Chapter numbering

[ShenmueFan82]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I disagree with stating that the Hong Kong chapter is chapter 3 of the saga, with chapter 2 being the side story on the ship with Chai. My reason for this opinion is the notebook in Shenmue II, it clearly reads: (1) Yokosuka, (2) Hong Kong, (3) Kowloon, and (4) Guilin. So, in my opinion, Shenmue III will open with chapter 5.

 

[Reprise]

I actually agree. I always thought it was weird that Shenmue fans want to canon-ise a removed and cut scene.

 

[Jibby]

Honestly, I feel like we should just forget about the chapter structure at this point. It's an outdated concept that doesn't really work for Shenmue's current state of affairs.

 

[BlueMue]

I couldn't agree more with Jibby. The chapter numbering has caused so many debates with so much confusion, we should just let it go entirely.

 

[AXM]

Suzuki said the boat is chapter 2.. so it's chapter 2.
Maybe more happened on that boat he has written somewhere and we've just never been privy to seeing it. Only our Dear Leader knows.

But ya the rest of the chapters we have had confusion on for years because Suzuki himself has changed them at least twice or more from what I remember.
And then Shenmue 3 was supposed to be the last game, but now we need 4 or even 5.
So ya, this seems like a pretty fluid situation.
Maybe Suzuki even has an Old Testament New Testament thing going on.
Or maybe he's been winging it this whole time!
Only our Dear Leader knows.

 

[DigitalDuck]

The notebook in Shenmue II gives clear chapter numbers, and that's as official as we have. It also doesn't really matter, as they're merely arbitrary divisions between story elements, chosen mainly because of location.

If you wanted to, you could easily argue that Wan Chai/Aberdeen/Kowloon is all one batch and shouldn't be separated (it's a fairly big build up to a big boss fight at the end).

Similarly, you could argue that Yokosuka should be split into two (pre- and post-first Chai fight), that Wan Chai/Aberdeen should be split into two (pre- and post-Beverly Hills Wharf), and that Kowloon should be split into two (pre- and post- Five Stars Corp). In fact this is how I look at it when it comes to streaming the game in fullruns - I plan for the gaps between streams to be lined up here as much as possible so it's easier to watch.

The best bet is to generally avoid referring to chapters and simply describe the section of the game you're talking about.

 

[Kodama]

Honestly, I feel like we should just forget about the chapter structure at this point. It's an outdated concept that doesn't really work for Shenmue's current state of affairs.

Basically, this. The chapters were all supposed to represent actual games and that didn't happen for obvious reasons. Shenmue 2 was supposed to JUST be Hong Kong but obviously after seeing the financial well dry up, YS made the great decision to condense the story a bit and give us three chapters in one game. It's kind of a moot detail at this point considering everything going on with this series...

 

[24Nathan]

Basically, this. The chapters were all supposed to represent actual games and that didn't happen for obvious reasons. Shenmue 2 was supposed to JUST be Hong Kong but obviously after seeing the financial well dry up, YS made the great decision to condense the story a bit and give us three chapters in one game. It's kind of a moot detail at this point considering everything going on with this series...

Source? I don't think things like the boat and Li River chapters were cut due to Yu seeing any writing on the wall, but rather simple preference/development specific reasons.