Shenmue IV Will Happen - Here's Why!

Unfortunately the issue is that the series has already gone through rewrites. I think the essence of the main story needs to be boiled down to get those main points across and the filler excised if the series is ever to finish. I can see it being done in 2 games but that also supposes that Suzuki has the opportunity to make both of those games and that the budget for each is sufficient enough to get through the requisite chapters at a basic level.

Given the nature of the series and its constant compromises there's a chance that won't happen. If that's the case I would prefer a written ending for closure than just trying to dump it all into S4, but that's just my preference.
 
One time Yu Suzuki said... " The original story spans 11 chapters. If i kept at a chapter per game, the Shenmue series would not be completed in my lifetime! I reworked the story to incorporate content from multiple chapters."

I feel that his original vision was to make 11 games, one chapter and one location per game, he was able to do that only with the first Shenmue, i read one time that he said that one of the things in chapter 5 is the meeting with Shenhua, he moved just that to Shenmue II, in this case i think he made the right decision.

In my opinion Guilin was the right choice to be the ending of Shenmue II, that part is wonderful and unique in Shenmue II, one of my favorite parts in the Shenmue series.

As a creator myself i feel sad for Yu Suzuki when i think about this, sad that he had to compromise his original vision, sad that he didn't had the opportunity to do in the way he really wanted, Shenmue is inspiring me to create my own story in a Shenmue style and vibe, i don't want to compromise my original vision so i understand this feeling.

I'm glad that Shenmue will have a anime and that Yu Suzuki is a executive producer, this way he can try to put in the anime parts that he had to cut in the games, like the boat part for example.

I really think he will have the opportunity to make Shenmue IV and that he will decide to end the saga in Shenmue V, i have a feeling that this is what will happen, i hope that he can have the opportunity to make the games.
 
Only semi-related, but Yu has said he put multiple chapters in S3 to condense the story and move it along quicker. It's pretty clear to me that the ending section was probably going to be part of a future game originally, most likely IV, but it makes me wonder if the "original Shenmue III concept" was Bailu only (inwards, not outwards, etc.) It's hard to know given that plans had already changed by the end of S2, but that seems like a possibility circa 2005ish.
 
Only semi-related, but Yu has said he put multiple chapters in S3 to condense the story and move it along quicker. It's pretty clear to me that the ending section was probably going to be part of a future game originally, most likely IV, but it makes me wonder if the "original Shenmue III concept" was Bailu only (inwards, not outwards, etc.) It's hard to know given that plans had already changed by the end of S2, but that seems like a possibility circa 2005ish.
I'm willin to bet the original Shenmue 3 concept had way more meat than what we got, there are plenty of things he talked about in the Kickstarter that didn't come to frution, Baisha for example.
 
I'm willin to bet the original Shenmue 3 concept had way more meat than what we got, there are plenty of things he talked about in the Kickstarter that didn't come to frution, Baisha for example.
I'm talking about as it was planned originally when there was going to be double the amount of chapters. It had already changed by the time the KS pitch was made.
 
I'm talking about as it was planned originally when there was going to be double the amount of chapters. It had already changed by the time the KS pitch was made.
Ahh, gotchu
Still think the original draft for Bailu had more substance than what we got, we practically learn nothing that Yuanda Zhu didn't tell us already
 
Ahh, gotchu
Still think the original draft for Bailu had more substance than what we got, we practically learn nothing that Yuanda Zhu didn't tell us already
I tend to disagree. I don't think there's much evidence to suggest more plot was ever planned for Bailu. I actually think the amount of "lore" in Bailu was completely in line with the previous games. We actually learned a lot about the origins of the mirrors, etc. I don't think we were ever supposed to find out what happened between Iwao and Zhao in Bailu.

It's the second half of the game that feels trimmed down to me, because it very clearly was.
 
I tend to disagree. I don't think there's much evidence to suggest more plot was ever planned for Bailu. I actually think the amount of "lore" in Bailu was completely in line with the previous games. We actually learned a lot about the origins of the mirrors, etc. I don't think we were ever supposed to find out what happened between Iwao and Zhao in Bailu.

It's the second half of the game that feels trimmed down to me, because it very clearly was.
Bailu is probably the most important location to the plot, It's where the Mirrors were made, where Iwao trained, and the home of one of the protagonists (Shenhua) and the poem/prophecy, and of course, the Shenmue tree. But in Shenmue 3 we barely learn anything we didn't know already, or was heavily implied.

We already knew the mirrors were keys to the treasures of the Qing dynasty, and we know the mirrors were made in Bailu due to Phantom River Stone, the only new tidbit was that the emperor commissioned Yuan's grandfather to make them...OK.. Oh, and Iwao and Zhao studied under Feng, who tells us nothing.

Maybe in the original drafts all the Yuanda Zhu's bombshells are revealed in Bailu instead?
 
Maybe in the original drafts all the Yuanda Zhu's bombshells are revealed in Bailu instead?
This is certainly a possibility. The Zhu Yuanda meeting post Yellow Head building was a massive exposition dump that was somewhat out of keeping with the storytelling in earlier parts of the game. I’m sure I read somewhere that Yu and the team added a lot of the mystical elements (the floating sword and such) so as to go out with a bang as they weren’t sure if S3 would ever happen. I’d never considered it until now, but maybe the Zu Yuanda speech was given a bit more content so as to at least fill in a few of the blanks in case the series never returned?

If that were the case, I don’t think it would excuse the underwhelming narrative payoff in Bailu, but it may well explain it.
 
I tend to believe our time in Bailu would've felt deeper if the original Shenmue 3 had gone ahead as planned: more NPC routines, deeper conversations with NPCs, more activities in Bailu, less of a 'designed' feeling (IMO, there's something a bit unnatural about the way both Bailu and Niaowu are laid out) as you walk through the various areas, more variety than copy/pasted gambling areas, etc. The story outline likely didn't change too much.
 
This is certainly a possibility. The Zhu Yuanda meeting post Yellow Head building was a massive exposition dump that was somewhat out of keeping with the storytelling in earlier parts of the game. I’m sure I read somewhere that Yu and the team added a lot of the mystical elements (the floating sword and such) so as to go out with a bang as they weren’t sure if S3 would ever happen. I’d never considered it until now, but maybe the Zu Yuanda speech was given a bit more content so as to at least fill in a few of the blanks in case the series never returned?

If that were the case, I don’t think it would excuse the underwhelming narrative payoff in Bailu, but it may well explain it.
If you look at the 4 title card in the middle bottom it’s Yuanda Zhu (in the Shenmue documentary there was a high res picture of the art work and it was clearly him). Obviously certain things looked moved around, i.e. Yan Lang appearing under the same card but it appeared you encountered him before going to Guilin. I am sure he still was catalyst of getting Ryo to travel to Guilin. Impossible to know if they gave his speech additional dialogue.

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I tend to believe our time in Bailu would've felt deeper if the original Shenmue 3 had gone ahead as planned: more NPC routines, deeper conversations with NPCs, more activities in Bailu, less of a 'designed' feeling (IMO, there's something a bit unnatural about the way both Bailu and Niaowu are laid out) as you walk through the various areas, more variety than copy/pasted gambling areas, etc. The story outline likely didn't change too much.
I'm with you on the NPCs. Bailu would've been fantastic if there was a bit more to the main side characters like Feng, although I quite like the lesser NPCs. That by itself would've taken Bailu from an 8 to a 9 on my arbitrary Shenmue location rating scale.

The layout I'm OK with. I think there are loads of distinct, gorgeous areas in Bailu, but to perfect it:
  1. Take out the ramshackle "arcade" and just keep the capsules
  2. Keep all the gambling in one place
  3. Move the gambling area to somewhere less...scenic, and closer to the market
  4. Now the riverside gambling is gone, shrink that part of the map so it's quicker to get to the dojo
 
I'm with you on the NPCs. Bailu would've been fantastic if there was a bit more to the main side characters like Feng, although I quite like the lesser NPCs. That by itself would've taken Bailu from an 8 to a 9 on my arbitrary Shenmue location rating scale.

The layout I'm OK with. I think there are loads of distinct, gorgeous areas in Bailu, but to perfect it:
  1. Take out the ramshackle "arcade" and just keep the capsules
  2. Keep all the gambling in one place
  3. Move the gambling area to somewhere less...scenic, and closer to the market
  4. Now the riverside gambling is gone, shrink that part of the map so it's quicker to get to the dojo
I really wish they did more side quests like Mr Su's Tall Tales...that was weirdly enough one of my favorite side missions in the game just because it felt so fucking Shenmue. The simple act of talking to this old guy as he spun his yarns about Bailu was kind of awesome...and I kind of almost wish there had been more of that with other characters. What if they had a side quest with Feng where he shuts you out at first but if you keep pestering him, he would eventually open up and maybe tell you something more? That might have been cool. I would have loved more stuff like that. I felt Mr Su's Tall Tales was a real tease for what could have been. Its something I would hope they maybe build on if Shenmue IV happens.

1.) Agreed! There was enough to do in Bailu without the arcade and I think it would have made the Arcade have a bigger impact if they saved it for Chobu. But it is what it is. I just can't help but think how cool would it have been if they saved the arcade reveal for Chobu instead and kept Bailu a little more rustic. There was enough to do in Bailu with fishing, herb collecting, capsule collecting, wood chopping and gambling that I really didn't feel like it needed the arcade.

2.) I didn't necessarily have a problem with the two gambling areas in Bailu personally. I think they were trying to go for convenience of having two instead of always tracking back to the one location. So it didn't bother me.

3.) and 4.) Again, didn't really have a problem with the placing of the gambling areas but can see your point
 
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Since it was raised in recent Shenmue podcast how did you guys feel about the environments in Bailu and Niaowu being walled off?

I didn’t actually mind it in Bailu as the scenarios were more closely tied to the part of the town Ryo needed to visit or be in. And as James and Matt discussed it cut down on voice acting and resources needed for NPC’s not critical to that next notebook objective. However in Niaowu it felt more restrictive and artificial. Especially given how big the map was comparatively and how useful shortcuts don’t really come to bear until almost at the end.
 
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Since it was raised in recent Shenmue podcast how did you guys feel about the environments in Bailu and Niaowu being walled off?

I didn’t actually mind it in Bailu as the scenarios were more closely tied to the part of the town Ryo needed to visit or be in. And as James and Matt discussed it cut down on voice acting and resources needed for NPC’s not critical to that next notebook objective. However in Niaowu it felt more restrictive and artificial. Especially given how big the map was comparatively and how useful shortcuts don’t really come to bear until almost at the end.
Agreed, it wasn't a problem for me. Partly because the first area in Bailu -- from Shenhua's house to the village square -- is quite large. In terms of map size it's probably 50% of Shenmue 1 by itself. Obviously it's not as dense but this is a rural village we're talking about. You could argue they should've opened up some areas from the very start, I guess, but doing it the S3 way gives you a nice feeling of discovery and a new area to visit every few days.

It also stops the player from being completely overwhelmed at the beginning.
 
I really wish they did more side quests like Mr Su's Tall Tales...that was weirdly enough one of my favorite side missions in the game just because it felt so fucking Shenmue. The simple act of talking to this old guy as he spun his yarns about Bailu was kind of awesome...and I kind of almost wish there had been more of that with other characters. What if they had a side quest with Feng where he shuts you out at first but if you keep pestering him, he would eventually open up and maybe tell you something more? That might have been cool. I would have loved more stuff like that. I felt Mr Su's Tall Tales was a real tease for what could have been. Its something I would hope they maybe build on if Shenmue IV happens.

1.) Agreed! There was enough to do in Bailu without the arcade and I think it would have made the Arcade have a bigger impact if they saved it for Chobu. But it is what it is. I just can't help but think how cool would it have been if they saved the arcade reveal for Chobu instead and kept Bailu a little more rustic. There was enough to do in Bailu with fishing, herb collecting, capsule collecting, wood chopping and gambling that I really didn't feel like it needed the arcade.

2.) I didn't necessarily have a problem with the two gambling areas in Bailu personally. I think they were trying to go for convenience of having two instead of always tracking back to the one location. So it didn't bother me.

3.) and 4.) Again, didn't really have a problem with the placing of the gambling areas but can see your point
Loved the Sun side quest! I also liked the one where you give Ren whatever item in Niaowu and he gives you this load of straight junk...Ryo's "are you kidding me" face while the inventory grows was priceless and made me laugh out loud!
 
Loved the Sun side quest! I also liked the one where you give Ren whatever item in Niaowu and he gives you this load of straight junk...Ryo's "are you kidding me" face while the inventory grows was priceless and made me laugh out loud!
Shit I totally forgot about this hahaha
 
Maybe in the original drafts all the Yuanda Zhu's bombshells are revealed in Bailu instead?
Honestly, I think Yu-san forgot that Yuanda Zhu revealed the meaning of mirrors at the end of Shenmue 2.
I don't know how else to explain Ryo's reaction to these revelations in Shenmue 3 and why we barely learned anything else.
 
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