A Gamer's Journey (Shenmue Documentary) goes to Kickstarter

[spud1897]

Yeah, that's Ziming 100%, I have no no doubt (or, the West leader).

@spud1897 time to do another video!

Fuck sake lol. Follow-up video releasing 7pm BST

 

[James Brown]

Thank you so much again Adam...these are so perfect! :)

 

[Sergeynest]

 

[~ ひかり ~]

View attachment 17937

Shaolin monks practice martial arts at Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City, central China's Henan Province. Located on the Songshan Mountain, Shaolin Temple is the birthplace for Shaolin Martial Arts.

The clothes are really similar and Yu Suzuki went to Dengfeng city on that trip he did to China, he also met Master De Li, also as far as i know Denfeng City/Pagoda Forest/Shaolin Temple are near Luoyang.

In my opinion this will be one of the parts of Shenmue IV, i think the next master of Ryo will be a Shaolin master similar to Lei Fei of Virtua Fighter.

LetsGetShenmue4

 

[Arinar]

The fundamentals of shaolin Kung Fu actually came from India much further back, these exercises were developed by the monk Bodhidharma (a 3rd son of an Indian king, known as Damo in China and Daruma in Japan) to increase flexibility, he brought Chan and Zen buddhism which is what it became known as in China and Japan (which was then known as Chan in China and Zen in Japan). When he brought these exercises, they descended to gradually later became what was known as some of the earliest forms of what then became renamed as Kung fu (the work), after he first went to China and met Emperor Wu. Traditional yoga takes it to the absolute extreme, the ancestor of some 400 forms of Kung fu is itself Yoga.

The guy from the second slide (the 1995 Old man the peach tree Saturn prototype - which was also supposed to be set in Luoyang - where Bodhidharma was thought to have been burried) on the green platform almost looks like one of the characterised depictions of Bodhidharma. There are also still venerated statues of him by the temples.

 

[WuyingRen]

That's cool! It does sound like he was enthusiastic about it if he was thinking about spoilers and such!

Still - grand job sir, much appreciated!

Given that this was filmed during the production of Shenmue 3 rather than after, that would presumably suggests that the events depicted on this card were originally going to be in the game, right?

The image of Lan Di and Niao Sun kind of lines up with the warring factions scenario that Yu originally wanted to include, but it’s wild to think that Zimming could have originally been planned to appear in Shenmue 3.

It’s a little concerning that YS NET seems to have signed off on Adam sharing this seventh card now even after it was cut from the game though. Does that mean that Yu no longer cares about spoilers for the series’ future or that this storyline no longer features in his plans?

 

[Sergeynest]

Given that this was filmed during the production of Shenmue 3 rather than after, that would presumably suggests that the events depicted on this card were originally going to be in the game, right?

The image of Lan Di and Niao Sun kind of lines up with the warring factions scenario that Yu originally wanted to include, but it’s wild to think that Zimming could have originally been planned to appear in Shenmue 3.

It’s a little concerning that YS NET seems to have signed off on Adam sharing this seventh card now even after it was cut from the game though. Does that mean that Yu no longer cares about spoilers for the series’ future or that this storyline no longer features in his plans?

I believe that is not the case; in fact so far the depictions on the concept art chapters have been represented in all three games of the series; with the exception of Chapter tile N° 3 and the order of Chapter tiles N° 4 & 5.

I believe Chapter tile N° 5 is part of Shenmue 2 and represents the Guilin scene where Ryo meets Shenhua and travels with her to Bailu Village.
Chapter tile N° 5 in my opinion suffered some changes but it is included in Shenmue 3 and represents Ryo fighting in the Rose Garden and Wu Shen Hall as well as the ending part of Shenmue 3 when he fights Lan Di.
As for Chapter tile N° 7 it was definitely not cut of from the game and in fact represents the events that will unfold in Shenmue 4.
I also think that Chapter tile N° 3 will be represented in Shenmue 4 and that Ryo, Ren and Shenhua will travel by train wich is represented in this tile.
I believe that Shenmue 4 will be about Ryo continuing to improve is martial art skills as well as him traveling with Shenhua and Ren to the Cliff Temple and the Chiyoumen's internal fight for Power.

 

[~ ひかり ~]

Now i'm wondering about something. If Yu Suzuki really care about spoilers then why he decided to share all of chapters arts in 2014 on GDC? yes it was in low quality as we can see in Sergeynest's last post, but even in low quality we can see many details.

Even this way we can see many details like some of the events of Shenmue III in chapter 6, the art of chapter 10 probably showing Ren or other important character that will die and Akira/Ryo holding the character, Xiuying near Shenhua in the last chapter card and much more, and when Yu Suzuki shared all the chapters cards this way it was way before Shenmue III release.

Yu Suzuki really care about the spoilers in the chapters cards? i'm not sure, maybe for some of them like the art of chapter 10, that maybe if we see this art in high quality we will probably know who will die in this part of the story.

About the chapters in the story i remember when i saw this...

Yu Suzuki: "As you know i wrote an 11 chapter story as Shenmue's original story, this is a base of the story obviously. If i make it we'd need 11 games and that is not going to happen.

Shenmue 1 was chapter 1. Shenmue 2 around 80% came from chapter 2. The remaining 20% was sliced from chapter 4, 5 and 6, pieces of it, and in the case of chapter 3 that was actually totally removed."

Probably Shenmue III is chapter 5 and 6, and i agree with Sergeynest that probably chapter 7 will be one of the chapters in Shenmue IV.

If i had to choose chapters cards that i would like to see in Shenmue IV i would choose chapter 3, 7 and 8, and for Shenmue V chapter 9, 10 and the last chapter.

Chapter 3 was totally removed at that time, but i think Yu Suzuki can put some ideas of this chapter in Shenmue IV, Chapter 3 is the train chapter and i think it would be nice to see Ryo, Shenhua and Ren travelling by train in the game.

Chapter 7 i think it will be like Sergeynest said...

I believe that Shenmue 4 will be about Ryo continuing to improve is martial art skills as well as him traveling with Shenhua and Ren to the Cliff Temple and the Chiyoumen's internal fight for Power.

I would also like to see in this part of the story Ryo, Shenhua and Ren entering in the Chi You Men's places to try to take the phoenix mirror back, and maybe to try to get the Dragon Mirror too, this way many action scenes can happen similar to Shenmue II.

Chapter 8 it looks like is showing all the Chi You Men leaders and the true leader Tentei, and Akira/Ryo improving even more as a martial artist.

I imagine Shenmue IV this way, Shenmue IV have the potential to be a wonderful, intense and emotional game, with all the leaders of the Chi You Men, Akira/Ryo improving even more as a martial artist and as a character, lots of action and fights, revelations and much more.

Shenmue III to me was similar to the first game in many ways, i think Shenmue IV will be similar to the second game.

 

[Seaman]

Agreeing with you Hiki and Sergeynest again, not going to repeat what's been already well put.
We can get all the fun of speculation and guessing at hints. But it happens to Yu-san to love magician tricks since a kid. That's a reason for all technology from AM2 under his thumb being labeled inhouse Magic whatever, and also relates at his usually unorthodox, hacky and inventive solutions to code or hardware problems. The downplayed fortune tellers...
Anyway expect tricks from him, besides the usual reconnings, like making us believe very hard that something will happen and almost how it will happen but then it's the other way around or totally different. That's altering a reality created by himself displaying some cards like a magician. Dont be tricked or expect nothing and fall into it. You are free to choose.

 

[bcdcdude]

Now i'm wondering about something. If Yu Suzuki really care about spoilers then why he decided to share all of chapters arts in 2014 on GDC? yes it was in low quality as we can see in Sergeynest's last post, but even in low quality we can see many details.

Even this way we can see many details like some of the events of Shenmue III in chapter 6, the art of chapter 10 probably showing Ren or other important character that will die and Akira/Ryo holding the character, Xiuying near Shenhua in the last chapter card and much more, and when Yu Suzuki shared all the chapters cards this way it was way before Shenmue III release.

Yu Suzuki really care about the spoilers in the chapters cards? i'm not sure, maybe for some of them like the art of chapter 10, that maybe if we see this art in high quality we will probably know who will die in this part of the story.

About the chapters in the story i remember when i saw this...

Yu Suzuki: "As you know i wrote an 11 chapter story as Shenmue's original story, this is a base of the story obviously. If i make it we'd need 11 games and that is not going to happen.

Shenmue 1 was chapter 1. Shenmue 2 around 80% came from chapter 2. The remaining 20% was sliced from chapter 4, 5 and 6, pieces of it, and in the case of chapter 3 that was actually totally removed."

Probably Shenmue III is chapter 5 and 6, and i agree with Sergeynest that probably chapter 7 will be one of the chapters in Shenmue IV.

If i had to choose chapters cards that i would like to see in Shenmue IV i would choose chapter 3, 7 and 8, and for Shenmue V chapter 9, 10 and the last chapter.

Chapter 3 was totally removed at that time, but i think Yu Suzuki can put some ideas of this chapter in Shenmue IV, Chapter 3 is the train chapter and i think it would be nice to see Ryo, Shenhua and Ren travelling by train in the game.

Chapter 7 i think it will be like Sergeynest said...



I would also like to see in this part of the story Ryo, Shenhua and Ren entering in the Chi You Men's places to try to take the phoenix mirror back, and maybe to try to get the Dragon Mirror too, this way many action scenes can happen similar to Shenmue II.

Chapter 8 it looks like is showing all the Chi You Men leaders and the true leader Tentei, and Akira/Ryo improving even more as a martial artist.

I imagine Shenmue IV this way, Shenmue IV have the potential to be a wonderful, intense and emotional game, with all the leaders of the Chi You Men, Akira/Ryo improving even more as a martial artist and as a character, lots of action and fights, revelations and much more.

Shenmue III to me was similar to the first game in many ways, i think Shenmue IV will be similar to the second game.

At the time, Shenmue III wasn't guaranteed, so perhaps at this point in time he felt he had nothing to lose?

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

I believe that is not the case; in fact so far the depictions on the concept art chapters have been represented in all three games of the series; with the exception of Chapter tile N° 3 and the order of Chapter tiles N° 4 & 5.
View attachment 17944
I believe Chapter tile N° 5 is part of Shenmue 2 and represents the Guilin scene where Ryo meets Shenhua and travels with her to Bailu Village.
Chapter tile N° 5 in my opinion suffered some changes but it is included in Shenmue 3 and represents Ryo fighting in the Rose Garden and Wu Shen Hall as well as the ending part of Shenmue 3 when he fights Lan Di.
As for Chapter tile N° 7 it was definitely not cut of from the game and in fact represents the events that will unfold in Shenmue 4.
I also think that Chapter tile N° 3 will be represented in Shenmue 4 and that Ryo, Ren and Shenhua will travel by train wich is represented in this tile.
I believe that Shenmue 4 will be about Ryo continuing to improve is martial art skills as well as him traveling with Shenhua and Ren to the Cliff Temple and the Chiyoumen's internal fight for Power.

While I would love to see the 3rd card repurposed, not sure if it would be at this point.

I think the 7th card is indeed showing that the next game is about meeting the other leaders and it will be in the cliff temple. Perhaps Ziming is the monk and the West leader's look was repurposed to him, thus making him look different? Could also be that the Monk is a prominent character in the cliff temple.

Either way, exciting times ahead: I would figure that the three masters in card 7 would probably be 3 people that Ryo must learn skills from, in order to vanquish the other three leaders, but that's more speculation on my part.

 

[~ ひかり ~]

At the time, Shenmue III wasn't guaranteed, so perhaps at this point in time he felt he had nothing to lose?

It makes sense and i agree that perhaps it was this way for Yu-san at that time, but for me the events we see in chapter 7 art were not planned to appear in Shenmue III, we have the art of chapter 7 in high quality now, but this do not mean to me that Yu Suzuki decided to cut some parts or the entire chapter 7 of the story, i could be wrong about these things of course.

To me the events we see in chapter 7 art are really important for the story and i think it will be in Shenmue IV, i hope so, looks really interesting, in this CG artwork we can even see Akira/Ryo in Shaolin Temple/ Pagoda Forest/Dengfeng city, and Dengfeng city is near Luoyang, the old capital of China.

​

The content about this places are so beautiful that to me it will be really sad if this content get cut out. Just seeing the Shaolin Temple Tourist Map i can already imagine Ryo running in all these wonderful places and with a beautiful soundtrack.

 

[code l name]

I’m not sure where @spud1897 thought the character next to right to Lan Di in chapter card 7 is Tentei. I feel like his presence and character would be much more in the background before a grand reveal so I don’t think that’s him. Unless I missed some information and context for this suggestion.

 

[spud1897]

I’m not sure where @spud1897 thought the character next to right to Lan Di in chapter card 7 is Tentei. I feel like his presence and character would be much more in the background before a grand reveal so I don’t think that’s him. Unless I missed some information and context for this suggestion.

I probably should have given some context to this.

He looks similar to a design shown in some of the beta/early footage and also the character tree where it is implied that could be Tenti. I could easily be wrong mind :)

 

[code l name]

I probably should have given some context to this.

He looks similar to a design shown in some of the beta/early footage and also the character tree where it is implied that could be Tenti. I could easily be wrong mind :)

I do recall a ‘monk’ character sketch shown in Project Berkeley/Shenmue premiere footage, I never knew that same sketch character was also shown in tree diagram.

Very interesting. I expected more of an older person, almost like a wise king-fu master but curious to see if that pans out.

 

[darksniper]

There's an interview out there somewhere(might be shenmue master I believe) where Yu Suzuki reveals the character design of Tentei, but it was never shown on camera. I could be mistaken

 

[code l name]

There's an interview out there somewhere(might be shenmue master I believe) where Yu Suzuki reveals the character design of Tentei, but it was never shown on camera. I could be mistaken

Can you please link or provide this because this is first I’ve heard of this.

I do recall David’s Shenmuemaster with Suzuki back in 2015 I believe where he saw sketches or artwork for 2 other Chiyoumen leaders; Gentei and Koutei but he never elaborated on their design or appearance.

 

[Sergeynest]

I believe many of us have been mistaking the Chapter 8 Card as portraying the Four Chiyoumen Leaders and Tentei; wich I believe is not the case. I recall Yu Suzuki giving an interview in wich he explains that the four figures in the Chapter 8 Card are not the Four Chiyoumen Leaders and that they are in fact the Four Grandmasters that Ryo will encounter along his journey through China.
As for the character described by fans as Tentei; I do not recall if he explained who he was; but I think it is related with the Grandmaster called Ryu from Luoyang.


As for the other Grandmasters; I do not know who they might be with the exception of one.
I believe that the Character in the bottom left is in fact Xiuying; because if we compare it with the depiction it is given of her character in Chapter Card 11; we will see that they are identical.

What further enhances that these are in fact the depictions of the Four Grandmasters is Ryo's "Transformation" or "Evolution" portrayed by his change of outfit from Green to Blue & Red in Chapter Card 8 that we can also see in Chapter Card 11.

Another thing we can uncover in Chapter Card 8 is its location; this clue is given by the Statue we see at the bottom center of the Chapter Card. This Statue is Called the Iron Lion of Cangzhou.

Cangzhou is also known as Lion City because of the Statue. The most interesting thing about this location is the fact that it is very neard to a place where one of the most important events in the Shenmue Story happened. If you take a look at the map shown in the next picture you will understand why.

That's right Mengcun; the place where Iwao supposedly killed Zhao Sunming "Lan Di's Father".

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Master Chen also mentions Hebei in one of the conversations with Ryo, so it 100% has been mentioned before in-game.

 

[XPOINTED]

Can I watch this viedo online? Or only for Kickstarter supporter?