Will Shenmue end in Shenmue V?

In the current situation, how will be better to finish the Shenmue story?

  • In Shenmue IV

    Votes: 12 25.0%
  • in Shenmue V

    Votes: 28 58.3%
  • Shenmue VII or beyond

    Votes: 3 6.3%
  • Shenmue games episodes/chapters style like "Life is Strange" or "Resident Evil Revelations 2"

    Votes: 2 4.2%
  • Shenmue Anime

    Votes: 3 6.3%
  • Shenmue Manga, visual novel or other media.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    48

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I have a feeling for some time that Yu Suzuki will decide to end Shenmue in Shenmue V for PS5 and PC. In this thread i will
talk about this, and i'm going to talk about that for me Shenmue was never meant to be a series of games with a fast pace and fast
progression in the story.

It is difficult for Yu Suzuki to have the opportunity to make the remaining games and finish the saga. I don't agree when i see
people saying that Ryo should have defeated Lan Di in Shenmue III or hit him, some people even thought Shenmue III would be the
ending of the story.

As i said in my other thread Shenmue for me is not just about Ryo wanting to kill Lan Di, Shenmue for me it is about Ryo's Journey, it
is about the people he meet and what he learns from them, it is about Ryo growing as a martial artist and as a character, it is about
Ryo trying to find a path in his life, what it is the most important is not the destination, what is the most important is the journey.

Ryo couldn't defeat Lan Di or hit him but he showed that he improved a bit and I love this, this was the first real battle with Lan Di
so i love that this battle happened this way, i love that Ryo is growing little by little, and this way when he defeat Lan Di in a battle
the moment for me will be more emotional and beautiful. I think Ryo will not kill Lan Di but he will win a fight against Lan Di, and
i think he will forget about revenge.

In my opinion Shenmue was never meant to be a fast-paced story. One time Yu Suzuki said... "If I continued to do a chapter
per game i would not complete Shenmue in my lifetime." For me this means that his original idea was to make 11 games or maybe
even more, one chapter and one location per game.

First chapter in Yokosuka, one chapter in a boat, one chapter in Hong Kong/Kowloon, one chapter in a train, one chapter only
in Guilin, one chapter in Niaowu and so on... Yu Suzuki only did like this with the first game. Baisha looks really unique and
beautiful, he even had to cut Baisha in Shenmue III. 😢

As a creator myself i think this is really sad, Shenmue is inspiring me to create a story with a Shenmue feel and vibe, i I don't
want to cut things in my story, i I don't want to compromise my vision, i don't want to make my story fast pace all the time and
cut a lot of things just to finish quickly, so i think is really sad what happened with Yu Suzuki.

I love that Shenmue III have a slow pace and i can really feel Bailu Village and Ryo getting to know more Shenhua and
strengthening the bond with her, it is beautiful and peaceful to me. I don't have problems with slow pace in games, i love
this type of games, and as i said in my other thread, i really think that if Shenmue III had been released for Dreamcast or
Playstation 2 more people would have been more accepted with the slow pace and the story that didn't progress a lot like
Shenmue II did,

Yu Suzuki is 62 years old, I really don't know if in a few years he will retire or if he will continue to make games. i understand
when people say that they waited 18 years so they want to see the story advance more fast and see the ending but in my
opinion Shenmue is more a slow pace story.

Shenmue is not popular so is hard for Yu Suzuki to make more games, It is really hard for Yu Suzuki to have opportunities to make
more Shenmue games so i think in this case will be better if Yu Suzuki decides to end in Shenmue V, the end in Shenmue IV will feel
really rushed, in my opinion will be better to end in Shenmue V, after that if he wants he can release the original Akira books/scripts
for the fans, and in the anime Yu Suzuki and the anime team can try to put things that were cut in the games.

Maybe he can make the reamining chapters in a "Life is Strange" episodes style, or maybe episodes style like CAPCOM did with Resident Evil Revelations 2, releasing the episodes/chapters little by little, I’m saying this because maybe that’s more cheaper to make, I will have no problems with this style.

@ShenSun even made a theory about this, that Shenmue will end in Shenmue V and i agree with this theory.



Shenmue 4.png
Shenmue 5.png


if the story continue like in this theory i will enjoy a lot and i think this way the Shenmue saga will end in a nice way.

What do you think about all of this? what will be the best way to end the saga? for me in this case the best way will be to end in Shenmue V. In my opinion talking about the future of Shenmue is a interesting subject, thank you.

UPDATE: I saw that in the poll i put "Shenmue VII or beyond" but it was a mistake, i wanted to put "Shenmue VI or
beyond." There is no way to edit this, it will be like this then. 😆
 
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I have a very unpopular opinion here, so I don't expect anyone else to agree with me.

Had Shenmue 3 been a massive hit and sold millions, then I would feel more confident about a Shenmue 5. That didn't happen though. Shenmue 3 had a pretty mixed reception and Shenmue 4 will likely sell even less. Given this, I honestly think Shenmue 4 should be the final game.

I would not want Shenmue 4 to cut absolutely crucial arcs, characters, locations, and moments in the story resulting in a rushed mess. If that is the case, then I'd root for Shenmue 5 to be made. But if Yu-san is working with a large amount of material that is pretty inconsequential to the main plot (e.g. fighting more street gangs, finding a lost kid on a ship), I do wonder whether some trimming could be done.

They could build upon the assets of Shenmue 3 to make Shenmue 4 a longer game with more locations that focuses on the core mysteries and conflicts to wrap the series for the fans. YS Net could then focus on those other projects they are itching to make (i.e. that fantasy RPG concept) before Yu-san retires which might prove to be a more well-received hit.
 
I don’t think a Shenmue 5 will happen unless Shenmue 4 can completely blow people away and has strong marketing. I’d love for Shenmue to get more games but if Shenmue 4 is another Shenmue 3 (in terms of quality and sales) then I don’t see it happening. With the anime coming out, having a big Shenmue game alongside that which also has people outside the fandom say “wow that actually looks really good” can help a ton but I think they’re really going to have to go all out with this game if they want that.
 
i would say 5 games in total but i don't know. ..without knowing the full story, it's hard to guess.

like most fans, i would like to see an end to the story but that could easily be another 8 years if everything goes well. ( most of us original fans will easily be in our 40s and 50s by then :censored:)

in a perfect world, a long time ago, we would've got a graphic novel or series of books to complete the story. imo it wouldn't of taken anything away from future games, probably just made them better.
 
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Imo I think Shenmue should end in IV or I believe it won't get an ending in game form.

I guess the first half could focus on Niao Sun and the CYM. She arranges a meeting, betrays Tentei, the 'spirtual leader', and aquires the Dragon Mirror. She commits a terribly conniving act of deciet, but manages to seize the brunt of their forces. Ryo's group get tangled up with Sun's faction, they enter a secret map projection chamber in the mountains, Sun and her top brass are destroyed by the calamity. The calamity of the treasure.. it casts a shadow over the lost riches of the Qing Dynasty and the fortunes appear unatainable.

Earlier on.. Shenhua meets an Order who once guarded the cliff temple, she begins to learn more about her lineage and connection to the Tang Dynasty. In the chamber she uses her power, to push back the calamity, and Ryo retrieves the Mirrors.

I think the second half could focus on Ryo uniting his friends, with Zhu and Master Chen's contacts/resources, and they prepare for Lan Di and Ziming (who has turned on Sun) They seek the Mirrors. Lan Di interrogates the elders, members of the temple's order or whoever. He needs Shenhua's abilities to withstand/reawaken the calamity of Chi You, and unlock the path to the treasure. Ryo might not have to kill Lan Di, but buy Shenhua enough time to unlock the seals on the Mirrors, free the interpreretive enties that are the Dragon and Phoenix, and destroy the keys to the treasures. Lan Di is stronger of course but over the course of the story, they learn how the calamity had corruped Sunming, and Lan Di appears unbalanced during his battle with Ryo. Both fight each other, but come to grapple with the futility of what they are fighting for.

Shenhua faces Lan Di and he discovers the Mirrors have been nullified. Ziming finds Lan Di in a moment of weakness and plans a betray. The conflict resolves, perhaps in a tragic way, like Xiuying delivers the fatal blow 'Demon's Triangle' against her Ziming, and spends her last moments with her brother. Lan Di withdraws his forces, who have been weakened fighting with Ziming's group of would-be usupers. Ryo chooses to remain with friends.

After the battle, Shenhus may have to 'ancend to a higher form of existence', as trope goes. She has to leave Ryo 'A morning star glistens alone' to guide the phoenix and dragon, and she fades with a 'purple wind'

I guess in an epilogue, years later, Ryo has decided to live in Bailu Village, training with the martial artists. One day, he visits a grove in Mengcun and has a spar with Lan Di, who has exiled himself, coming to terms with the real reason his father was killed. Ryo fights and defeats Lan Di in a spar, like their fathers, perhaps using the mysterious scroll and he gains some peace and sense of forgiveness. In imagine in a post credits scene, they could show Shenhua reborn, a little girl on a swing, something mysterious.

I believe there could be a decent conclusion in IV.
 
Imo I think Shenmue should end in IV or I believe it won't get an ending in game form.

I guess the first half could focus on Niao Sun and the CYM. She arranges a meeting, betrays Tentei, the 'spirtual leader', and aquires the Dragon Mirror. She commits a terribly conniving act of deciet, but manages to seize the brunt of their forces. Ryo's group get tangled up with Sun's faction, they enter a secret map projection chamber in the mountains, Sun and her top brass are destroyed by the calamity. The calamity of the treasure.. it casts a shadow over the lost riches of the Qing Dynasty and the fortunes appear unatainable.

Earlier on.. Shenhua meets an Order who once guarded the cliff temple, she begins to learn more about her lineage and connection to the Tang Dynasty. In the chamber she uses her power, to push back the calamity, and Ryo retrieves the Mirrors.

I think the second half could focus on Ryo uniting his friends, with Zhu and Master Chen's contacts/resources, and they prepare for Lan Di and Ziming (who has turned on Sun) They seek the Mirrors. Lan Di interrogates the elders, members of the temple's order or whoever. He needs Shenhua's abilities to withstand/reawaken the calamity of Chi You, and unlock the path to the treasure. Ryo might not have to kill Lan Di, but buy Shenhua enough time to unlock the seals on the Mirrors, free the interpreretive enties that are the Dragon and Phoenix, and destroy the keys to the treasures. Lan Di is stronger of course but over the course of the story, they learn how the calamity had corruped Sunming, and Lan Di appears unbalanced during his battle with Ryo. Both fight each other, but come to grapple with the futility of what they are fighting for.

Shenhua faces Lan Di and he discovers the Mirrors have been nullified. Ziming finds Lan Di in a moment of weakness and plans a betray. The conflict resolves, perhaps in a tragic way, like Xiuying delivers the fatal blow 'Demon's Triangle' against her Ziming, and spends her last moments with her brother. Lan Di withdraws his forces, who have been weakened fighting with Ziming's group of would-be usupers. Ryo chooses to remain with friends.

After the battle, Shenhus may have to 'ancend to a higher form of existence', as trope goes. She has to leave Ryo 'A morning star glistens alone' to guide the phoenix and dragon, and she fades with a 'purple wind'

I guess in an epilogue, years later, Ryo has decided to live in Bailu Village, training with the martial artists. One day, he visits a grove in Mengcun and has a spar with Lan Di, who has exiled himself, coming to terms with the real reason his father was killed. Ryo fights and defeats Lan Di in a spar, like their fathers, perhaps using the mysterious scroll and he gains some peace and sense of forgiveness. In imagine in a post credits scene, they could show Shenhua reborn, a little girl on a swing, something mysterious.

I believe there could be a decent conclusion in IV.
I'm sceptical about the story wrapping up in IV but this ending gave me chills!
 
I'm sceptical about the story wrapping up in IV but this ending gave me chills!
I think some people may hate the supernatural idea of Niao Sun and many of the CYM being killed off like Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I have feeling something is really not right with that treasure..
 
I think some people may hate the supernatural idea of Niao Sun and many of the CYM being killed off like Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I have feeling something is really not right with that treasure..
gonna sound like a broken record but i'm all in for something supernatural. i always thought it would be pretty cool if the ending of the whole shenmue story took you back to the start of shenmue 1, running up that drive way.. giving you a chance to re-write history.
 
gonna sound like a broken record but i'm all in for something supernatural. i always thought it would be pretty cool if the ending of the whole shenmue story took you back to the start of shenmue 1, running up that drive way.. giving you a chance to re-write history.
I would love if the final scene is up to interpreation. I like endings that suggest the story might happen again, like Shenhua will be reborn and the prophecy may unfold in a different way.
 
If they can somehow get Shenmue 4 greenlit, I’m confident that we’ll get a fifth game to wrap things up. After all, asking for money to make the final game in a legendary series, whether from a publisher or the gaming community, should be a hell of a lot easier than securing money for the penultimate one; especially after the performance of Shenmue 3.

I suppose it’s possible that Yu will consolidate the last two games into one and pitch it as the final game for that exact reason, but I really hope he doesn’t. There’s no doubt a lot of fat that could be trimmed from the story, but far too much core content for a single game. In that sense, I’d rather Shenmue died with 3 than finish with a rushed and disjointed mess (again, especially after the performance of Shenmue 3).
 
I guess in an epilogue, years later, Ryo has decided to live in Bailu Village, training with the martial artists. One day, he visits a grove in Mengcun and has a spar with Lan Di, who has exiled himself, coming to terms with the real reason his father was killed. Ryo fights and defeats Lan Di in a spar, like their fathers, perhaps using the mysterious scroll and he gains some peace and sense of forgiveness. In imagine in a post credits scene, they could show Shenhua reborn, a little girl on a swing, something mysterious.
That would be one hell of an excellent epilogue/ending for the series. It also gave me chills.
 
That would be one hell of an excellent epilogue/ending for the series. It also gave me chills.
In the conversations with Shenhua, I think Ryo says Bailu Village reminds him of home and suggests he could settle there.

I think Lan Di will teach Ryo how to use the hidden scroll, it may be a move developed between Iwao and Sunming, because it has a tiger on it/tiger swallow, and I think Lan DI makes the most sense, emotionally in the story, to teach Ryo the move.

There's some theories Lan Di will die like Darth Vader, kills Tentei and saves Ryo, but I prefer he lives, and escapes the shadow of Chi You. I think it could be more surprising and poignant in my opinion.

Shenhua I think will pass on, when the north star glistens, but assuming she's the representation of the phoenix, she may be reborn, and I think Ryo expects her to return one day, like making a wish on a moonless night.
 
I have always believed in V being the right amount of titles for this phenomenal saga. The first step is getting IV greenlighted and off the ground.

I always pictured V ends with Ryo returning home after being gone a couple years to watch over the dojo and Nozomi somehow waiting for him under the blooming cherry blossom tree.

As the years have gone by I don't think Nozomi will physically return to the franchise. I can see Ryo falling in love with Shenhua during their journey and him staying in China with her. Or he goes out on his own to Mongolia or somewhere to travel the world and learn new martial arts styles along the way.
 
I don't anticipate a 5th happening given that a 4th hasn't been announced yet. It's been two years since the third released. Suzuki could easily just had continued with the same engine they used in the 3rd and started the 4th rather quickly, but we've heard nothing. That feels like a red flag to me. I don't know if we'll even get a 4th.

Sadly, I think we'll get our Shenmue ending only in anime form.
 
It might have been the plan to go to 5, but after the polarising reaction to Shenmue 3, I don't think YS will get that chance. To have Shenmue go out on a high, as well as compete with AAA games of this generation when Shenmue just doesn't have the budget to, wrap it up with 4. Pack as much as you absolutely can in there, from storylines, characters, locations... Whatever is necessary. It's not what I want, but I have to be realistic.
As I said on our Dojo livestream, to even get the naysayers, as well as potential new fans on board, promise them this is the last one. This is it. Conclude Ryo Hazuki's journey. Finish the fight. With the right marketing, it can make a profit and end the franchise on a high. Even if Shenmue IV improves across the board, I feel sorry to say that the damage was done. The bar was set too high, both with the legacy of YS, as well as the pioneering first 2 games. Mix that with the bullshit clickbait hate culture of gamers in 2020, Shenmue 3 didn't reach the heights the general gamer expected it to, and even worse, polarised it's own fanbase. Time is running out, and it got expedited since 2019. Now I am not saying that 3 is a bad game, I am speaking more in terms of the context about where gaming is in 2021, and the place Shenmue has in amongst that.

If it just cannot be done with 1 more game, then at the very most, produce and develop Shenmue IV and V together. It's risky to an investor, but like all things, if done right it can work. The key to success is the general gamer. We are gonna buy the shit out of it, as well as those who want to hate. Those bubbles are always a very to generate some revenue. But the general gamer is where the profits come from, and you need to give them some heresay to get their eyes back on Shenmue. I feel at the moment, Shenmue is regarded as just, "that game". Neither good or bad, and that's the worst place for a brand to be.

What do I think will happen... Right now, I honestly don't want to say. Ask me on a good day, and you will get a semi optimistic response. Ask me on a bad day, and you can hazard a guess of how my response would be, possibly as severe as that Shenmue, in game form, is dead.
 
It might have been the plan to go to 5, but after the polarising reaction to Shenmue 3, I don't think YS will get that chance. To have Shenmue go out on a high, as well as compete with AAA games of this generation when Shenmue just doesn't have the budget to, wrap it up with 4. Pack as much as you absolutely can in there, from storylines, characters, locations... Whatever is necessary. It's not what I want, but I have to be realistic.
As I said on our Dojo livestream, to even get the naysayers, as well as potential new fans on board, promise them this is the last one. This is it. Conclude Ryo Hazuki's journey. Finish the fight. With the right marketing, it can make a profit and end the franchise on a high. Even if Shenmue IV improves across the board, I feel sorry to say that the damage was done. The bar was set too high, both with the legacy of YS, as well as the pioneering first 2 games. Mix that with the bullshit clickbait hate culture of gamers in 2020, Shenmue 3 didn't reach the heights the general gamer expected it to, and even worse, polarised it's own fanbase. Time is running out, and it got expedited since 2019. Now I am not saying that 3 is a bad game, I am speaking more in terms of the context about where gaming is in 2021, and the place Shenmue has in amongst that.

If it just cannot be done with 1 more game, then at the very most, produce and develop Shenmue IV and V together. It's risky to an investor, but like all things, if done right it can work. The key to success is the general gamer. We are gonna buy the shit out of it, as well as those who want to hate. Those bubbles are always a very to generate some revenue. But the general gamer is where the profits come from, and you need to give them some heresay to get their eyes back on Shenmue. I feel at the moment, Shenmue is regarded as just, "that game". Neither good or bad, and that's the worst place for a brand to be.

What do I think will happen... Right now, I honestly don't want to say. Ask me on a good day, and you will get a semi optimistic response. Ask me on a bad day, and you can hazard a guess of how my response would be, possibly as severe as that Shenmue, in game form, is dead.
While I agree that Shenmue 3 hurt the series, I really don’t think it’s beyond repair just yet. Granted, Yu will likely have to make some pretty big changes if he really wants future games to appeal to a wider demographic, but I can definitely envisage a version of Shenmue that makes these changes while still remaining true to the original formula.

Could Yu wrap things up with a single entry? Most probably, but what would be the point, exactly? Fans want a conclusion to the story, sure, but I don’t think any of us want it at the expense of key story beats. As such, I don’t really see how sacrificing the narrative for the sake of finishing the series could really be considered as “going out on a high” regardless of how good the game is. I’d see it as taking the easy way out and pointless to boot.

The story concluding in the next Shenmue game isn’t suddenly going to make it good. That will come from listening to feedback, improving the game’s pacing, combat and dialogue and adding in elements that are actually fun. If Yu can do all of that, he’d likely have no trouble securing funding for a fifth and final game. If he can’t, then it’d be seen as a failure regardless and the series would end on an all time low with a poorly realized narrative and absolutely no chance of redemption.
 
As I said on our Dojo livestream, to even get the naysayers, as well as potential new fans on board, promise them this is the last one. This is it. Conclude Ryo Hazuki's journey. Finish the fight. With the right marketing, it can make a profit and end the franchise on a high.
I agree. After an intense period of controversy, a game series can make a comeback and regain the trust of gamers by giving the louder naysayers what they want most in the follow-up (e.g. RE7 going back to survival horror roots after RE6 'killed the franchise'). By far the biggest complaint with the third game was the lack of story progression, and people not liking the lack of closure despite being told repeatedly that Shenmue 3 was never meant to be the final game.

If YS Net could present Shenmue 4 almost as if it were an 'apology' for Shenmue 3 and promise that it will answer all the mysteries and resolve the Ryo vs Lan Di conflict this time around, then I think people would feel vindicated and return to Shenmue 4 just to see how this series ends out of curiosity.
 
One time before Shenmue III release this part right here happened in a interview, the person said this.

In an interview yesterday with Suzuki, I asked him if Shenmue 3 will be a conclusion to the story. In response, Suzuki took out his water bottle and placed it on the table between us and pointed to about the halfway point.

"Whole story of this bottle, about here [sic]," Suzuki said via translator. I asked if he meant halfway. "40 percent," Suzuki responded.

Shenmue III got us to 40% of the story, Yu Suzuki can really do everything about the story in just one more game? maybe... maybe... but it is something that he wants? probably not, i really think he don’t want to rush his story, i really think he don’t want to do something like this just to finish quickly, Shenmue is his story and i really think he don’t want to rush like this.

It is really sad what happened to Yu Suzuki, sometimes i feel so surprised that he wants to continue after everything that happened, this week i saw a old kickstarter video in the Shenmue 3 official channel, one person one year ago came back to the video to say this...

"Scam artist. You can kiss Shenmue 4 goodbye right now due to your short-sighted decision. It's never going to happen and this time, the fans will let it die for good."

So this and other things makes me feel really surprised that Yu Suzuki wants to continue. People are not oblige to like Shenmue III but Yu Suzuki deserves respect.

I say to end Shenmue story in V will be better just because is difficult to him to have opportunities to make more games, if i had lots of money like Bill Gates for example i would ask this question to him... "Yu Suzuki-san, how many games do you need to finish Ryo’s Journey?" maybe he would say... "To end in a nice way i need to make 3 more games, i need to make till Shenmue VI."

If i had lots of money i would help him and this way he would be able to do in the way he really wants, with the gameplay he wants and without having to cut a lot of things in his story.

For me Shenmue is a slow pace story and i’m okay with that. I love that Shenmue III have a slow pace and i can really feel specialy Bailu Village, i can really feel Ryo and Shenhua strengthening the bonds and being more closer, i can really feel Ryo learning little by little with Master Sun and much more. Specially Bailu Village is wonderful to me.

But we live in a world that prefers GTA and other games that have big explosions all the time, violence all the time, guns all the time, fast things all the time and things like that. I like this types of games too but for me Shenmue is different and with a slow pace, is one of the unique things in the Shenmue Series, i love this.

I hope he can have the opportunities to continue Shenmue and finish in Shenmue V, this way i think the ending will not be rushed, this way i think it will finish in a nice way. I just know one thing, i just know that i will support Yu Suzuki.
 
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The issue I have with the concept of resolution is how little Shenmue 3 actually progressed the story. I’m expecting in Shenmue 4 or 5 for Ryo to stumble into one cutscene that serves as a plot dump because going by the postmortem art there’s a LOT left to happen. Shenmue 3 felt like meandering through filler with no point. I wanted plot and answers to questions we’ve pondered for nearly 20 years.

Shenmue 4 and 5 would have to be a HUGE departure from the pace of Shenmue 3 to advance the plot.
 
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