The ending of Shenmue

[ShenSun]

Lan Di is really Ryo from the future

 

[Demon's Triangle]

Lan Di is really Ryo from the future

Maybe there's a time machine in the cliff temple lol

 

[KiddMarine]

Lan Di is really Ryo from the future

And he brought his SEGA Saturn back in time with him. It makes so much sense.

 

[Dietsoap]

Lan Di is really Ryo from the future

Years ago (in the future), I was Chinese.

 

[Kenzo38130]

The Shenmue 5 ending...

 

[Jigen]

The real ending of Shenmue is Ryo saving the moon colony from the super asteroid by using his intergalactic laser move that he learned from a martial arts master on Mars.

 

[sheeponfire]

My money is on we'll eventually find out that Lan Di's father was accidently killed or even sacrificed himself to save Iwao. Lan Di will then realise he killed Ryo's dad for nothing so didn't avenge anything. Ryo will learn from that, have the chance to kill Lan Di, but decide not to. Who knows, maybe they even team up to fight a new leader of the Chi You Men because Lan Di's "gone soft"?

I'd like to think Ryo ends up with Shenhua but I get the feeling he'll go back to Japan to devote himself to running the dojo, training kids to use martial arts for good/self defence, etc etc.*

*But this doesn't last long and Ryo realises his heart belongs with the forklift. So he sells the dojo, buys an apartment near the docks, and works with Mark and his gang for the remainder of his days.

 

[RyoHazuki84]

Is Ryo's quest over before November 1987?

 

[trevtrev45]

My money is on we'll eventually find out that Lan Di's father was accidently killed or even sacrificed himself to save Iwao. Lan Di will then realise he killed Ryo's dad for nothing so didn't avenge anything. Ryo will learn from that, have the chance to kill Lan Di, but decide not to. Who knows, maybe they even team up to fight a new leader of the Chi You Men because Lan Di's "gone soft"?

I'd like to think Ryo ends up with Shenhua but I get the feeling he'll go back to Japan to devote himself to running the dojo, training kids to use martial arts for good/self defence, etc etc.*

*But this doesn't last long and Ryo realises his heart belongs with the forklift. So he sells the dojo, buys an apartment near the docks, and works with Mark and his gang for the remainder of his days.

tbh I don't think this is how it went down at all. I definitely think Iwao killed Zhao out of malice, something that will be a huge shock to Ryo. I think it fits better thematically than this.

 

[sheeponfire]

tbh I don't think this is how it went down at all. I definitely think Iwao killed Zhao out of malice, something that will be a huge shock to Ryo. I think it fits better thematically than this.

The big thing though is the photograph showing them laughing together, best buds. I can't see what would drive Iwao to intentionally kill Zhao.

 

[Demon's Triangle]

My theory is Sunming was tempted by power. Out of all people why was he entrusted the Mirrors? Maybe he had some royal lineage, a family that was cast out. I have a feeling one of the characters is descended from the Qing Dynasty and your first thought my be Shenhua but I think she is more likely related to the Tang Dynasty, nobles who were exiled to Bailu Village. Maybe the mysterious imperial envoy was Lan Di or Sunming's grandfather, threading it together.

Sunming was granted the Mirrors because of this, but the riches that could empower his family, the calamity of the treasure corrupted him, fed upon these whirling desires. Iwao didn't know how to help his friend and ended up killing him, after the two enter their fatal confrontational.

So my theory is Lan Di's family had some secret lingeage to the declining, last Qing Dynasty? And what if Shenhua descended from the flourishing Tang Dynasty? The two characters have contrasting lineages and it's quite epic to imagine the scope of it all.

 

[trevtrev45]

The big thing though is the photograph showing them laughing together, best buds. I can't see what would drive Iwao to intentionally kill Zhao.

My theory is Sunming was tempted by power. Out of all people why was he entrusted the Mirrors? Maybe he had some royal lineage, a family that was cast out. I have a feeling one of the characters is descended from the Qing Dynasty and your first thought my be Shenhua but I think she is more likely related to the Tang Dynasty, nobles who were exiled to Bailu Village. Maybe the mysterious imperial envoy was Lan Di or Sunming's grandfather, threading it together.

Sunming was granted the Mirrors because of this, but the riches that could empower his family, the calamity of the treasure corrupted him, fed upon these whirling desires. Iwao didn't know how to help his friend and ended up killing him, after the two enter their fatal confrontational.

So my theory is Lan Di's family had some secret lingeage to the declining, last Qing Dynasty? And what if Shenhua descended from the flourishing Tang Dynasty? The two characters have contrasting lineages and it's quite epic to imagine the scope of it all.

I think Iwao became corrupted by the power of the mirrors and was going to use them, only for Sunming to stand in his way, and Iwao killed him and then was brought down to earth from the regret. I made a whole big theory on this subject that I posted somewhere else, I should probably xpost it.

 

[Demon's Triangle]

I think Iwao became corrupted by the power of the mirrors and was going to use them, only for Sunming to stand in his way, and Iwao killed him and then was brought down to earth from the regret. I made a whole big theory on this subject that I posted somewhere else, I should probably xpost it.

I prefer my general idea honestly, it challenges Ryo because he learns his father resorted to murder and couldn't reach out to his friend, and it challenges Lan Di because his father may have been the aggressor, and he may express doubt if he's making the same mistake in pursuing the treasure. It would mess with both of them, and would add another spanner, shift in their conflict and inner conflicts.

Ryo might have to learn to stop Lan Di where his father failed to stop Sunming, to find the third option that his father could not consider.

And Lan Di must learn to honor his father in a way that won't behold him to the same path of self destruction.

 

[the_phoenix_mirror]

Shenmue IV will end with another fight where Ryo can't hit Lan Di, so Yu Suzuki will just put himself into the game and shoot Lan Di with a gun. Ryo will look at Yu Suzuki and then Suzuki will just shout "No more!" The credits would then roll.

 

[Demon's Triangle]

Shenmue IV will end with another fight where Ryo can't hit Lan Di, so Yu Suzuki will just put himself into the game and shoot Lan Di with a gun. Ryo will look at Yu Suzuki and then Suzuki will just shout "No more!" The credits would then roll.

It could end like Resident Evil and Ryo blows up Chi You with a rocket launcher lol, then gets on a helicopter.

 

[ElbowAssault]

The most obvious part of the end, will be Ryo not taking revenge. That may mean no final showdown with Lan Di himself.

Two possibilities are:
1) Ryo does indeed have a showdown and fight Lan Di, but, someone else or something else kills Lan Di during combat.
2) Lan Di meets his demise without Ryo doing anything. Someone or something kills him.

I always thought after the end of OG Shenmue 2, that if the magical elements turned out to be true, Lan Di would be killed by either a Dragon or someone uses the sword on him.

As for Ryo, I believe he will return to Japan, he has more relationships there, it would be hard to keep his friends close if he stays in Bailu. I think that Shenhua may go with him though. I think her father will also meet his fate, as he is thought to be very ill already. They most likely find him alive(barely) and he tells Shenhua to go with Ryo. Also, I think it would be a pretty sad ending if Ryo just bails and leaves Shenhua in an empty house in Bailu...

 

[sbkodama]

Here is the ending I want and probably won't get.

Ryo will have to defeat Koutei, Gentei, Niao Sun and Lan Di, Landi will be defeated but will laugh at him because he won't stop Chy You. Ryo will have to go for Tentei the true leader of the Chi You Men because he got all the mirrors, then just when ryo will face him he will open the gate to Chi You with the four mirrors.

Kaiju tiger, kaiju turtle, kaiju phoenix and kaiju dragon will appear as Ryo fight Tentei, but he will be beaten and Xiuying will come to the rescue again, revealing that Tentei is her brother Ziming.
She will fight him while the four kaijus merge to form Chi You, then the fight will stop when Chy You appear and take the body of Ziming to transform him into the kaiju Chy You Tentei.

Everything will seem lost here, but Shenhua will then unleash all her power to seal the beast, Ryo will catch up Shenhua falling in his arms and she will tell him the exact same things his father told him as he died, then the shenmue tree will start to loose all its flowers while Shenhua go away and Ryo scream again, the end.


After the credit roll, an extra scene will show Ryo thinking of the many friends, waifus and husbandos he met along the way, but because his souvenirs will end with his father and Shenhua mixed up, he will choose to stay alone and comeback to the family dojo to train some kids and fuku-san.

 

[Alex banana]

Here is the ending I want and probably won't get.

Ryo will have to defeat Koutei, Gentei, Niao Sun and Lan Di, Landi will be defeated but will laugh at him because he won't stop Chy You. Ryo will have to go for Tentei the true leader of the Chi You Men because he got all the mirrors, then just when ryo will face him he will open the gate to Chi You with the four mirrors.

Kaiju tiger, kaiju turtle, kaiju phoenix and kaiju dragon will appear as Ryo fight Tentei, but he will be beaten and Xiuying will come to the rescue again, revealing that Tentei is her brother Ziming.
She will fight him while the four kaijus merge to form Chi You, then the fight will stop when Chy You appear and take the body of Ziming to transform him into the kaiju Chy You Tentei.

Everything will seem lost here, but Shenhua will then unleash all her power to seal the beast, Ryo will catch up Shenhua falling in his arms and she will tell him the exact same things his father told him as he died, then the shenmue tree will start to loose all its flowers while Shenhua go away and Ryo scream again, the end.


After the credit roll, an extra scene will show Ryo thinking of the many friends, waifus and husbandos he met along the way, but because his souvenirs will end with his father and Shenhua mixed up, he will choose to stay alone and comeback to the family dojo to train some kids and fuku-san.

I like this ending. Might be kind of fun the only way he can ensure the hunt for the mirrors never happens again is if he becomes the leader of the chi you men. But makes them "decent people", Ryo and Ren would be like Kiryu and Majima. That would be awesome.

 

[ShaveShenmue]

Ryo is about to kill Lan Di and Lan di's son walks in. Ryo learns the truth about his father and forgives Lan Di. He goes back to Japan, his family home and dojo with shenhua and they raise a family together.

 

[JP_]

Sorry in advance for a very long post.

I've given this a lot of thought recently and this is the conclusion I've come to. I think Ryo will eventually defeat Lan Di, but will not kill him, as to take revenge would totally undermine everything everyone has been trying to teach him up until now, and make him effectively not very different from Lan Di. Perhaps Lan Di will even renounce his evil ways and be redeemed as Zhao Longsun. Either way, I think an ending of "Ryo kills Lan Di, the end" would be too simplistic and unsatisfying.

What I imagine is an ending in which Shenhua ends up using her powers to save the day somehow, but has to sacrifice herself to do so - either by dying or by ascending to some higher plane or taking on a guardian role where she stays somewhere to prevent calamity happening again. For this reason, among others, I don't think she will end up with Ryo as others have suggested. I also expect Ren to eventually die, and perhaps also Xiuying.

For me, for the story and the character of Ryo to be truly accomplished, Ryo has to return home. Though Yokosuka is much the same, he is a changed person and has matured immeasurably. Along the same lines, I think it is a fitting ending if he ends up with Nozomi - who perhaps overcomes her own challenge of parents wanting her to stay in Canada, and follows her heart back to Yokosuka and Ryo.

The ending I have imagined goes like this:

After a bittersweet victory in China, Ryo returns home to Yokosuka by boat and arrives to find Nozomi has come to meet him at the harbour. (How does she know he would be here? Maybe Fuku-san told her Ryo was coming?) They could get a bus back home, but Ryo says he would prefer to walk as he has been on the boat for so long. The long walk back from the harbour to Dobuita, Sakuragoaka and Yamanose mirrors the long walk with Shenhua to Bailu Village. The journey is split into stages and the player is given the option of talking to Nozomi about various things or hurrying on. Along the way they perhaps remark on things they see, like maybe the school they went to or the sports hall where Ryo used to compete in martial arts tournaments. Somewhere along the way they see a couple riding past on a motorcycle; Ryo and Nozomi look at each other and laugh.

They walk back through Dobuita and Ryo remarks on what is the same and what has changed. Perhaps they stop somewhere and we get a scene similar to the crag stopover with Shenhua, where Ryo shows Nozomi pictures of the friends he met in China. When they finally return to Yamanose and walk past the shrine, we see the cat from the first game run across the road - now fully grown and with its own kittens. When they get to the Hazuki Residence gate Nozomi says something about needing to get back, but that he should call her soon. Ryo at first seems as taken aback and awkward as ever, but then his face relaxes, he smiles and says he will. In contrast to the times we saw her walk away close to tears in the first game, this time she turns away and smiles. Ryo walks through the gate, we hear Fuku-san joyfully shout "Ryo-san!" and as the camera zooms in on the restored Hazuki dojo sign, the screen fades to black.

Then we have a timeskip - a few months or perhaps even a few years. When the game resumes, we begin with a black screen and Fuku-san shouting something along the lines of "Hazuki-sensei, the next pupil is here". "Just give me a minute," Ryo replies, and he comes into view. We see he's in the Hazuki dojo basement, wearing the same sort of clothes his father wore, with the Hazuki name on his chest - the new Hazuki-sensei. The music is more like the Hazuki residence music than the old basement music, and we see Ryo has moved things around a bit and turned it into his own space.

Alongside his father's old souvenirs and mementoes Ryo has now added his own, and the game allows us to go around the room and inspect each of these. On certain items it allows us to "meditate", a call back to the first game when we see Ryo meditate in the Hazuki dojo, closing his eyes as he imagines his father training with a sword. When the player chooses to "meditate", Ryo closes his eyes and then reopens them imagining himself back in a relevant situation. For example, meditating on a photo of a street fighter from Kowloon might let you replay a fight against that person.

The player would be free to stay down in the basement indefinitely, but as soon as you have Ryo walk out of the dojo basement, the story ending plays. We see Ryo start to teach some young students under the cherry tree, the same as how Iwao used to teach him, with Fuku-san assisting. They address him as Hazuki-sensei. The camera then shifts slightly to show Nozomi is in the background, tending to the Hazuki residence garden. She looks up at Ryo teaching the youngsters and smiles. Ryo says something along the lines of "OK... now let's begin", and the students start to practise moves. The main Shenmue theme then swells as the camera pans up and around the scene around the cherry tree, before sweeping in and through the dojo to where we see Ryo has put the old picture of Iwao and Zhao Sunming back in the basement, alongside pictures of his various friends from China. We shift to a dramatic version of Shenhua's theme as the camera pans past these photos, and finally comes to a rest on a photo of Shenhua. As the music concludes, we fade to black.

After the credits, I would propose a sort of "post-game" in which Yokosuka becomes a truly open world; the date no longer advances and the player is free to go around town and talk to people, play at the arcade, train up moves or do whatever he/she likes. You would also be able to go back into the basement to use the "meditation" feature I mentioned before. This might provide a decent route for DLC, as more meditation options could be provided in the form of recreated segments of previous games or indeed entirely new stuff - perhaps something from the first boat trip to Hong Kong, or a bit of action from the train journey that was originally planned (presuming that doesn't come up in a subsequent game). You could even have a meditation where Ryo imagines himself in his father's shoes, allowing the player to briefly play as Iwao, or give Ryo the option of imagining himself fighting characters from outside Shenmue. The options would be very open.

Anyway - please forgive me for the rather long and self-indulgent post, but I hope at least something interesting was here.