The 11 Chapter Tiles (GDC 2014) - Examination & Theories [Part One]

The Chapter Concept Art is a set of 11 illustrated panels representing chapters from an early version of the saga created around 1996, when the project was still known as Virtua Fighter RPG (VFRPG).

They were first released publicly in 2014, during Yu Suzuki’s talk on Shenmue’s development at the Game Developers Conference (GDC 2014). Suzuki casually introduced a slide containing the never-before-seen artwork, noting to the enthralled audience:

“This is the first time I’m showing anyone this stuff.”

Created during a formative planning stage, the artwork was intended to visualize the story as a whole, capturing key characters, locations, and major story developments. Elements seen in them would later appear in recognizable form in the three Shenmue games released so far, while others remain unaccounted for at present.

The set of 11 Chapter Tiles (GDC 2014)

Another slide shown during the same GDC presentation clarifies how these illustrations were developed. Suzuki explained that the story had first been organized into an eleven-chapter novel, with a focus on “world feel and drama,” and that one illustration was then created for each chapter. The chapter tiles therefore correspond to this early novelized structure, serving as visual representations of its narrative progression.

While these illustrations may no longer correspond exactly to how Shenmue’s story ultimately unfolds, they remain an important item of reference and speculation for fans. High-resolution versions are currently available for only the first seven illustrations, but the set as a whole offers a window into the project’s original ambitions and planned events. Taken together, the images appear to outline not only a sequence of locations, but also a broader narrative arc that begins with revenge and gradually evolves toward reflection and renewal.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at all 11 chapter tiles, identifying familiar faces and settings and drawing connections to material already seen in the released games. As we examine each chapter tile, we’ll also note some of the interpretations and theories that have emerged within the Shenmue community over the years.

Note: At the time these chapter tiles were created, the protagonist was to have been Virtua Fighter's Akira Yuki. For simplicity in this post, however, we'll refer to "Ryo".

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"Inside Yu Suzuki’s Project Berkley: a First Glimpse"

In late 1998, as the Dreamcast era was just beginning, Yu Suzuki began teasing his next project under the code name Project Berkley. Rather than a traditional announcement, Suzuki chose to reveal fragments of the project through a special video on GD-ROM that came bundled with Virtua Fighter 3tb.

Coverage by the Japanese Dreamcast Magazine from the time paints Project Berkley as something deliberately hard to define: not quite a game, not quite a movie, but what Suzuki described as “FREE”: Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment.

The article focuses on mood, visual direction, and ambition, teasing a vast world, universal themes, and the now-famous image of a mysterious young girl who would later become central to Shenmue’s identity. This early glimpse offers a fascinating snapshot of Shenmue before the title, the town of Yokosuka, or even Ryo Hazuki had been fully revealed.

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Shenmue Development Timeline (May 1998 - Dec 1999)

Most Shenmue fans already know the broad story of the game’s development: the early demos, the ever-extending release date, and the rumors in games magazines suggesting that SEGA was aiming for something far bigger than anything it had attempted before.

Below is a timeline translated from the Shenmue Complete Guide book, which was published in Japan not long after the first game’s release. It reflects how Shenmue’s development was being presented and discussed at the time, before years of retrospectives and post-mortems filled in the gaps. Much of this information will be familiar to longtime fans, but it still serves as a handy snapshot of those busy Dreamcast years and how key milestones slotted into place.

I’ve also inserted relevant videos at a few points along the way where they help capture what players were seeing at the time as Shenmue gradually took shape.

21 May '98

DC Demo: "Tower of Babel"

At SEGA’s Dreamcast unveiling event, one of the demo videos shown was Tower of Babel, created by Yu Suzuki in just 10 days. In retrospect, this can be seen as a precursor to Shenmue.

• Tower of Babel Demo Video:

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Kawabata's Renders, Final Part: Locations and Promo Renders

Welcome to the fourth and final part of our review of the art renders shared by AM2 developer Hideki Kawabata (previous parts: Part One, Part Two, Part Three). This final post in the series will touch on some of the location renders and promotional CG art that was included in the collection.

The Original Karate Tournament Location: Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan

The first location we'll look at is one that once lived only in the imagination of fans: the stadium in which Ryo's high school karate tournament took place prior to the start of the first game, as revealed by Yu Suzuki in 2015:

Q: Where did Ryo get his band-aid?

Yu Suzuki: It didn't appear in Chapter 1, but there was a martial arts event. The scar is from the final match.

This response is from a Twitter event called "#YouAskYu" in 2015 - a transcript is archived on the old Shenmue Dojo forums.

This took on a concrete form in recent years, when a scene from this tournament was included in the first episode of Shenmue The Animation in 2022. For the anime, the tournament location was directly based on the real-life sporting venue, the Yokosuka Arena:

The location of the karate tournament in Shenmue The Animation: Yokosuka Arena

However, with Kawabata's collection of renders, another piece can now be added to the puzzle: a fully-rendered model of a stadium had been prepared back in the early days of the project, in April of 1996. 

Furthermore, it even shows two tatami platforms for the matches, set up inside the hall:

Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium: 30 April 1996

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The Project Berkley Bonus Disc | Dengeki Dreamcast Magazine (January 2000)

A mysterious scene from the CG movie on the Project Berkley bonus disc

Japan's Dengeki Dreamcast magazine contained a huge 50-page Shenmue feature in its January 28 edition. Within this feature was a reflection on the intriguing Project Berkley bonus disc that had been released a year prior and even today can be considered to hold an abundance of hints and glimpses as to how Shenmue's plot might once have been (and even could still be) going to unfold.

Magazine page images kindly provided by SkillJim.

Why "Project Berkley"?

In the late 1990s, SEGA's AM2 division, led by Yu Suzuki, embarked on an ambitious venture known internally as Project Guppy. Initially conceived with the title of Virtua Fighter RPG for the SEGA Saturn, the project subsequently transitioned to the SEGA Dreamcast and was renamed Shenmue and the associated code name changed to Project Berkley. Code names were used to maintain confidentiality during development, adding an aura of mystery to the undertaking.

At his GDC 2014 post-mortem talk, Yu Suzuki reveals how the code name changed during development together with the game's title.

In recent years, Yu Suzuki has revealed the inspiration for the name "Project Berkley":

Q: At the beginning the game was given the codename “Project Berkley”, is there any special meaning behind this name?

YS: It’s actually like this [laughs]: because we realized at the start that this would be a completely different game to anything else on the market at the time, and its scale was unprecedented, we wanted to keep the project very confidential. Because of this we wanted to give it a very cool sounding name, like something from a spy movie. In Japan there’s this phrase bakkureru (ばっくれる) meaning to “pretend not to know” or “feign ignorance”, and by coincidence that there is a place in America with a similar sounding name, so we chose this “Project Berkley” codename.

A special feature of approximately 30 minutes, with the same name of Project Berkley, was included with the Japanese version of Virtua Fighter 3tb, released on Dreamcast in November 1998. Containing a CGI trailer, an extended interview with Yu Suzuki and various concept art, it provided gamers with an early glimpse into the project's innovative vision, highlighting its potential to revolutionize gaming.

The Virtua Fighter 3tb release included a bonus disc

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Feature Translation: A Year and a Half Following Shenmue (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.

Across several pages, the article traces the project’s evolution - from its early days as Project Berkley to its eventual release as a new kind of interactive experience, dubbed FREE (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment), reflecting Suzuki’s goal of letting players live the story rather than just read it.

This article captures a rare retrospective on the Shenmue project, written just a few months after the first game's release. While much of it reflects on the development journey, it also looks ahead to what was already underway at the time: the next chapter set in Hong Kong, and beyond that, mainland China. 

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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:

"Project Berkley Bonus Disc: Dengeki Dreamcast Magazine (January 2000)"

January 2000 Dengeki Dreamcast Magazine cover

Japan's Dengeki Dreamcast magazine contained a huge 50-page Shenmue feature in its January 28 edition. Within this feature was a reflection on the intriguing Project Berkley bonus disc that had been released a year prior, that even today can be considered to hold an abundance of hints and glimpses as to how Shenmue's plot might once have been (and even could still be) going to unfold. 

Why "Project Berkley"?

In the late 1990s, SEGA's AM2 division, led by Yu Suzuki, embarked on an ambitious venture known internally as Project Guppy. Initially conceived with the title of Virtua Fighter RPG for the SEGA Saturn, the project subsequently transitioned to the SEGA Dreamcast and was renamed Shenmue, with the associated code name changing to Project Berkley. Code names were used to maintain confidentiality during development, adding an aura of mystery to the undertaking.

At his GDC 2014 post-mortem talk, Yu Suzuki reveals how the code name changed during development together with the game's title.

In recent years, Yu Suzuki has revealed the inspiration for the name "Project Berkley":

Q: At the beginning the game was given the codename “Project Berkley”, is there any special meaning behind this name?

YS: It’s actually like this [laughs]: because we realized at the start that this would be a completely different game to anything else on the market at the time, and its scale was unprecedented, we wanted to keep the project very confidential. Because of this we wanted to give it a very cool sounding name, like something from a spy movie. In Japan there’s this phrase bakkureru (ばっくれる) meaning to “pretend not to know” or “feign ignorance”, and by coincidence that there is a place in America with a similar sounding name, so we chose this “Project Berkley” codename.

A special feature of approximately 30 minutes, with the same name of Project Berkley, was included with the Japanese version of Virtua Fighter 3tb, released on Dreamcast in November 1998. Containing  a CGI trailer, an extended interview with Yu Suzuki and various concept art, it provided gamers with an early glimpse into the project's innovative vision, highlighting its potential to revolutionize gaming.

The Virtua Fighter 3tb release included a bonus disc

The bonus disc: "Project Berkley"

Summary of "Project Berkley" Disc Contents

CGI Movie

The feature starts with a CGI movie that lasts a few minutes, showing clips of characters and scenes  - some recognizable today as events from the first few games, and others not - accompanied by an orchestral score that includes the Shenmue theme. The movie finishes with a title of "Shenmue" in Japanese against a mirror design.

A scene from the CGI movie

Introduction and Vision

Yu Suzuki discusses the balance between advanced technology and game sense, which defines his creative style. He emphasizes providing players with a sense of freedom and realism, contrasting with the exaggerated mechanics of other games at the time (e.g., exploding vehicles upon collision).

Development Inspiration

Suzuki's early arcade game concepts explored realistic simulations, such as dogfights in fighter planes and immersive driving experiences (inspired by the movie Cannonball Run and Ferrari road trips). These ideas prioritized enjoyment over strict realism.

The transition to more narrative-driven games came from Suzuki's desire to create a title where story and characters take precedence over overly challenging mechanics.

Breaking Genre Norms

Suzuki was inspired by RPGs like Wizardry and Ultima but wanted to evolve the genre into something more accessible and universally appealing. He coined the term "FREE" (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment) to describe Shenmue, focusing on interactivity and freedom within a believable world.

The game aimed to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers with universal themes like love, courage, family, and friendship.

Character and World Design

Extensive care was taken in designing characters, starting with rough sketches and evolving through clay and plaster models to achieve lifelike realism.

The game world was designed to be expansive, historically deep, and rich with diverse characters. Around 500 unique 3D models were planned for NPCs alone.

Concept art featured in the Project Berkley movie

Music-Driven Creativity

Suzuki introduced an innovative development process where the game's music was created first to inspire scenario writers and designers. This approach ensured a cohesive emotional tone throughout the project.

Philosophy and Legacy

The interview clearly conveys Suzuki’s ambition to create a game that goes beyond entertainment, embedding meaningful messages and immersive storytelling.

He envisioned Shenmue as a medium to connect people globally, emphasizing the value of friendship and shared human experiences.

The end of the Project Berkley documentary

Dengeki Dreamcast Magazine Article

We will be translating an article in the Dengeki Dreamcast magazine that highlighted several pieces of concept art and CGI scenes that had featured on the Project Berkley disc and speculated about what might be to come in the story. This should make for interesting reading as it was written just after the release of the first game. Have any of these questions yet been answered? 

Magazine page images kindly provided by SkillJim.

Coming soon to the blog!

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Exploring Parallel Paths: Locations and Scenes in 'Kenji' vs Shenmue | Part 3

Welcome to Part 3 of our analysis comparing the 1980s' manga "Kenji" and Shenmue. The previous part covered Characters and Themes. In this part, we'll look at how both stories follow the protagonist's journey from Japan to China, highlighting certain locations and scenes that shed light on potential influences between the two works.

Parts in this Series So Far

• Part One - Unveiling Inspiration: Exploring the Manga 'Kenji' and Shenmue
• Part Two - Character Threads: Themes and Characters in 'Kenji' vs Shenmue
• Part Three (this part) - Exploring Parallel Paths: Locations and Scenes in Kenji vs Shenmue

Kenji vs Shenmue: Journey from Japan to China

A clear parallel can be seen in terms of the broad setting and locations of the stories. In both, a Japanese boy who has been brought up studying martial arts resolves to set out on an overseas journey by ship that takes him through locations in Hong Kong and mainland China.

In the case of Kenji, his parents are initially against the idea, but reluctantly give their permission after being persuaded by one of Kenji's adult martial arts mentors. Kenji is able to secure his boat trip for free thanks to the connections of his friend. His initial destination is Taiwan, from where he travels by plane to Hong Kong.

In Ryo's case, the main obstacles to his wish to go to Hong Kong are the permission of his housekeeper, Ine-san, and the lack of money for the boat ticket. Overcoming these obstacles - in particular, the second of these - is the focus of Shenmue's first chapter.

Leaving Japan by Ship

Kenji departs from Japan by ship from Yokohama, and is seen off by a group of friends and family. 

Kenji's friends and family see him off at the port in Yokohama

In Shenmue, Ryo also leaves by ship a little further down the coast in Yokosuka. The cutscene that plays shows Master Chen and his son, Guizhang, watching his departure.

Ryo sets off on his journey from Yokosuka after saying farewell to Master Chen and Guizhang

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