1999 Special Report: "Making of Shenmue" | Dreamcast Magazine

In July 1999, Japanese broadcaster NHK BS2 aired the first episode of its new Network Jungle III documentary series. Each installment explored how digital technology was reshaping Japan’s creative industries at the turn of the millennium. Episode One was called A Vision of the Future - A New Digital Era and focused on Sega’s legendary producer Yu Suzuki and his most ambitious project to date.

The NHK production crew followed Suzuki and the AM2 team inside Sega’s development studios over a period of six months, giving an unprecedented look at game creation on a cinematic scale. Viewers saw programmers tweaking lighting and weather systems, motion-capture artists digitizing martial-arts movements, and an orchestra recording the game’s sweeping score. NHK framed it as a glimpse into a new kind of entertainment: part film, part interactive world. The episode’s closing subtitle put it plainly: “A game that plunges you into a world of another dimension.”

Later that year, and still before Shenmue's eventual end-of-year release, the Japanese gaming magazine Dreamcast Magazine published a special feature about the game's development that was closely based on this broadcast.

The Shenmue special feature appears in Vol. 28 of Dreamcast Magazine (September 1999)

In this post, we’ll be sharing a full English translation of that magazine article, together with stills recaptured from the NHK documentary. Together, this will reveal how Shenmue was presented to Japan, as a milestone in digital culture in 1999.

The article translation begins below.

Note: where feasible screenshots have been re-captured directly from the NHK documentary video and other sources, based on those in the original article.

Shenmue logo

Shenmue Chapter One: Yokosuka

● SEGA

● Scheduled for release on October 28, 1999

● Price: 6,800 yen, 3-disc set (4-disc limited first edition)

● Genre: FREE (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment)

Shenmue Part Two (Working Title)

● SEGA

● Release date undecided

● Price: TBD

● Genre: FREE (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment)

"May that sense of wonder stay fresh in your heart forever."
(Image courtesy of the Shenmue Dojo: Shenhua 1999 calendar)

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for April 2026

Every month, Phantom River Stone holds a poll among our patrons to choose a topic for the blog in the coming month. After tallying the votes (including those carried over from previous months), the winning topic this time is:

"The Real 1980s Radio-Cassette Players Behind Shenmue"

One of the most memorable members of the Heavens in Shenmue II is Cool Z, a boombox resting on his shoulder as he sways to a catchy, muffled beat.

The radio-cassette players seen in the first two Shenmue games are highly representative of the kinds of models that were hugely popular in the 1980s. In this post, we'll explore whether there were specific models on which they were based - or, if not, which real models come closest to the designs seen in the games.

Coming soon to the blog!

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Weekly AM2 Volume 15 - Report on Yu Suzuki's Presentation at the Game Developers Conference | 20th March 2000

Vol. 15: 20th March 2000

Hello, this is Takuan.

New content has just been released for Shenmue Passport.

Be sure to check it out… after you finish reading this week’s Weekly AM2, of course.

All right, here we go!

This week's contents:

• “Total Net Ranking” Opens on Shenmue Passport!
• GDC Report from the U.S.A
• Announcement: Japan Game Awards Results
• Masaya Matsukaze’s Advice Corner
• ‘Shenmue Chapter One: Yokosuka - Original Soundtrack’ finally hits store shelves!
• Tokyo Game Show 2000 Spring Information
• i-mode Image Service #4, Now with Color Support

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“Bye-bye, Boy.” | Cathy Wilkins’ Japanese Dialogue in Shenmue

One of the foreign NPCs Ryo can encounter around Dobuita is a woman named Cathy Wilkins. According to her official character profile, she is actually a military police officer attached to Yokosuka's U.S. Seventh Fleet, stationed here to help keep an eye on the drunken sailors who frequent the area.

Cathy Wilkins

Unaware of her mission, Ryo finds that any attempt he makes to strike up a conversation with her tends to end quickly.

Each time Ryo approaches Cathy, she responds with one of several possible lines, followed by a farewell phrase, both selected at random.

Let’s take a closer look at the original Japanese lines.

This post topic was a suggestion by Wandering Through Shenmue!

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for March 2026

Every month Phantom River Stone holds a poll among our patrons to choose a topic for the blog in the coming month. After tallying the votes (including accumulated votes from previous months), the winning topic this time is:

"Shenmue II pre-release interview with the Japanese voice actors for Ryo, Ren and Shenhua"

Originally published in the June 22, 2001 issue of the Japanese magazine DoriMaga, this interview features Masaya Matsukaze (Ryo Hazuki), Hazuki Ishigaki (Shenhua), and Takumi Hagiwara (Ren) reflecting on three years of recording, memorable scenes from development, and their expectations just before the release of Shenmue II.

Coming soon to the blog!

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Shenmue Sacred Spot Guide Maps - All Editions Download Page

The Shenmue Sacred Spot Guide Map is a multi-page tourist pamphlet highlighting locations of interest to Shenmue fans around Yokosuka, created through a collaborative effort between Yokosuka City and SEGA. First released at the end of 2017, the map impressed fans with its high-quality and thoughtful detail, and has since seen several new editions - each tied to different milestones in Shenmue’s journey.

Over the years, three main versions of the map have been produced: the Original (2017), the Shenmue I & II edition (2018), and the Shenmue the Animation edition (2022 JP / 2024 EN). Each version has been available in both Japanese and English, offering fans worldwide the chance to explore Shenmue’s real-world setting.

In this post, we’ll tie all the versions together with an overview of how each edition differs - and supply PDF download links for each version in one handy place.

The Origins: The First Sacred Spot Guide Map (2017)

Original version cover (Japanese)

The very first Sacred Spot Guide Map appeared at the end of 2017, launched as part of the “Yokosuka City × Shenmue Project” promotion. It marked the beginning of a unique collaboration between SEGA and the city of Yokosuka, designed to promote local tourism while celebrating the cultural footprint of Shenmue.

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for February 2026

Every month Phantom River Stone holds a poll among our patrons to choose a topic for the blog in the coming month. After tallying the votes (including accumulated votes from previous months), the winning topic that has been voted this time is:

"The 11 Chapter Tiles (GDC 2014) - Analysis & Community Theories"

In 2014, during Yu Suzuki’s talk on Shenmue’s development at the Game Developers Conference, he introduced a slide of Chapter Concept Art with a simple remark:

“This is the first time I’m showing anyone this stuff.”

The slide showed 11 illustrated panels, each representing a chapter from an early, pre-Shenmue version of the saga. Created during a formative planning stage, the artwork was intended to visualize the story as a whole, capturing characters, locations, and major plot points. Some of these would later appear in recognizable form in the games released so far, while others remain unaccounted for at present.

Although high-resolution versions are currently available for only the first seven illustrations, the set as a whole offers a window into the project’s original ambitions and planned events. In our upcoming article, we’ll take a closer look at all 11 chapter tiles, identifying familiar faces and settings and drawing connections to material already seen in the released games and to chapters that remain entirely unseen. As we examine each chapter tile, we’ll also consider some of the interpretations and theories that have emerged within the Shenmue community over the years, including what may lie ahead in the story.

Coming soon to the blog!

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Masaya Matsukaze on Shenmue the Animation - Mini Interview [May 2022]

In this post, we translate a short 2022 interview that was held with Masaya Matsukaze, who voiced the protagonist Ryo Hazuki in Japanese in all Shenmue games, about his involvement in the Shenmue the Animation anime adaptation. The interview was conducted during the period of the anime’s broadcast in Japan.

Matsukaze also shares memories from the recording booth and offers insight into why even the smallest details in Shenmue continue to resonate decades later.

The translation begins below.

Originally released in 1999 on SEGA’s home console, the Dreamcast, Shenmue is a legendary action-adventure game that has influenced countless titles since.

Now, the anime adaptation Shenmue the Animation has been streaming across various platforms since April 2022, and as of May, has also begun airing on TOKYO MX [TV station].

We’ve obtained an official interview with Masaya Matsukaze, who plays the lead role of Ryo Hazuki. In it, he talks in depth about the anime adaptation, describing it as proof that “the miracle isn’t over yet.” He shares his impressions from the voice recording sessions, his thoughts after watching the finished episodes, and what continues to make the world of Shenmue, including the original game, so captivating.

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