Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for June 2026

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 those carried over from previous months), the winning topic this time is:

"Shenmue × Yokosuka: Anime Commemorative Special Livestream (IGN Japan)"

Held in 2022 to mark the release of Shenmue the Animation, this extended special livestream brought together some key figures connected with the series: Yu Suzuki, Masaya Matsukaze (the voice of Ryo Hazuki), and Yu Kiyozono of Telecom Animation Film, with Esra Krabbe of IGN Japan serving as MC.

Broadcast from Yokosuka, just around the corner from Dobuita Street, the panel looks back on the creation of the anime, how the world of the games was adapted for a new medium, and the enduring appeal of Dobuita and Yokosuka as places deeply associated with the series.

The discussion also includes behind-the-scenes comments from Yu Suzuki and Masaya Matsukaze, touching on everything from the challenge of preserving Ryo’s character after more than 20 years, to the fine details Yu Suzuki checked during production, such as the roof of the Hazuki residence, Nozomi’s character design, and Goro’s distinctive hairstyle.

In the full post, we'll translate selected highlights and anecdotes from the livestream, including comments on Shenmue the Animation, the Shenmue × Yokosuka collaboration project, memories of Dobuita, and reflections on the series’ past and future.

Coming soon to the blog!

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Yu Suzuki Confirms Desire to Make Shenmue IV (TGS 2023)

Yu Suzuki's Livestream with IGN Japan 

Yu Suzuki attended the Tokyo Game Show last week to promote the upcoming release of the YS Net arcade game Air Twister for the PC and consoles, having been originally released last year for Apple devices.

On the third day of the event, Suzuki appeared as a guest on a livestream with Esra Krabbe of IGN Japan.

While the talk was centered around Air Twister, Suzuki made comments about future ideas, touched on a new unspecified project YS Net has underway and even spoke briefly on Shenmue. This post picks up conversation snippets of particular interest.

Yu Suzuki Classics Re-imagined

With Air Twister having its roots in Yu Suzuki's classic arcade game Space Harrier, Suzuki was asked if he has any plans to develop further games similarly inspired by his other past hit games such as Out Run, Power Drift, Hang On, After Burner and so on.

Yu Suzuki: I'd like to make a kind of set of around six games... that's if discussions happen about something like that. It would be nice to have them collected together, don't you think? Like a series.

 

Air Twister Special Edition: Yu Suzuki Interview Booklet

It was highlighted that the Special Edition of Air Twister will come with a booklet containing an extended written interview with Yu Suzuki.

Esra Krabbe: I was the one who conducted the interview with you, and it lasted for about three hours if I recall correctly. While the booklet is for Air Twister, I have a feeling it also touches on Shenmue quite a lot - my bad! It has a lot about your upbringing and contains stories that we haven't heard before, doesn't it.

Yu Suzuki: Yes, it has quite a few in-depth stories.

Esra Krabbe:  I think we spoke for around three hours. I think that your fans can look forward to both the actual game as well as the interview.

New Project In Progress

 

Esra Krabbe: Recently you've announced Air Twister, but are there still various other games you're planning to create going forwards?

Yu Suzuki: I can't talk about it yet, but we're working on something.

Esra Krabbe: Oh, really? That's big news just to mention casually! I hope it was okay for you to say it.

Yu Suzuki: [laughs] I can't say any more than that.

Esra Krabbe: Well, hearing that there's something else to for fans to look forward to is really good news.

Yu Suzuki: It's still in development right now, so...

Esra Krabbe: I'm looking forward to it!

Shenmue's Influence

Esra Krabbe: I myself of course love Shenmue, and at the session just a little while ago there was a Japanese game set in the 1980's, so I asked them whether it had been influenced by Shenmue. And that turned out to be the case*! They said that they started development when they had been playing Shenmue I and wanted to incorporate the atmosphere of Japan in the 1980s. Recently do you also come across a lot of people who admire or have been influenced by Shenmue?

Yu Suzuki: Being at the game show today, I've been meeting a lot of different people who have said things like their life was changed by Shenmue, or that they started creating games thanks to Shenmue. I'm extremely happy to receive comments like that.

 *Note from Switch: the game being referred to is "Last Time I Saw You". There is a free demo currently out on Steam. I've made an introductory post about it here.

Yu Suzuki On Shenmue IV

Esra Krabbe: There are a lot of people who have been influenced by Shenmue in this way. We'll soon be coming up to 4 years since Shenmue III [was released]. Are you still wanting to continue on with Shenmue? 

Yu Suzuki: Yes, of course. Because it's still partway through.

Esra Krabbe: So it sounds like you have a lot of possibilities and things you'd like to do, such as Shenmue, arcade-style games, as well as a lot of other ideas?

Yu Suzuki: Yes, there's a lot I'd like to do... it's a matter of having the opportunity. If I meet the right people, or can find the right partner.

Esra Krabbe: Publishers, if you are listening...! I'm looking forward to what you will surprise all the fans with next.

 

IGN Japan Video

IGN Japan's full Air Twister segment with Yu Suzuki, from which the above interactions were extracted, is embedded below. Auto-translate captions are available.

Air Twister for PC & Consoles

Air Twister will become available in both physical and digital formats for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 & 5 and digitally for Xbox and PC on November 10, 2023. There will also be a Special Edition that comes with extras.

The Air Twister Special Edition, at right, includes soundtrack, interview booklet & art

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Japanese Idol Group Plays Shenmue on TV Tokyo

TV Tokyo is showing a new video game-related variety show series called Game Majime-san which roughly translates to "Serious Gamers". It bills itself as a series in which "top idols of the Reiwa era [i.e. those of the modern day] play famous games seriously" and features the reactions of members of popular female idol groups playing classic video games for the first time.

The first two episodes covered Metal Gear Solid 3, and the latest episode was Shenmue! It features  comments from Esra Krabbe of IGN Japan as well as Susumu Aketagawa (the original voice recording director of the first two games).

While the title of the show is clearly somewhat tongue-in-cheek - you'll find several references emphasizing how "serious" the players are with respect to their respective missions - it should help to introduce Shenmue to a younger generation of game players who may not know about it, and the background information it shares about the game is accurate. It even contains short interviews with journalists and a former project team member (not Yu Suzuki!).

As the broadcast was in the Japanese language, we present is a full transcription of the show in English, below.

Narrator: Good evening, everyone. This show delves into classic games in an academic way. Idol heartthrobs of the Reiwa era make a serious effort to clear the games. This is a "Super-hard Educational Game Variety" show!

TV Tokyo's new series, "Game Majime-san"

The classic game we'll be talking about this time is...

Esra Krabbe (IGN Japan)

Esra Krabbe (IGN Japan): I don't think I'd be sitting here right now if this game didn't exist.

Narrator: Released in 1999, it's the first entry in the legendary Shenmue game series. Developed on a massive scale as a flagship title for the dream game machine, the Dreamcast, its attention to detail is so impressive that it was even praised by Steven Spielberg.

So, how did Shenmue influence the gaming industry at the time?

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[Part 3] Shenmue Discussion with Yu Suzuki & Developers | IGN Japan

This is the third and final part of our summary of a video interview with three key members of the development team for Shenmue III who were also core project members in the earlier titles: creator and game director Yu Suzuki, animation producer Hiroaki Takeuchi and second director Keiji Okayasu. The interview was held by IGN Japan's Esra Krabbe.

If you haven't yet read the first two parts, you can find them here:

• Part One of the video interview summary
• Part Two of the video interview summary

Shenmue I & II's Drink Machines

Okayasu recounts that the thing that surprised him the most when he was working on the first two Shenmue games was when Suzuki wanted to put in drink machines. "They didn't have any meaning with respect to the gameplay, you see. You put your money in, the can drops down, you drink it... and that's all."

However, he saw the sense in Suzuki's thinking that drink machines are a common sight for a town, and buying a drink from one is something you might do if you had some pocket change.

"There needs to be consumption in order to create a cycle," explains Suzuki, making a circular motion in the air. "My intention when I created them was to form a cycle by connecting several such small elements together, although in practice I wasn't quite able to reach that point".

Were the winning cans a part of this?

"To some extent, yes, as motivation for players to continue buying cans," Yu nods.

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[Part 2] Shenmue Discussion with Yu Suzuki & Developers | IGN Japan

This is the second part of a 3-part summary of a video interview with three key members of the development team for Shenmue 3 who were also core project members in the earlier titles: creator and game director Yu Suzuki, animation producer Hiroaki Takeuchi and second director Keiji Okayasu. The interview was held by IGN Japan's Esra Krabbe.

• Part One of the interview summary can be found here.

The Boat Chapter

When asked about the legendary chapter that takes place on the boat from Yokosuka to Hong Kong, Yu Suzuki is slightly wary. "I don't want to say too much, since I may make some use of it later," he says with a smile. "During the journey various incidents and encounters take place on board."

Official Shenmue Side Story "Chai & Ryo"

Takeuchi adds: "The scenario has been written as a base, but that won't simply be used as it is. We would then add things to it like fun gameplay elements and so on, while thinking of the overall balance".

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[Part 1] Shenmue Discussion with Yu Suzuki & Developers | IGN Japan

To commemorate the release of Shenmue 3 earlier this month, IGN Japan's Esra Krabbe spoke with key members of the development team, who were all also on the project team for the first two games: creator and game director Yu Suzuki, animation producer Hiroaki Takeuchi and second director Keiji Okayasu.

In this post we share some of the highlights of the discussion. Due to length, we will split this over a number of parts. A link to the video can be found at the end of this post.

Early Concept Art

Displayed on the table are folders containing some colored concept sketches. Yu Suzuki comments that these were created during development of the original Shenmue games, with some being from the start of the project which began "4 to 5 years" prior to the release of the first game in 1999. The figure wearing Chinese-style martial arts clothing is Akira from Virtua Fighter, as the idea at that time was to make him the main character in a story centered around Chinese martial arts - indeed, Yu Suzuki wrote a set of scripts that encapsulated the story, called "The Legend of Akira".

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