- Joined
- Jul 31, 2018
So this has been touched on in a couple of places, but I wanted to dedicate a topic to what we learned about WHEN the mirrors were created in Shenmue 3, and harken back to a conversation with Shenhua from Shenmue 2 that I remembered (when awkward jump cuts didn't threaten your sanity while talking to her)
Clearly the prophecy - which is still part of the canon - references a destiny predetermined since "ancient" times. I was rather surprised when it was revealed in Shenmue 3 that the emporer had the mirrors created in 1910, as I'm sure others were too. And a conversation Ryo has on Cloud Bird Trail with Shenhua clearly states there is a legend in Bailu that an ancient emperor had mirrors made and many lives were lost as people fought over its power. Link and conversation below:
To me, the mystery and intrigue behind the mirrors feels more appropriate if these were ancient artifacts - whether or not their ultimate function is simply unlocking a monetary treasure, or something more supernatural (we now have pretty conflicting tidbits from three different games in regards to the purpose of the mirrors), they always seemed mysterious because they were made long, long ago.
But in Shenmue 3, the mirrors were revealed to have been created in 1910. This time frame DOES coincide with the end of the Qing Dynasty, which wasn't referenced in Shenmue 3 was but WAS referenced by Yuanda Zhu in Shenmue 2. So, the fact the mirrors were created recently might not be a retcon, as those two facts do line up.
If that's the case, should we disregard this legend of Bailu regarding ancient mirrors that I've quoted above? No such legend was mentioned in Shenmue 3 - frustratingly enough, Shenhua knew about this legend regarding a mirror made from ANCIENT times at the end of Shenmue 2, but in Shenmue 3 she knows nothing about the mirrors that were made as recently as 70 years ago (in fact, no one seems to realize the envoy in 1910 and the mirrors that were created were significant details. If it was such a big deal for the imperial envoy to visit the city, that a special bridge was built, why was the actual reason for their visit forgotten by everyone except Sun and Yeh?)
The other possibility exists that there is a parallel event from more ancient times that ties into the relatively recent event of creating the mirrors. Shenhua's mysterious origin and link to her ancestors was directly referenced in Shenmue 3 and she alludes to a feeling that she has had hundreds of birthdays - I do not think that this link she has to her past only goes back so far as 1910.
Again it may be useless discussing this since the discontinuity between games probably doesn't have a logical answer and can be chalked up to bad storytelling or retcons, but you would think something like the origin of the Mirrors would not have changed over the years.
Clearly the prophecy - which is still part of the canon - references a destiny predetermined since "ancient" times. I was rather surprised when it was revealed in Shenmue 3 that the emporer had the mirrors created in 1910, as I'm sure others were too. And a conversation Ryo has on Cloud Bird Trail with Shenhua clearly states there is a legend in Bailu that an ancient emperor had mirrors made and many lives were lost as people fought over its power. Link and conversation below:
To me, the mystery and intrigue behind the mirrors feels more appropriate if these were ancient artifacts - whether or not their ultimate function is simply unlocking a monetary treasure, or something more supernatural (we now have pretty conflicting tidbits from three different games in regards to the purpose of the mirrors), they always seemed mysterious because they were made long, long ago.
But in Shenmue 3, the mirrors were revealed to have been created in 1910. This time frame DOES coincide with the end of the Qing Dynasty, which wasn't referenced in Shenmue 3 was but WAS referenced by Yuanda Zhu in Shenmue 2. So, the fact the mirrors were created recently might not be a retcon, as those two facts do line up.
If that's the case, should we disregard this legend of Bailu regarding ancient mirrors that I've quoted above? No such legend was mentioned in Shenmue 3 - frustratingly enough, Shenhua knew about this legend regarding a mirror made from ANCIENT times at the end of Shenmue 2, but in Shenmue 3 she knows nothing about the mirrors that were made as recently as 70 years ago (in fact, no one seems to realize the envoy in 1910 and the mirrors that were created were significant details. If it was such a big deal for the imperial envoy to visit the city, that a special bridge was built, why was the actual reason for their visit forgotten by everyone except Sun and Yeh?)
The other possibility exists that there is a parallel event from more ancient times that ties into the relatively recent event of creating the mirrors. Shenhua's mysterious origin and link to her ancestors was directly referenced in Shenmue 3 and she alludes to a feeling that she has had hundreds of birthdays - I do not think that this link she has to her past only goes back so far as 1910.
Again it may be useless discussing this since the discontinuity between games probably doesn't have a logical answer and can be chalked up to bad storytelling or retcons, but you would think something like the origin of the Mirrors would not have changed over the years.
