in an upcoming post! Early access will be available for blog patrons.

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Unidentified Photo in Shenhua's House | Shenmue II

A photograph that may be of significance has been uncovered among the documents of Shenhua's father in Shenmue II, and suggestions are invited as to the location it shows!

Details follow below.

First, we'll recap the documents that Ryo finds on the desk at Shenhua's house.

Documents on Shenhua's Father's Desk

After Ryo reaches Shenhua's house after their trek over the Guilin mountains, Ryo is invited to explore the house and examine her father's collection of items. Eventually, Ryo finds a desk set in the corner of the bedroom that contains various architectural tools and documents.

Although Ryo would not yet recognize its exact meaning, the uppermost document shows a diagram of caves, with several shapes and lines that the player may later come to realize may represent braziers and other special features that have been installed. The writing itself is too indistinct to reveal any clues.

Cave diagram on the bedroom desk

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Opening Theme "UNDEAD-NOID" Lyrics & Analysis | Shenmue The Animation

The opening theme for Shenmue The Animation goes by the intriguing name of "UNDEAD-NOID" and was written and performed by Kashitaro Ito.

We have taken a stab at transcribing and translating the lyrics to help those who wish to sing along and get into the Shenmue spirit! As a general disclaimer, though: some differences may have crept in compared to the actual lyrics as these have been transcribed by ear.

Commentary on each of the lines, and possible references, follows the video.

Video: Opening Theme with Lyrics

Artist Profile: Kashitaro Ito

Here is brief profile of the artist:

"He started his career performing music covers on the Internet and made his major label debut in 2014. Since then, he has released three albums, all in the top 10 of the Oricon rankings. In parallel with his own activities, he also provides music and production work for other artists. He has also published a novel selling over 60,000 copies, and his talents include singing anime songs and voice acting.

He does not show his face in the media, with a fox mask being his trademark."

One other note of interest is that the artist also has a great admiration for the Beatles, and has previously written a promotional song inspired by John Lennon's Imagine.

Analysis of the Lyrics

While at first glance the lyrics may not seem to bear much relation to Shenmue, I believe this song was written specifically for the anime as there a few definite, though subtle, connections that exist within. 

Let's take a closer look.

"Hesitating before the criminals"

The lyrics open with a mention of "criminals" in the first line, which is rather general but but in the world of Shenmue the most likely suspects are the members of Lan Di's dark organization. When we have moved to the next line, we will see a hint to the location of Ryo's home town of Yokosuka, and so this line would fit a description of the confusion and uncertainty felt by the 18-year old Ryo when he enters the Hazuki Dojo and encounters Lan Di and his men.

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[Part Two] Twenty Striking Observations from the 2022 Shenmue the Animation Main Trailer: #10 to #1

View of Yokosuka, discussed in Observation #1

We continue on with our trailer analysis, presenting #10 to #1 of the twenty observations that impressed us most! See our previous post to review those in Part One.

Observation 10: Opening Theme Music "UNDEAD-NOID"

Music is an integral part of the Shenmue experience, and the music in the trailers show that this facet has not been neglected either.

The backing music in the action-oriented trailer is instrumental, with atmospheric tones and percussion that set the mood well but without tunes or melodies.

The story-oriented trailer, on the other hand, breaks into a catchy drum-backed piece of vocal music called "UNDEAD-NOID", performed by Japanese singer-songwriter Kashitaro Ito, that is the anime's official opening them music.

Towards the end the sound of what may be an erhu, or Chinese violin, can be heard. This is a nice additional link to Shenmue's world.

• More about the theme song artist can be read here: Shenmue the Animation official press release (translation)

The music from the original games has not been ignored, either, as the trailer starts with a tension-filled arrangement of the classic Shenmue theme.

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[Part One] Twenty Striking Observations from the 2022 Shenmue the Animation Main Trailer: #20 to #11

The official main trailer for Shenmue the Animation has been released, along with announcement of its premiere date coming up very soon on 5th February, 2022 on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim - for all countries except Japan, for which the trailer specifies "Coming in 2022".

In this post, we have gathered together 20 observations from the trailer that impressed or astonished us most, starting with the simpler ones and ending with those that are more subtle. Read on to find out what they are! In this first part, we count down #20 to #11.

Observation 20: Multiple Versions of the Trailer

Although one might expect a single main trailer, in fact it has been released in multiple versions, with each aimed at a different audience. We'll differentiate them using the following naming:

• Action-oriented trailer, which has English voicing and focuses on adrenalin-filled fight scenes. This version may be effective at attracting newcomers to the franchise.

• A Toonami-specific variation of the action-oriented trailer which contains identical footage for the most part but a brief scene showing Ryo removing the sword from a box is replaced with one of him sneaking past the security office in the Old Warehouse District.
• Story-oriented trailer (Japanese voicing, no subs). This trailer mixes in even more material, cutting quickly between numerous scenes, events and characters and has onscreen text in Japanese introducing the characters and story outline. With many recognizable faces and places, this trailer does a good job at appealing to existing fans. The text does tend to cover up the artwork however, so the following version with English subs is recommended for a better view.

• Story-oriented trailer with English subs: as well as adding subs, at the same time much of the Japanese onscreen text is removed. One other small difference with this trailer compared to the non-subbed one is that in place of the title screen for Shenmue the Animation, which shows the exterior of the dojo with lightning flashing above, instead there is a plain screen with the Crunchyroll/Adult Swim logos.

Watching all the trailers is recommended to fully enjoy the content!

Observation 19: Move Instruction Confirmed

In the game Ryo has the opportunity to learn the Double Blow move from Yamagishi-san at Suzume Park, and part of a recreation of this scene can be seen in the story-oriented trailer. (There has been no sign yet of Tom or his hot-dog truck so far however, so whether Ryo will acquire the Tornado Kick from him remains to be seen...).

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The Shenmue Prophecy: Comparison of All English Versions To Date

We have previously carried out an analysis of the Shenmue the Animation trailer that was launched recently at New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2021. 

This time, we will examine the prophecy wording that Shenhua recites as this trailer plays, and see how it stacks up against the various other English versions that have been published to date. 

Related links:

Shenmue the Animation Trailer Breakdown: Part One

Shenmue the Animation Trailer Breakdown: Part Two

Shenmue the Animation Trailer Breakdown: Part Three

Shenmue the Animation Trailer Breakdown: Part Four

Prophecy Versions to Date

Update: the prophecy that is played again at Shenmue I's ending has differences in wording compared to the one in the prologue, so I have added this version.

Feb 2021 Update: Episode One of Shenmue the Animation contains a fuller version of the prophecy. I have updated the post with these lines.

Versions of the Shenmue prophecy to date have been seen in:

• Shenmue I (the prologue that plays before the title screen);
• Shenmue I (at the end of the game);
• Shenmue II (before the title screen & in the Stone Pit);
• The Shenmue III "Prophecy" trailer; and
• This Shenmue the Animation trailer.
• Shenmue the Animation Episode One

However when it comes to the English translation, while the meaning is retained, they are not identical to each other in wording.

Below, I have separated the prophecy into 10 parts. As will be see, not all parts appear in every version;  a hyphen "-" mark is used to indicate if a part does not appear in a particular game or trailer.

For example, the first game does not include the lines that describe the dragon and phoenix, which are introduced from Shenmue 2 onwards; on the other hand it contains the line "And thus the saga... begins" which is not uttered in the subsequent games.

To help gauge how faithful the wording of each version is to the original Japanese meaning, I have given a fairly literal translation at the top of each.

General note: the Japanese text is written in a poetic or literary style in its use of vocabulary and grammar, as if the words were written long ago.  Hence it is fitting that the English versions also assume a somewhat a poetic turn of phrase.

① その者、東の遠つ国より海を渡りて現れり。

Sono mono, higashi no tōtsu kuni yori umi o watarite arawareri.

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[Part Four] Subtle Details from Shenmue the Animation Trailer: Recap & Analysis

This is the fourth and final part of our in-depth breakdown of the Shenmue the Animation trailer, which was launched last week at New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2021 to a widely-positive reception. Read the previous parts here:

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

The analysis continues below.

Shenmue The Animation Title

The next clip starts with an initially-blinding golden glow of sunlight in the sky over a cityscape of tall, densely-packed buildings. A low mountain range stretches in the background.

The camera pans down and out to reveal two figures in the foreground, standing at the top of a building: one is Lan Di, and the other Ryo.

This is not an action scene like the others, but it is almost like a snapshot of action, frozen in time: Ryo is shown lunging forward, elbow outstretched, a grimace of determination on his face; Lan Di has an arm raised to block the attack as he fixes Ryo with his glare, his pigtail sweeping out dramatically to one side. A narrow ray of sunlight can also be noticed beaming across the screen from left to right.

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[Part Three] Subtle Details from Shenmue the Animation Trailer: Recap & Analysis

This is the third part of our in-depth breakdown of the Shenmue the Animation trailer, which was launched recently at New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2021 to a positive reception from fans and the general public. Read the previous parts here:

• Part One
• Part Two

And now, let's continue with the trailer analysis. One comparison image in particular is sure to astound with the attention to detail and its faithfulness to a real-life location in Yokosuka. Read on to find out more!

Battle with Chai in the Hazuki Dojo

The next clip opens with a strong band of yellow-red light streaming across a polished wooden floor. Its sharply-defined edges suggest sunlight coming in through the narrow opening of half-open doors. A shadow is cast as a figure approaches from behind the camera, pausing briefly after reaching the opening. The figure's speed is steady, with arms held at the side and thus does not appear to be expecting trouble or in a state of high emotion at this point.

The camera switches to a wide-angle shot, which reveals the location to be the Hazuki Dojo, with the light of the setting sun illuminating the interior through one of the open double-doors, and two characters present: Ryo (the presumed owner of the shadow above) and Chai.

Ryo now stands at the far side of the room in a fighting stance as Chai rushes towards him. The rays of sunlight and lens flare add nicely to the visual effect, although a slight discrepancy in the direction of Chai's shadow compared to that cast by the doorway is apparent.

This image is clearly not sequential to the previous image, so presumably a section was skipped for the trailer edit.

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[Part Two] Subtle Details from Shenmue the Animation Trailer: Recap & Analysis

In this post we continue with Part Two of our in-depth breakdown of the Shenmue the Animation trailer, which was launched last week at New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2021 to a widely-positive reception.

• In case you missed it, read Part One here.

Our analysis continues below.

Shenhua

A new scene shows the figure of Shenhua standing on a mountainside in a rural location at night, facing a full moon that bathes the landscape in its glow.

Although the scene is dimly-lit, details such as the winding path, fence at the side, rock formations, houses and outline of distant mountains can be distinguished. The biggest clue to the location is the tall tower, matching the bell tower in Bailu village as depicted in Shenmue III. Interestingly, the anime has chosen a more natural-looking moon size compared to its oversized appearance in the game.

Bailu village at night in Shenmue III

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[Part One] Subtle Details from Shenmue the Animation Trailer: Recap & Analysis

 

Promotional image from the newly-opened official Japanese website

The first trailer for the upcoming Shenmue the Anime trailer, was launched last week at New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2021 and did not disappoint with its montage of recognizable characters, scenes, locations, and fighting action. Already it has generated a great deal of positive buzz, not only in fan forums but in the wider media.

In this post, we will continue the time-honored tradition among fans of picking apart the new trailer in excruciating detail to see what clues and information can be squeezed out of it (with a dose of speculation thrown in for good measure).

Related link: to read some background about the anime, we posted this translation of a Famitsu interview last year with creator Yu Suzuki and producer Yu Kiyozono:

• Shenmue the Animation: Famitsu Interview with Yu Kiyozono & Yu Suzuki: Part One and Part Two

Let's get started with the play-by-play recap and analysis of this trailer!

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[Part One] Shenhua's House: Shenmue 2 vs Shenmue 3 | Pictorial Comparison

Near the end of Shenmue II, Ryo and Shenhua take the path from the riverside port of Langhuishan and cross the mountains to eventually reach her father's house, located on a rocky plateau high above the Yingshuihe river.

This familiar location was recreated in Shenmue III, being the place Ryo returns to each evening during his investigations at Bailu village, with a number of minor differences in appearance. In this post we will take a complete tour of this outdoor area, to compare the landscape around the house as it is portrayed in Shenmue II vs Shenmue III (with the house's interior to be covered in a future post).

Tools used: our out-of-bounds cheat tool for Shenmue II and LemonHaze's miscellaneous mods tool for Shenmue III.

Aerial View

To start with, let's look down on Shenhua's house from above. The path from Langhuishan / Bailu village can be seen entering from the left side, and continuing past the house in the direction of the Stone Pit. The topography in Shenmue III matches the previous game closely, with one noticeable difference being that the plateau on which the house sits is now wider and less enclosed. The craggy rocks and cliffs are have a somewhat different appearance to the more sheer and flatter shapes seen in Shenmue II.

Bird's eye view of landscape around Shenhua's house (top: S2, below: S3)

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for January 2021

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 for the start of 2021 is...

Shenhua's house in Shenmue II vs Shenmue III.

At the end of Shenmue II, after a long journey through the Guilin mountains, Ryo and Shenhua eventually arrive at Shenhua's house, on the outskirts of Bailu village. It is a humble abode in a rural setting, without modern conveniences or even electricity. The player is able to spend some time exploring the house, examining various objects and wall hangings to become quite familiar with its contents and layout.

Shenhua's house features again in Shenmue III, and while it unmistakably represents the same house as the previous game, it is not identical and a number of changes can be noted (what has become of the Luoyang tapestry?).

In this post we'll be comparing and cataloguing as many of the differences as we can.

Watch for it on the blog in the near future!

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