Update:
The interviews of Yu suzuki in beep MD magazines:
http://pan.baidu.com/s/1jGMuZSa

Monkei wrote:That's made up by dualshockers

Please don't mistake DualShockers for them.

http://www.marketingweek.com/2015/10/12/sega-europes-marketing-director-on-the-transition-from-sonic-to-smartphones

"Now my biggest challenge as marketing director is to make sure people are aware that Sega isn’t just this heritage brand that made all the Sonic games but we’re making cutting edge adult narratives such as Alien Isolation too. Not a lot of people realise we make Football Manager either – that has to change.”
“We’ve had some great successes on mobile – our Sonic Dash game has over 100 million downloads – but mobile is an overcrowded market and being truly innovative in that space isn’t easy,” he adds. “The strategy at Sega is to focus on producing great content first and then decide which platform it works best on afterwards.”

Admitting that Sega has not done a “great job over the last four years” in communicating its brand values and “Yes, we want to innovate and back smarthphones and virtual reality but our key purpose is to go back to what the brand used to stand for and I think the buzz around Shenmue 3 shows that people love our legacy,” adds Rooke, who says Sega is exploring ways to re-release the original two Shenmue titles.

“Sega was an innovator, the Dreamcast was offering online gaming as early as 1998. But perhaps back then we were pushing boundaries a little too soon. Nowadays we know what we’re good at and the strategy is to be more gradual. Over the next few years, we want to use engaging content and marketing to remind the public why they fell in love with Sega in the first place.”

Hi everyone! I just finished reading Benjamin Berget's extensive Yu Suzuki Biography and since an English version of the book is coming too, I wanted to share some thoughts about the book with the Shenmue community. Here we go!

First off, the presentation of the book is outstanding and far more than one can expect from a small publisher such as Geeks Line. The book comes in a beautiful book jacket with the words "Yu Suzuki" printed in a slightly convex way which gives the reader an interesting feeling while touching the book's cover. The paper is pearly white and the font size makes it a very agreeable reading experience. The book spans 500 pages plus a roundabout 30 color print pages which show pictures of advertisement flyers for Yu's Arcade machines. The quality of those pictures is very good and the colors come out vividly. Unfortunately there are no pictures of Yu Suzuki himself in the book.

The book's content covers Yu's entire life starting with his childhood in a small coastal town, his beginnings at Sega, Yu at the peak of his power at Sega in the late 90's/early 2000's all the way till the emotional E3 followed by the succesfull KS campaign for Shenmue 3 earlier this year.

As a long time Yu Suzuki fanboy, I wasn't expecting a lot of new information from the book, but there was actually a lot of small details in the book which I had either previously overlooked or forgotten about as time went by. Anyway, Benjamin Berget did one hell of a job accumulating heaps of old interviews from magazines dating back as far as the 80's and also loads of online interviews and other source material.

Also, I think most western readers didn't know a lot about Yu Suzuki's early years, unless they were able to read Japanese and thus understand Yu Suzuki Game Works. I found it really interesting to learn that Yu was a die hard fan of Ritchie Blackmore's in the 70's and in his teenage years spent most of his time practing guitar, trying to become a guitar hero just like Blackmore. But fortunately for all of us, just before the final exams in high school were about to happen and with his parents worried about his long hair and indifferent attitude towards studying, young Yu came to the conclusion that despite all his dilligent practice, he lacked the musical talent to become a rockstar. So our Yu got a haircut and enrolled for programming in University. The rest is history.

Benjamin Berget covers all the games of Yu's career, regardless if he was involved as a director, producer, supervisor or something completely different. He gives detailed information about the development, the technical specifications of each arcade machine, the console conversions and the commercial performance (sales) of each game. That alone is an achievement in itself but it is the small anecdotes and details where Berget's book shines. Hitting the letter G in the fourth stage of Hang-On gives you a million extra points, not just Nintendo but also Sega was super close to striking a deal with Sony in the early 90s but the narrow-minded executives of Sega of Japan fucked it up which led to Sony taking bitter revenge on both Sega and Nintedo by releasing the Playstation. Yu worked for Lockheed as an advisor and helped them create a tank simulator of which Sega released a civilian version as "Desert Tank". Shenmue 3 was almost announced for Xbox at E3 2004 and for some reason we still don't really know the announcement got cancelled at the very last minute. Yu initially wanted to do a Shenmue 3 Kickstarter in 2012, but Sega asked too much for the license.

Granted, all those things may not be new to some of us but as I said before I had either forgotten or never learned about them. And God, how much this book made me hate Peter "I put the nail in the Dreamcast's coffin in order to take its IPs to Xbox" Moore and Hajime "I want Sonic on my Pachinko machines to seduce a younger audience to gambling" Satomi and Sammy again. :lol: Yeah, I know, I need to calm down and there's nothing I can do about Peter Moore being an asshole and Sammy being a money-grubbing piece of shit company which unfortunately has taken over Sega. :D Still, the truth needs to be said from time to time. :)

Shenmue gets most attention of all games in this book with S1 & 2 being covered in a massive 100 pages chapter, Shenmue Online and it's cancellation being examined in great detail and Shenmue 3 being the finishing sub-chapter of the book with about a dozen pages. I also found particularly interesting the way Yu underwent the development of Shenmue. He first took a ton of location pictures which he showed them to the composers (Mitsuyoshi, Iuchi, Koshiro and so on) who he would then ask to compose some music for those locations. After they were done, Yu listened to what the composers had created and when he found a track he liked, he would play it to everybody involved (graphic artists, programmers,etc.). He asked them to listen closely and to go to work with the music in mind. In that sense, Shenmue's development started with its music and the incredible athmosphere could be created because everybody had the music in mind while working on Shenmue.

With its sheer amount of information and all his little dietails, this book is a great read for every Yu Suzuki fan and all those interested in Sega or Shenmue. However there is one thing about the book I didn't like one bit. While the price (25 Euros) is reasonable, the binding is very cheaply executed and very poor quality. Geeks-Line really need to find a new partner for their bindings. I read about 20 to 30 books a year, some digital but most of the still physical. I have never before experienced this with a new book. I have only read it once and I've treated my copy in an absolutely normal way but still the binding is so bad, some of the pages just came loose and fell out of the book! :no: :2gunfire: :letitallout:

However, I'd like to stress, that this is in no way related to Benjamin Berget's work or the contents and reading value of the book. It's an issue the publisher needs to deal with.

I advise every Shenmue fan to read the book, but if you buy the original version, treat your copy with extra care. Hopefully the English language publisher will do a better job with the binding.

It really is surprising to me how much negativity there is here.

Like seriously... I am so damn happy that Shenmue 3 is even coming. There are some people in here who really need to take a step back and just remember that! 4 months ago we would have killed to get the smallest bit of new info about our favourite game franchise. The game is now being made, and people are crying about how some super super early development shots, (which are even using included assets from the engine) don't meet their expectations...

WHO CARES!!! It's going to change, and even once it has, it probably won't look like how you want it to or how you imagined it to... but you know what!?! Yu Suzuki, the Legend, who created the best 2 games of all time, has created a game for you. A game that you have wanted for 15 years. We will finally leave the Cave in Guilin, we will continue the story of Ryo's revenge, and not only will we have a Shenmue 3, but there is now now a pretty good chance we will have a Shenmue 4.

Think about where we have come from, and where we are heading. We are getting the game we always dreamed of, from the original creator. We are in good hands people... That's what the kickstarter updates remind me of!

(That screeny of the house with the thatched roof tho... *Jizzed everywhere*).

Seems back to normal now!

Here's the Sumo Digital guy rhetorically asking about a Shenmue III Kickstarter: http://videogamewriters.com/sega-all-stars-dev-wants-to-see-shenmue-3-on-kickstarter-45797

Here's Biscay with the "contrepartie" quote: http://shenmueangel.free.fr/news2.php?id=315

And here's another post from Biscay on the Shenmue Master Facebook from April 2013: https://www.facebook.com/Shenmue.Master/posts/576838789002463

He says that the photo with Mark Cerny was just a publicity shot for GDC 2013 (i.e. no confirmation of deal with Sony), and that Suzuki is thinking about Kickstarter as well as trying to find funding partners and convincing Sega.

Here's more context to Moore telling Naka to fuck off: http://www.gamesradar.com/when-peter-moore-said-f-you-to-yuji-naka/

Hey Guys, new to the forums (Kind of. Registered years ago but forgot the username and password but never posted!)

Anyways, I write tutorials (C++) over at Epic Games for Unreal Engine 4 and help people out on the AnswerHub and work on projects all the time with this Engine. I've done so for quite some time now. Why am I telling you this? Because hopefully I can provide a little insight on what you're seeing and why.

The reflective properties on Ryo's Jacket is just the material. The material hasn't been properly adjusted yet and even so let's not forget about the lighting that goes into a scene. Typically it's something you'll want to play with over and over again until you can get it just right. I'm assuming they're going to have a day to night cycle and that means a scene will have dynamic lighting. This can effect a material whether it's on a character, a static mesh actor( Think of an object) or general decals (assuming they want them lit or not.). This means it will constantly be tweaked from now until release.

The jacket will probably be toned down abit but it is obvious that they're still experimenting with the lighting. They're also not utilizing any Post Processing at the moment and if they are it's only for a slight color node but I don't think they're using any in the second and fourth screenshot. I think it goes without saying that this will change and right now they're experimenting with an engine that they probably never used before so it takes abit of time and energy to figure these large frameworks out.

It's an exciting time for all of us as Shenmue fans and of course we want this to be the best it can be but try to remember that this project is going to see alot of changes from now until release.

This is ridiculous. I can't believe that there are people here who actually think that it would be viable to make Shenmue III using the original Shenmue engine.
One minute, you complain that these pre-pre-alpha screenshots don't look good enough and point to a shit Shenmue and then next you suggest that using the DC engine would somehow make it all better? As if that engine is completely flawless? Do you not understand just how limited that would make the game. Remember all of those stretch goals that we so hope to achieve? They wouldn't be possible using the old engine. Maybe Shenmue III could have been done back in the day on that engine, but we need to stop living in the past. Shenmue III isn't a game from multiple generations ago, it's a game for the current gen and that needs to be expected and accepted otherwise it isn't going to be an enjoyable experience for anyone.

And for those who think that these incredibly early screenshots suggest that YS.NET don't know what they are doing, can we please use this as a reminder of just how much things can change:
Lan Di (Project Berkley)
https://i.gyazo.com/fa42c18bb253a2dc20e3bc889efe78b5.png

Lan Di (Final)
http://www.vgnetwork.it/images/Shenmue/Shenmue-landi.jpg

This is awesome.

http://teamyu.net/Shenmue.III?action=raffle

The final portion of Shenmue III's crowdfunding campaign expires at the end of December, at which point the game's development budget will be set in stone. Though we are all delighted with the progress being made by Ys Net in these early stages, opportunities to expand the scope of such an important title don't come along often.

Therefore, to help make the most of these final few weeks of the year, dedicated fans have pooled their most treasured resources together with First 4 Figures to donate some extraordinary prizes for an unmissable contest we're calling the Winning Can Raffle!

In short, here's what's on offer:

- Exclusive edition Lan Di statue directly from the workshop of First 4 Figures

- Standard edition Ryo Hazuki statue signed and personalized by voice actor Corey Marshall

- Limited edition Japanese copy of the original Shenmue for Dreamcast, complete with Jukebox CD, signed by Yu Suzuki

- Limited edition Japanese copy of Shenmue II for Dreamcast, sealed and VGA Gold graded

- Translucent blue Shenmue soundtrack LP, signed and personalized by Corey Marshall

- Rare promo stickers from the Shenmue Premiere in Japan

- Official Shenmue T-shirt from the Tokyo Game Show 2015 (size M)

Plus: ALL entrants will receive a bonus Shenmue themed decal just for taking part!Remember, all you need to do is participate in the Shenmue III Slacker Backer campaign at any of the tiers listed above and forward your PayPal receipt to [email protected] before the relevant deadline to receive your decal and be entered into these draws. For any Shenmue fan this prize pool is an absolute goldmine, so whatever you do, don't miss out. For a little extra support towards Shenmue III's development, you could be walking away with an item you'll cherish for many years after the game's release - on top of the great backer rewards you're guaranteed from Ys Net!

Collection of famous movie posters, textless.
http://imgur.com/gallery/ibs1o

One of my favorite movie

Dojo member sshen1127 has kindly translated this recent brief but exclusive interview from Yu Suzuki's China visit.

Nov 19 interview with Yu Suzuki (Chinese)
http://tieba.baidu.com/p/4168537061

English translation

Q: Master Yu, when did you first meet up with master Lui Lian Zhi - was it 1991 or 1994? On what did you two first collaborate, was it working on Virtua Fighter 1 or 2?
Yu: The first time we met was 1993. Our first time working together was for VF2.

Q. Will Shenmue 3 have Chinese subs?
Yu: We are looking into it at the moment.

Q. In the near future, do you have any plan to release a fighting game similar to VF? Or to work with Sega for the next installment of the game?
Yu: Right now Daichi Katagari is the one who is overseeing the VF games. I handed over the games to him 100%. I will not be working with Sega for another VF game. But I might develop a brand new fighting game of my own.

Q: How many more Shenmue games are there until the end of the story?
Yu: There is a total of 11 chapters. Shenmue 3 will be chapters 5 and 6.

Q: Will everyone who donated for the game have to wait until near the release date to have their address and version of the game confirmed?
Yu: When the time comes we will send out an email to everyone. Please keep an eye on your mailbox.

Q: Can you use Chinese characters for all the Chinese people who donated for the game, in the "Thank you" credits at the end of the game?
Yu: All the credits will be in Roman characters.

Q: Will Shenmue 3 follow the same formula as Shenmue 1 and 2? In your opinion, what is the biggest difference with Shenmue 3? And what is the key selling point to attract new players to the game?
Yu:
1. Shenmue 3 will follow in the footsteps of Shenmue 1 and 2. It will keep what makes Shenmue Shenmue. For example, real-time full voice acting.
2. Shenmue 3 will be a more of an "open world" game so player can explore more places.
3. Towards the later half of the game, there will be a brand new way to play the game to attract new players. But the details are a secret.

Q: Will there ever be a spin-off of Shenmue, such as Shenmue 0?
Yu: No, not at the moment... [laughs]

Q: Is there any plan to release an Outrun-like racing game in the future?
Yu: We do have plans to release such a game.

Q: Will Shenmue 3 have an online feature?
Yu: There is no plan for any online feature for Shenmue 3.

SMDzero wrote:
Also SPOILERS:

Ryo fights a bear?? WTF is he supposed to be Davey Crocket now??!?!?

Born on a mountaintop in Guilin.. killed a bear when he was just 18!?!?!?!?

Well

Shenmue 3 CG artist Nocon Kid shares photos of his visit to Dobuita!
Photo Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/0jFiU

Yu has always been an innovator, he's not going to ride franchises for an easy retirement unless he's doing something new with them. Remember the first Virtua Fighter was one of the pioneers in 3D polygon graphics, and by the time of 3 well...its, how do I put it....trite? For an innovator?

Yup:

The difference between Miyamoto-san and I is that he takes the same game and takes it deeper and deeper, like with the Mario series, while I like to work on different games and concepts. I don't like doing the same thing.

http://weibo.com/1820625302/D5unzkimI?type=comment

http://www.vgtime.com/article/6321000.jhtml

I Am going to post translator after i am sure everything is done.

So its confirmed we are going to get over 1 hour of shenmue information from Takshi Hirai

one of the question in the interview

- will shenmue 3 have any effect on people who never played the first 2 game before？
shenmue 3 follow the story of shenmue 2 , so there will be some challenge for new comer. but with great story flow and game design . new comer will also able to enjoy the game.



at this point i am still not 100% sure. sometime china game site is weird like that. maybe in another 2 - 3 day the full conference will be post it.. by then i will post the full conference ...

- will shenmue 3 have any effect on people who never played the first 2 game before？
shenmue 3 follow the story of shenmue 2 , so there are will be some challenge for new comer. but with great story flow and game design . new comer will also able to enjoy the game.



at this point i am still not 100% sure. sometime china game site is weird like that. maybe in another 2 - 3 day the full conference will be post it.. by then i will post the full conference ...

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/SeJr7FAGI-Y/

Is this it ???

Seems like an old documentary on Shenmue (I don't think I've ever seen it).

This is the Making of Shenmue video that was subtitled recently for the Dojo. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend checking it out.
http://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=49298

http://i.imgur.com/C2FZ9m4.png

Today is the 15th anniversary since Shenmue was released in North America on the Sega Dreamcast. (December in Europe) To commemorate this day we are sharing a special video that goes behind the scenes in the making of Shenmue. Back in the late 90's NHK aired a TV program on the development of Shenmue at SEGA. They spent 6 months with Yu Suzuki as he was developing Shenmue on what would be Sega's last home game console. English translation provided by Switch .

Making of Shenmue: Youtube | DailyMotion | Vimeo

Available Captions/Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese.

Exactly!!! This game will be an experience where YOU determine how long it becomes. I'm getting angry, so if I drop some language here, apologies in advance...


Yeah but that's quite an idealist speech. Of course, the Shenmue's philosophy will be enough to enhance the experience. But you can have the most open mind, the game design limits will still be there. If a developer can't determine a precise length of play for most of us, they can with ranges so the question is worth asking. And we don't have much information about the density of Shenmue III's world. Some words from Yu about objects interactivity or scale can be worrying.

The apprehension is completely relevant, specially when you consider our upcoming waiting/playing ratio which is outstanding. Thankfully, we're waiting a video game not a 2-hour movie.

The battle to gather more money for Paypal is still on as bigger the open world is, the more quests we'll get. We should all think to find a way to promote efficiently Shenmue III in the last campaign days. Not only to gamers or unaware Shenmue fans who would live outside internet but also those who are passionate of China, those who practise martial arts and goes on. That's the deal we should treat.

Returning to our initial topic, it would be also interesting to know which pace would fit better the story flow. On the one hand, if you follow the strict straight storyline, you're sure to miss the YSnet core work and the original purpose of the game. On the other hand, if you take too much your time, you may lose the story intensity and that's a waste. It's the eternal debate about how to make the better use of your freedom when you own it.

Personally, I have no problem to complete Shenmue III in a straight fast line (if I have to). With the dreamcast versions aging year after year, I got into the habit to pay less attention to the environment and follow the strict storyline. And you know what, the game felt as good as a "normal" playthrough if not better. After all, that doesn't disallow you to discover Shenmue III afterwards. There are so many different ways to appreciate this game.

People should fucking stop bothering Biscay for everything and fucking use their brain. Shenmue 3 started production barely 3 months ago, of course nothing will be ready to be shown by fucking december 2015.

Let them work :/

Just played Emily is Away, it's a free 30 minute game of Steam.

If you grew up using AOL or MSN messenger or any of those chatrooms I'd seriously suggest giving this a go. It would ruin it if I told you what it was about. I always say that everyone can relate to the film 500 Days of Summer in some way due to past experiences and I feel this is like that.

Everyone should give it a go since it's free and as long as a sitcom episode.

Both Michael Huber and Kyle Bosman from Gametrailers have spoken on different aspects of why Shenmue 3 was a top highlight of the year (and who can blame them!) Here are the respective videos:

Huber Hype - The year of dreams (part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnGARsW-Joo

Wraps up the video with June, the E3 of dreams, and his infamous reaction to the Shenmue 3 announcement. (10:14)



The Final Bosman - The top 10 best things in 2015

https://youtu.be/n_BCVGGDpnU

Lists the amount Shenmue 3 got funded by, ironically as the 3rd best thing of this gaming year.(7:28)

if any of those 341 people managed to pledge and cover the $50 cost in advertising I am happy.

Hi all, Its been I long time since I posted here, I have been playing a little with Shenmue 2 and found some interesting unused models.

The first is an unused character, and while shenmue 2 have alot of them like I showed in the past, we can agree that this one was supposed to make a major role in the game, her profile can still be seen in Shenmue Goodies.
The funny thing is seems like they messed up with its code, so in HTML the code says 'SYI' but in game its 'YSI', no wonder we never found it before. I pretty confident its the same character, if not by the similarity of the code to the cothing and hair style.
http://i.imgur.com/R1B7Fso.jpg

Second model its the original Joy's bike, it was supposed to have the Honda's longo printed, probably not making it due to licensing issues.
http://i.imgur.com/oHmBIcd.jpg

Now some funny textures, first are some unused buidlings names in kowloon, they read 'White Snake Bldg.' and 'White Phenix Bldg.'
The second its a map from Shenmue I of the harbor, they intended for us to use one like in Shenmue 2 and I actualy belive its still in game code and can be unlocked...
http://i.imgur.com/4bjCWZV.jpg

Awesome Japan is the real life Asia Travel Company.

Someone has made this artwork recently, the best Niao Sun charadesign so far.

http://s19.postimg.org/b20bylr9f/image.png

I'm also intrigued by what Takeuchi wanted to mean by making the characters "cuter" like Shenhua. Does it imply massive changes ? Whatever I'm completely excited to see their next gen faces, at MAGIC if possible.

Basically it comes down to human nature and psychology.

Take the new Star Wars movie. One contrarian person called Rey a "Mary Sue," and now everyone (mostly people who had never heard that term before and don't even fully understand its context, since they seem to think it simply means "overpowered," which it doesn't) is parroting it in an effort to appear aligned with the hip, contrary, against the grain opinion of someone they perceive as vaguely intelligent and therefore desirable as someone to emulate so that they themselves may also appear vaguely intelligent/hip/non-mainstream, etc.

And it doesn't matter if you feel Rey is sort of a Mary Sue character - that's not my point. My point is that many people will tend to, in an almost Nietzschen "will to power" sort of way, unconsciously be attracted to the aggressor and to immitate them. Especially when the target of the aggressor is something unabashedly positive, uplifting, or "feel good," which many people see as weakness. People's unconcious desire to "not be taken in" coupled with the desire to appear "above it all" and intelligent, kicks in and overrides their empathy, ability to think in nuanced, proportional terms, and so they just knee-jerk.

If something is an underdog and seemingly unlikely to ever happen - e.g. the resurgence of the space combat and trading sim in Star Citizen - then they clamor for it and support it. No matter how much money it makes. They exalt it as a success story. But when something is perceived to be somehow insulated or guaranteed to succeed (which, ironically, Shenmue 3 isn't and wasn't - if anything, it's the biggest big name crowdfunding underdog there is in a sense) because, say, a company like Sony introduces it at E3 and everyone erroneously assumes that means it has corporate backing in every imaginable sense... then they want to tear it down and look for conspiracy theories because their ego demands they avoid being suckered or appearing gullible.

It's ridiculous of course, makes zero sense, and is completely irrational. But welcome to human nature, sadly. A huge proportion of everything human beings do is unconscious, instinctual, and unwitting. We just... do stuff. Without thinking, without considering, without sensitivity or insight. We just react. Then we invest in the reaction, and become entrenched and egoic about it, and thus defensive of that position, such that no one can admit they were wrong and CHANGE anything. That's just how it works.

Things like Shenmue 3 finally happening, people overcoming the odds, miraculous things that we never thought would happen... those are the bright spots that make life in a world such as that bearable and at times, magical.

End ramble. Don't mind me, I'm sick and delirious.

Hello.

Today I give you all a mirror for the files needed to play in some unplayable areas in Shenmue 2X.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwOr2HqtAhc&feature=youtu.be
------------------------------------------------------
Information:
Who deserves the credit?
Kakuzawa. He did all of the work. I am just providing a mirror in this new thread to not necropost in the old thread.
Original Thread: http://shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=41968&hilit=KSH1&start=15#p909287
------------------------------------------------------
What are these files?
These files allow you to explore some unexplorable areas in Shenmue 2X.
------------------------------------------------------
Which areas?
1. Shenhua's Flashback Area (The Shrine)
2. Ziming and Xuying's Flashback Area
3. The Ghost Town outside Kowloon (The intro to Kowloon area)
4. The Shenmue 2X version of the Hazuki Dojo.
------------------------------------------------------
Why reupload these?
The original links are dead so I am supplying them for everyone to grab.
------------------------------------------------------
How Do I Use Them?
Click above link to read Kakuzawa's original post
------------------------------------------------------
Download Link?
PM me for it. This helps keep the link alive and allows me to generate stats.

We all know what nocon kid is capable



I hope they manage to pack up a good looking teaser to get people hyped within a couple months.

Video recorded and translated by Shendream (Shenmue Master)

I finally finished the shenmue phoenix and dragon mirrors. These are modeled from scratch with the texture file as a reference and it is a 1:1 replica of the mirrors. I modeled these to be a flat plane and when I print them i will hand paint the phoenix and dragons on the mirrors on the raised parts. ITS GOING TO LOOK GREAT! just wanted to share it with you all. hopefully soon i can begin the 3d printing process and painting i may put a few up for sale as well in the future.

https://cdn.pictub.club/2016/01/30/reJa.md.jpg

to see the full HD image head over to my portfolio RYOHD.CARBONMADE.COM

sword handguard crest work in progress almost finished.

http://oi64.tinypic.com/344fwac.jpg

Was looking forward to this quite a lot since seeing someone post a quick video of it a while back. Just came out today, and I finished it today. Can't remember the last time I could say that about anything.
It's... a hard game to pin down. No doubt the biggest thing everyone was anticipating it for was to hear the interactions between the voice actors. See, the game is all about a guy named Henry who takes a temp job as a fire watchman at a national park in 1989, in an attempt to forget about the troubles in his normal life. Obviously, a job like that comes hand-in-hand with a whole helluva lot of solitude. Except for the very last seconds of the game, you never come into contact with anyone, outside of a couple unreachable characters yelling to you from off in the distance and (more importantly) a fellow fire watch(wo)man named Delilah, who communicates with you entirely through a walky talky. It's the interaction between Henry and Delilah that really makes the game worth playing. The writing is gold, and the voice acting is just as good. It's a joy to listen to them. Overall the game could really be considered a "hiking simulator" of sorts, because that's pretty much all you do; you hike. You go from one part of the map to the next, following whatever trails the game sets up for you. Without the great voice acting, the game would probably be a bit of a drag. The sights are nice, sure, but that's not always quite enough to get me moving. So y'know, it's great that the characters have such brilliant chemistry.
THE PROBLEM is, it really doesn't amount to anything in the end. See, the game starts out ridiculously intriguing, pulling a lot of cool tricks to make you wonder about what's really going on... because of course there's got to be a slightly grander story to it, right? Henry and Delilah start making small discoveries which lead them to believe that someone is observing them, tracking their movements, listening to their conversations, all that. Is Delilah on the level? Is Henry going crazy? Is anything really what it seems?
Creepy shit, and I was really, genuinely gripped by how things were proceeding as I played through it. Felt like the meat of a great thriller.
But then you find out what's really going on... and it's just about the most disappointing "reveal" I've come across in quite a long time. Spoilers, obviously:
So after theorizing that they've unknowingly been taking part in some kind of behavioral experiment, that someone high up has been watching them, working toward some kind of scientific ends... Henry and Delilah find out it's just some crazy guy.
That's it.
Some former fire watchman that Delilah knew, who's been living in the woods after his son died in a climbing accident. So he starts fucking around with Henry and Delilah, trying to make them think someone is experimenting with them, because... um.
Reasons?
Pft, reasons . He's crazy. That's about all the reason you're given.
It's just a very, very weak reveal that ultimately makes the whole thing feel... pointless. You find yourself so intrigued initially, only to be completely let-the-fuck-down.

So it's a weird little dichotomy; the game is totally worth playing for the character interactions, but it's still pretty damn disappointing because the story goes fucking nowhere .
And for a 19.99 digital-only release, is a few hours of nicely-delivered dialogue and pretty nature sights really worth it?
I dunno, man. I mean, I'm overall happy I played it; it's not an easy game to hate , because there's so much personality there. But that narrative... good lord, what a disappointment.

Apparently the writer worked on the Walking Dead Telltale games, so I have no doubt plenty of people will be raving about how the game is pure artistry, that it's a beautiful story with so much meaning, that it's an instant classic or somesuch other nonsense... but really it's just an okay experience with some pretty sights and likable interactions between good actors. It's certainly not a great "game" by any stretch. Could have been so much more... but it's not.

While taking my sweet time buying toy capsules and shopping at the Abe Store on the first day of my new playthrough and didn't visit Yamagishi-san until the next day I encountered this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdRahSZGYe4

I saw the English version of this dialogue too so it is accurate. The "It is isn't it?" dialogue wasn't in the English version though.

I'll call people butt-hurts if that's what they're being. Seriously, I don't give a fuck. I hate listening to nerds complain about dumb things.


I'm sitting here, i'm trying to play Yakuza 2. I can't get into it... I just don't give a FUCK. I've been stuck in the past for so god damn long. I'm sick of retro video-games, I'm sick of playing anything that doesn't either keep me going forward in life or bring me together in some sort of community. I don't want to play lame-ass old shitty b-movie-esque video games in my GOD DAMN ROOM anymore.

I'm selling everything I own. I'm even selling my old Shenmue shit. Shenmue was great, as was a lot of games I played, but they were great to me when I played them, not forever in my fucking closet. I'll play Shenmue 3, i'll have a great experience, and then I'll MOVE ON WITH MY LIFE. No more collecting, none of this nonsense bullshit. I'm only keeping things I actively use. I will have a Super Nintendo (for competitive Super Metroid) and a Playstation 4 (for new games and fighting games).

I don't know why I'm so angry with this post -- probably because I'm a little bit drunk.. but fuck retro videogames. Fuck 'em once and for fucking all.

It begins...

After the press conference in shanghai. I was able to get a little more information about the game from Yu during our meal time.

After I got home. I re-watch the conference and I was able to come up with some my own speculation. Let’s get sweaty.

I made 2 pictures. The first picture is each location of the entire 11 chapter. The second picture is the flow of the entire story line.

http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/w%3D580/sign=8cfe190c8c13632715edc23ba18ea056/4ab2a7efce1b9d1660db1fb1f5deb48f8d5464b2.jpg

http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/w%3D580/sign=c3375b24b14543a9f51bfac42e168a7b/d524352ac65c1038236d4b12b4119313b17e8947.jpg

From the 2 pictures here is the information I get.
Shenmue chapter break down.
1. Japan Yokosuka
2. Hong Kong
3. Chapter 3 and 4 is (Su Zhou and shanghai) not sure which one come first.
4. Chapter 5 and 6 is ( Guilin)
5. Chapter 7 ( Luoyang ) http://nsa37.casimages.com/img/2015/07/07/150707114637212257.jpg
6. Chapter 8 Cang Zhou Miao village
7. Chapter 9 Xi An
8. Chapter 10 Bei Jin
9. Chapter 11 is Lan Lou ( XinJiang )


3 and 4 was cut which include shu Zhou and shanghai

The last chapter the final battle takes place in ancient city (Lou Lan)

Here is the detail

First. I got all the location and the name of the city from the map of the second picture. Which chapter 3 and 4 is Suzhou and shanghai. And during the meal with Yu. I heard with my own ear that Shenmue 3 will be the story of Shenmue 5 and 6. Therefore 3 and 4 is being cut at this point.

There is a couple of detail worth mentioning here. The Niao Sun character in chapter 6 also appears in chapter 7 which is Luo yan. So Niao Sun follow Ryo to Luo yong ? Is to kill Ryo or help him? Also in chapter 10 the person ryo holds (is it landi or ziming? or someone else) if its LanDi does it mean Ryo defected him and forgive him in the end? Did Ryo reach a new ground of moral conscience? And what happen before that?

Finally I am most curious part of the story is the last chapter. The story takes place in Lou Lan. Note (the Chinese words on the map is Lou Lan not xinjiang) so the story must have a connection with the ancient city of ( LouLan). The ancient city of Lou Lan use to be the ruler for the land of Xing Jiang (it uses to be a country with rich culture and power) but suddenly disappears overnight. Similar like Maya Civilization. It becomes a historical myth.

So if the final battle is taken place there. Is there any connection between the two?

http://f.hiphotos.baidu.com/baike/c0%3Dbaike80%2C5%2C5%2C80%2C26/sign=54f7c6476a061d95694b3f6a1a9d61b4/e4dde71190ef76c65a1944549916fdfaae516782.jpg
Picture of Lou Lan

Finally there is one last detail I would like to share with everyone. During meal time Yu mention he will visitor shanghai and Suzhou, Wuxi, and Xiamen. Notice he mention shanghai and Suzhou the location of the two chapter that is cut from the game. Does that mean he is location scouting these two place? Will he add these 2 missing chapter in Shenmue 4? Will Shenmue 4 be chapter 3 and 4 (sshen1127 I personally don’t think so) we don’t know. But the most important part I think is still the budget. We need to keep support the game that is only way we can get more content from it. One last thing. During the meal time Yu mention in the future he may creator a brand new fighting game. What is that fighting game? I think it might be Shenmue character base fighting game. I believe after all of this set and done. Shenmue will no doubt become a legend of a game!

Also, the "surprise" next to Astroboy and Shenmue III is likely to be an animation.

May it be the "Samurai lone wolf (and cub)" anime Yu did retweet the kickstarter page yesterday ? Run by the mighty Awesome Japan... :-k

That's the other news. Awesome Japan is planning to buy YSnet very soon. Stay tuned ;-)

haha, You dragged the family to see Yu Suzuki too? Awesome! :mrgreen:

If I'm not wrong, the "Family Guy" in the picture is Shenmue Dojo user "rdk_nl" :mrgreen:

Yes, correct; I'm the "Family Guy".

Arrived today from AMS to NCE. Stay in Beaulieu-sur-Mer; a nice little town, only some minutes by public transport to Monaco.

Was present at 2013 MAGS (Monaco Anime Game Show) alone.
Went back in 2014 with my own Family and Parents, unfortunately no show that year.
2015 Magic-IP was planned, but I had to cancel because of chickenpox within the family.
2016 Was planned immediately after the 2015 cancelation, but I never thought SIII release was upcoming.

Glad to be here for the 2nd time during Mags/Magic Show.