The original story and how it changed/will change

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Shenmue III
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Shenmue III
Hi guys, I was thinking about the original plan for Shenmue's story by Yu Suzuki and the info he shed about that in 2014. Well, almost the original plan, since at first it should have been 16 chapters, then it was set for 11.
This picture shows them all:
gdc_vfrpg_11chapters.jpg

Here instead we have the map:

698955.jpg

Le'ts consider also the second picture, the map. Here we see 10 locations, since one is covered (but we can still see the arrow).
So, if we carefully check these pictures, from left to right, top to bottom, we recognize:

1. Yokosuka (Shenmue I)
Introduction. According to Yu Suzuki himself, here the story should have been a bare minimum, just setting the pace and reasons for the whole saga.

- Ship segment -
Not a chapter per se, just a short story about the travel from Japan to China. It appeared as a short manga. Yu Suzuki recently stated he'd like to reuse some of these ideas (possibly for Shenmue III Boat DLC?)

2. Hong Kong (Shenmue II)
Real start of the story, meeting with Ren and Xiuying.

3. Fujian [Baisha] (originally planned for Shenmue III, then scrapped)
This is my speculation, since it's the not visible destination. We only see an arrow pointing from Hong Kong to Fujian, where ideally Baisha should be (because of the confirmed presence of the tulou). Probably some connections to the specific story of the Phoenix Mirror.
This is the first chapter that Suzuki said he decided during the development of Shenmue II to postpone to Guilin. The reason is that he knew back then he had almost no chances of making Shenmue III, so he wanted to reach a sort of small conclusion for the saga, have Ryo meet Shenhua and see the Shenmue tree.
During the development of Shenmue III, as we know, it was included back again and then scrapped again :( Notice that in the orignal Kickstarter video, Baisha is the first area Suzuki describes, probably following the original plan.

4. Shanghai-Suzhou (Shenmue III)
These two cities were scrapped/postponed for the same reason of Baisha during the development of Shenmue II. They became Niaowu, a chapter where Ryo focuses on his training. The picture shows Ryo in fact training, and around him the faces of possibly different masters? We assumed that Fenghuang is the main inspiration for the architecture of Niaowu, but the water towns around Shanghai and Suzhou are very similar as well.

5. Guilin (Shenmue II-Shenmue III)
About halfway of the original story, where Ryo should have finally met Shenhua. A more introspective chapter according to Yu Suzuki

6. Xi'an (Shenmue IV?)
It's highly likely that the story will resume here. We know Ryo reaches the Great Wall and near Xi'an there's the Southernmost segment of this monument.

7. Luoyang
Famous for the Longmen Grottoes. The closest location to the Shaolin Temple.

8. Cangzhou
It might be the part of the story that Yu Suzuki reffered to as "the sadness", a major turning point in his personal growth. The picture shows the Iron Lion of Cangzhou.

9. Loulan
Oasis city in the Xinjiang desert.

10. Beijing
The final fight with Lan Di?

11. Xinjiang (??)
I assume this should be something like... life goes on after the whole story. Maybe Ryo promised someone to return after he went to Loulan, who knows. I like the idea that the saga might not finish with the final big fight, but in another way, just like Shenmue II didn't end with the Dou Niu fight.
 
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Nice thread. When you say "return" in no. 11, what do you mean? Looks like it's miles away from everything else?

Also, seeing Ryo in the sky like that in no. 11...doesn't it remind you of no. 1, with Iwao in the sky...? Shenhua and Xiuying are looking up...
 
Nice thread. When you say "return" in no. 11, what do you mean? Looks like it's miles away from everything else?

Also, seeing Ryo in the sky like that in no. 11...doesn't it remind you of no. 1, with Iwao in the sky...? Shenhua and Xiuying are looking up...

Well, Ryo moves to Loulan (9), then Beijing (10), then again to Xinjiang (11). And Loulan is in Xinjiang :) if only these pics were included in the future Kickstarter's artbook...
 
Adding a few things...

CI9e1buUEAAOuep.jpg

This was the original image for Niaowu. I think it was Suzuki's idea when he thought about making Shenmue III with just 2 million dollars. It was so tiny... and we know that they made it much bigger thanks to the successful Kickstarter.

CIz_zrVUsAECpaI.jpg

The boat to and from Niaowu. Seeing that it was in the early concepts as well makes me hope that the DLC will be well integrated with the main story :)

CKAv-6BVEAA1mpo.jpg

Geyser in Baisha. Maybe it was just a QTE? The one in green on the right is Ryo. Who might have been the other character?

CJZWg9IUcAANxcI.jpg CJgzsJ6UEAETOOQ.jpg

Hotel Niaowu. Thinking that Yu Suzuki had such a detailed idea before 2015 is incredible :)
 
Adding a few things...

View attachment 6723

This was the original image for Niaowu. I think it was Suzuki's idea when he thought about making Shenmue III with just 2 million dollars. It was so tiny... and we know that they made it much bigger thanks to the successful Kickstarter.

View attachment 6724

The boat to and from Niaowu. Seeing that it was in the early concepts as well makes me hope that the DLC will be well integrated with the main story :)

View attachment 6725

Geyser in Baisha. Maybe it was just a QTE? The one in green on the right is Ryo. Who might have been the other character?

View attachment 6726 View attachment 6727

Hotel Niaowu. Thinking that Yu Suzuki had such a detailed idea before 2015 is incredible :)

Probably a daft question, but when and where are those images from?
 
I would think somewhere in chapters 10 or 11 Lan Di will have a face turn and the big bad will shift to Tentei. Unless somehow Lan Di becomes the leader of the Chiyoumen.

I love talking about these chapter images. So much awesome speculation. Would kill for hi-res versions.
Yeah for me theres no doubt that lan di wont be the big bad guy. i think lan di will be killed and you will be with him and take him away with you once you beat the final boss. shenmue 3 hints so much to this.
 
1577876386539.png
I get so upset evertyime I see this drawing, this is precisely the type of QTE I wanted in Shenmue III. I was under the impression the other character was Shenhua.

The one change that struck me most was in Shenhua's house. The was a woven picture of a location (Name escapes me, sorry) and it was kind of hinting that this would be important, then in the revised version of the room in Shenmue III it was changed... same with that scroll with the dangerous mountain...
 
View attachment 6728
I get so upset evertyime I see this drawing, this is precisely the type of QTE I wanted in Shenmue III. I was under the impression the other character was Shenhua.

The one change that struck me most was in Shenhua's house. The was a woven picture of a location (Name escapes me, sorry) and it was kind of hinting that this would be important, then in the revised version of the room in Shenmue III it was changed... same with that scroll with the dangerous mountain...
The tapestry in her house in II was from Luoyang. She makes reference in III to having vivid dreams about the city where the emperor used to live...
 
In the original prophecy trailer, Shenhua does not appear in the boat scene. Is this merely because the game was still in development and her model hadn't been added to the scene yet? Or was the story changed do you think? Perhaps she was originally kidnapped earlier and this is why her role was reduced drastically in Niaowu with the evening conversations disappearing. I also wonder to what extent the removal of Baisha impacted on the final story.
 
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Hard telling. It could've also been intentionally removed to conceal her traveling to Niaowu, but who knows.
 
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