ShenSun
Site Staff
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2018
Shenmue 3 is all about Shenhua. Many of us who enjoyed Shenmue 3's story did so because of the subtle changes in her character throughout the adventure. From the start of the game to the end, you get these very small snippets of her "power" which is very, very easy to miss. Let's go through them.
Shenhua & The Blue Spider Boss
I've seen people say this is a tongue and cheek "anime" moment but I didn't think so at all. I immediately thought Shenhua used her powers on the thug when he was tied up.
She went from lovely innocent Shenhua to somewhat menacing.
Watch the scene again and notice the sound effects, tone and shading take a very brief dark turn.
From then on, the thug is pretty much paralyzed with fear when he see's Shenhua.
Some people may view this as comic relief, so let's look at a few more examples of where the same pattern repeats itself.
Shenhua & Chai
When Chai takes the scroll at the end of Bailu, Shenhua goes from sweet and innocent to menacing. Her dialog completely goes out of character and the tone of her words take a more darker turn.
-
Chai then instantly changes his behavior/mind and jumps down to fight.
Some people may say he's just being baited and I would agree if it was anyone else other than Shenhua doing it. Personally i think she's using her powers on him, which affects the way he behaves. But let's go to another example
Shenhua & Ren
Ren and Shenhua first meet in Hotel Niaowu. Ren is his usual cocky self but then his behavior instantly changes when Shenhua looks at him in a slight menacing way.
If you watch the scene again, you'll see Shenhua's facial expression slightly change from sweet to slightly menacing.
From
To
Much like Chai and the Blue Spider thug, Ren's behavior changes drastically.
-
His cocky attitude completely disappears and his facial animation shows a slight concern. Some may say, this is another tongue and cheek moment, but I think Shenhua used her powers here again.
More Evidence Of Shenhua's Powers In Shenmue 3
Shenhua Conversations At Night
If you speak to Shenhua at night, you start to get a few small details of her special abilities.
Shenhua states she can communicate with animals.
Shenhua also says sometimes she dreams of her ancestors and when she wakes up its like she's lived 1000 birthdays
This matches up to an earlier interview with Yu Suzuki about Shenhua
--
Shenmue 3 Trailer
In one of the earlier trailers we saw Shenhua manipulate the environment similar to what she did in Shenmue 2. Probably just a recreation of the Shenmue 2 scene but it still does demonstrate more of her abilities.
Yuan's Message To Shenhua In The Temple In Shenmue 3
I missed this in my playthough, but James managed to pull it up when he was recording for his youtube channel.
Yuan leaves a message about Shenhua in the temple, referring to a particular day. At this stage, we have no idea what he's talking about. Is it the day she met Ryo? Or is it a day in the future that we have not seen yet.
Personally, i think its referring to a day in the future where she realizes her full power. We've seen a brief glimpse of such a day in the Shenmue Online trailer.
--
Now admittedly, Shenmue online isn't cannon, but that dress is very significant. It was featured on the original ost cover and in the promotion for the original Shenmue
Lan Di And Shenhua
In the Shenmue 2 bad ending, Lan Di states that he is taking Shenhua's power for the Chiyou, again demonstrating she has special powers which we are not yet aware of.
--
Project Berkly Trailer
Some may say if Shenhua is using her powers in Shenmue 3, then why didn't she use them on the chiyou men when she got captured. that's a very good question. I would personally answer by saying, she isn't in complete control of her powers just yet.
I say this based on the way she speaks to Ryo about her powers in the evening conversations, along with her father's message that was left at the temple, and also based on the project berkly trailer.
The project berkly trailer shows very early footage of the series. It shows Shenhua getting beaten up by Lan di. it then shows her struggling to break free from Lan di's men.
Eventually, she uses her power to destroy them.
Once she learns this ability in the trailer, we see her actively focusing her energy to strike. A look of fear is then shown on Lan Di's face before she destroys the place.
This scene could be "That day" which her father referred to in the temple in Shenmue 3. Either that, or the Shenmue online scene, or a combination of the two. Who knows at this point. Are they both non canon scenes? Or are they showing us something that could potentially happen down the road?
Other Worthy Mentions
Shenhua Shows Up In Ryo's Dreams
Shenhua Is Connected To The Shenmue Tree
Shenhua And Then Prophecy
Overall, we all know Shenhua has special powers, but this is why I personally liked Shenmue 3. it gave me these small glimpses into Shenhua's potential power and also let us communicate and spend time with her to build a solid relationship for the future. A future where she will play a very significant role in.
As Spud has said. Who is Shenhua really? Where does she come from? Why is she in Bailu? Who are her ancestors? etc etc. All very important questions that lead to more mystery.
Thanks for checking out this thread. It was very hard for me to articulate this in a single post in the other threads, so i thought id make a detailed topic, breaking it all down and explaining my thought process as i was playing. I also wanted to get everyone's opinion on Shenhua's power in general
What do you guys think of Shenhua's powers? And will it play a big part in Shenmue 4?
Shenhua & The Blue Spider Boss
I've seen people say this is a tongue and cheek "anime" moment but I didn't think so at all. I immediately thought Shenhua used her powers on the thug when he was tied up.
She went from lovely innocent Shenhua to somewhat menacing.
Watch the scene again and notice the sound effects, tone and shading take a very brief dark turn.
From then on, the thug is pretty much paralyzed with fear when he see's Shenhua.
Some people may view this as comic relief, so let's look at a few more examples of where the same pattern repeats itself.
Shenhua & Chai
When Chai takes the scroll at the end of Bailu, Shenhua goes from sweet and innocent to menacing. Her dialog completely goes out of character and the tone of her words take a more darker turn.
-
Chai then instantly changes his behavior/mind and jumps down to fight.
Some people may say he's just being baited and I would agree if it was anyone else other than Shenhua doing it. Personally i think she's using her powers on him, which affects the way he behaves. But let's go to another example
Shenhua & Ren
Ren and Shenhua first meet in Hotel Niaowu. Ren is his usual cocky self but then his behavior instantly changes when Shenhua looks at him in a slight menacing way.
If you watch the scene again, you'll see Shenhua's facial expression slightly change from sweet to slightly menacing.
From
To
Much like Chai and the Blue Spider thug, Ren's behavior changes drastically.
-
His cocky attitude completely disappears and his facial animation shows a slight concern. Some may say, this is another tongue and cheek moment, but I think Shenhua used her powers here again.
More Evidence Of Shenhua's Powers In Shenmue 3
Shenhua Conversations At Night
If you speak to Shenhua at night, you start to get a few small details of her special abilities.
Shenhua states she can communicate with animals.
Shenhua also says sometimes she dreams of her ancestors and when she wakes up its like she's lived 1000 birthdays
This matches up to an earlier interview with Yu Suzuki about Shenhua
--
Shenmue 3 Trailer
In one of the earlier trailers we saw Shenhua manipulate the environment similar to what she did in Shenmue 2. Probably just a recreation of the Shenmue 2 scene but it still does demonstrate more of her abilities.
Yuan's Message To Shenhua In The Temple In Shenmue 3
I missed this in my playthough, but James managed to pull it up when he was recording for his youtube channel.
Yuan leaves a message about Shenhua in the temple, referring to a particular day. At this stage, we have no idea what he's talking about. Is it the day she met Ryo? Or is it a day in the future that we have not seen yet.
Personally, i think its referring to a day in the future where she realizes her full power. We've seen a brief glimpse of such a day in the Shenmue Online trailer.
--
Now admittedly, Shenmue online isn't cannon, but that dress is very significant. It was featured on the original ost cover and in the promotion for the original Shenmue
Lan Di And Shenhua
In the Shenmue 2 bad ending, Lan Di states that he is taking Shenhua's power for the Chiyou, again demonstrating she has special powers which we are not yet aware of.
--
Project Berkly Trailer
Some may say if Shenhua is using her powers in Shenmue 3, then why didn't she use them on the chiyou men when she got captured. that's a very good question. I would personally answer by saying, she isn't in complete control of her powers just yet.
I say this based on the way she speaks to Ryo about her powers in the evening conversations, along with her father's message that was left at the temple, and also based on the project berkly trailer.
The project berkly trailer shows very early footage of the series. It shows Shenhua getting beaten up by Lan di. it then shows her struggling to break free from Lan di's men.
Eventually, she uses her power to destroy them.
Once she learns this ability in the trailer, we see her actively focusing her energy to strike. A look of fear is then shown on Lan Di's face before she destroys the place.
This scene could be "That day" which her father referred to in the temple in Shenmue 3. Either that, or the Shenmue online scene, or a combination of the two. Who knows at this point. Are they both non canon scenes? Or are they showing us something that could potentially happen down the road?
Other Worthy Mentions
Shenhua Shows Up In Ryo's Dreams
Shenhua Is Connected To The Shenmue Tree
Shenhua And Then Prophecy
Overall, we all know Shenhua has special powers, but this is why I personally liked Shenmue 3. it gave me these small glimpses into Shenhua's potential power and also let us communicate and spend time with her to build a solid relationship for the future. A future where she will play a very significant role in.
As Spud has said. Who is Shenhua really? Where does she come from? Why is she in Bailu? Who are her ancestors? etc etc. All very important questions that lead to more mystery.
Thanks for checking out this thread. It was very hard for me to articulate this in a single post in the other threads, so i thought id make a detailed topic, breaking it all down and explaining my thought process as i was playing. I also wanted to get everyone's opinion on Shenhua's power in general
What do you guys think of Shenhua's powers? And will it play a big part in Shenmue 4?
Last edited: