Shenmue III Trailer "The Prophecy" Dissection [Part Three]

Welcome to Part Three of our three-part analysis of the Shenmue III release date announcement trailer. If you haven't read them already, Part One can be found here and Part Two here.

We continue on from the second part, in which Ryo appeared to be taking part in some kind of sparring challenge with a silver-haired man inside an opulently-decorated room. Immediately after this, the scene changes back to the caverns at the Stone Pit.

Exploring the Cave

We see Ryo and Shenhua - or, to be specific, their legs - at the start of a rocky passage, with another illuminated area of the cave beyond. Reflections are cast off pools of murky water on the ground. Cables are strung along the cave roof, most likely more of the "fuses" that set the cave's network of torches alight, as seen at the end of Shenmue II.

Ryo leads the way down a rocky passage.

We have seen a shot very similar to the one above before in July. It was displayed on the monitor at the voice recording session, in a photo posted by the actress who will play the Japanese voice of Shenhua (Haruka Terui):

A photo from a voice-recording session for the Japanese audio with Haruka Terui (right; voice of Shenhua) and Masaya Matsukaze (left; voice of Ryo).

• Related post: Leaving the Cave? | Analysis of a New Shenmue III Image

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Shenmue III Trailer "The Prophecy" Dissection [Part Two]

Welcome to Part Two of our analysis of the Shenmue III release date announcement trailer. Part One can be found here.

We pick up as Ryo, backpack on one shoulder, steps off the berthed ferry across a rough ramp of wooden boards, onto the wharf at Choubu.

Disembarking from the Ferry

Ryo steps onto the wharf.

A lot of small graphical details help to bring the scene to life, such as a puff of steam produced from inside the ferry. The glass in the windows are smeared, and grimy residue can be seen on the walls and under the port holes.

Small graphical details: a puff of steam (left); smeared windows (middle) and grimy walls (right).

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Shenmue III Trailer "The Prophecy" Dissection [Part One]

Among the opening presentations at the recent Gamescom 2018 event in Cologne was an announcement trailer for the release date for Shenmue III: August 27th, 2019. This brand new trailer reveals new locations and characters - as well as some familiar faces from Shenmue II revealed again for the first time in this third game.

The trailer is approximately 1.5 minutes in length, and in this post, we'll be walking through and dissecting each of the scenes to catch those small details that are easy to miss when watching the video in a single sitting - and also simply to appreciate the the presentation of the scenes.

The trailer video can be viewed below if you would like to refresh your memory before we dive in:

And now let's get started!

"The Prophecy"

The name of the trailer is "The Prophecy", as per the description on the official YouTube video, and once it starts the naming makes sense: throughout the video the voice of Shenhua can be heard reciting the prophetic poem that describes her predestined meeting with Ryo.

The words of the poem are the same as the one she recites before the start of Shenmue II (the Shenmue I version of the poem is a shorter version). The words retain their impressiveness as they foretell not only of her preordained encounter with Ryo but with a fantastical description of the two mythical beasts that decorate the mirrors: the Dragon and the Pheonix:

From a distant land in the East, from across the sea,
he shall appear.
He does not know of the strength hidden within him.
The strength that would destroy him.
The strength that would fulfill his wishes.
When he is ready, he shall seek me out.
And we shall brave together the rocky path.
I shall wait...
This encounter has been my destiny since ancient times.
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...

This is the first time we get to hear the new Japanese voice of Shenhua, with the voice actress from the first two games, Hazuki Ishigaki, having since retired from the business. Shenhua's new voice is performed by Haruka Terui as announced in Kickstarter Update #82, and she has really managed to capture a similar feel.

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Shenmue 3 Announcement & Video Tomorrow at Gamescom

A short but exciting Kickstarter update, entitled "Gamescom 2018 Update #1", has been released announcing the news that a Shenmue 3 announcement is planned for the opening day of the Gamescom event tomorrow. Furthermore, a video is also being prepared for the announcement.

Key details:

• Shenmue III announcement/video planned for Tuesday the 21st, at 11:00~13:00 CEST (17:00~19:00 JST) Correction: the time in JST converts to 18:00~20:00 JST.
• Livestreaming available at the Gamescom official website

Below is a high-resolution version of the image that accompanied the update. In the background we see the Shenhua character model at the left (with her hair in plaits), and on the main monitor is a night scene of what looks to be a ferry at the Choubu habor, with a full moon and star-studded sky behind. An identification number, M06_S0006, appears in the top-right corner; similar to the ones seen in previous cut-scene stills.

Although it is hard to see clearly, it appears there may be figures standing on the wharf... No doubt this will become clear in tomorrow's video!

Source: link to official update

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