Shenmue (series)

Shenmue franchise

The official logo of Shenmue
Genres Action-adventure
Developers Sega AM2
Publishers Sega
Microsoft Games Studios
Creators Yu Suzuki
Platforms Dreamcast
Xbox
First release Shenmue
December 29, 1999
Latest release Shenmue II
March 21, 2003
Official website Shenmue.com

Shenmue is an interactive cinema[1][2][3] open-world action-adventure video game series created, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki, and developed and published by Sega. Shenmue was listed in the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive video game produced for its time, with a production budget of US$70 million,[4] equivalent to $95 million in 2011 adjusting for inflation. It consists of 16 chapters and is currently unfinished.[5]

The video-game is an epic adventure with movie-like cinematography[6] and plot elements that include drama, mystery, romance, suspense and action. Shenmue offers a game-playing experience that includes elements of action, adventure, fighting and role-playing games. The story centers on an 18 year old man named Ryo Hazuki, whose father has been murdered by a mysterious man named Lan Di. Ryo embarks on a quest to avenge his father's death and unlock the mysteries of a legendary stone mirror.[7]

The Shenmue franchise is considered to be one of several key Dreamcast properties that led to the system's success and popularity during its commercial peak. The series was a critical hit, earning an average review score of 92%. However, due to high production costs and disappointing sales, it was considered a financial failure.[8] As a result, the production of the Shenmue series discontinued, leaving the story unfinished. Over the years, Shenmue and Shenmue II appeared on several "greatest video games of all time" lists in the gaming press, the fanbase wanted an HD version on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 to experience the Dreamcast version on a better quality.[9][10][11][12]

History

The Shenmue series was made up originally of at least 16 chapters.[13][14] However, during a Shenmue City press conference, Suzuki said that the Shenmue series will consist of 11 chapters.[15] The first Shenmue (1999) was a Dreamcast-only game, it covered the first chapter, while Shenmue II (2001) was released for both Dreamcast and Xbox, contains four chapters of the series. However, chapters included in Shenmue II are chapters 3 to 5. Chapter 2 is in neither game and only existed as part of a manga spinoff titled "Shenmue: Side Story" (originally published in the Japanese publication, Dorimaga).

In 2003, Sega-AM2 announced that remaining chapters of the Shenmue series (6-16) would be included in Shenmue III.[16] But, because of poor sales of Shenmue II (Shenmue II sold around 400,000 units, a weak number compared to one million units of the previous installment[17]), Sega decided to stop the project.[18]

On November 10, 2013, Complex.com ranked Shenmue as #1 on their list of "10 Sega Games Desperate for a Modern Reboot" [19]

In February 2014, there were reports that Sega of America lost the Shenmue trademark due to lack of use.[20]

On March 19, 2014, Yu Suzuki held a Shenmue Postmortem at the Game Developers Conference 2014, with Suzuki discussing the development of Shenmue. Yu Suzuki revealed many detailed development stages that has led up to the creation of Shenmue. It was revealed that before Virtua Fighter RPG, Suzuki created a Sega Saturn prototype named 'The Old Man and The Peach Tree' that was set during 1950s China with the story following a man who wanted to find a martial artist named Master Ryu. 'The Old Man and The Peach Tree' would be the basic foundation for Shenmue.[21]

In May 2014, the Shenmue trademark was renewed by SEGA.[22]

Chapters

Chapter 1: Shenmue
Chapter 2: Comic Book (Extra on Xbox Version of Shenmue II)
Chapter 3-5: Shenmue II

Chapter 1: Yokosuka

This chapter was specifically included in the first Shenmue game that was released in 1999. The game takes place entirely in Yokosuka, Japan. It was covered in three GD-ROM discs for the Dreamcast. There are four main areas of Yokosuka in the video-game; Yamanose, Sakuragaoka, Dobuita and Amihama which is also called New Yokosuka Harbor.

Yamanose (Japanese: 山の瀬) is the smallest of Yokosuka's four areas. It is a traditional residential area located in-between the Hazuki Residence (to the East) and Sakuragaoka (to the West). Most people in Yamanose live a traditional life and work in simple occupations. One of the main places in the town is the Hazuki Residence. It is the home of the main protagonist in the game, As well as serving as the only save point in the game and the place to sleep at night. There is also a large garden and a Dojo (training place of the Japanese martial arts) in the residence. There is a small shrine located in the South West of the town, next to the Sakuragaoka exit, is home to an orphaned kitten being looked after by the local children.

Sakuragaoka (Japanese: 桜ヶ丘) is another residential area in Yokosuka, located between Yamanose and Dobuita. It is larger than Yamanose and has more activities to participate in. Mostly it is made up of residential housing. Many of the people who live in Sakuragaoka are young adults and live in a modern style life. There is also a small store and Park which you can practice your martial arts skills. Near the store is a payphone where a group of ladies often gather around to gossip and a small construction site can be seen. There is a pay phone in the center of the area, where there is a fork in the paths. There are three exits in this area; one to Yamanose to the North East, and two to Dobuita in the South West (leading to the South East of Dobuita) and the North West (leading to the North East of Dobuita).

Dobuita (Japanese: ドブ板) is a downtown-like area which contains a variety of services, such as shops, restaurants, nightclubs, an arcade, and a bus service that takes you to Amihama as well as small apartments. This area takes spend the majority of the game-play. There are two exits that both lead to Sakuragaoka - one in the South East (leading to the South West in Sakuragaoka) and the other in the North East (leading to the North West in Sakuragaoka). There is also a bus service that runs to the harbour, located on the main road in the far North East.

Chapter 2: Journey to Hong Kong

The second chapter occurs between Shenmue and Shenmue II during Ryo Hazuki's trip from Yokosuka to Hong Kong. Ryo saves a little girl named Xiaomei from Chai, one of the main villains from the first game, who infiltrated the ship Ryo was in. This event was referred to around the beginning of the second game during a dialogue between Ryo and Xiaomei's mother. This chapter is available as a comic book as an extra in the Xbox version of Shenmue II.

Chapter 3: Hong Kong

This chapter starts the second game in the series, Shenmue II which was released for the Dreamcast and Xbox. The game takes place in Hong Kong islands, Aberdeen & Wan Chai. It was covered in two GD-ROM discs for the Dreamcast. The chapter is located in a bustling harbor area, its like a sister area to Amihama in the first Shenmue. Aberdeen Harbour is where Ryo first arrives in Hong Kong. The areas Ryo can visit in Aberdeen are listed below.

Chapter 4: Kowloon

This chapter included in Shenmue II and takes place in Kowloon, an enclave of Hong Kong. It was covered in one GD-ROM disc for the Dreamcast. This chapter includes four main areas which are Dragon St, Thousand White Qr, Stand Qr and Dimsum Qr.

Chapter 5: Guilin

This Chapter is included in Shenmue II. It is considered to be the smallest chapter in the series. It takes place in a fictional village in Guilin, China. It is remote region unlike any other chapter seen in Shenmue I or II. It is located in the southern Guangxi Zhuang region of the People's Republic of China, near the Lijiang River. The area is made up mostly of forest and mountain regions with some small villages in between. In Guilin, Ryo hopes to find Bailu Village where his father has visited many years ago.

Langhuishan is the only area to explore in this chapter. It is a small village that Ryo first arrives at in Guilin. The village itself has a few small buildings and stalls selling various goods such as food and medicine, to souvenirs for travellers. The village resides near the Yingshuihe River which leads up to Bailu Village, Consisting entirely of dirt paths through forests and the countryside.

Spin-offs

In 2004, Shenmue Online was announced.[23] It was a side-story Massively multiplayer online role-playing game for the PC. As its name suggests, it was an online world of Shenmue. This game was set to be released only in China and Korea. Since 2006, news about Shenmue Online has slowly declined and reports of its cancellation have appeared on Destructoid[24] and Wired News.[25] Sega has yet to publicly confirm or deny the reports.

In 2010, a new entry in the Shenmue series was announced to be released for the PC and mobile phones in Japan. Much like Shenmue Online, Shenmue City is not a sequel, but rather a social games service for Yahoo! Mobage service.[26] However, it was shutdown at the beginning of 2012 due to lack of interest.

Merchandise

In 2012, Insert Coin Clothing released hoodies based on Ryo Hazuki's jacket as well as T-shirts with the image of a tiger that appears on the back of Ryo's jacket. The hoodies and T-shirts are licensed by SEGA. The hoodies are currently sold out.[27] However, the T-shirts are still available for purchase.[28]

On December 25, 2012, First 4 Figures announced Ryo Hazuki as the first figure in their "Sega All Stars" line up. The figure comes in two editions: An exclusive edition with the Phoenix mirror as the base and the regular edition with a piece of street of Yokosuka as the base. The editions were available for pre-order on April 30, 2013. Within a week of its pre-order release, the exclusive edition quickly sold out. The figures were released in late 2013. The regular edition is still available for purchase.[29]

In 2014, Japanese clothing store, Hardcore Chocolate, released a Shenmue T-shirt featuring Ryo Hazuki, Lan Di, Chai, and the little orphaned kitten from Shenmue.[30]

On April 25, 2014, Insert Coin Clothing announced on their Facebook page that a new range with Sonic The Hedgehog and Shenmue is on the way which includes two 3/4 sleeve tees, an all-new dress and a jacket based on Ryo Hazuki's jacket.[31] On September 1, 2014, The Ryo Hazuki jacket is available for pre-order.[32]

References

  1. ↑ "Shenmue". Planet Dreamcast. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  2. ↑ Jairam, Naat. "Shenmue". RPGamer. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Shenmue for Dreamcast Review". Gameplay Today. November 12, 2000.
  4. ↑ "Shenmue The 70 Millon Dollar Question". YouTube. January 29, 2007.
  5. ↑ Gifford, Kevin (November 24, 2010). "Yu Suzuki Discusses Shenmue Social Game". 1UP.com.
  6. ↑ "Mr. N64's Summary of the Shenmue Experience". Mr. N64's Corner. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Review: Shenmue". NekoFever.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ Mielke, James. "The Disappearance of Yu Suzuki: Part 2". 1UP.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  9. ↑ "The 100 Greatest Games Of All Time| Shenmue | Empire". www.empireonline.com. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  10. ↑ TURBO D3 GMBH, Cybermedia GmbH. "Bundesspielewahl 2013 â€" das ist der Sieger! - Die Welt hat gewählt! | News". Maniac.De. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  11. ↑ Editors, MSN Tech (2013-10-14). "Is GTA V one of the 20 greatest video games of all time? - 20 greatest video games of all time". Tech.uk.msn.com. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  12. ↑ http://www.empireonline.com/features/100greatestgames/game.asp?title=51
  13. ↑ "Shenmue 1 Review". Shenmue UK. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Interview: AM2's Taku Kihara and Shin Ishikawa". The Next Level. 28 January 2003.
  15. ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (November 15, 2010). "Yu Suzuki Hopes to Make Shenmue 3". IGN.
  16. ↑ "Shenmue III [rumoured]". GameSpy. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Dreamcast Top 50 Best Selling Ranking". BigGlobe. Archived from the original on June 20, 2004.
  18. ↑ "Shenmue". GiantBomb. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  19. ↑ "1. Shenmue — 10 Sega Games Desperate for a Modern Reboot". Complex. 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  20. ↑ Nelva, Giuseppe (19 February 2014). "Sega Loses Shenmue Trademark Because they Didn’t Bother Using it". DualShockers. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  21. ↑ "Shenmue postmortem: 10 revelations from Yu Suzuki's GDC 2014 talk - Gaming Feature". Digital Spy. 2014-03-19. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  22. ↑ GameCentral. "Sega renews Shenmue trademark as Nintendo registers Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. | Metro News". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  23. ↑ Smith, David (August 3, 2004). "Shenmue Online Officially Announced". 1UP.com.
  24. ↑ "Shenmue Online canceled: Who will move all of these online crates now?". Destructoid. August 4, 2007.
  25. ↑ Arendt, Susan (August 7, 2007). "Rumor:Shenmue Gone for Good". Wired.
  26. ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (October 7, 2010). "Shenmue Goes Social on Yahoo's New PC Service". Andriasang.
  27. ↑ "Officially licensed Shenmue (SEGA) video game hoodies - Hazuki Tiger". Insertcoinclothing.com. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  28. ↑ "Officially licensed Shemnue (SEGA) video game t-shirts - Hazuki Tiger - Reloaded". Insertcoinclothing.com. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  29. ↑ "Home". First 4 Figures. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  30. ↑ "コアチョコ×シェンムー - ホラーにプロレス！カンフーにカルト映画！Ｔシャツ界の悪童 ハードコアチョコレート". Core-choco.shop-pro.jp. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  31. ↑ "Tijdlijnfoto's - Insert Coin Clothing". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  32. ↑ http://www.insertcoinclothing.com/jackets/hazuki.html