Exploring Shenmue Forest: the Network Jungle II: Digitaliland Event (1999)

Switch

Switch

Shenmue analysis at www.phantomriverstone.com
Joined
Jul 28, 2018
Location
Japan
This article reports on a 1999 multimedia event called "Network Jungle II: Digitaliland" in Tokyo, at which a magical Shenmue exhibition showcased the future of games with hands-on play, demos, live performances and stage events. The interior of the exhibit was even decorated with real trees and shrubbery to make it more atmospheric, and 30 Dreamcast consoles were set-up for the public to try the various Shenmue demos available.

Article: Exploring Shenmue Forest
https://www.phantomriverstone.com/2020/07/exploring-shenmue-forest-at-network.html

Yu Suzuki and team also created a special "virtual exhibition" demo to promote this event, which I plan to cover in a separate up-coming post.

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Billy Sastard said:
I've seen that Yamanose fighting scene online over the years but never knew what exactly it was from, I thought it was from a Beta build.
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Same here actually! (I remember someone on the old Dojo forums had claimed to have seen images of a battle in Yamanose but was doubted due to lack of evidence). Also just added these extra shots into the post:
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This is so amazing, i imagine that this event was wonderful, this event had a lot of cool things. The large-scale figure of Shenhua is so beautiful. 😍

Switch, thanks for sharing with us. :giggle:
 
Switch said:
Same here actually! (I remember someone on the old Dojo forums had claimed to have seen images of a battle in Yamanose but was doubted due to lack of evidence). Also just added these extra shots into the post:
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This is the thread you're referring to: https://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/v...sid=9cadd51acaa235a683811427d1b33d60&start=15

Zoltor claimed to have actually fought the battle in question, not just seen images of the aforementioned. Got us all really excited until nothing ever came of it. Unless he somehow managed to trigger something hidden so deep down in the game's files that it could be considered eldritch, it never happened. I always suspected it was a hoax on account of the loaded, matter-of-fact title of the thread, and I guess I was proven correct.
 
I wish I could time and space travel there. Must be something to feel within the place of the future.

Btw, what happened to the "sage master of the Nanquan"? Was he scrapped from Shenmue 3?
 
I think Master Bei's character is seen here:


Someone had pointed this out when "The Hidden Art Returns" trailer debuted. But who knows what's changed since 1998 when the Project Berkley video debuted...

Very interesting article. I just hope someday, a copy of this demo is leaked...
 
ShenGCH said:
This is the thread you're referring to: https://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/v...sid=9cadd51acaa235a683811427d1b33d60&start=15

Zoltor claimed to have actually fought the battle in question, not just seen images of the aforementioned. Got us all really excited until nothing ever came of it. Unless he somehow managed to trigger something hidden so deep down in the game's files that it could be considered eldritch, it never happened. I always suspected it was a hoax on account of the loaded, matter-of-fact title of the thread, and I guess I was proven correct.
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Of course he did :rolleyes:
 
Truck_1_0_1_ said:
Of course he did :rolleyes:
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I was about to comment on how gullible we all were at the time for thinking he was telling the truth, but, thinking about it, stranger things have happened with regards to things being discovered after so many years, and the fight Zoltor claimed to have encountered could very well have been true.

It was the title of his thread that had me feeling uneasy from the start. It was just so... arbitrary, matter-of-fact, and engineered. He did so in order to peddle the hoax in the form of a story instead of providing solid evidence in the form of pictures and video.
 
What wonderful work! It's amazing that even 20 years later, there's so much new stuff to find. Have you ever thought of curating this stuff into a reference book? I'm sure a few of us would gladly fund such a venture. It's the sort of thing that would look nice on a shelf!
 
bcdcdude said:
What wonderful work! Have you ever thought of curating this stuff into a reference book? I'm sure a few of us would gladly fund such a venture. It's the sort of thing that would look nice on a shelf!
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Thank you, and that's a cool idea! It might be really tricky to get the necessary permissions but would be a fun project.
 
It seems the brave digital archeologist @derplayer

has uncovered some astounding digital treasure and video footage of the Network Jungle 2 TV broadcast that was thought to be lost.





from;


Absolutely amazing and many thanks to them, it seems this was fortunately archived due to it being a compressed .lhz file
Just goes to show there is still a lot of potential hidden gold out there.

One big difference I noticed watching it is that the Hazuki residence kitchen originally had 2 doorways! It does seem more natural to have the 2 doors and a more open kitchen area, who knows why it was changed!
Pretty funny how the narrator says,
no matter how fast the player, it will take at least 500 hours to complete
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Only the Shenmue Dojo members have played for 500+ hours


Fascinating, unfortunately many of the other links on the site are dead, I did find this very well timed Shenhua merry Christmas fan artwork though.

What a great present!

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Wow - what an amazing find! And the snowy scenes still blow me away over 20 years later! I got chills down my spine watching this. Many games are bigger, have better graphics, but there's still something about the slow burn of Shenhua praying at a sunset that still moves me.

I really don't want to be a snob, but I think that those that don't "get" the essence of Shenmue is at best, simply not for them (and that's fine) or at worst, simply ignorant.
 
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