Shenmue IV Will Happen - Here's Why!

Or because Shenmue 3 was always meant to be approachable even for new players who never played the originals. Even after HD was announced and released--they were too late.

Aside from the digest trailer for the first two games, certain times Ryo seems to have forgotten Chai or the revelation, i felt they were to simply be semi-reintroductions for newcomers and refreshers for forgetful old timers.
 
Grinders said:
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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This is clearly not the case, considering the conversation that Ryo has with Ren when they first meet in Niaowu.

Ren: You remember hearing Zhu Yuanda's story back in Kowloon?
Ryo: About what?
Ren: Treasure! I'm talking about treasure!

It does seem as if Ryo himself cares so little that he's practically forgotten about it.
 
Just to clarify what each game says about the mirrors/treasure:

Shenmue 2 (Yuanda Zhu cutscene)
  • When the mirrors are paired, they form a key to unlock a treasure that will revive the Qing Dynasty
  • The mirrors form a light pattern that reveals the location of the treasure; both mirrors are needed to complete the pattern
Shenmue 3 (Elder Yeh cutscene)
  • The treasure belonged to an emperor and empress; it resides in their hidden palace
  • The dragon mirror represents the emperor and the phoenix mirror represents the empress
  • A scroll points the way to the hidden palace's location - it rests in a mountainous region which you can get to by passing through Niaowu from Bailu village
So, not the exact same information is being repeated here. Yuanda Zhu establishes the mystery of the treasure, and Elder Yeh adds some extra information to it. It is yet to be seen how the scroll and light pattern will both form a map to the treasure.
 
Revan said:
Just to clarify what each game says about the mirrors/treasure:

Shenmue 2 (Yuanda Zhu cutscene)
  • When the mirrors are paired, they form a key to unlock a treasure that will revive the Qing Dynasty
  • The mirrors form a light pattern that reveals the location of the treasure; both mirrors are needed to complete the pattern
Shenmue 3 (Elder Yeh cutscene)
  • The treasure belonged to an emperor and empress; it resides in their hidden palace
  • The dragon mirror represents the emperor and the phoenix mirror represents the empress
  • A scroll points the way to the hidden palace's location - it rests in a mountainous region which you can get to by passing through Niaowu from Bailu village
So, not the exact same information is being repeated here. Yuanda Zhu establishes the mystery of the treasure, and Elder Yeh adds some extra information to it. It is yet to be seen how the scroll and light pattern will both form a map to the treasure.
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Very true also keep in mind we heard a variation of this from Master Chen in Shenmue 1- Master Chen further notes that Yuanda Zhu once told him, "When the Dragon and the Phoenix meet, the gates of heaven and earth will open, and Chi You (a world-devouring monster from Chinese folklore) will resurrect itself on earth”
 
I've mentioned it before, but it does bear some repeating that Shenhua referred to the "ancient" legend of the mirrors in Shenmue 2, and in Shenmue 3 we learn they were created in 1910...while this is contradictory, 1910 does correspond with the end of the Qing Dynasty, so it's not totally off-base with what we've learned previously. Regardless, we're hearing some differences throughout the three games as to what the mirrors mean. Wonder what Shenmue the Anime will say about them, haha.

It's possible the current set of mirrors are a parallel to an ancient legend, which explain Shenhua's nostalgic feelings of Luoyang (possibly retconned) and her "hundreds of birthdays" remark - as well as the flashback scene in Shenmue 2 where the Shenmue tree Shenhua was residing under was either some other location or some other time period.

Also curious why it was never explicitly stated in Shenmue 3 that Yang was an adoptive father to Shenhua (the different names should still confirm this - but they repeated everything else a bunch of times, why not this?) - and Yang's sickness wasn't mentioned either - except maybe alluded to once on the hotel balcony? Can't quite recall.
 
Lan Di-sama said:
I've mentioned it before, but it does bear some repeating that Shenhua referred to the "ancient" legend of the mirrors in Shenmue 2, and in Shenmue 3 we learn they were created in 1910...while this is contradictory, 1910 does correspond with the end of the Qing Dynasty, so it's not totally off-base with what we've learned previously. Regardless, we're hearing some differences throughout the three games as to what the mirrors mean. Wonder what Shenmue the Anime will say about them, haha.

It's possible the current set of mirrors are a parallel to an ancient legend, which explain Shenhua's nostalgic feelings of Luoyang (possibly retconned) and her "hundreds of birthdays" remark - as well as the flashback scene in Shenmue 2 where the Shenmue tree Shenhua was residing under was either some other location or some other time period.

Also curious why it was never explicitly stated in Shenmue 3 that Yang was an adoptive father to Shenhua (the different names should still confirm this - but they repeated everything else a bunch of times, why not this?) - and Yang's sickness wasn't mentioned either - except maybe alluded to once on the hotel balcony? Can't quite recall.
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I believe that it is possible that the Mirrors may have been created and destroyed severall times throughout history and that the various legends
that we have heard may have originated from those events.
I'm refering this because on the way to Bailu village in Shenmue 2; Shenhua tells Ryo stories about the Tang dynasty and those that died for trying to gain the power of the mirrors.
Also in the Shenmue 2 bad ending cutscene the jewel in the phoenix mirror seems to stop shining and the mirror cracks before Lan Di Kills Ryo.
Somehow I also believe that there can be a connection between Shenhua's power to recall her ancestors and the existance of Mirrors throughout history.

 
Good theory there above.

Also Qing dynasty was ancient despite being relatively recent in 1910. They were very behind the times--not very modern iirc from history. Alot of parallels with Russia at similar timeframe if im not mistaken

edit

Many might be mistaking Qing for Ming, which were a lot longer ago and pre-dates Qing.
 
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Just to add to my previous post:

Shenmue 3 is packed with deep references to the original games that your average fan wouldn't even remember. I about lost it when Ryo asked Goro how Mai was doing and whether Hisaka approves of their marriage, or Ryo thinking of Fangmei when he sees a cat at Man Yuan Temple. It doesn't surprise me considering that Shenmue 3's Kickstarter development footage shows the first two games sitting on staff's desks and Yu almost always having the Akira RPG script books to hand, so we know these materials were being constantly referred to.

So given all that, I really find it hard to believe that Yu is able to recall something like Fuku-san's love for Akemi or that people fish and gather herbs in Bailu, and then proceeds to forget the entire central mystery of his main story. The mirrors being a key to a lost treasure is reiterated along with Lan Di being Sunming Zhao's son which, as explained by @xatruio, I think is more just to refresh the more casual fan's memory after 20 years. I'd consider myself a diehard Shenmue fan, and even I forgot some big details like Iwao training with Zhao in Bailu.

Lan Di-sama said:
It's possible the current set of mirrors are a parallel to an ancient legend, which explain Shenhua's nostalgic feelings of Luoyang (possibly retconned) and her "hundreds of birthdays" remark - as well as the flashback scene in Shenmue 2 where the Shenmue tree Shenhua was residing under was either some other location or some other time period.
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I'm inclined to believe this interpretation, personally. Shenhua says her village tells stories of an ancient Emperor who had mirrors made for him from Phantom River Stone which rulers fought over for their hidden power. When I played this part in Shenmue 2, I interpreted what she was saying in two ways, 1) The Dragon and Phoenix mirrors now owned by Lan Di and Ryo are these same ancient mirrors, or 2) Legends of many mirrors and emperors have existed through ought Shenmue's history, making this a cyclical tradition, and the current set owned by Lan Di and Ryo is the latest in this ongoing mystery.

I think the only real blatant contradictions I encountered in my playthroughs seem to be made more because of a stylistic choice: The Sword of Seven Stars now being a dagger instead of Excalibur, Shenhua's house having an extra room, the fashion sense of the Bailu residents and Shenhua's redesign both in her outfit and having a bit more attitude (which is fine, honestly, I'd rather Shenhua adopt a bit of sass for the remainder of this quest to make for some entertaining moments with Ryo and Ren than stay an innocent maiden walking around Las Vegas-inspired shopping districts dressed in rags. I'm currently playing Skies of Arcadia for the first time, and honestly, Fina constantly apologising all the time for almost breathing really makes me want to Harpoon Cannon her straight into the Dark Rift).
 
Lan Di-sama said:
I've mentioned it before, but it does bear some repeating that Shenhua referred to the "ancient" legend of the mirrors in Shenmue 2, and in Shenmue 3 we learn they were created in 1910...while this is contradictory, 1910 does correspond with the end of the Qing Dynasty, so it's not totally off-base with what we've learned previously. Regardless, we're hearing some differences throughout the three games as to what the mirrors mean. Wonder what Shenmue the Anime will say about them, haha.

It's possible the current set of mirrors are a parallel to an ancient legend, which explain Shenhua's nostalgic feelings of Luoyang (possibly retconned) and her "hundreds of birthdays" remark - as well as the flashback scene in Shenmue 2 where the Shenmue tree Shenhua was residing under was either some other location or some other time period.

Also curious why it was never explicitly stated in Shenmue 3 that Yang was an adoptive father to Shenhua (the different names should still confirm this - but they repeated everything else a bunch of times, why not this?) - and Yang's sickness wasn't mentioned either - except maybe alluded to once on the hotel balcony? Can't quite recall.
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Unless I am not understanding you correctly, I don't think Luoyang has been retconned. Shenhua directly references in one of the Bailu night conversations that she has nostalgic feelings of the old capital or something like that . The tapestry is gone, yes, but wasn't there an interview where Yu Suzuki basically stated that the ending of Shenmue II was made as it was so that it in case the series died, it would end on the legendary cliffhanger? Maybe those tapestries were placed in her house to aid that feeling?
 
Lan Di-sama said:
Also curious why it was never explicitly stated in Shenmue 3 that Yang was an adoptive father to Shenhua (the different names should still confirm this - but they repeated everything else a bunch of times, why not this?) - and Yang's sickness wasn't mentioned either - except maybe alluded to once on the hotel balcony? Can't quite recall.
Click to expand...
Ryo and Shenhua definitely do have a conversation about Yuan's health on the hotel balcony. I don't remember exactly how it comes up, but Ryo says to Shenhua that she mentioned before that his health wasn't the best. Then Shenhua looks really worried and Ryo assures her that they will rescue him and take him to a good hospital in the city. Of course, when they finally do rescue him he's just fine and nobody ever mentions his supposedly ailing health again.

As far as I know, you're correct that it's never explicitly stated that he's not her biological father though.
 
B-Man said:
Ryo and Shenhua definitely do have a conversation about Yuan's health on the hotel balcony. I don't remember exactly how it comes up, but Ryo says to Shenhua that she mentioned before that his health wasn't the best. Then Shenhua looks really worried and Ryo assures her that they will rescue him and take him to a good hospital in the city. Of course, when they finally do rescue him he's just fine and nobody ever mentions his supposedly ailing health again.

As far as I know, you're correct that it's never explicitly stated that he's not her biological father though.
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To be fair, when he's rescued at the end of the game, he only speaks a few lines of dialogue. He could've went from the boat straight to a doctor for all we know. I think there are mentions of him not being the biological father in III, but I can't remember for sure.
 
24Nathan said:
To be fair, when he's rescued at the end of the game, he only speaks a few lines of dialogue. He could've went from the boat straight to a doctor for all we know.
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True.

24Nathan said:
I think there are mentions of him not being the biological father in III, but I can't remember for sure.
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It's certainly possible. I just don't remember hearing it during my playthrough.
 
24Nathan said:
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!
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That was awesome when it happened to me! I was like "yep, typical Ren" haha
 
How sexy is that giant VF machine?! I haven't seen one for over 23 years!
 
It is kind of interesting Sega would RT an interview with YS where he's asked about VF6, but I always read into things.
 
Honestly, it's just so cool that Sega are even acknowledging Yu-san.
He deserves much more than what he has been given over the last decade or two.

Here's an English translation by Segabits:

 
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