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Shenmue Mythology - My theories - China Joy 2006 CG analysis

edit - added more stuff....

Ok might as well dive right into this. There is a a lot of text here sorry. I am probably going to add to it later as well.

before going into the analysis some people have questioned whether the china joy video, or any of the shenmue online videos have any relevance to the future of the main series. in my opinion i think that most the cg, especially the bit with ryo rushing up to the roof of that building to rescue Joy from lan di is a fictional scenario designed to promote the idea of a 'Shenmue MMO'. but the bit with the dragon, pheonix, lan di and shenhua is definitly canonical with the main series. these events were even hinted at in the Project berkely cg (lan di hand movements, dragon flying through the sky, lightning ect.)

China joy video alalysis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=UUWfTTqZNNacHUZKyL5hoNCA&v=1ETjJvgUOso#t=465

it maybe useful to start with a brief analysis of the 'shenmue legend'.
This is central mythological narrative of Shenmue saga (well maybe at least for shenmue 1 to 3 ) I call it shenmue legend, but perhaps there is a better name for it if someone wants to suggest it.


The shenmue legend
This is the actual chinese text that appears on the scroll than pans across the screen in the china joy cg - time stamp - 7:45 and was translated by user odaryo.
Thread here, I bumped it just recently. There is some really amazing info in here that should be better known within the community. I didn’t know about until a few weeks ago.
http://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=31394&start=15


The vein of the Dragon may cause a giant chaos.
(now by vein what I think it means is some kind of cave or sanctuary where the dragon dwells.)
edit- just did some research on the term 'dragon vein' - apparently in Chinese painting the term 'dragon vein' is used to describe the ridge of a mountain) so maybe the cave is in a mountain? really not sure what is meant here by vein of dragon. - although now i think of it didn't shenhua says there were dark/black mountains where people never came back..maybe this is mountain that contains the sanctuary where the dragon dwells...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yX8AXNZyqs - video detailing term 'dragon vein'

In the nature, the vein of the Dragon has been neutralized by a pair of mirrors: Dragon and Phoenix.

(some kind of barrier which maybe magical that seals the dragon within the sanctuary)

The Dragon mirror and the Phoenix mirror were sealed in the Dragon's cave.

(now this is interesting because obviously at some point they were removed and ended up in Iwaos possession – maybe whatever the events that occurred 20 years ago when Iwao and Zhu and Zhao were in china will explain this– this part of the story is still a huge mystery)

Hundreds of years ago(in the scroll it is "months", don't know if it is an error), an earthquake occurred, as if a signal for the dying dynasty.

(I also have ideas about the dynasties, but still working on them)

In order to obtain the Dragon's power, a demon entered the cave and stole the dragon's mirror.

(who is the demon? does it mean literal a supernatural demon, or maybe a very bad natured human being – have theories for this too )

The God Dragon awakes, bringing the earth and the nature (natural?) disasters.

(I assume that this is the dragon lan di takes control of – but its still not clear whether the dragon is separate to Chiyou. I personally think they are separate but its not clear. – got theories for this too)

Great earthquakes and giant floods stand for the ending of the dynasty.

This is giving a description of the primordial event when the dragon was disturbed – and its would seem that this event may have been repeating itself since time immemorial) - shenmue 3 is when its most likely to happen again - this event may have some kind of moral dimension as to why it keeps occuring - but I’ll get into this later)

The emperor asks three ancient masters for help to control the power of Phoenix.

(who were these ancient masters? If you look at the video time stamp 7:50 – I think the scrolls actually illustrates them. There are 2 old guys with beards and 1 bald guy all wearing Chinese clothing of old - huge sleeves etc. its difficult to make out the background, maybe they are sitting on a mountain with other mountains in the background? guilin maybe? better quality video would be useful. Could these be the ancestors of shenhua and Ryo? I assume that with each iteration of the 'calming of the dragon' event new masters emerge to undertake the task)

The legendary Phoenix comes down from the heaven and fights back the Dragon's attack.

(Time stamp 8:08 in video as seen in scrolls)

The Dragon's rage has been calmed down. The Dragon and The Phoenix go back to where they were from.

(Maybe this is time stamp - 12:03. beam of light being sucked back up into the clouds (dragon calmed) followed by another light absorbing into the phoenix pendant - phoenix returns)

The Dragon's mirror and the Phoenix's mirror have been sealed again. The peace is back.

(yes until the next disturbance of the dragon – the latest of which is due to occur in shenmue 3. )



--------------------

Magical objects/artefacts other than the mirrors.
shenhua seems to be controlling/ summoning the phoenix by use of a magical phoenix pendant/necklace go to - time stamp 9.49 - you can seen that its shaped like a phoenix, and she is clasping it when phoenix emerges.
Close up of pendant - time stamp 9:50.

a lot of emphasis is placed on this necklace since its emitting magical energy several times, and at the end it seems to be implied that either the dragon and/or the phoenix are absorbed back into the pendant - time stamp – 12:10

so we can add this to the list of known magical objects within shenmue
-sword of seven stars (must have greater purpose than just lighting up those huge mirrors)
-phoenix and dragon mirrors (from the shenmue legend we know that the purpose of the mirrors was to seal the dragon away prevent further destruction. Zhu also says the mirrors are a key to unlock the treasures of the qing dynasty, and master chen says that the mirrors somehow allow the resurrection of chi you. i've read people who say that all these uses of the mirrors means that we are recieving wrong or contradictory information from these sources, but i don't see why the mirrors cant do all these things.
-pheonix pendant (summoning and or controlling the phoenix)

- because the dragon lives in a 'vein' he might not need summoning.... hence there is no need for a dragon summoning pendant.
The destruction of a city

I’m still confused about what is actually happening here in the destruction of the city.

The first question is - what’s the city that is being destroyed? It looks like its in guilin, the mountains surrounding it are the same. Shenhua seems to be taken by surprise by this whole episode, - initially she is just playing with some butterflies. (this lends credence to my theory that what follows is a memory)

- also interesting to consider that shenhua's presence in guilin during these events could mean that Ryo leaves shenhua in guilin while he goes off to other parts of china to continue his quest...

So what is actually happening.
First of all clouds gather. Then a huge blanket washes over the landscape turning it brown rather than the lush green it was before. (is this just the destruction caused by the water?)

Shenmue legend says:
‘Great earthquakes and giant floods stand for the ending of the dynasty.’

So is this a blanket water washing over the landscape? It actually looks like its falling from the sky.

My theory:
This is not actually the present time of shenmue saga (1980’s), we are actually viewing the historical, mythological destruction of the city from the original awakening of the dragon (either 1600’s or pre 5000bc) - (this city does not look modern)
.
The blanket washing over the landscape is both a flood of water from the heavens, and also a time distortion transforming the landscape back to how it was then. (shenmue often uses brown colour to indicate age - eg flashbacks, and old scrolls)

When the time distortion reaches shenhua, she too is transformed into her ancestor – the historic person who also used the phoenix to calm the dragon.

this whole episode may be a memory of shenhua, or some kind of ability where shenhua can time travel to earlier periods by use her ancestors memories.

But what about lan di actually being there controlling the dragon with his hand movements?

It doesn’t actually look like lan di is there. All the background of his shots are blacked out. He is maybe in a completely different location controlling the dragon. maybe he is in present time 1980’s but has found a way of controlling the historic dragon (of old times)
- so he is controlling the events of the past, and its shenhua job to use her memory/time travel ability to make sure that the dragon is once again calmed.

Lightning hitting the city -time stamp 9:53

I am fairly sure this is coming from the dragon. we see that the dragon pulsates with electrical energy - time stamp 9:45 . This is a lightning/thunder dragon. it does seem a bit over kill, since the flood /earthquakes would already have done plenty of damage.

Dragon slithering snake-like though the air – time stamp 11:47 – gives me chills!

Are we viewing the destruction of just this city, or is this a kind of global Armageddon event that’s happening to the entire world?

bailu village ancient city - same location (theory)

bailu village is now located where this great city formerly stood. Shenhua mentioned the ruins of castle walls. The old nobles who were exiled by the emperor possessed great treasures (maybe the magical objects and or the Qing treasures)

so whats the Qing treasures

I think its probably a mixture of the magical artefacts used for all kinds of supernatural purposes and abilities.

And/or they could be certain magical martial arts techniques (that ryo is probably going to learn in order to defeat chinyoumen leaders + tentei. +maybe even chiyou)


now this is all a lot of speculation which may be wrong - but it certainly is fascinating to imagine would could be for the later games.

central shenmue legend if not a spoiler IMO
by the way i don't think the whole central legend is really that much of a spoiler. shenmue 3 could very well have opened with a telling of it, similarly to how its done in the china joy cg - time stamp - 7:46 - panning across the scrolls detailing it.
a lot more to come if you are interested...
by johnvivant
Sun Dec 22, 2013 7:49 am
 
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Help induct Shenmue into The Library of Congress!

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/warren-spector-induct-shenmue-into-the-library-of-congress-game-canon-saveshenmue?recruiter=54807131&utm_campaign=twitter_link_action_box&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=share_petition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf-MK4599A8

What is Shenmue?

Shenmue was a video game created by SEGA Programmer Yu Suzuki. It was developed during the production cycles of both the Sega Saturn and The Sega Dreamcast and it was released for the Sega Dreamcast in 2000.

Why is Shenmue Important?

It was notable for influencing many aspects of modern video games. It was influential in the use of Quick-Time Events, an aspect later seen in Resident Evil 4 and Heavy Rain. It was a game that preceeded Grand Theft Auto 3 in using full-3D free-roaming and real-life weather effects, and allows in-game interactions that weren't possible before. It was one of first true cinematic experiences in modern games, with an amazing story that attracts a huge fanbase in both Japan and The West during the time/

Despite the influence Shenmue had in modern gaming, the franchise remains dormant after the end of the Dreamcast and the lack of sales in Shenmue 2 in Xbox. It's been 14 years since the first Shenmue game and 12 years since Shenmue 2, and yet there has yet to be a re-release of the first 2 games in digital marketplaces (Steam/Playstation Network/XBox Live/GoG) nor has Shenmue 3 ever been announced by Sega or any developer/publisher in the last decade. And thus, we believe that Shenmue is in the risk of being forgotten and ignored by modern gaming culture.

And thus, we believe that Shenmue deserves to be preserved in order to remain remembered by the video game industry, and we believe that the best place for Shenmue to belong is in the Game Canon of United States The Library of Congress.

What is The Game Canon?

The Game Canon is a list of video games to be considered for preservation by the Library of Congress. The creation of this list is "an assertion that digital games have a cultural significance and a historical significance."

The current list of video games being preserved by the Library of Congress under The Game Canon is as followed:

-Spacewar!
-Star Raiders
-Zork
-Tetris
-SimCity
-Super Mario Bros. 3
-Civilization I/II
-Doom
-Warcraft series
-Sensible World of Soccer

And thus, we believe that Shenmue deserves to be on this list. Its influence on modern gaming makes it equal alonside Doom and Super Mario Brothers. And by having Shenmue on this list, it can finally bring back interest to the franchise by the gaming community, which will allow Sega to pick interest in remastering the game on modern digital marketplaces and allowing Yu Suzuki to continue production on Shenmue 3, where Ryo can finally face his revenge on Lan Di.....
by Taufiq91
Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:17 am
 
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Re: What are you currently playing?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c5/Deadly_Premonition_cover_art.jpg
Not sure why but the tune to Deadly Premonitions 'Life is Beautiful' has been playing in my head over the last couple of days so I decided to dust off the 360 and pop it in.
I really forgot how fucking awful the controls were, but started enjoying the game a bit more when the humorous dialogue started kicking off
by Oppy
Sun Jul 13, 2014 1:26 pm
 
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Yu Suzuki Interview: Shenmue, From Prototypes to Today

http://shenmuedojo.net/new/extras/interview1114/okart.jpg

Shenmue Dojo forum member aizen59 has recently conducted an interview with Yu Suzuki. Among the topics discussed are Shenmue's development, never before revealed Chiyoumen bosses and some other shorts stories.

Read full article

The article has also been published natively in French over at Retro Playing .
by Yama
Thu Nov 13, 2014 11:49 am
 
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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview: Shenmue, From Prototypes to Today

Yeah i provided answers and brought questions.

Regarding Grand Masters, my mouth is sealed sorry. But i am not giving up, just like most of us and will keep working hard to make sure we get Shenmue III in the future.

Here is what Suzuki san said :

"With the new infos i am allowing to share, i want Shenmue fans to imagine characters design"

Basically, he still has hope to make it and doesnt want to give up, thats how i felt while talking to him.

Him sharing everything would ruin it all so imagination is something that make us wait while he is still trying to sort it out.

Yu Suzuki is really a great person. Hope to meet with him again.

Glad you liked it and sorry kept you waiting.

Edit :

Regarding 帝, Tei is a grade within the organization.
by DEVILLE_David
Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:38 pm
 
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Re: Lets remake the Kickstarter video

Alright, so here's what I've come up with so far. It's really just the intro, but I'll get round to including all of the information in the OP soon.
phpBB [video]
by Jibby
Sat Jun 20, 2015 10:59 am
 
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Lets remake the Kickstarter video

Hey all, ive seen a lot of discontent with the quality of the marketing around Shenmue 3 (i'm right there with you all). I'm glad it hasn't kept the game from getting funded, but with a few weeks left in the campaign we know this stuff can make a huge difference in attracting funding beyond the rabid folks that hangout here.

So my question is, are there any video editors in the dojo who want to take a stab at recutting a kickstarter video? Between the original video and the interviews they're posting, i think there is enough footage to do something better than what they came up with, at the very least just cut out the in-depth explanation of technique scrolls.

If i had any video editing ability myself i would give this a shot, but figured it was worth pitching to the group given the nice videos ive seen come out of this community over the years.

Just shooting from the hip, but here what I think the video shouldve been:

1) "14 years ago, Shenmue 1 & 2 told the story of Ryo Hazuki's quest to avenge the murder of his father"

2) Shenmue was reveloutionary at the time for XYZ reasons (clips from interviews with Yu, former Shenmue team members, gaming press, etc)

3) The Shenmue saga was never finished and a passionate community has been clammoring for a sequel since Shenmue 2 shipped

4) Now finally, the creator of Shenmue is ready to finish the story with your help

5) Shenmue 3 will continue Ryos story as he continues his journey with the mysterious Shenhua

6) Help make Shenmue 3 as amazing as the first 2 by funding the crap out of it (imply how expensive this type of game is)

Also, i think they shouldve just shown scenes from the first 2 games instead of weird demo footage with horrible voice acting. Seriously if i didnt already love shenmue and i saw those plastic renderings of Ryo + Shenhua, speaking like robots, and stiffly jumping on stones i would never fund this.
by Xandui
Fri Jun 19, 2015 6:09 pm
 
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Re: Resident Evil VII

Completed my first playthrough today and I'm very happy with it. I'll keep it short and sweet. It's a fun game and most of all a solid Biohazard, something I haven't said in a while.

I played mainly via PSVR and also via PS4Pro at 4K/HDR. It's nice to see Biohazard pushing technical boundaries once again, the RE Engine looks stunning and performs flawlessly at 60fps. The sense of immersion in VR is a first of it's kind, at times so good it's uncomfortable. I found the entire experience to be extremely natural. For example if I was hiding behind a corner while not in VR, I'd side step and take a peek, thus leaving the character vulnerable. In VR however, I'd remain behind the corner but simply stick my head out a bit to take a look, just as you would in a real life situation. This extra sense of immersion tops off an already well crafted atmosphere that stands tall on it's own.

The atmosphere, layout, inventory management, combat, files, puzzles and flow of the game all closely resemble classic Biohazard. Enemy flow however seems a bit different at first, mainly because there isn't a low tier enemy type (zombie) filling the area. Molded are a higher tier (and range between types), though do become the games default enemy over time. This fresh take shakes up the flow a bit, though still stays true to the classic formula.

Biohazard once pushed the envelope with pre-rendered, then OTS and now VR/FP. While this may be the series biggest departure yet, it's also the most familiar entry in a decade. Going first person wasn't a cop out, it was a venture into the VR space and therefore the future. At it's core however, this is a classic title in the same vein as Rebirth or Zero. It's a lot of what we wanted, a little bit of what the series needed and a damn fine soft boot.
by Yama
Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:12 am
 
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Re: Sega - "actively pursuing" a Shenmue remaster.

O Rei do Frango Assado wrote:this is Sega we're talking about


Just for fun I thought I'd google that phrase.

Would you believe it's seldom used in a positive tone? :lol:
by Let's Get Sweaty
Thu Aug 10, 2017 5:36 pm
 
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Shenmue III gets provisional PEGI rating

As per Gameblog's Romain, who noticed Shenmue III also now had a retail listing on Amazon FR; https://twitter.com/RomainMahut/status/988419535014367233

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dbetx48WAAI_7FG.jpg

Pretty sure the white on black placeholder cover has appeared before, but what appears to be new is the provisional PEGI rating.

In order to get a provisional rating, the publisher has to pay a fee, fill out a questionnaire about the game's content, and allow PEGI to play a portion of the game and review video sequences. From what I can gather, this happens when the publisher is moving forwards with the retail process (pre-orders, etc) and looking to get games certified by platform holders.

Not that it means a whole lot, but I've gone back through a few games Deep Silver have distributed and saw they had a provisional rating within 6-8 months of release.

Safe to say the wheels are turning in the background, though.
by Spaghetti
Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:25 pm
 
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Re: Kickstarter Update #84 - Survey Info #1: Survey Started!

So does this mean Chai will be in Shenmue 3?! They wouldn't create his model just to be in a short video and nothing more right? RIGHT?!


It's long been confirmed that Chai was in the game. Since shortly after the kick starter wrapped up. I believe you can also see his silhouette on one of the temples in the gamescom 2017 screenshots.

The only thing I dislike about the video is the apparent lack of good facial animations, but I am not even sure if it is because of they haven't been greatly implemented or that the motion capture actor was just really stone faced during production. It kinda reminds me of a Japanese live talk show host who is stocked full of botox. It makes the performance a bit creepy. Bad actor or bad direction, I dunno. I just hope the character is a bit more lively in the final game.

Also, why is this snotty nosed little kid becoming the mascot of the game? They should have done the video with Shenhua, with the latest seen model because well, it's perfect and makes more sense as Shenhua has traditionally been the mascot on Shenmue promo and marketing materials.

Or this kid could maybe be integral to the plot, or something. But still boo!, more Shenhua or we riot!

Also Chai's creepy crawling animation looks good. Like the actor was really into it.
by ShenmueTree
Thu Jun 28, 2018 7:02 am
 
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Re: Kickstarter Update #84 - Survey Info #1: Survey Started!

So does this mean Chai will be in Shenmue 3?! They wouldn't create his model just to be in a short video and nothing more right? RIGHT?!
Chai has been hinted at since basically the very early days of the Kickstarter. We got our confirmation last year when he was spotted on a slideshow of unfinished character models, also with Ren.
by Spaghetti
Thu Jun 28, 2018 6:51 am
 
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