Black Rotary Phone & Other Miniatures | Merchandise

In 2002, toy manufacturer Takara released a "Showa Memories" series of miniature sets that recreated nostalgic items from 1950's / 1960's Japan. The theme was a Japanese hot springs inn, and in fact each of the sets was sold with a packet of bath salts.

For Shenmue fans, a number of items in these sets are just like those found around the Hazuki residence.

The second set shown above, which features a telephone, has items that a guest might typically encounter in their room during a stay at the hot springs inn:

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Toripicals: Chobu-chan Style Tropical Fruit Capsule Toys

"I found it!" - Ryo Hazuki, hunting for Chobu-chan in Niaowu

If Yu Suzuki were to officially release a fruit-themed series of Chobu-chan capsule toys... it might not be far from these.

Meet the Toripicals, Set #3: Watermelon, Blueberries, Lemon, Mango and Fig.

The name of these figures is Toripicals - a word-play on the Japanese word for bird, "tori", and the word Tropical. They are part of a series of fruit-themed capsule-toy sets that were initially released in 2018. Each toy varies in size depending on the fruit variety, with large fruit like the watermelon filling a great part of the capsule toy interior!

As can be seen, these fruity figures give off strong Chobu-chan vibes and with their mix of colors would not be out of place in a Chobu-chan hunt. Some, like the Lemon, come with separate feet to be fitted on to complete the figure.

Peach and Lemon

They appear to also be popular with collectors on social media in Japan:

Tweet source

In addition to the capsule toys, large plushies add to the Toripical line-up.

Ebay Listings

Retro Import Gamer has a small selection of Toripical capsule toy figures available on their Ebay store: Lemon, Blueberries and Mango (all as-new, sealed).

It is still nice to dream of a day YS Net releases an official line of Chobu-chan merchandise!

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Famitsu Postcard Set Prize (2000) | Shenmue Promo Item

In early 2000, Shenmue had just been released in Japan and the February edition of the Famitsu Dreamcast magazine contained a 100-page special feature on the game, as well as bonus items such as a set of Shenmue postcards & name cards that came as an insert in the magazine, which we have previously covered in an earlier post.

• Related post: Shenmue Postcard & Name Card Set (2000) | Shenmue Merchandise

One of the magazine inserts

In addition, readers could win a set of five limited-edition Shenmue postcards that were available only by lucky draw to 10,000 people across three Famitsu-published magazines circulating in Japan at the time: Famitsu Dreamcast, Famitsu Bros (a strategy/hints magazine) and Weekly Famitsu.

The reverse side of each of the cards was printed with a space for the sender's message, with logos from the three Famitsu publications promoting the draw showing at the bottom.

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Shenmue Mugs | 1999 Shenmue Premiere Merchandise

When Shenmue was launched in Japan back in 1999, there was a wide range of merchandise available for sale at the premiere event: calendars, ballpoint pens, figurines, posters and more.

Today we'll focus on one of the types of merchandise items, namely the Shenmue mug.

There were a total of four mug designs based on the concept sketches of four key characters. These concept sketches were also used for posters and several other items, as can be seen in this scan from a premiere merchandise leaflet (mugs circled in red):

A closer look at the four designs: Shenhua, Niao Sun, Ren and Ryo.

Image credit: Shenmue Master

Niao Sun was one of the four major characters to be promoted during the Shenmue premiere, but she has yet to make an appearance in either of the first two games. However it is the expectation of some fans that she will be making her debut in Shenmue III (and indeed what looks to be her character model was spied in the background of a 2017 Shenmue III "teaser" trailer).

Below is the Niao Sun mug with its original box: 

Niao Sun mug & box (image: Retro Import Gamer)

On the mug, above her image is the classic "Shenmue" logo; at the lower left corner the copyright text of "©SEGA 1998", and on the right the name of the character shown in the concept art. Instead of "Niao Sun" we see "Choujhun," which is the pronunciation of this character's name in Japanese.

Turning our attention to the box, on the side it has a label with "Sega Enterprises" written at the top, followed by the company address in Tokyo and a free-dial number and service hours for the Dreamcast Support Center.

Yu Suzuki can be seen sipping from one of the Shenmue mugs (the Shenhua one) back in Kickstarter Update #66.

Even Ryo uses one, as can be seen in this (fan-created) image!

Image credit: Blasto on the old Shenmue Dojo forums

The Niao Sun mug shown in this article is currently available from our friends at Retro Import Gamer on their Ebay store. Item ships from the UK.

View the Niao Sun mug (unused with box) listing on Ebay

Or view other Shenmue items listed on the Retro Import Gamer website.

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Shenmue Postcard & Name Card Set (2000) | Shenmue Merchandise

Today we'll take a look at a Shenmue item I hadn't seen before, which was produced back at the time of the original release of Shenmue as a bonus for readers of Japan's Famitsu DC magazine in early 2000.

The bonus was an exclusive insert of detachable post cards & name cards featuring the Shenmue CG art from Shenmue's original promotion. The illustrations are: Shenhua in an exquisite headdress, Ryo striking a fighting stance, Ryo & Nozomi on a motorcycle and Shenhua standing in falling snow.

The idea was that the reader would remove the card they wished to send from the sheet, fill it out and send it like a normal postcard.

Sheet 1:

Sheet 2:

The "name cards" are smaller-sized cards containing spaces for a contact's name, address, birthday, blood type (believed by some to give insight into a person's personality) and telephone/fax machine number, with lines for notes on the reverse side.

The text at the top of the first sheet reads:

"Special Shenmue postcards and name cards, exclusive to Famitsu DC. March is graduation season. Why not send one to that special someone, with a few words of congratulation and appreciation".

The second sheet also has some words of encouragement to get posting:

"Shenmue: at last, that day has arrived to play it. Why not write a message with your memories of this great year and hopes for the new year to come, and send a special Famitsu DC postcard to your friends and acquaintances!"

The reverse side has all the necessary markings for filling in a message, address and post code.

I wonder whether any magazine readers actually went ahead and posted a card...


Thank you to Retro Import Gamer for providing the photos for this article. They have this set available right now at their Ebay store, in excellent condition. All items ship from the UK.

View the Shenmue Postcard & Name Set on Ebay

Or view other Shenmue items listed on the Retro Import Gamer website.

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Sacred Spot Guide Map (Shenmue I & II Version): The Differences

The Shenmue "Sacred Spot" Guide Map is a multi-page tourist pamphlet highlighting locations of interest to Shenmue fans around Yokosuka and is a collaborative effort between Yokosuka City and SEGA. It was originally released at the end of 2017 in both English and Japanese versions (see our video about the map with links to their pdf downloads).

A new edition of the map has made an appearance at SEGA's booth at the 2018 recent Tokyo Game Show in September.

Shenhua shows off the new edition of the map at TGS 2018.

In this post we compare the new version directly with the original, page by page, to see what differences there are.

The language of the new version is Japanese (whereas the original map also had an English version). This is understandable, given its purpose as a promotional item for the release Shenmue I & II in Japan, as we shall see.

Note: an official pdf of the new map is not available, so photos have been used which may introduce some color variation.

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Shenmue Premiere Blue Tri-fold Pamphlet (1998) | Shenmue Merchandise

In our on-going series on Shenmue merchandise, today we will be looking at the large blue-covered tri-fold pamphlet that was part of the merchandise handed to attendees of the 1998/1999 Shenmue premiere.

The cover of the pamphlet has the game's title in the Japanese katakana alphabet, with kanji (Chinese characters) beneath it, overlaid on a dragon motif with a pinkish tinge on a blue background.

The front cover of the Blue Tri-fold Pamphlet (Shenmue II version)

In fact, there exist two versions of this blue pamphlet, as we touched on briefly in our earlier post about the Shenmue Art Book: the one we will look at today contains artwork for Shenmue II while the other introduces Shenmue I (this version has the words "Chapter One: Yokosuka" on the cover).

Being tri-fold, the pamphlet opens out to six sides, and inside can be found a mixture of images from the game as well as introductory descriptions about its features.

The inside pages of the pamphlet.

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Shenmue Premiere Bag (1998) | Shenmue Merchandise

Today we take a look at the remarkable Shenmue premiere bag that was handed out to attendees at the premiere event in 1998/1999.

The Shenmue Premiere event was held in Japan and the end of December 1998 in Yokohama, with additional events through the New Year in cities through-out Japan. The expectation and excitement was huge, as it would be the first time the general public would get a decent look at Yu Suzuki's new game, one that had been the source of much speculation in the preceding months.

SEGA did not hold back on budget for these events: each lasted two hours, and were free of charge to attendees; and all attendees received an incredible amount of Shenmue merchandise:

• A boxed figurine of Shenhua 
• A CD single with an illustration of Shenhua on the cover, containing the Shenmue main theme and Shenhua's theme
• A notebook with an illustration of Shenhua on the cover
• A black Shenmue T-shirt with a mirror design on the back
• A sheet of Shenmue-themed tattoo stickers
• A blue fold-out leaflet containing art from the games
• A Christmas card with an illustration of Shenhua and falling snow
• A phone strap (Yukawa-san or Shenhua)
• A promotional leaflet illustrating various additional Shenmue-related merchandise for sale such as posters, mugs, pens and calendars.
• A questionnaire form about the event. Those who submitted this feedback form to Sega received a Dreamcast magnet!

We will be covering each of these items in more detail in future posts, but this time we'll examine the Shenmue premiere bag that the items came in.

The bag oozes quality and attention to detail. It is black in color with illustrations of mirrors in green in the background wrapping around on all sides (including the narrow sides). There is a large mirror motif in yellow/orange in the center, overlaid with the Shenmue logo. One side has the logo in the Japanese katakana alphabet and the Phoenix mirror design, and the other has the kanji version of the logo over the Dragon mirror.

It is the size of large shopping bag and is made of sturdy card material with a waterproof protective coating, and has strong black plastic handles.

Written discreetly in white at the bottom of one of the sides are the words "© SEGA ENTERPRISES, 1998".

You can almost feel the excitement and anticipation that attendees at the premiere events must have felt from the moment they stepped through the doors into the event hall and were presented with this bag, full of Shenmue goodies, before moving down the aisle to find their way to their seats.

While some of the items that were given away at the premiere event are seen more frequently, the bag itself is not often seen for sale nowdays.

Shenmue Collectors!

Our friends at Retro Import Gamer (who provided the photos for this article) have managed to obtain one of these original Shenmue premiere event bags, offering the chance to own a fantastic piece of early Shenmue history for your collection.

It is up on their Ebay store now, and ships from the UK.

Link to the Shenmue Premiere bag on Ebay.

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Shenmue Premiere Poster (1998) | Shenmue Merchandise

The Shenmue Premiere event was held in Japan and the end of December 1998 in Yokohama, with additional events through the New Year in cities through-out Japan. SEGA did not hold back on budget for these events: each lasted two hours, and were free of charge to attendees; and all attendees received a bag packed with Shenmue merchandise.

The expectation and excitement was huge, as it would be the first time the general public would get a decent look at Yu Suzuki's new game, one that had been the source of much speculation in the preceding months.

The large B2-sized poster below is one that was used to advertise the Shenmue premiere events. Most of the poster is occupied by a picture of Shenhua, with an informational panel further down with the words: "Whatever could it be, this emotion? The Shenmue Premiere." The name of the Director & Executive Producer is also shown: Yu Suzuki.

A poster for the Shenmue Premiere (image courtesy of Retro Import Gamer)

Underneath this are details of the dates and times of the event, with a map at the right showing how to access the convention hall for the kick-off event in Yokohama.

The text reads:

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Promotional VMU Sticker Sheet | Shenmue Merchandise

Today we introduce something I've never seen discussed in the Shenmue community, and in fact I didn't know this existed until recently.

It's a genuine Dreamcast item that was released by Sega, being a sheet of game-themed stickers / decals with which to customize the appearance of a Visual Memory Unit.

VMU Custom Sticker Sheet

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The "Shenmue Zanmai" Campaign | 1999 Shenmue Promo Leaflet

SEGA promoted Shenmue heavily in Japan for its release back in 1999, and in this post we look at an item that was part of that promotional effort.

It's an A4-sized shop leaflet that advertises preorders for the then-imminent release of Shenmue Chapter One, as well as information about a promotional campaign.

It features an image of Shenhua on the front side, accompanied by the slogan "1999 - the RPG will be transformed...". At the bottom is the Shenmue logo (the kanji version) beneath which is the scheduled release date.

On the reverse side is an image of Ryo Hazuki, the usual expression of determination on his face. At the top of the page is a sentence that reads: "In a certain bar in Yokosuka sits a single old JukeBox..." At the right, a box that gives information about how to get the Shenmue JukeBox CD through a promotional campaign (see further down in the post for details); and in large hard-to-miss letters are the words "Preorders Now Being Taken at this Store".

At the bottom of the reverse side of the leaflet is a pre-order form that people would fill and hand to the shop.

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Shenmue Art Book Discount | Retro Import Gamer

If you have been considering adding the Shenmue Art Book to your collection, here is a chance to pick it up at a discount!

The 1998 Shenmue Art Book is a rarely-seen piece of original merchandise that contains a wealth of glossy photos, design diagrams and text (some of which we have shared here on the blog).

Our friends at Retro Import Gamer are currently listing the Shenmue Art Book with a Buy It Now price of just £184.99 - this represents a very reasonable level for this item, which also includes free postage within the UK.

And especially for Phantom River Stone blog readers, we have arranged with Retro Import Gamer a £10 discount on this item.

To qualify for the discount, simply contact them via Ebay with the answer to the following Shenmue trivia question:

• Complete the password: "Father's Heaven" -> ?

Click here for the Shenmue Art Book listing on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322815658499

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Earning Money to Meet Ren | Shenmue 2 Flowchart #2 Translation

Introduction & Related Post

The "Making of Shenmue" section of the 1998 Shenmue art book contains snippets of actual design documents from the making of the first two games. We will be examining each of these in today's and future posts to see what information they reveal.

We previously investigated a flowchart covering the first part of play in Shenmue II, after Ryo arrives in Hong Kong:

• Ryo's Arrival in Hong Kong | Shenmue II Design Document Translation

The Second Flowchart Snippet

Today's flowchart snippet is found on the same page as the first, and as with the first it is partially obscured by various other overlapping diagrams and photographs. The section in question is highlighted in red:

The second flowchart snippet from the Shenmue Art book (enclosed in red). It's quite a jumble!
Image credit: David De Ville.

The context of the flowchart appears to be soon (but not directly) after the first, with Ryo having visited Man Mo temple and become acquainted with Xiuying.

Minor Spoilers
Plot elements relating to some of the initial events in Shenmue II will be discussed.

Click on each image to enlarge.

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Ryo's Arrival in Hong Kong | Shenmue II Design Document Translation

The "Making of Shenmue" section of the 1998 Shenmue art book contains snippets of actual design documents from the making of the first two games. We will be examining each of these in today's and future posts to see what information they reveal.

This is a great opportunity to gain some additional insight into the early stages of the design of the first two games.

The document we will look at in today's post is an early Shenmue II diagram that steps through the initial plot in Shenmue II, starting with Ryo's arrival in Hong Kong through to meeting Xiuying in person.

Minor Spoilers
Plot elements relating to some of the initial events in Shenmue II will be discussed.

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The Shenmue Art Book - Characters Section | Shenmue Merchandise

This post covers the Characters section of the Shenmue art book. Several key characters to appear in the the first two games are introduced, as well as one that notably still has yet to appear.

• Related post: see our previous post for an overview of the contents of the Shenmue art book.

You will notice that some of the character descriptions match those in the Shenmue I and II English-language manuals. For the other characters, the translations from Japanese are my own.

Ryo Hazuki

"Having lost his mother at an early age, Ryo has devoted his entire young life to rigorous martial arts training under the guidance of a strict but loving father. Despite a tendency to be reckless and a bit too quick to fight, Ryo has a tremendous amount of potential and an iron-strong volition. Determined to uncover the mystery of his father's murder, he begins a journey that will eventually take him west to a land he has never seen... China. What fate lies in store for Ryo?"

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The Shenmue Art Book: Overview of Contents | Shenmue Merchandise

In today's post we'll look at one of the rarer pieces of Shenmue merchandise, and one that remains somewhat shrouded in mystery even today, ever since its publication back in 1998.

The item I am referring to is one that has become known to fans as the "Shenmue Art Book". This it not an official name, since the front cover simply reads "Shenmue". The YS logo of Yu Suzuki adorns the back.

Front and back cover of the Shenmue Art Book.

What Is the Shenmue Art Book?

It can be best described as a high-quality, full-color booklet consisting of 36 generously-sized glossy pages and is cram-packed with photos, concept art, maps, development flowcharts and text (in Japanese) relating to the first two Shenmue games.

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Shenmue Telephone Cards | Shenmue Merchandise

To coincide with the release of Shenmue in Japan, and during the following few years, a number of Shenmue-themed telephone cards were produced. While the cards can be used as normal phone cards for making calls, for the Shenmue fan they make a great collectible item.

About Telephone Cards in Japan

Japanese telephone cards / calling cards are thin plastic cards that come pre-loaded with a certain value (the most commonly-seen value being 50 units, representing a credit of 500 yen) and were created as a convenient way for making calls on a public pay phone in place of cash.

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Sealed What's Shenmue | Ebay Merchandise

About What's Shenmue

"What's Shenmue" is the name of a Shenmue demo that was distributed prior to the release of the full game in 1999. (Note, this is not to be confused with the promotional video tape of the same name that introduced various features of the game).

This special demo was not for sale, but could be obtained in Japan prior to the release of Shenmue when purchasing a Dreamcast console or Dreamcast software from shops.

There is also a "Famitsu" edition (which is now very rarely seen) that was given away to a limited number of Famitsu Weekly magazine readers, which is identical in content but has an orange front cover slip rather than a blue one.

Sealed What's Shenmue on Retro Import Gamer

Although there used copies of What's Shenmue are not uncommon to find listed on Ebay, sealed copies are harder to come by and demand a much higher price.

Current asking prices for a sealed blue-cover What's Shenmue fall in the £50 to £83 range on Ebay, once shipping has been added in - almost all originate from Japan. (I did find one listed cheaper than this at around £30, but upon inspection the reason became apparent - it had a crack in the front of the case..).

However our blog sponsor, Retro Import Gamer, has come to the rescue by offering a sealed What's Shenmue in excellent condition for £24.75 which includes free postage (if you are within the UK).

Blog readers interested in picking it up, check the following link for details:
Sealed What's Shenmue at Retro Import Gamer

A piece of history: note the original sticker advertising the re-scheduled Shenmue release date in Japan
(28th October, 1999) . The eventual release date was December of that year.

Or see what other Shenmue & Dreamcast items Retro Import Gamer has available at the moment:

Browse the Retro Import Gamer's store

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Sealed US Shenmue | Ebay Merchandise

A cheery welcome to our new sponsor for the blog, the friendly folk at Retro Import Gamer who run an online Ebay store in the UK.

They are also big fans of Yu Suzuki's franchises and especially of Shenmue, so if you are looking to add to their Shenmue collection, it's a great place to check out. All their games and merchandise is imported directly from Japan.

We'll pick out some items of interest from time to time in this blog.

Sealed US Shenmue at Retro Import Gamer

If you are looking for a sealed copy of US Shenmue, Retro Import Gamer have one available now, priced very reasonably compared to the market.

US Shenmue was a special edition of the first Shenmue that was released only in Japan. It features English voices and menus, together with Japanese subtitles, and comes in this distinctive illustrated cover.

From what I have seen browsing on Ebay, copies of US Shenmue do not come cheaply these days, especially if in unopened condition. A sealed copy sold earlier this month for 170 pounds plus international postage to ship from Japan. And current listings from other sellers are asking even higher prices.

This listing from Retro Import Gamer is much more affordable at only half that price level, a significant saving. If you are in the UK, delivery will of course be domestic.

If you are looking for a reasonably-priced sealed US Shenmue edition to add to your collection, check it out below for more details.

Click to view the listing for this Sealed US Shenmue on Ebay.

Browse the Retro Import Gamer's store here.

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