Help Ryo Hazuki Appear in SEGA's Mobile Game "Kotodaman"

SEGA are running a promotion that offers the opportunity to help include Ryo Hazuki as a character in their upcoming mobile game called Kotodaman that is scheduled for release in spring 2018 (the official Japanese site is here).

This is a great chance to increase awareness of the Shenmue series among a broader audience.

For those who want to skip information about the game and jump right into registering, please follow the "How to Pre-Register" instructions in blue at the end of the post.

Overview of the Game

Kotodaman is a word-puzzle RPG game in which up to 4 players band together, selecting elements of the Japanese alphabet to form words and defeat enemies (the damage attributed depends on the number and length of the words formed). Being based around Japanese words, it seems likely that the game will be a Japan-only release.

Game screenshot: the player drags an element from the bottom to the middle area to build words and defeat their foe at the top of the screen.

Become a Patron!

Hong Kong Diner | Translated Shenmue II Design Document

A little over a year ago, Yu Suzuki was jointly interviewed with Katsuhiro Harada (of Tekken fame) and during this briefly spoke about a handful of original design documents for the Shenmue games he had brought along with him.

This photo accompanied an interview with Yu Suzuki & Katsuhiro Harada. Yu shows various Shenmue design documents, pointing here at what appears to be a sketch of a Chinese tulou.

We have analyzed some of these design documents in earlier posts on this blog.

Related posts:

• Yu Suzuki & Katsuhiro Harada Interview | Part 1 | DenFamiNicoGamer [26 Dec, 2016]
• Design Document: Tile-breaking Job
• Design Documents: "Gachinko Fishing" & "Washing Place"

Hong Kong Diner Interior

Today, the design document we will be examining is a concept sketch of the interior of a typical Hong Kong casual diner.

The document is headed "VF RPG", indicating that it was produced in the early design period of Shenmue, when the game was still known by its early working name of Virtua Fighter RPG.

It contains a single large illustration with hand-written annotations surrounding it, which I have translated.

Here is the translated design document [click to enlarge]:

Become a Patron!

Shenmue Guide Map Giveaway on Twitter | Closes Feb 19th (JST)

Phantom River Stone is giving away a set of the Shenmue Sacred Spot Guide Maps on our Twitter account @phantom_river!

How to Enter:

• Follow our Twitter account @phantom_river,
• Retweet the giveaway announcement tweet (below), and
• Reply to the tweet with a comment. 

Terms of Entry:

The closing date for entries is at noon on 19 February, 2018 (JST). The winner will be drawn from all valid entries on 22 February. One entry per person; entries made using multiple accounts are ineligible.

Good luck!

We have a set of #Shenmue Sacred Spot Guide Maps to give away!

Follow, RT and Reply with a comment to enter. [Closes 19 Feb, 2018 JST]. pic.twitter.com/eSzHtNn4PS

— Phantom River Stone (@phantom_river) February 1, 2018

Become a Patron!

A Visit to Yokosuka After Snow | Photo Gallery

One of the many memorable aspects of the first Shenmue game is its depiction of winter. The moment snowflakes begin to lightly drift down from the cloudy sky is a memorizing moment, bringing with it the anticipation that Ryo's hometown will soon be transformed by a cover of snow and ice.

Last week a chance came up to capture some snowy footage as a blizzard passed across Japan. The forecast for the region where Yokosuka is located is underlined in red:

Snow is on it's way. (Yokosuka is located in Kanagawa prefecture).

A few days later, snow did indeed fall heavily throughout the region, starting from the later afternoon. The next morning dawned warm and sunny, so I jumped on a train bound for Yokosuka as soon as I could, before the evidence could melt away to nothing.

Note: I have juggled the real-life ordering of the photos a little to match with the kind of scenery Ryo sees as he strolls from his house in Yamanose down to Dobuita Street.

The Hazuki Residence

Actual location: the grounds of Suwadai Shrine.

Become a Patron!

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.

Become a Patron!

Showcasing the Shenmue Guide Map | Video

The Shenmue Sacred Spot Guide Map is a multi-page tourist pamphlet highlighting locations of interest to Shenmue fans around Yokosuka that was a collaborative effort between Yokosuka City and SEGA. It was released last month, as reported here on the blog.

Today's video below is a brief showcase of the physical guide, both to give an overview of its content and also to hopefully convey a sense of its high manufacturing quality which really does justice to the Shenmue images within it.

For anyone fortunate to be visiting the area in person, near the end of the video is some quick information about locations in the Dobuita area from where one can be picked up.

On with the video!

As mentioned in the video, the guide map is also available as a digital (pdf) download from the Yokosuka City website. And if you haven't yet read it, our interview with one of the actual co-creators of the map reveals how the map came to be created.

• Shenmue Guide Map download page (English & Japanese)
• Interview with Yokosuka City | The Story Behind the Shenmue Guide Map

* Follow the Phantom River Stone blog on Twitter and Facebook! *

Become a Patron!

Kickstarter Update #79: Shenmue III Conference at MAGIC 2018

Thanks to the recent press conference for the MAGIC 2018 event, Shenmue fans are looking forward to actual gameplay footage of Shenmue III and "a lot of content" to be shared.

Now a brief Kickstarter Update has been released confirming Yu Suzuki's attendance at the event which will take place in Monaco on February 24th.

The update goes on to state that Yu Suzuki will be holding a Shenmue 3 "conference", with further details to be announced at a later date:

"A conference with Yu Suzuki is planned for the day. Once details have been worked out with participating partners, we will have an update to follow up." 

We'll post up any new information here on the blog when it's announced.

Link to official update: Kickstarter Update #79

Become a Patron!

Examining the 3 New Shenmue III Screenshots | MAGIC Press Conference

Three fabulous new Shenmue III screenshots have been released at the recent press conference for the MAGIC 2018 event (to be held in Monaco on February 24th) and they have got the community buzzing with their highly-polished appearance.

The press conference took place on January 16th, 2018 at the embassy of Monaco in Paris, France. A photo of the conference in progress is shown here:

The press conference in progress (from the official MAGIC Monaco twitter account).

In this post, we'll do our usual comb-through of the images to point out any items of interest to be found.

Become a Patron!