******************************************************************************* SHENMUE PLOT ANALYSIS ******************************************************************************* _______ ___ ___ ________ ___ ___ ____ ____ ____ ____ ________ / ____/ | | | | | | | \ | | / |/ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ____| | \ | | / | | | | | | ____| | |___ | |__| | | |__ | \| | / /| /| | | | | | | |__ \___ \ | __ | | __| | |\ | / / |__/ | | | | | | | __| ___| | | | | | | |___ | | \ | / / | | | | | | | |___ | | | | | | | | | | \ | / / | | | |__| | | | |______/ |_| |_| |_____| |_| \_| /_/ |__| \________/ |______| written by Frank Kool, started February/March 2002 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SPOILER WARNING * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This document contains SPOILERS. If you have not played both * * Shenmue games, I advice you not to read this document. * * However, there aren't many shocking revelations for * * those who have only played Shenmue II. * * * * -YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * -TABLE OF CONTENTS- I: Introduction II: The history of Shenmue III: A summary to the plot of Shenmue IV: A summary to the plot of Shenmue II V: The great mystery: Lan Di VI: Another enigma: The mirrors VII: Rare conversations and cinemas VIII: What to expect of Shenmue III IX: Frequently Asked Questions X: Random Musing XI: Shenmue quotes XII: Conclusion & Thanks ==================== I: Introduction ==================== Go wherever you want to go, see whatever you want to see, investigate whatever you want to investigate In this world, the passage of time is both realistic and true. A refreshingly cool morning breaks and transforms into a warm, sunny afternoon. The beautifull sunset of early evening fades slowlyinto a quiet and still night. When it rains, it rains. When it snows, it snows. At times it forever continues. Here, life is meaningful. There are people here who take daily walks in the park, who work hard everyday to make a living, shop owners selling their goods, children playing, housewives gossiping, everyone living their own unique, everyday lives. Yes, this world is a real world. Meet and interact with numerous people. Learn and develop through a variety of experiences. A compelling and majestic production that will engulf your entire existence. ~FREE~ Hello, my name is Frank Kool, eighteen years old and living in Holland. The main reason why I bought a Dreamcast was because of a very interesting and much discussed video game called Shenmue. This is still the most impressive game I've ever played, the graphics were superb, the realistic world just kept amazing me and it had a decent plot. The only flaw was that it was a little short, and it kinda had an open ending. Fortunately, less than a year later, I got my hands on Shenmue II. Finally I was able to find out what happens to Ryo upon arriving in Hong Kong. Shenmue II was everything that the original Shenmue was, but even better. Very interesting was that the story was an immediate follow up on the events in Shenmue. Some questions were answered, new ones appeared. This document deals with the storyline of both Shenmue games. Inspired by Dan Birlew's and Thomas Wilde's marvellous Resident Evil Plot Analysis, (people who have read this document may spot some *cough* small simularities), I'll be summarising and try to explain the plot behind Shenmue. Please keep is mind that this document is my own interpetation of Shenmue, with much guessing and 'what-if' thinking. This is the 'final' version of the Shenmue Plot Analysis so far. I doubt that there is much spectacular to add to this document, that is until Shenmue III arrives. Right now, I'm very exited about Shenmue III. I can't wait to get that game, even if it would mean buying an X-Box to play it. Also, the release of Shenmue III will most likely mean that I'll have to re-write this document, as most of the question about Lan Di and the mirrors will probably be answered. There are probably quite some spelling errors in this document (please dont't be bothered by this to much, English is not my first language). If you have anything to correct or add to this document, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at knarlook@hotmail.com VERSION HISTORY: - March 5th: first version was finished File size: 41 kb - March 13th: added section II and VIII, made a start with Shenmue II summary and made several small changes File size: 57 kb - March 27th: Finished the summary of Shenmue II, added section XI and corrected many spelling errors File size: 84 kb - June 6th: Added section VII, corrected smalls errors (the spaces and tabs were a bit screwed up if opened on-line) and give this document a face-lift File size: 98 kb - September 4: Several people informed me I had given the wrong 'real' name for Lan Di in section V, thanks guys File size: 102 kb ============================== II: The history of Shenmue ============================== Shenmue has been the most expensive videogame to date, and has made the Guinness Book of Records. Different sources give different information about the costs, ranging from 70 to over 120 million dollars and it took years of development before it was finally released. Shenmue was originally supposed to be a Virtua Fighter RPG, early rumors about this game date back to some where in 1994. Shenmue was also started out as a Saturn game, but was moved to the Dreamcast later on (you can see a demo of the Saturn version if you have a finished savefile for Shenmue II). In June 1998, SEGA confirmed to be making a similar game, the Virtua Fighter characters were removed and the game was dubbed Projekt Berkely, The Japanese version of Virtua Fighter came with a free demo of this game. In 1999, images of 'Shenmue' were shown at the Tokyo Game Show. The release date in Japan is set at december 1999, the US version would be out in November 2000. Shenmue is the first chapter of the story, SEGA announces that the other fifteen chapters will be released as well. Shenmue II contained the chapters two through five. People responded very differently to Shenmue. Some people loved the realistic gameplay, the martial art battles and the many cut-scenes. Others were disappointend in the game because they thought it was to slow. In January 2001, SEGA released a demo for Shenmue II, which directly follows the storyline of part one: Ryo will arrive in Hong Kong. The Japanese version of Shenmue II was released in September 2001, the US version is scheduled some where near December. But in October, SEGA reveals the shocking news that the US version is cancelled and Shenmue II will be X-Box exclusively. Fortunately, the European version is out in December. The X-Box version of Shenmue II will be out near the end of 2002. The man behind the Shenmue games is Yu Suzuki. Suzuki became a game programmer and producer for SEGA in 1983, and has made some classic arcade hits like Hang On and Outrun (both games are mini-games in Shenmue II). He was also responsible for the revolutionary Saturn game Virtua Fighter (1993), the very first 3D fighter and an instant arcade classic. ======================================== III: A summary to the plot of Shenmue ======================================== He shall appear from a Far Eastern land across the sea A young man who has yet to know his potential This potential is a power that could either destroy him or realise his will His courage shall determine his fate The path he must traverse, fraught with adversity I await whilst praying for this destiny predetermined since ancient times A pitch-black night unfolds with the morning star as it's only light. And thus, the saga...begins It all begins on a snowy day on November 29, 1986. Another tranquil day in the life of Ryo Hazuki, who's been living a peacefull life in his birthtown Yokosuka. But this is all about to change... Ryo comes running home, and immediately notices something is wrong. A black car has wrecked the wooden sign next to the entrance of the Hazuki Dojo. Ryo walks in, where he sees the housemaid Ine-san lying on the ground. Ryo helps her up, but she tells him that Iwao is in danger. Ryo continues to the dojo, just when Fuku-san is wildly thrown out. The student tells Ryo to hurry in. When Ryo enters the dojo, he is immediately held back by two men dressed in black. His father, Iwao, is confronted by a mysterious man in a long green coat. "Where is the mirror?" the man asks. Iwao refuses to tell him, and a fight begins. Even though Iwao is a master in the martial arts, the man manages to dodge all his attacks and strikes him down with a powerful roundhouse kick. Ryo tries to attack the man, but is immediately struck to the ground by a powerful blow. Iwao lies on the floor, and even though he has realised that he is no match for the stranger, he still refuses to tell him about the mirror. The man than picks up the hurt Ryo, and threatens to kill him. Iwao immediately tells him where the mirror is. The man drops Ryo, and turns to Iwao. "Do you remember Sunming Zhao? That's the name of the man you killed in Meng Cun!" "It can't be... you!" Iwao replies. The man tells Iwao to stand up, allowing him to die like a warrior. As Iwao tries to hit the man in a desperate attempt, the man dodges his blow and strikes Iwao in the abdomen with both of his hands. Iwao falls to the ground, unable to get up. The men in black walk in, carrying a stone mirror with a Dragon engraved on it. "Lan Di-sama, we have it." Without a single emotion on his face, Lan Di walks out and leaves the dojo. Ryo, still hurt, crouches to his father and holds him in his arms as he speaks his last words "Keep friends... those you love... close to you!" Iwao dies, leaving Ryo alone. *four days later* The mailman delivers a letter for Iwao, Ine-san decides to keep it hidden. Ryo lies in bed, in his dream, he sees Lan Di performing his deadly martial arts. Ryo wakes up, and after a brief talk with Ine-san, he goes to the dojo, where he asks Fuku-san if he remembers any details about that day. Fuku-san is worried, but Ryo vows to avenge his father. Ryo decides to ask around if anyone saw something on 'that day.' He finds out that his friend Nozomi had mud splashed on her by a black car, and that Tom had words with the driver. When Ryo asks the hotdog salesman Tom, he says they almost hit one of his customers and started a quarrel. He advices Ryo to ask Chinese people if they know anything about Lan Di. In a Chinese restaurant, the cook tells Ryo that Lan Di could be the leader of a Chinese cartel. Ryo is also told to ask sailors who deal with Chinese ships. Looking for sailors, Ryo stumbles on a alley in front of a bar, where he is confronted by two sailors (later, Ryo will find out that they are Tony & Smith). They threaten Ryo to go home, but are easily knocked down. Ryo enters the bar, where the barman calls him a schoolboy and hands him a glass of milk. When Ryo asks about sailors, he is approached by a man who tells him to get lost. A fight begins, and Ryo quickly knocks out three sailors. The barman tells him to find a man named Charlie to get more information (and not to show his face again in return). Charlie wears a leather jacket, sunglasses, carries a tattoo and loves riding his hawg. Ryo asks around for him, but no one really knows when he's around. When he is searching for him the next day, he is approached by the sailor he fought yesterday. Greating him with a smile, he tells Ryo that he was impressed by his fighting skills, and that he is a friend of Charlie. Ryo follows him to a nearby parking lot, where he find the sailors he beat up in the bar. "We got you now, schoolboy!" Although he is outnumbered, Ryo easily defeats them in a brief fight. Afterwards, he grabs Tony in a armlock and forces him to tell where Charlie is. He says he doesn't know, and Ryo decides to check the local tattoo parlor. In the parlor, the owner tells Ryo that Charlie is sleeping behind a curtain. "Wouldn't wake him, 'less you wanna get hurt." Ryo opens the curtain, but Charlie grabs a knife and attacks him. Ryo avoids Charlie's trust, throws him of balance and grabs his arm. Charlie tells Ryo that he will arrange for him to meet some people working in the harbor, tomorrow afternoon. When Ryo comes home, Ine-san overhears a conversation between him and Fuku-san. She is worried, and doesn't want him to persue his search for revenge. When Ryo promises her that he will take it easy now. Ine-san gives him that letter that she received a few days ago, but it's in Chinese. When Ryo walks out the next morning, a young boy walks up to him crying. "A man with sunglasses took my soccer ball, he said he'd give it back if I brought you to him!" Ryo goes to the construction site, where he finds Charlie and a few of his friends. Charlie tells him it's payback time for the tattoo parlor. A fight ensues, but Ryo is the better man and Charlie runs of. The boy thanks Ryo, who notices that he is Chinese. When Ryo sees the boy again, he asks him of some one could translate the letter for him. "My grandmother can." the boy says. Ryo continues to the Russiya China shop, where she is. Inside, the old woman thanks him for helping her grandson and translates the letter. "Beware of those who persue the mirror. If you ever need help, seek the aid of Master Chen. Father's Heaven, Nine Dragons, Mothers Earth, Comrades." Ryo has no idea what this means, but there is also a phone number on the back. When he calls it, and realises the last line in the letter is a password. A man picks up saying "Warehouse number 8." "Isn't this the Chen residence?" Ryo asks, but the man hangs up. Ryo looks up the area number in the phonebook and finds out that wharehouse no. 8 must be in the harbor. He takes the first bus to Yokosuka harbor. Upon arriving in the harbour, Ryo hears how two people are mugging a fisher. He fights of the attacking crooks and gets direction to the warehouse district from a guy named Goro. A guard tells Ryo that he is not allowed inside the buildings, but he sneaks into an open window of warehouse number 8, only to find out that he is in the wrong one and must go to the Old Warehouse District. This time, Ryo must sneak past the security guards to, but he manages to get into the right building. Inside, he is confronted by a young man in a suit. Just when a battle is about to begin, an old man puts a hold to the young man, who's name is Gui Zhang. "You are the young man who has called?" he asks. Ryo explains everything, and the man, named Master Chen, asks him about another mirror, the Phoenix mirror. It must still be in Ryo's house, so he is told to come back when he has found it. What they don't know is that a bold man with a misshaped back and purple clothes is watching them (in the game, people refer to him as "skinhead"). On his way home, Gui Zhang appears behind Ryo, who concludes that he must be working for Lan Di as well. A fight begins, but Gui Zhang stops before either one of them wins. "If I continue, then I'd fail as your body guard." he says. He tells Ryo to hurry and find that mirror, because if Lan Di gets it, no one can stop him. When he gets home, Ine-san tells Ryo that not to long ago, Iwao had something stored at the Antique shop. When Ryo gets there, he finds out that is a Sword Handguard. The owner tells him that this is given to the Hazuki family heirs once they turn eigthteen. Back home, Ine-san tells him that the Hazuki family crest, a star and two snowflakes are engraved on it. Ryo uses the Handguard and an old sword he found in the dojo to open a secret door that leads to a hidden basement underneath the dojo. Inside, he finds old possesions of Iwao, things he brought back from China and an old photo of him and some one else. Ryo finds part of the wall that has a different color. He smashed it to pieces with an axe, and finds the Phoenix mirror inside. Returning to Warehouse No. 8, where the skinhead shows up again and tries to steal the mirror, but Ryo and Gui Zhang are just able to stop him. Master Chen tells Ryo of the legend behind it. When the Dragon and the Phoenix meet, the gates of Heaven and Earth will open, and Chi You will resurrect himself on earth. This beast will devour our world. Master Chen also tells him that Lan Di has already left for Hong Kong, but refuses to help Ryo any further, because that would endanger him. Ryo is determined to go to Hong Kong. He tries to trick Ine-san into telling her that he wants to go on a vacation, but Fuku-san blows his cover. Ine-san gets angry, because she is worried about Ryo. He decides that he'll get to Hong Kong on his own, and informs in town about the fares. These are not cheap, Fuku-san helps Ryo out by giving him his life-savings. Ryo manages to buy a cheap one-way fare, but the travel agency has a bad reputation. When Ryo returns to claim the ticket he has already paid for, the woman who was there is gone, and two thugs attack Ryo when he demands his money back. A single punch knocks down each of the punks, and Ryo grabs the owner by the colar who in response promises to clear this out. On the next morning, the phone rings. It's Jimmy from the travel agency, and Ryo can pick up his ticket in the Arcade at noon. But when Ryo walks in the arcade, the skinhead (who's name is Chai) jumps on his back. Ryo fights him of, but the man demands to know more about Yuanda Zhu. Lan Di will reward him for information. When Ryo asks him about Lan Di, he challenges Ryo to fight him. Although his body seems horribly misformed, the skinhead seems to be a tough opponent and stronger than Ryo. Chai knocks Ryo to the ground, but then Fuku-san runs in. Chai runs of. Ryo stays home for the rest of the day to recover. The next day he heads to the travel company to confront Jimmy. Jimmy opens the door, but runs of. After a brief chase, Ryo catches up with him and demands to know who that skinhead was. Jimmy tells him that he is connected to the Mad Angels, a gang that operates in the harbor. People who start working there are sure to get in contact with them, since they always harass the new guys. When he arrives in the harbour, Ryo asks around if any company there needs people, but every one tells him that there are no vacancies. Then he meets up with a familiar face. It's Goro, who tells Ryo that he knows everything in this harbor and wants to help. He promises to get Ryo a job and tells him to come back tomorrow. The next day, Goro introduces Ryo to a foreman in charge of cargo. Ryo can start right away, moving crates with a forklift. His boss Mark tells him all about it. He also tells him to come a little earlier every day, the harbor workers always race each other in forklifts as a form of warming-up. Ryo returns the next day for his first real workday, and is already harassed by the Mad Angels even before his lunch break. Three people approach Ryo, telling him to "pay up." Ryo refuses, and beats them up in a brief fight. Later on, he sees how two thugs attack Mark. They think that Mark works for Master Chen. Ryo protects Mark by easily defeating the two man. Even though Ryo now knows how dangerous it is to work in the harbour, he is determined to find out more about the Mad Angels. When he asks around, he learns that almost every one in the harbour is afraid of them, and advices Ryo not to get involved. The Mad Angels are also rumoured to deal drugs, and have supposedly killed some one who got in their way. One day, when Ryo is attacked again a sailor tells him that the Mad Angels often meet behind one of the warehouses. When Ryo goes there, he sees Mark taking 'an ugly beating.' Once again, Ryo saves him by beating up the thugs and Mark tells him that they supposedly killed his brother, who has been missing for a long time now. Ryo also finds out that Master Chen and the Mad Angels are rivals. The Mad Angels seem to have a deal going on with the Chiyoumen, but what? The bad news continues, one day during his lunch break, Ryo's best friend Nozomi tells him that she is leaving for Canada soon. Another day, after work is over Ryo is confronted by three thugs on motorcycles. He recognises one familiar face, it's Charlie. The thugs attack him, but Ryo is able to avoid them and kicks one guy of his motorcycle. He chases Charlie around the harbor, when he catches up with him, he is attacked by more gang members (don't they ever give up?). The thugs are no match for Ryo, and neither is Charlie, who fights him one-on-one. After he's defeated, Charlie tells Ryo that "there is some Chinese big-shot leaving here soon." It must be Lan Di, who is still in the harbour. The Mad Angels seem to be on the edge lately, Mark tells Ryo that he overheard Tony & Smith saying that a 'Long Zha' is happening soon. It's probably a black market deal. But not all news is bad nowadays, Goro comes to Ryo the next day, and tells him that he and Mai are getting married. Ryo is surprised that she is getting married "To Goro?", but is still happy for them. The next day, Ryo sees Tony & Smith. He approaches them, but they run of. Ryo manages to catch up with one of them, and ask when the Long Zha is taking place. The sailor replies that only Terry knows. He is the boss of the Mad Angels. But Ryo's involvement with the Mad Angels couldn't have gone unnoticed. The next day during work, he sees Goro lying on the ground, Tony beat him up to get Ryo's attention. Ryo follows him into a warehouse, where more thugs are waiting for him. "What's your problem?" Ryo shouts. "That'll be you!" a fight begins, but Ryo is once again the better man. A sailor lies defeated on the floor, but is still laughing "We're gonna go after your family and friends, gonna get 'em!" Later that night, Ine-san asks Ryo if he has gone out with Nozomi. She says that Nozomi's mother has called, and Nozomi hasn't come home. Then the phone rings, Ryo picks up and hears Chai's voice. Chai tells him that he's kidnapped Nozomi, and Ryo must come to the harbour. It's to late to take the bus, so Ryo borrows a motorcycles from one of his friends. He barely manages to get to the harbour in time, where he is *again* confronted by the Mad Angels. After defeating them, Ryo meets the boss of the Mad Angels, Terry. Ryo can take home Nozmi, but in return he must beat up Gui Zhang. Ryo agrees, under the condition that Terry takes him to Lan Di. Terry agrees, but rightfully notes that Ryo has a deathwish. Ryo drives Nozmi back home. On the next morning, Ryo's boss tells him that he is fired. He doesn't blame him for what happened, but Ryo's troubles are starting to affect the company. Ryo goes to Tom's hotdog stand, and notices that he seems a bit down. Tom tells him that tomorrow, he'll be flying back to America. They share a hotdog for the last time, and say goodbye. The next day, Ryo shows up in the harbour, where one of the Mad Angels leads him to Gui Zhang. Ryo confronts the surprised man, and challenges him to a fight. They seem equally matched, so Ryo tells him to pretend to lose, but Gui Zhang doesn't trust a punk like Terry. They get more serious in fighting, and end up knocking each other to the ground. Terry decides to take advantage of this, and almost kills Gui Zhang with an iron bar. Ryo and Gui Zhang decide to settle their dispute later, and go after Terry. "You like me that much? Let me invite you to Hell!" he says. Ryo and Gui Zhang are now facing seventy Mad Angels, but are able to defeat them using their expertise in martial arts. As they approach Terry, Gui Zhang tells Ryo to stand back. "This ones mine." Terry, although being the highest in rank, is a weak fighter and tries to cheat by using a stick and throwing sand in Gui Zhang's eyes, but he is soon defeated. He tells them that Lan Di has already left the harbour. Gui Zhang tells Ryo that he will ask his father to help him out. The next day, Ryo packs his bag and says goodbye to Fuku-san. He walks through his birthtown once more, on his way to the harbour. When he arrives there, he thanks Master Chen for arranging a trip to Hong Kong. Chen in return, says that he is supposed to thank Ryo, because the Long Zha was stopped. Chen teaches Ryo one of his most sacred moves, the Swallow flip. Gui Zhang tells him that he is coming with him. But what they don't know is that Chai is watching them. Standing on top of a high crane, he drops a huge iron bar and Gui Zhang is hurt protecting Ryo. "You are not going to Hong Kong, because the great Chai will defeat you." For the last time, Ryo fights the strong opponent. Ryo beats him up, but Chai gets back up when Ryo drops his guard for one split second. With all his effort, Ryo dodges Chai's attacks, and uses the Elbow Assault to knock him into the water. Chai is finally defeated. Ghui Zhang is hurt and unable to travel, so he promises that he will go as soon as his injury is healed. Master Chen tells Ryo that he doesn't know where Yuanda Zhu is, but gives him a letter of introduction to Tao Li Shao, one of Hong Kong's masters. Ryo gets on the boat, and thinks back of yesterday, when he and Nozomi said goodbye to each other. The boat leaves the harbor, and Ryo sets of on a journy to a destination unknown, while a single star shines brightly into the dark night. THE STORY CONTINUES... =========================================== IV: A summary to the plot of Shenmue II =========================================== After almost two weeks of travelling, Ryo arrives in Hong Kong, Aberdeen. All he has is a backbag with money, a few possessions and the address for Tao Li Shao, an Hong Kong martial arts master. Ryo wanders around in the harbor. Hong Kong is much more lively than his home town. As Ryo's walks into the crowded streets, he sees activities every where he looks he sees street venders, gambling, and an annoying photographer. Aberdeen is definitely much more lively his hometown in Japan. When Ryo walks around in the harbour town, he is almost run over by a young woman on a motorcycle who introduces herself as Joy. She warns him to look not to get robbed. Ryo asks directions for the appartement where Toa Li Shao should be. But when he walks across a alley, a young boy comes running to him. "Help me, they're going to kill me!" he shouts. Ryo asks him what's wrong, but sees three thugs walking unto him. One of them is a large guy with a boombox. They tell Ryo to back of, but he refuses. Just when a fight is about to begin, one of the thugs shouts "Wong, now!" The boy grabs Ryo's bag and the four thugs run of with the bag, and the Phoenix mirror inside. When Ryo asks around if anyone knows them, he meets Joy again. "Hah, Wong got you." she says. Wong should be in the park in the harbour. Ryo returns to the park, where he sees Wong. When he comes after him, the boy runs away. Ryo chases him through alleys, a diner and finally catches up to him only to see the other three thugs. Two of them attack Ryo, but are no match for him. Wong promises Ryo to return his bag to him. When they get to the place where Wong hid his bag, Ryo realises that all his money is gone. Wong tells him that the others spend it gambling. In return, Wong tells him how to get to Toa Li Shoa's address. It's getting dark, and Ryo has yet another encounter with Joy. She advices Ryo to find a place to sleep and tells him that he can stay at the Come Over Guest House. She'll pick him up at 8 am tomorrow to get him a job. When Ryo walks in the COGH, the owner tells him that he has no room, but this is instantly solved when Ryo mentiones Joy's name. The next morning, Joy is waiting in front of the COGH. Before leaving, the owner tells Ryo to get a job to pay his rent. Joy takes Ryo to the harbor on her motorcycle and introduces him to a foreman. Ryo can come around any time and earn money by carrying crates. When Ryo is finished, he proceeds to the adress of Tao Li Shao in the town Wan Chai right next to Aberdeen. It appears to be a old apartment, and when Ryo steps inside, and old woman start yelling at him, calling him a landshark. Still surprised what this was all about, Ryo continues to room 205. A man opens the door and tells him that Toa Li Shao moved to the Man Mon Temple nearby. In a park nearby, Ryo sees an old man practising Tai Chi. The man introduces himself as Jainmin and asks Ryo to spar with him. Ryo walks through the huge city of Wan Chai and arrives in Scarlet Hills, where the temple is located. Inside, a man tells him that his letter of introduction is not enough for him to meet the master. He must first learn about the four Wude. A young woman with long hair tells him that any martial artist of true virtue knows. Ryo returns to the park where Jainmin teaches him a new move along with one of the Wude: to practice everyday without neglect. He advices him to ask the master of a Martial Arts school nearby. The master of this school knows about the Wude, but tells Ryo that he is in no position to tell him. He ruined a students life because he expelled him. He student now makes a living as a street performer. Ryo finds the student and decides to help him. He delivers a letter from the master in wich the student tells him that even though he is no longer his discipline, he still hasn't lost his love for the martial arts. The second Wude is not to show your moves thoughtlessly. Ryo is adviced to go to a barber. The owner also knows the Wude, and is willing to tell Ryo while trimming his hair. But when Ryo is in his chair, the man puts a razorblade to Ryo's throat. Ryo stays calm and doesn't move because he knows the barber is only testing him. This is the next Wude: Stay calm and make the right decisions. The barber advices him to see Guixhang, a master of Tai Chi. When Ryo goes to the apertment, he sees Guixhang surrounded by several men. They are the landsharks she was talking about, and they want to use violence to get Giuxhang out of the apartments. Ryo stands in between and defends the old woman, who tells him that this is the last Wude: Stay calm and make the right decisions. Now knowing the four Wude, Ryo returns to Man Mo Temple, and talks to who he thinks is the master of the temple. He explains that he wants to go after Lan Di. Then the woman he met earlier shows up again, and tells him that revenge is no different from murder. "I'm not talking to you!" Ryo yells, but the man tells him that this woman is Tao Li Shao. The woman leaves the temple and the surprised Ryo runs after her. In the temple yard, Tao Li Shao challenges Ryo to attack her. At first he refuses, but eventually decides to spar with her. Even though Ryo is a skilled martial artist, he can't manage to land a single punch, Toa Li Shao dodges all of his moves. Afterwards, Tao Li Shao tells Ryo that she will help him, and offers him a place to sleep. She also introduces herself as Xuiying, her real name. Ryo follows her to her apartment where he'll be staying from now on. The next morning, Ryo is waken up by a young and very enthousiastic girl named Fangmei. She works in the Man Mo Temple and tells Ryo that Xuiying asked for him to come to the temple yard. In the temple yard, Xuiying tells Ryo that he can pay her back for helping by carrying out the book from the library. Ryo carries the piles of books out so that they can be aired out. Xuiying is not yet willing to tell him about Yuanda Zhu, Ryo must be patient. After his service at the temple, Ryo goes into the city to ask around for Yuanda Zhu. He is told that he used to own a company called Five Star company and often appeared in Wan Chai, but disapeared recently, no one knows where he is. He also wrote a book about martial arts named Wulinshu, this book is held at the Man Mo Temple. Ryo asks Xuiying to show him the book, but she tells him to be more patient, she is worried about Ryo's obsession with revenge. Eventually, Xuiying decides to help Ryo. He must catch a single falling leaf three times to show that he can clear his mind of any other thoughts. When Ryo forfills this task, Xuiying hands him the key to the locker where the book is held. Ryo finds out that Sunming Zhao was the original founder of the Swallow Tiger style, this is the man that Lan Di was talking about. He also finds a old piece of paper between the pages, with four circles and the words Heaven, Dragon, Earth and Comrade on it. Ryo visits antique shops, and is told that Guixhang might know more about it. When he visits her, she tells Ryo that the four circles are a code that martial artist use to contact each other. When you go to a diner or cafe, put the cups in a specific order and you may be contacted by the man you're looking for. This code is called the Chawan sign. Using the Chawan sign in several stands, Ryo is attacked by several thugs and realises that he is not the only one who is looking for Yuanda Zhu. After a while, he receives a note to come to the Doujiang Diner after closing time. When he gets their, a man asks him if he is looking for Yuanda Zhu. But then the sound of breaking glass disturbs the conversation, several thugs enter the diner and take the man with them. Ryo follows them into a dark alley where he is confronted by a group of men. In an amazing sequence, Ryo defeats more than twenty bad guys. When has finally found the kidnappers, a woman with short hair and a baseball bat shows up behind him. Ryo quickly tackles her and the woman turns to the gangsters who hold the kidnapped man. But she doesn't know that Xuiying has taken them out by surprise, when she realises this she runs of. Ryo returns the man to the diner, where he introduces himself as Zhang. He tells Ryo that he works for Yuanda Zhu. He doesn't know where Yuanda Zhu is, knows who to find him. Ryo must contact Ren, the leader of a harbour gang called the Heavens. Ren is a rival of Dou Nui, the leader of the Yellow Head, who are after Yuanda Zhu. Ren is a dangerous man though. Ryo asks around in the harbor if anyone has seen the Heavens (sounds a lot like like Shenmue I, huh?) and finds out that they often gamble in a warehouse. Ryo confronts a group of them and asks them directly where Ren is. The gang members aren't up to talking, but nothing a fight can't solve. The defeated Heavens tell Ryo that they will introduce him to Ren, and guide him into the Heavens territory. But once they enter the gate, Ryo is surrounded by a large group of Heavens, he's been set up. He defends himself with the courage of a lion, but is completely outnumbered. Ryo is knocked out and wakes up on a boat. On board, Wong tells him that he can use his boat to rest, the gang members don't know that he's here. He also gives him a Heaven lighter, so that he can enter the warf any time. Now Ryo is inside the Heavens territory, small groups of thugs are walking around any corner here. Ryo gets into a lot of fights, but this also grants him information about Ren. He is told to look for Cool Z, the large guy with the boombox. He finds Cool Z and his two friends at a scrapheap. They are willing to take him to Ren for HK $ 500. Ryo is willing to pay. Inside an abandoned warehouse, Ryo meets Ren. Ren promises to take Ryo to Yuanda Zhu, but as soon as Ryo hands him the money, Ren pulls a knife and attacks Ryo. Ryo is struck by surprise and is cut in his face, the Heavens got him again, and once again, he wakes up on Wongs boat. Ryo tracks Ren and his friends down to the park in the harbour. When he confronts him, the four gang members run of. Ryo after them, and follows Ren into an abandoned building. When he has finally chased him to the rooftop, Ren greets him and attempts to climb down. But Ryo goes after him, as a result they both fall down and land on a conveniently soft roof of a truck. As they catch their breath, Ren notices the Phoenix mirror that has fallen of Ryo's pocket. "There must be a story behind this." he says. Ryo explains that he is searching Yuanda Zhu to find the man who killed his father. Ren thinks Ryo is acting like a grown man, but smells money involved. He tells Ryo to come to Kowloon, where he'll be staying. Ryo takes his time to thank all the people who have helped him during his stay in Wan Chai and Aberdeen, and finally to Xuiying. She is still worried about Ryo's obsession with revenge, but realises that she can't stop him. He tells about her brother Ziming, her parents where also murdered and her brother left her at an early age so that he could join the Chiyoumen. No one has heared from his ever since. She tells Ryo not to lose himself unto an evil path like her brother did, and teaches him a new move, the Counter Elbow Assualt. Ryo says good bye and leaves for Kowloon. The next day, Ryo arrives in Kowloon. Could this huge maze-like city (shown in a amazing sequence) be the place where Yuanda Zhu is hiding? When Ryo walks through the gate, he is approached by Cool Z, who leads him to Ren's hideout. Ren is inside and tells him that he knows some one who could have information about Yuanda Zhu, Ren will help Ryo for 'a hand in the pot.' Ren takes him to a high building in town. On the second floor is a herb store, inside the owner Yang tells Ryo to go to the Dancing Dragon building, find man dressed in black and give them the password "Dragons don't sleep." The Dancing Dragon building is not far away. On his way there, Ryo sees a big red motorcycle standing in the street, it is Joy's. Inside the Dancing Dragon building, Ryo gives the password to several man dressed in black suits. He is told to go to the seventh floor and enter a room with a large double door. Ryo finds a man in a chair. "Are you Yuanda Zhu?" he asks. The man turns around, and a surprised Ryo looks into the face of a HUGE man. "Yuanda Zhu isn't this good looking!" the man shouts. He grabs Ryo, who tries to fight back but is overpowered. The man tells Ryo that he is also looking for Yuanda Zhu. But then Ren barges into the room. "I've got you now, Dou Niu!" Ren tries to attack the huge man, but his kicks have no effect on him. Dou Niu knocks them both out. Three days later, Ryo and Ren are still sitting in a cell, with their hands cuffed together. Ren explains that he came to help Ryo, and blames him for getting caught. Ryo advices him to stay calm and try to find a way out but Ren is not willing to take orders from him. Instead of rotting away in the cell, they decide to use the famous prison cliché, they pretend that one of them is sick, and knock out the guard when he walks into the room. Ren and Ryo are free, but their hands are still cuffed and they'll need to escape the building. As they hear the guards chasing them, Ren and Ryo are running through the building, avoiding all obstacles. They manage to out run the guards and decide to hide on the rooftop until the morning. Ren is still blaming Ryo for their situation, and asks him exactly who he wants to take revenge on. Ryo tells him that he is looking for Lan Di. Ren doesn't really know Lan Di, but does know that the Chiyoumen are a real nasty organisation and going up against Lan Di is not worth it. They finally try to sleep, and will escape the building in the morning. The next morning, Ryo and Ren continue their search for a way out, but are again chased by the guards. When they find an elevator, the short haired woman makes her appearance again. She attacks them with a knife, but Ryo carefully dodges her thrust and Ren knocks her out with a single kick. To make things worse, Dou Niu gets out of the other elevator and is not very happy to see that Ryo and Ren beat up the woman. "What have you done to my partner?" he shouts. Ryo and Ren are now running for their lifes. Dou Niu may be very large, but still manages to keep up with the two cuffed renegades. When they run through the emergency exit, they are stuck on a dead end three floors high. Dou Niu is still coming after them, so Ryo knows their only way out is to jump to the building across. Ren rightfully notes that Ryo must be crazy, but they have no choice. With all their effort, they manage to make it across. They are finally free. Back in the hideout, Ren orders Cool Z to get Wong. He will be able to pick the locks. Wong finally arrives and will only open the locks if Ren promises to bring Ryo back to Japan. Ren agrees, but does keep his promise when Wong is finished. Outside, Joy asks Ren what they are up to this time. "None of your business!" Ren replies. Ryo and Ren proceed to the Herb store. Inside, Ren immediately attack Yang and ties him up. The frightened store owner tells Ren that he was black mailed and doesn't know anything about Yuanda Zhu. Ren tells Ryo that he should look for the 'wire tapper', a man who traces phone calls. He should know more. Ryo finds the apartment, but the wire tapper is no where to be found. Instead, Ryo finds a basket with several tapes. There could be a clue on one of them, so he takes them back to the hideout. Ren thinks it's ridiculous that Ryo is going to listen to all of the tapes, but hands him a tape recorder anyways. For hours and hours on end, Ryo listens to the tapes but finds no clue. But there is still one he hasn't heared. This tape reveals much more information, Ryo hears many phone calls from Yuan (the short haired woman), Dou Niu and even one from Joy who calls over to Warehouse No. 8. At the end of the tape, Ryo hears a phone call in wich Yuan tells that she has caught one of Yuanda Zhu's men. Apparently, she is close to forcing information about Yuanda Zhu out of him. Ryo must find Yuan's appartement, but the only clue he has that a bell can be heared and she has a talking bird. There is no time to lose. Ryo and Ren are going into town to gather information. On his way there, a blind musician tells Ryo that a bell can be heared from many parts in town. He should asks around at shops that sell talking birds. There is a building wich houses dozens of bird shops, and after a lot of wandering around, Ryo finally finds a shop where Yuan is a regular customer. When Ryo is waiting for Yuan to show up, Ren joins Ryo. After sundown, Yuan shows up at the bird shop. Ryo and Ren follow her around. Yuan visits many shops and every one seems to be afraid of her. She also blackmails several stores and has a craze for knifes. After a while, she returns to her apartement. Ryo and Ren toss a coin to decide who is going to barge in. With a little help from his wonder coins, Ren wins and Ryo knocks on Yuan's door. The woman immediately recognizes Ryo, but a swift kick at the door knocks her out. Ren and Ryo search the appartement, and find Zhang tied up and hurt bad. But when they try to leave the appartement, a familiar thundering sound fills the room, it's Dou Niu. Ren quickly turns to Yuan's talking. "In the closet! In the closet!" he shouts. Ryo and Ren quickly hide behind the couch. When Dou Niu enters the room, he sees Yuan unconsciouness on the floor. The talking birds recites the words Ren taught him, and Dou Niu opens the closet, who finds it empty. Ryo and Ren quickly appear behind him and kick the large man inside. They block of the door and leave. Back in the hideout, Zhang tells him that Yuanda Zhu is in the Ghost Hall building on the tenth floor. He gives him a key with a Snake tortoise on it. Ryo finds the abandoned Ghost Hall Building, but it's in very poor state and the only way to reach the tenth floor is to cross wooden planks across the building. Ryo is risking his life now, a small mistake and he'll certainly die. With all his effort, he reaches the tenth floor and stands before a door that reads "Five Star company." Yuanda Zhu must be in here. But then Ren appears behind Ryo, telling him that he phoned ahead and arranged the elevator key (the expression on Ryo's face is just priceless). They both enter the room, but no one is inside. Ryo finds a statue of Budda, with four holes in his face. The key Zhang gave him works, but he must find three more. Several more keys are scattered around the office, all with animals on them. The keys with the Four Heavenly beasts on them are they right ones. When the last key is inserted, the statue moves back and reveals a hidden room. Inside, an old man is reading a book. "Are you Yuanda Zhu?" Ryo asks. The man asks him who he is, and notices that Ryo is Iwao's son. Ryo tells him that Iwao was murdered by Lan Di. But before they can continue, a familiar laugh enters the room: Dou Niu has followed them. Ren makes a quick decision and jumps out the window, Ryo tries to defend Yuanda Zhu but is also thrown out. Outside, Ryo is confronted by several thugs. They are no match for him, but then Dou Niu decides to jump down and join the party. Ryo fights back with the courage of a lion, but Dou Niu delivers a huge blow and knocks Ryo against a wall. Just when he is about finish Ryo of, Xuiying appears behind him and knocks Dou Niu out. Ryo wakes up in a church with Xuiying standing beside him. She tells him that this is the orphanage she grew up in. He gets up and returns to the hide out, where Ren once again blames Ryo for what happened. Then Joy walks in, and tells that she heared that Yuanda Zhu is being held inside the Yellow Head building, Dou Niu's headquarters. They must find a way to get in. Ryo proceeds to the Yellow Head building, but all the entrances are guarded. Then Ren tells him that they should make contact with the Chawan sign, maybe some of Yuanda Zhu's associates know more. After a while, a man leaves a note when Ryo is using the sign in a cafe. When he goes to the address written, he is invited into a dark room. A man challenges him to spar. Ryo is unable to hit him, and the man tells him that he must see with his mind's eye. Ryo concentrates, and manages to hit the man. The stranger turns on the lights, and reveals himself as the 'blind' musician. He gives Ryo a picture of a scout for the Yellow Head. If Ryo keeps winning in street fights, he will get the attention of the scout and be able to infiltrate the Yellow Head. Street fights are very common in Kowloon, so Ryo doesn't have to look far to find them. All kinds of fighters with all kinds of different styles, but Ryo manages to win many a fight, and finally the scout approaches him. He arranges a meeting with Ryo at night, and gives him pictures of three other street fighters. He must defeat them all. The first one is Rod, a strong fighter who uses powerful punches. He is a worthy opponent, but not worthy enough. The second one is Greg, a wrestler. When Ryo fights him, Ren bets against him expecting Ryo to lose. To bad for Ren. The third one is Chun, a masteres of Jeet Kun Do who kills the opponents she defeats. Ryo is the first to beat her, but shows mercy. Ryo is again approached by the scout, who tells him to come to the basement of a building two days later. Ryo spends the next day wandering around Kowloon. When Ryo enters the basement of the building, the scout tells him to follow him to see the directors. But when Ryo turns around, the scout yells that he was supposed to come alone. Ren has followed them, and knocks out the scout. Ryo isn't very happy with this, but they weren't here to join the Yellow Head either, so they may be better of together. Ren and Ryo make their way through the basement, but a locked door blocks their way. Then Wong makes his appearance, he was worried about Ryo. He opens the door and tells them that Yuanda Zhu is being held on the 18th floor but Ryo tells him not to follow them any further. The Yellow Head building is filled with thugs, and almost every floor is guarded. Ryo manages to fight of the single guards on the lower floors, but the thugs appear in larger groups as they ascend the building. Ren and Ryo try to avoid the gang members as much as possible, but a fight isn't always avoidable. After defeating some more thugs, they gain possesion of a radio transmitter, which allows them to listen to the conversations between Yellow Head members. When they arrive at the 13th floor, a familiar roar is heared through out the building. Dou Niu is after them again. The only way to go up is to cross planks over a large hole first. Ren and Ryo manage to cross it before Dou Niu catches them. On the next floor, more bad news is coming their way. Yuan steps out of an elevator, holding a chainsaw. Running for their lives, they can escape from Yuan by throwing everything lying around in her way. They head up to the 15th floor, where Dou Niu chases them yet again. Fortunately boxes are blocking of most of the hallway, Dou Niu is unable to pass through. On the 17th floor, Yuan confronts Ren and Ryo again (doesn't she ever give up?). This time, Ryo knocks her down with a leg sweep and fights her one-on-one. He wins the fights, and as a result he knocks Yuan into an elevator. Ren ties her up and forces to tell her where Yuanda Zhu is. He is held at the 40th floor. Ryo proceeds to the 18th floor alone, as Ren fights of a group of thugs. He finds the key to the elevator. Now he can go to the 40th floor, but first he'll have to go the basement to access a different elevator shaft. When he arrives in the basement, Ryo sees a man in a weird costume fighting in a cage. He uses a strange but very effective fighting style. When he walks down the stairway, he sees Joy tight up and unconscious. The Chiyoumen have captured her, but the cage fighter (who is addressed to by his men as Master Baihu) promises to release her if Ryo defeats him in a fight. Ryo accepts the challenge. Master Baihu is a very strong opponent, but Ryo knocks him down. Baihu is impressed, but not yet willing to give up. He keeps fighting, but is again knocked down. With one final attempt, he charges at Ryo who dodges his attack and responds with a a strong combination of punches and a powerful kick. A deeply impressed Baihu accepts that he has lost. Ryo takes Joy with, and in the elevator to the 40th floor, she explains that she came to help Ryo. She tells that Wong was also captured. On the 40th floor, a giant buste of Dou Niu is standing in a beautiful hallway. Ryo enters a large office, and faces group of high rank Yellow Head members. They are strong, but not strong enough. After the fight, they tell Ryo that Wong was taken to the rooftop. On his way up, Ryo is again attacked by Yellow Head in black suits, and is almost thrown of the building. He quickly desposes of the thugs and reaches the rooftop where he sees who Yuanda Zhu is forced out of his wheelchair. Ren joins the party, and beats up the guard. Yuanda Zhu is now free, but then a helicopter appears. Under neath is hangs a rope ladder with Lan Di hanging on to it. He has recognized Ryo. Ryo approaches the helicopter, but then Dou Niu makes his appearence. He has Wong, and threatens to throw him 40 floors down if anyone messes with Lan Di's plan. Wong responds with a bite in the arm and Dou Nui throws him to the ground. Ryo jumps and catches the boy, while the helicopter is gaining altitude to stay out of reach of the rooftop. Ren arrives at the scene as well, but has hid hands full with the Yellow Head. A furious Dou Niu realises that he must take care of the situation to keep Lan Di's respects, and attacks Ryo. In a long fight, Ryo barely knows to beat the huge man, but succeeds none the less. Dou Niu is now more furious then ever, and charges at Ryo who just manages to avoid him. Ryo knows that he must end this now, and remembers the lessons Xuiying taught him. When Dou Niu runs unto him again, he remains calm and perfectly applies the Counter Elbow Assault to finally stop the giant. Dou Niu is defeated, but Lan Di leaves. Ryo stands powerless on the rooftop. Back in the hideout, Yuanda Zhu explains that Lan Di was just like Ryo, he sought revenge. Lan Di's real name is Sunming Long, and he believed that Iwao killed his father, Sunming Zhao. Yuanda Zhu also reveals purpose of the mirrors, it's a map to a treasure kept in Guilin. Ryo must go Baiku village, but Lan Di is headed there as well. Ryo returns to Wan Chai, where Xuiying teaches him a new move and gives him a pendant that Ziming once gave her. Ryo leaves for Guilin. A few days later, a boat arrives in the beautiful region Guilin. Ryo sets foot on land near a small village. The people there tell him that it's two or three days walking to the village and he should follow the path upstream. Guilin is a beatifull place, with green hills and clean beeks every where. It's also very quiet, but not deserted as well. Suddenly, dark clouds gather and the rain begins to fall as the thunder roars. Ryo proceeds with haste, but then he sees a young girl dressed in native clothing. Ryo is (literally) looking at the girl of his dreams. The girl is running on the other side of the river, and dives in the water to save a goat that fell in. Due to the heavy rain, the river is very dangerous and Ryo decides to jump in and save her. Fighting against the flow, he manages to grab the girl and make it to the river bank whre they pass out. When they wake up, the girl introduces herself as Shen Hua. She was going after the goat because it is the guardian of her village. She is willing to take Ryo with her to the village. The road ahead is still long, so Ryo and Shen Hua have plenty of time to talk about almost every thing. Shen Hua has lived her entire life in the very small village, and is very curious about Ryo birthplace. They talk for hours on end, but then it gets dark. They must find a place to spend the night, and must run through the forest. When they exit the forest, they've reached the caves where they make a fire. The next morning, they continue to their destination, but the heavy rain has changed the landscape, so every now and then Ryo leads the way. After hours of walking, they reach Shen Hua's house. Ryo wants to continue to the village, but Shen Hua insist that Ryo spends the night at her place to thank him for saving her life. In front of her house is a huge tree with pink blossoms. The tree is called Shenmue. Shen Hua was named after the flowers wich grow on the tree. Both Shen Hua and Ryo feel that this tree seems to have something like a spirit. Shen Hua prepares a meal for Ryo, and lets him use a room to sleep. Inside the room, Ryo finds a drawing for the Dragon and the Phoenix mirror. Shen Hua says that her father made them, she will take Ryo to meet him tomorrow. The next day, Ryo and Shen Hua go to the stone mine nearby. Shen Hua's father always works their, but she has never gone far inside so she doesn't know exactly what's their. When they approach the mine, she immediately notices something is wrong. Inside the mine, Shen Hua calls her father, but no one answeres. They decide to go in further, even though Shen Huia has never been here before. The mine is abandoned, but she finds a note lying on a table. It's from Shen Hua's father, and it says that he has finished his work and she must yield herself to the one who carries the Phoenix. He also gives her the most sacred posession of the family, a beautiful sword. Shen Hua has no idea what this note means, but they find out that the sword can be placed in a gold embedded stand. When the sword is inserted, a shock of electricity is the result. The sword begins to glow, and starts to float in the air. Shen Hua and Ryo are completely overwhelmed. Another gold embeded stand is found in the room, and Ryo places the Phoenix mirror on it. It triggers a chain reaction: the mirror sends what seems like a red laser beam through the room, reflected by the sword and burning several cords. The cords function as fuses, and light torches across the room. Shen Hua and Ryo look at two gigantic replica's of the Dragon and the Phoenix mirror. Shen Hua recites the poem, knowing that Ryo and her are destined to be together. THE STORY CONTINUES... ================================= V: The great mystery: Lan Di ================================= The biggest mystery in the whole Shenmue story is of course: Lan Di. Who is he? Exactly what are his motives? And what is his evil plan? In order to find out, we must carefully examine every detail that is revealed about him. The main question that boggles many gamers' minds is his true identity. Shenmue revealed only little information in that area (the game gave us little information about him at all, for that matter), but Shenmue II reveals much more. First of all, Lan Di's real name appears to be Zhao Longsun, as stated by Yuanda Zhu. His father was Zhao Sunming, the founder of the Tiger Swallow style (Lan Di seems to use a different style, but I'll get into that later). Lan Di is also called Cang Long is the Japanese version of Shenmue, but this does not add anything to the story. For the rest of the document, I'll be using the name Lan Di. After the introduction of Shenmue, Ryo is only left with his name, and prescription. Lan Di is wearing a long deep green coat, and has long hair tied up. He also has a tattoo on his left arm. This is most likely the symbol of the Chiyoumen (it is also seen on the helicopter in Shenmue II in the rooftop scene) and he uses a very rare fighting style. After Shenmue II, many gamers concluded or suspected that Lan Di must be Ziming, Xiuying's lost brother. In Xiuying's flashbacks, Ziming says that he went out to join the Chiyoumen in order to find the ones who killed their parents. "I'll get my revenge, even if I have to sell my soul!" Ziming leaves Xiuying, and no one has heard from him ever since. Xuiying assumes that "he has lost himself onto an evil path." Could it be possible that Ziming is Lan Di? The resemblance between the two are great, they both have a scar on their left cheek, and judging by the age of Xiuying in the flashback, it is possible that Lan Di and Ziming are the same person. But with one difference: Ziming sought revenge for both his parents, Lan Di only mentioned one man. Also, Xuiying's last name is Hong, and Lan Di's is Sunming. Whether Ziming is or isn't Lan Di cannot be said for sure, but after these examination, it does not seem likely. More so, it's a little to obvious: a boy seeking revenge, joining the Chiyoumen and a scar on his face, I think there is more behind this. You can also find a comic about Shenmue on www.shenmuefansite.com, which may be more evidence that Ziming and Lan Di are not the same person. But I don't know if this is an official Shenmue comic, or if it resemblences the views of Yu Suzuki. Alert reader Aditya came with a interesting point that Lan Di could be the 'Dragon.' Lan Di is associated with dragons: he has one on his coat, and he holds the Dragon Mirror. And in the bad ending of Shenmue II, we see Lan Di kill Ryo, after this Shen Hua says "The Dragon calls the dark clouds, and hides the morning star. The path is closed, and all hope of meeting is lost." This does sound like Lan Di is the 'Dragon.' Maybe Lan Di symbolises an evil power, or (I'm going real far now) is the incarnation of the Dragon. Some people claim that Lan Di means 'blue dragon' in Chinese, but I've heard several translations of this, 'blue emporer' for instance. Then again, there doesn't necesarelly has to be one tranlation. (Interesting, the place where you fight Greg More in Kowloon is called 'Blue Dragon garden).' Ryo could be the Phoenix, since he has that mirror and also tends to 'guard' people. Wouldn't surprise me too much, after all, Shenmue is getting more and more mystical, especially with the ending of Shenmue II. Another interesting person is master Baihu (the cage fighter in Shenmue II). According to the Shenmue Collection, he is a master of the Tiger Swallow style. Sunming Zhao was the founder is this style. This is strange, because Lan Di uses a different style than Baihu, and it is tradition that martial artist pass their knowledge over to their sons. This also means that Lan Di does not use the Tiger Swallow style, his style looks different from Baihu, and Ryo says "He used a fighting style I've never seen before." Baihu may have been a discipline of Sunming Zhao, he is probably not Ziming. It could be, since Baihu is with the Chiyoumen and kills his defeated opponent, following an evil path. But since he's fighting in Kowloon, only a few blocks away from Xuiying old orphanage, Xuiying must have heard of his whereabouts. It is likely that we will see this person again in the Shenmue story. He doesn't seem like a regular boss, and his last words before Ryo leaves "Hazuki... I'll remember that name." could be a give a way. It's also very weird that his fighting style is simply mentioned in the Shenmue Collection. It's a very interesting fact, but there doesn't seem to be giving much attention to, since it isn't mentioned in the game. (Now that whe're discussing Lan Di's fighting style, there is a remarkable resemblance between Lan Di and the hobo in Yokosuka harbour. He also holds his hands behind his back as he dodges Ryo's punches. I don't see any reason to think that there is a connection between him and Lan Di though. Also note that he also learned the martial arts from Iwao "The style of Iwao Hazuki has been revered by many, including me.") Another thing, the half Ying Yang pendant that Xuiying gives to Ryo. Ziming has the other half, it is very likely that Ryo will eventually confront Ziming (who ever he is) and the pendant drops out of his pocket, immediately stopping the fight. Should Lan Di turn out to be Ziming, then this would be a good way to stop him from killing Ryo. Ryo, although slowly become a legend of his own, is still no match for Lan Di, but a confrontation between these two cannot be hold of much longer (Yuanda Zhu said Lan Di was also on his way to Guilin). Another thing that is also clouded in mystery is Lan Di motivations. Exactly what does he want? We know that Lan Di is the leader of the Chiyoumen. When master Chen talked about Lan Di, he says "The Chiyoumen, it's leader goes by that name." But this does not make sure that Lan Di is the highest in rank. The Chiyoumen want to revive the Qing Dynasty, whatever that means. Apparently, they think they can do this with the mirrors. I would also like to know why the Chiyoumen were after Yuanda Zhu. Lan Di also mentions something very interesting in the bad ending of Shenmue II. He stands before Shen Hua and says: "I shall take your power, for the Chiyoumen." I don't know exactly what Shen Hua's 'powers' are (I'll get more into this in section VI). Lan Di clearly came to the Hazuki Dojo for two reasons: To get revenge on Iwao, who supposedly killed his father Sunming Zhao and to steal the Dragon mirror. Interesting though, is that Lan Di is shown as a merciless killer who won't stop at anything to reach his goals, but only kills Iwao. Even though Ine-san and Fuku-san are attacked, they are only left with some minor wounds. Lan Di also doesn't kill Ryo, even though Ryo attacks him. Yes, he does threaten to kill Ryo (he probably would have if Iwao still refused to tell him), but he immediately lets go of him as soon as Iwao promises Lan Di to tell him where the mirror is. Lan Di was only determined to kill Iwao. Lan Di came after Iwao as a result of what happened roughly twenty years ago in China. Exactly what happened is not clear, only a few details are known: - Ziming's and Xuiying's parents were killed. Ziming swore revenge and left Xuiying to join the Chiyoumen. - Iwao supposedly killed Sunming Zhao in Meng Cun. - Iwao and Yuanda Zhu brought back the Dragon and Phoenix mirror to Japan. It might be possible that Sunming Zhao was Ziming's father, Ziming joined the Chi You to get revenge on Iwao twenty years later. Note that Yuanda Zhu said that Sunming Zhao was his best friend, so it would make sense that Iwao ans Zhao were also friends (Zhao could be the one on that old picture of Iwao). This also brings me to the following point: Something that may have something to do with what happened in China is that Iwao seems to care a great deal about keeping friends. In one of the flashbacks, you'll see Iwao telling a young Ryo that parents often die before their children, and there for it's important to keep friends for life. And of course his last words: "Keep friends... those you love... close to you!" It would be possible that Sunming Zhao and Iwao were friends back then, but something happened and Iwao killed him in a fight. Yuanda Zhu concludes that the Phoenix mirror was once owned by Sunming Zhao, so perhaps Iwao killed Zhao over the mirror. And what did Lan Di want with Yuanda Zhu? Maybe he thought Yuanda Zhu had the Phoenix mirror, or it had something to do with what happened in China twenty years ago. But it doesn't make sense that Lan Di ordered the Yellow Head to use violence against Yuanda Zhu, because Yuanda Zhu said that he was best friends with Sunming Zhao, Lan Di's father. It's also pretty weird that Ryo reacts so surprised when Yuanda Zhu tells him that Lan Di was just like him: seeking revenge. Ryo immmediately slams his fist on the table, shouting that "father would never kill!" But Lan Di already revealed that much when he came to the Hazuki dojo. (By the way, doesn't it seem weird that Ryo hardly asks Yuanda Zhu about what happened in China? Although Yuanda Zhu said that he doesn't know whether Iwao killed Zhao or not, he could have given more details about his past). What I'm also very curious about is the dialogue in the intro of Shenmue. After Lan Di blames Iwao for killing Sunming Zhao, Iwao says: "It can't be... you!" This could mean that Iwao met Lan Di when he was in China, Lan Di would have been about 16 years old back then. Another interesting fact is that it seems that Iwao knew Lan Di was coming. If you go to his room, you will see a letter in which Iwao tells Ryo about his state of mind. After reading the letter, Ryo concludes that he must have known that Lan Di was coming. But how? Yuanda Zhu also knew that Lan Di was coming "beware of those who persue the mirror" he writes in the letter to Iwao. Another question is: Why did Lan Di leave when he saw Ryo standing on top of the Yellow Head Building? He clearly recognised him. One possibility is that he wanted to test Dou Niu's skills to see if he is worthy of working for the Chiyoumen. He may also want to know Ryo's skills as well, since he had already come this far. But this doesn't make sense, because Lan Di was supposed to take Yuanda Zhu with him in the helicopter. A possible explanation why Lan Di left is that he did not wanted to kill Ryo. Yes, this sounds strange but if Lan Di would have landed on the rooftop, Ryo would surely fight him till the death. Lan Di apparently has a sense of honour, before he finishes of Iwao, he says: "Get up! I'll allow you to die like a warrior!" It could be that he respected Ryo's skill and courage, and there for allowed him to live, as he saw no serious threat in Ryo. (Of course there is also a more obvious reason: Yu Suzuki is just screwing with peoples minds and simply let Lan Di take off because the Shenmue story would have ended right there if Ryo and Lan Di would have fought eachother). This also makes clear that Lan Di still doesn't know that Ryo has the Phoenix Mirror, otherwise he surely wouldn't have left. This is just my own theory that isn't really based on much, but I think that there is a big change that Ryo won't kill Lan Di in the end. First of all, every one keeps telling Ryo not to lose himself in revenge. Secondly, Ryo has (or should have) realised that he is no match for him and that Lan Di was just like him: seeking revenge. A fight between these two would surely result in Ryo's death, and a confrontation between them cannot be hold of much longer. And finally, Ryo and Lan Di both have one mirror, but they are useless alone. They will both defend their mirror with their lives, and since Ryo is still no way near capable of defeating Lan Di, they'll have to cooperate to make use of the mirrors. Unless Yu Suzki makes a very convenient plot development in which one of them obtains both mirrors without having to kill the other. Then there is of course the possibility of Lan Di being Ziming, in that case Ryo wouldn't kill him, because he knows his past. CONCLUSION: we can't say much about Lan Di except for theories and speculations. Hopefully, Shenmue III will bring us more details about Lan Di's motivations and what happened in China. It's pretty weird that, even though the entire Shenmue story evolves around this man, you only actually get to see him three times, apart from the flashbacks/dreams and the bad endings. =================================== VI: Another enigma: The mirrors =================================== The other great mistery are the mirrors. These stone mirrors seem to have some mystical power, but not to much is known about them. You can get quite a lot of information about the mirrors in Shenmue, but there are only very few clear facts about it. Iwao and brought them back from China roughly twenty years ago. Exactly what happened back then is not fully explained, but it's very well possible that Iwao killed Sunming Zhao to obtain the mirrors. Shen Hua also tells Ryo, that according to the old legend, many people would lose their lives because of the mirrors. If you go Bukaido Antiqes in Dobuita, the owner will tell Ryo that this a very special mirror, made of Phantom River Stone that is only found in the Guilin province (that is where Ryo goes at the end of Shenmue II). According to a book he once read, long ago an emperor ordered a sculptor from Guilin to engrave a guardian onto a stone mirror. Xia-san from Russiya China Shop will tell you more about the legend. In China, Phoenix is a mythical bird of fortune, wich guards the Sky Lord. The Sky Lord is in fact, the North Star, wich is highly respected in China. Master Chen also reveals some more legends: Yuanda Zhu told him, that when the Dragon and the Phoenix meet, the gates of Heaven and Earth will open and Chi You will resurect himself on earth. Chi You is a mythical beast that will devour this world. The Dragon and Phoenix are also two of the four Heavenly Beast. You will find a drawing of them in Yuanda Zhu's office, the other two are the Snake Tortoise and the Tiger. This is a theory of me, and several others who responded by e-mail, that there may also be a mirror for the Tiger and the Snake Tortoise. There is actually a real legend from China about these four mirrors, someone told it before on a message board, but I don't remember what it was all about (if anyone knows more about this, please e-mail me). If there really are four mirrors in the Shenmue story, then Ryo would be the Phoenix, as he has the Phoenix mirror and tends to guard people (the Phoenix is considered a guardian in most legends). Lan Di would be the Dragon, he has a dragon on his coat, and posseses the Dragon mirror. This would probably make Master Baihu the Tiger. He is a master of the Tiger Swallow style (see section V for more about that), and as I said before, he seems way to important to be just another beat-me-up character, we'll probably see him again in the Shenmue story. That would leave only the Snake Tortoise, I have no idea who that could be. Iago Pascal, who also e-mailed me about this, said it could be Zhang, he gave Ryo the Snake Tortoise key, but I don't think he is an important character and we won't see him again. Also, there are some interesting things said by Gui Zhang. When he confronts Ryo in Sakuragoaga, he says: "If Lan Di gets that mirror, no one can stop him." I have no idea what that means, but apparently the mirrors have a very strong power. Another quote from Gui Zhang: "If he [Lan Di] gets that mirror, it'll be the end of you." This could just mean that Lan Di will kill Ryo to get the mirror, but it might mean something else. And it still keeps going: Shen Hua reveals more legends about the mirrors, that many people would lose there lives because of them, and says that the meeting of her and Ryo had been predicted in old songs. She also said that on the night before they went to the stone mine, she saw the North Star blinking, which means that something bad will happen. Also note that Shen Hua tells Ryo that many houses in Bailu are made of the 'precious stone wanted by the ancient Emporers', this would mean that most houses are made of the same material as the mirrors. In Shenmue II, we found out that the mirrors function as a map to the treasure to revive the Qing dynasty. The Phoenix mirror shows the constellation of the Big Dipper, but only one mirror is not enough to show the location. So Ryo and Lan Di are caught up in an pirate-movie cliché: they both own one half of the map and to reveal the mystery, they'll either need to kill one another in a fight, or work together. The other purpose of the Phoenix mirror is that it triggered the chain reaction in the cave, revealing the two other HUGE mirrors. I have absolutely no idea what the flying sword, the HUGE mirrors and the letter of Shen Hua's father mean, so don't send me any questions about that. Looking at Shen Hua's poem, there is reason to believe that we will finally find out what the mirrors do in Shenmue III. The first eight lines prescribe Ryo: how he came from Japan, his hidden strength, and his encounter with her. The last five lines are very interesting: A dragon shall emerge from the earth and dark clouds shall obscure the heavens A Phoenix shall decend from above its wings will create a purple wind in the midst of the pitch-black night and a single star shall shine, alone... (Note that the poem is slightly different in both Shenmue games) This may be a perscription of the resurrection of Chi You. Notice line 2, she also talks about 'dark clouds' in the bad ending of Shenmue II: "The Dragon calls the dark clouds, and hides the morning star." She says this after Lan Di kills Ryo. The first two line could mean Lan Di who, as seen in the Projekt Berkeley movie, will probably attack Ryo and Shen Hua in the beginning of Shenmue III. "A dragon from the earth" and "A Phoenix from above" could mean a fight between Ryo and Lan Di. Also, Shen Hua seems to have a mysterious power of her own. There is a movie of Projekt Berkely in which you see Shen Hua who is attacked by Lan Di, and two other guys (probably Chiyoumen). When they try to grab Shen Hua, she unleases what looks like a KI attack from Dragon Ball Z. And in the bad ending of Shenmue II, Lan Di says to her: "I shall take your power, for the Chiyoumen." I have no idea what that 'power' is, though. There is another cut-scene where Shen Hua uses her mind to lift the blossoms of flowers into the air. It's for sure that something weird is going on in Guilin, Shen Hua has a very close connection to everything that lives there (she says she 'talks' to the animals), and the changing color spring and the Shenmue tree all point to something special. Shen Hua also does not seem to be aware of the fact that she has supernatural powers, this could mean that all the people in Bailu village have special powers. We could assume that Shenmue (the tree in front of her house) has something to do with the whole mirror thing, both Ryo and Shen Hua says they feel there is something special about the tree. After all, the games are named after it. CONCLUSION: Much like in the section of Lan Di, most me can do is guess, think and wait until Shenmue III provides us with more details. If you want to see the bad ending or the Projekt Berkely demo, then I advice you to go www.shenmuedojo.com Also, I got a severe head-ache after going through the last two sections. ====================================== VII: Rare conversations and cinemas ====================================== Shenmue has a lot of replay value, mostly because you can discover new things every time you play it. Some of the 'hidden' cinemas and conversations actually reveal something special about characters. I've summed them up in this section. SHENMUE I: - You can see three flashback with Ryo spending some quality time with his father. - You can get two cinemas with Nozomi in the park, in which Nozomi tells Ryo that she is planning to return to Canada and her feelings for Ryo. - If you go to the park in Dobuita at disc 1, Yamagishi-san will teach you a new move and tell you that he used to spar with Iwao. - If you go to the Russiya China shop and the antique shop after you've found the Phoenix mirror, you'll get some more information about it. - In de BAD ENDING, Lan Di will return to the dojo, attack Fuku-san and kill Ryo. SHENMUE II: - If you go to the Pine Arcade at disc 2, Joy will tell you that her father used to do business with 'Uncle Chen.' - You can also hear Joy call to Ghui Zang at Wharehouse No. 8 if you fast forward the wire tappers tape all the way to the end. - One of the most wanted hidden cinemas is the 'Fangmei birthday' side quest. Ryo will buy her a present and has a picture taken of the two of them. - If you go to the Yan Tin appartements at disc 2, you'll find the brother of Wang-san (that annoying delivery boy from the Ajjichi restaurant). - There is a girl working in a Tomato Convience store in Golden Market Qr. who is also Japanese. As a side-quest, you can spar with her and Eileen. - In the BAD ENDING, the Phoenix mirror begins to glow. When Ryo takes it out of his pocket Lan Di appears behind him and kills Ryo. Shen Hua will say something very vague as usuall, and Lan Di appears behind her as well and say that he will "take her power for the Chiyoumen." There are also Shenmue comics which reveal more about the storyline, but I don't know if they represent the official Yu Suzuki scenario. You can read some of them on www.shenmuefansite.com One of them shows a flashback of Xuiying where she practices with Ximing, after the flashbacks Nioasun appears at the Man Mo Temple and gives Xuiying the half Yin-Yang pendant. The other one tells us what happened on Ryo's boat trip to Hong Kong. Chai shows up and confronts Ryo. He kidnaps a girl, but Ryo manages to defeat him once again and knocks him into the water (notices that he seems to use the Elbow Assault again). This would explain what that woman in the beginning of Shenmue II was talking about when she said "You helped her when she was scared." ===================================== VIII: What to expect of Shenmue III ===================================== My own expectations of the upcoming Shenmue game. Please note that this section is more guessing than giving facts and could be outdated when you're reading it now. Suzuki-san isn't giving away a lot of info, but we can get quite a good idea about what is going to happen in Ryo's next adventure. If you look at the Projekt Berkely demo, you'll see a lot of events that still haven't took place yet. First of all, I think Lan Di will attack Ryo and Shen Hua in the beginning of the game. In the Projekt Berkely demo, you see Lan inside a cave (most likely the stone mine in Guilin) and two guys who attack Shen Hua. Rather strange is that you see Shen Hua using what looks like a KI attack from Dragon Ball Z (notice Lan Di's surprised/scared expression on his face earlier). If Lan Di confronts Ryo, than there is a big change that he will get a hold of both mirrors. There is a big change that Chi You will resurrected, notice the last five lines in Shen Hua's poem (read more about that in section VI). Next, the characters. There is a possibility that Gui Zhang will be there. He would follow Ryo as soon his injuries were healed. And Niaosun, the girl shown at the end of Shenmue II (top right corner after the credits). Yu Suzuki has officialy released some pictures of her. And in the Projekt Berkely demo, a grey haired monk. As much as nothing is known about him. Another mystery is a young man who wears a coat that looks a lot like the one Lan Di has. This demo also shows some events that still haven't took place yet. You see Ryo hanging on to a speeding train and fighting several thugs in the rain. Stranger is the large cave with a glowing statue (probably in the Guilin stone mine). Ren will also probably be there, remember the last cinema before Ryo leaves for Guilin? In a B-movie, when someone throws a knife at a map, it always means he's determined on going there. It is also known that Ryo will return to Japan, that is one thing we know for sure. One of the things that will hopefully change is that Shenmue is very underrated. It doesn't seem like many people know the games, and the media isn't giving much attention to it. Of course this could just be because Shenmue is a Dreamcast game, and the DC is also very underrated. And Shenmue II was only released in Europe and Japan. Hopefully, Shenmue will get the credit it deserves once it's released on the X-Box. ================================== IX: Frequenly Asked Questions: ================================== The mind boggling questions that Shenmue leaves us with, along with the most commounly asked questions at forums. I don't have a pointfull answer to all of the questions though. Any questions regarding Lan Di and the mirrors are dealt with in section V and VI. SHENMUE I: * What's with the Mysterious Scroll? If you call to Warehouse No. 8 enough, you can meet Ghui Zhang who will translate it for you. According to him, it must be a scroll from an martial artist, who uses a poetry form to keep whatever it means secret. It is apparently not relevant to the story, because if you start Shenmue II without a saved file the Scroll is no longer in your inventory. * Exactly what is the Elixer of eternal youth? A small bottle found in the Hazuki basement, when you pick it up, Ryo says that Iwao once told him that this was used by martial artist in China. But exactly what does it do? * What is that white leaf in the Hazuki basement? Maybe the 'elixer of eternal youth' was used on the leaf, since it isn't dry. Or maybe it's a leaf from Shenmue (the three in front of Shen Hua's house). I really don't know. * Who's the other guy on the old picture of Iwao? I don't know, but it could be Sunming Zhao. There is reason to believe that Iwao and Sunming Zhao were friends twenty years ago, since Sunming Zhao was Yuanda Zhu's best friend. It's definately not Land Di, because he was only 16 was the picture was taken. It's might be Yuanda Zhu, but I can't say for sure. * What's the deal with that little cat in Yamanose? If you visit it often and feed it every now and then, you can watch some extra cinemas, but nothing special. * What form of martial arts does Ryo use? Ryo uses the Hazuki style of Jujitsu. * How can Ryo have a Saturn in 1986? It's an eastern-egg, or an ingame joke in you may. Don't pay to much attention to it. * Why is the game entitled Shenmue, after the tree in front of Shen Hua's house? What does it mean? I don't know why. There are several translations of this word, "Wood", "Destiny" and "tree" for example. * Who does Chai work for? The game is sort of vague about that. Chai tells Ryo in the arcade that he does not work for Lan Di, so he's not a member of the Chiyoumen, although he may have close connections with them. Jimmy of Asia Travel co. says that Chai may be connected to the Mad Angels. When Tony & Smith (who are Mad Angels) say that "we're gonna go after your family and friends...", it is Chai who calls to Ryo's home when they've kidnapped Nozomi, although Chai is never seen among any other Mad Angels (he seems to be spying on them when Ryo confronts Pedro after Nozmoi is kidnapped). My best guess is that he is not a member of these gangs, but a loner who is trying to gain the respect of these criminal organizations. * Why did it take so long for Lan Di to find Iwao? Ryo was born and raised in Japan, so it must have been almost twenty years since Iwao came to Japan. Possible explenation is that he was training to become Iwao's equal, Lan Di was only about 16 years old when Iwao left Meng Cun. * Is Chai dead or alive? Couldn't tell, but he was probably still consciouss when he fell into the water, because you still hear him scream. Rumor has it that he will return in Shenmue III. * What happens if you defeat Chai at the arcade? Although it is very difficult, it is possible to beat Chai in the Arcade. When you beat him, Chai will run away and Ryo will find the owner tied up behind the counter. After that, you can just go to Asia Travel Co. and continue the game as usual. * Why doesn't Ryo just go to the police? Lan Di has powerfull connections, and the police would want him behind bars, while Ryo wants him dead. Besides, it's a personal matter, if you try to call the police, Ryo says "No, I'll solve my father's murder on my own!" * Did the Mad Angels really kill Mark's brother? * What happens with the Mad Angels? If I remember correctly, Gui Zhang said they were all taken in by the police, but they'd probably be back on the streets before Ryo arrives in Hong Kong, unless the penalty for drugs smuggling in Japan is life in prison. The Mad Angels may come after Chen, especially since Ryo is gone and Ghui Zhang is wounded. * How did Chai become so ugly? * How does that old harbor bum know Ryo? He said that was trained by Iwao when he was young, but that doesn't explain how he knows that Ryo is Iwao's son. SHENMUE II: * Exactly What happens on the trip to Hong Kong? Officially nothing, since it never occured in the games and there aren't any entries in Ryo's notebook, but there was supposed to be a part in the Shenmue games that took place on the boat, but was cancelled later on. There is a Shenmue comic that might fill in this 'plot hole', but I don't know if it represents the official scenario. In the comic, Ryo is confronted by Chai who kidnaps a girl. Ryo defeats him and saved the day as usuall. You can read it at www.shenmuefansite.com * What is the 'bumper-sticker glitch?' Several people have claimed that somewhere between the beginning of the game and getting robbed by Wong, Ryo's bag got covered with stickers. I've only seen screenshots of it, and no one knows how you get it, but it's probably not a hoax. * How did Yuanda Zhu end up in a wheelchair? He travelled across China with Iwao, so he couldn't have been like that his entire life. * What happens to Dou Niu after Ryo defeats him? Does he still work with the Yellow Head and the Chiyoumen? Is he even alive for that matter? * What's the deal with Yuan? Is that person a man or a woman? In the Japanese version of Shenmue II it's a man, but in the European version it's a woman. Don't ask me why. But apparently, she is Dou Nui's lover in both versions. * How did Xuiying turn up in Kowloon when she saves Ryo from Dou Niu? Don't know, it's a VERY convinient plot development that Xuiying appears there out of nowhere to save Ryo. But she comes to Kowloon often, so she probably just happened to be at the right place at the right time. * What is the story behind the letter of Shen Hua father? How could he have known that Ryo was coming? And where did he go? It could be that everyone in Bailu village has special powers like Shen Hua, because she doesn't realise that her abilities are supernatural. * What happened to Gui Zhang? I thought he was gonna be in Shenmue II! Don't know, but if you put the Shenmue disc in your PC, you can see some images and read background information, and it says that the developers apologize for the absence of Gui Zhang. Maybe he'll turn up in Shenmue III, because Ryo will return to Japan. * What is that treasure Yuanda Zhu talks about? Can't tell for sure, but it's probably what the Chiyoumen want to use to revive the Qing dynasty. It's most likely not the two HUGE mirrors, because the two small mirrors are a map to the treasure, and only one mirror was not enough to find it. * What's with the ending of Shenmue II? I don't get it! Me neither, I have absolutely no idea what the flying sword, the HUGE mirrors and Shen Hua's fathers letter mean. Shenmue II has the vaguest ending I've ever seen in a videogame. * Why does Ryo think he'd stand a change against Lan Di when Iwao couldn't even land a single punch on him? Because Ryo isn't thinking straight. Lan Di would kill him in one blow if they'd fight one-on-one, but Ryo is obsessed to revenge his father. But it is clear that Ryo's skills are developing at a high rate, and he is still very young. Several people have told him that he will surpass his father in martial arts if he keeps training. * Exactly how powerful are the Chiyoumen? Hard to tell, although it seems that it is growing. The 'blind' musician and Zhang both say: "So the power of the Chiyoumen has already spread to Japan." The Chiyoumen have various connections in the underworld: the Mad Angels in Japan, and the Yellow Head in China may just be the tip of the iceberg. Also note the chopper with what is most likely the symbol of the Chiyoumen, it must be pretty hard for a non-governmental organisation to get a chopper in China, 1987. * How come no one in Shenmue has any guns? Gun laws are very strict in Japan, but then again, the Mad Angels could also get drugs, and in China it's a lot easier to get them so it is a weird thing. Especially since Ryo deals with such dangerous organisations. I did saw an early movie from Shenmue when it was still in development in which someone pulled a gun on Ryo in a QTE. * Why does Ryo still wear that bandage on his left cheek through out both the games? I have no idea. Note that this wound is not a result of the fight with Lan Di, Ryo already has the bandage on his face when he runs towards the dojo. * Why doesn't Ryo ever make a move on Nozomi/Joy/Xuiying/etc.? As for Nozomi, they've been friends for years, so it's probably that "I love you like a brother/sister" kinda thing. On top of that, Ryo lost his mother at an early age, now he loses his father and he leaves his hometown and all his friends at the end of the first Shenmue game. Ryo is losing everyone he cares for, so that explains his fear of 'commitment.' Besides, Ryo is to busy being obsessed with revenge to be thinking about girls. But he should definately loses up a little, Shen Hua practically scares him to death when she tries to give him a friendly kiss. * Is Ryo gay? No! Stop making these stupid topics! MISCELLANIOUS: * How far do you think the Shenmue games will cover Ryo's life? Couldn't tell for sure, but Shenmue I and II covered chapter 1 through 5 of a total of sixteen and took about a half year. So if it continues at this rate, the Shenmue story will probably end somewhere in the midst of 1988. * How old are the Shenmue characters? Fangmei - 14 Shen Hua - 16 Ryo - 18 Nozmi - 18 Fuku-san - 26 Tom - 27 Gui Zhang - 30 Lan Di - 31 Iwao - 46, deceased Master Chen - 60 Ine-san - 64 Not much is known about the age of the Shenmue II characters, although we can say for sure that Xuiying must be in her late twenties, since she was a little girl in the Ziming-flashbacks which occured twenty years ago. * Hey! Ryo never takes a shower, hardly eats, knows almost nothing about his own town and everyone in Hong Kong speaks Japanese that's not realistic! It's all for the purpose of the game, to much realisme would make games the most boring experience ever. * Are there any differences between Shenmue II (DC) and Shenmue IIX (X-Box)? The graphics have improved a bit and the voices are now in English, and you have the option to make photos and save them on the hard disk. But as far as I know, the gameplay and story-line haven't been changed. They may put some extra cinemas in, or some extra areas, but it's certain Shenmue IIx won't have any significant extras over Shenmue II. * Hey, I'm stuck on disc 2/Do you know how to import Shenmue II PAL?/Do you have GameShark codes? No, no, no! You can only send me questions about the storyline. You can find an answer to any of your game question at the forums or in the guides at www.gameFAQs.com. And don't know how to import Shenmue II to the US since I don't live there. * Can I help you write this document? Thanks, but no thanks. I appreciate all the help, but I prefer to keep all the writing in this document my own. That way I can be sure everything that is written here reflects my views on Shenmue. But you can still help me out by sending me any questions, comments or theories by e-mail. * Why do so few people seem play this game??? Shenmue is just too @!#$%&ing underrated!!!! *sigh* I wish I knew. Probably because the Dreamcast was a very underrated console, Shenmue would have been a lot more popular if it was a PS2 game. Hopefully, this will change when Shenmue II is released in the X-Box. ====================== X: Random musing: ====================== Some weird and note-worthy things that you may have noticed while playing Shenmue. * The pants Maxi wears in Soul Calibur look exactly the same as Lan Di's robe. Maxi's pants are also deep green with a dragon embedded in gold. * Also note the similarities between characters from Shenmue and Virtua Fighter, either in fighting style or looks. It's obvious both games were made by Yu Suzuki. * Fuku-san is 26 years old and his entire life-savings is only 46,000 yen? Ryo can make that much money in a few days working in the harbour. * Who the hell lends someone his recently fixed motorcycle in the middle of the night? * The voice actress for Yuriko (girl in Dobuita flower shop) is the same one who does Rebecca's voice in Resident Evil. * This has also been bugging me, but Master Chen never once mentioned that he knew Iwao, so apparently he didn't. That doesn't make sense to me, because they are both martial artist who live pretty close to each other and Master Chen said he knew Yuanda Zhu. You'd figure they'd get in touch with eachother. * When Ryo chases Jimmy in Dobuita, Jimmy is stopped when he is almost ran over by a truck coming out of an ally. This ally however is a dead end, so unless the truck came driving down the stairs, it's a magic truck. * We know Ryo practices martial arts, but he is incredibly strong for an eighteen year-old. When you do the collar throw move in the 70-person battle, he can lift up Pedro (last boss) with only one arm. * If Yuan is extremely scared of anything 'filthy', then why does she come after Ryo & Ren with a chainsaw? * Pretty interesting: Ryo's backpag. He carries it at the begin of Shenmue II, leaves it at the COGH, and leaves for Kowloon. Then at the end of disc 3 it's back again. When Ryo jumps in the river to save Shen Hua, he leaves his bag at the river bank, and has it back when they get out of the water. * When Ryo and Ren escape from Dou Niu by crossing the wooden planks, Ren kicks away the plank as if his life depended on it. Did he actually thought that Dou Niu was gonna walk over it? There is of course the possibility that Ren was just taunting Dou Nui. * Fun in Shenmue games, try to see how many times you encounter the same character in different places. Example: the hobo in Aberdeen (you can see him in the Chase QTE with Wong) is also sitting against the Great View Building in Kowloon and is walking around in Guilin (how does a hobo get the money to travel that much?). There are also numerous thugs who ask "Who are you?" upon seeing Ryo, even though Ryo has already kicked their ass earlier. * You can find a building of the Five Stars Corp. (owned by Yuanda Zhu) in the Workers Pier. * Apparently, Cool Z can run just as fast as Ryo. You wouldn't expect such a large guy with a boombox to outrun a martial artist. * Dou Niu also does a pretty good running job. You'd figure a guy his size would break his own knees after three steps. * The Elbow Assault seems to be a very important move in the Shenmue story. You can see a flashback where Iwao teaches Ryo this move. Ryo uses this move at the end of the game to finally defeat Chai. Xiuying teaches Ryo a new application to this move, the Counter Elbow Assault, wich Ryo uses uses to finally defeat Dou Nui. It is also an application to the Pit Blow and the Stepping Strike. Makes me wonder what it'll possibly do in Shenmue III. * It's remarkable how many characters in Shenmue lost either one or both their parents at a young age: Ryo, Shen Hua, Xuiying, Ziming, Lan Di, Wong, Fangmei. And those are the ones we know of, practically nothing is said about the parents of other Shenmue characters. * Ever noticed how many people called Ryo "no fun?" That phrase just keeps returning in both games. * Something I really want to know: how far was the Shenmue saga completed before Shenmue was released on the Dreamcast? The Saturn image video in the Shenmue II Collection option show Ryo walking with Shen Hua in Guilin! And the Projekt Berkely demo shows events that still haven't took place and people we still haven't met. * Easter eggs found in Shenmue: - The Virtua Fighter poster in Fuku-sans room and in Workers Pier - The "Projekt Berkeley" graffiti found all over Dobuita - In Dobuita, look at the high scores in Hang On, the name REN is found at the top - Ryo has a Saturn in the cabinet under the TV. You can win two games with the raffle games in the stores - Shen Hua is on the chocolate bars and patota chips you can buy in a Convenience store - Several billboards and items in both games have the SEGA logo on them - The guard in the Old Wharehouse district has a Dreamcast in his office - You can find a kids drawing of Sonic in the orphanage in the Moon Child building in kowloon - You can find several pictures of Virtua Fighter character Shun Di inside the Kung Fu store in Wise Men Qr. - If you press the R trigger at the swap disc screen in Shenmue II, you'll find two high resolutions images of Shenmue characters - When you finish Shenmue II, you'll see a red colored picture after the credits. In the top right corner, you'll see a picture of Niaosun, an important character in Shenmue III ====================== XI: Shenmue quotes ====================== Some of the better one-liners found in the Shenmue games: "Maybe Fuku-san has a good idea for once." Ryo "Yeah, you don't trust people do ya?" Smith "Don't get upset with everything I say!" Joy "Taking revenge is no different from murder." Xuiying "If you're lucky, it means fate is on your side." Ren "If I were the person on who you sought revenge, you'd already be dead." Xuiying "I was getting bored!" Ren, after beating up a guard "I'll break your arm!" Ryo, intimidating Tony/Smith "She is so damn weird!" Ren, observing Yuan And some of the more dumber lines: It's been brought to my attention that the Hazuki family has a 'briljant' theory on everything: "If X is X, than X is X." And don't you just hate it that Ryo is constantly repeating the last thing some else says? "Like a parent is a parent, a friend is a friend." Iwao "If it's what you've decided, it's what you've decided." Ryo, to Nozomi "Don't you know that blackmail is waaaayy uncool?" Ryo, to Goro "That Ren..." Ryo "This smells fishy." Ren "I see."/"Huh?"/"Oh." Ryo, everytime someone says something interesting "This move is perfect for-when-you're-surrounded-by- multiple-opponents!" Tom, talking like a robot =========================== XII: Conclusion & Thanks =========================== If you have any questions, theories, suggestions or anything to add to this document, please e-mail me at knarflook@hotmail.com Make sure you put "Shenmue" in the title, otherwise I may delete it. Don't expect a reply though, if I think it's note worthy, I'll put it in this document on the next update. You may find me at the Shenmue II (DC) forum at www.gamefaqs.com, my username is: anavriN (yes, it's backwards). But remember: most of the information here are theories, guesses, and possible explanations. Also, please read the entire document before you ask me anything. Also, I'm willing to listen to any theory, no matter how crazy, as long as it is backed up with some good arguments. And, please, DON'T send me any questions about the gameplay or importing Shenmue II. If your stuck, then you can find some great walkthroughs at www.gameFAQs.com. I don't know how to import Shenmue II, because I don't live in the US. Feel free to place this document on your site, as long as you give me credit for it and don't change the contents. It would be nice if you e-mail me about it, that way I can send you updates to prevent people from reading older versions. I would also like to thank all the people who have helped me with writing this document: Travis Fahs, Russell Marks, Charles Woolley, Richard Broderick, Joseph Zupko, Emily Landau, Aditya Odedra, Phil H, Jon Morel, Simon Leffler, Kyle Loughlin, Darren Izzard, Iago Pascual, and the good people at the web-sites who gave this FAQ a home (I hope I haven't forgotten anyone) This document can be found at: - http://www.gamefaqs.com - http://www.planetxbox.com/shenmuedojo - http://www.shenmuefansite.com - http://projectshenmue.has.it - http://www.shenmuecentre.8m.com File size: 102 kb Print pages: 40 Lines: 1989 Words: 18951 Characters: 82044 That's it then. Keep sakes, and happy gaming! Frank C. Kool