In the past we have analyzed a number of memorable English translations from Shenmue that have tickled the funny bones of fans everywhere, including the classic "Let's Get Sweaty" and of course "Especially since you bought merchandise" which requires a mini lesson in Japanese grammar to unravel!
Thursday, July 20, 2023
"Years ago... I was Chinese" | Translation Analysis
Categories: Patrons' Choice , Say What? , Shenmue Premiere , Translations , Videos 4 comments:
Sunday, July 16, 2023
Joe & George Kitchen's Magical Fan-made Videos
A hilarious skateboard scene from Episode 7 of the Shenmue Short Stories video series |
Anyone who has not yet discovered the collection of fan-made Shenmue videos created by Joe and George Kitchen... you've been missing out on a fantastic experience.
It is truly mesmerizing to see Shenmue's world in such beauty, with a cinematic presentation that pulls the viewer into the stories being told. Joe has hand-crafted the graphics and animations for each video over the course of weeks, months - even years before each video's release. From a technical standpoint, the scenes aren't running on the Shenmue engine, but were built inside animation software from the original assets. The result is just as convincing as if they were part of the original games.
Characters are fully animated and interact within meticulously-recreated environments enhanced with a multitude of stunning visual effects: blossom petals drift down from cherry trees, puddles still glistening from recent rain reflect the surroundings; mist swirls on a mountain road in the evening; clouds gradually change shape as the sun sets behind distant mountains; Christmas lights strung along house roofs softly illuminate a wintry night.
Entirely new environments that weren't present in the original games have been expertly imagined and crafted to the point of being indistinguishable from those of the original games: office and bedroom interiors, mountain cliffs and even the interior of a train.
Making the videos even more special are the gorgeous original musical compositions. Each music piece could easily be mistaken for an official Shenmue track, and they have been written with such detailed attention that the brothers even located and obtained the actual musical instruments and synthesized sounds. The music consists of compositions by both Joe and George.
Some videos bring officially-unused models to life, such as Master Yunhai from Shenmue II's cut Miao Village storyline |
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Interview with Shenmue Sound Director: Takenobu Mitsuyoshi | Dreamcast Magazine (Dec '99)
In the December 24th 1999 edition of the Japanese Dreamcast magazine, two short yet insightful developer interviews were published as part of a 16-page special feature about Shenmue to generate excitement for the game's upcoming release. The interviews themselves took place approximately three weeks before the release of Shenmue in Japan.
This post is a translation of the interview with Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Shenmue's Sound Director.
The article translation begins below.
Interview with Sound Director - Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
Shenmue's Sound Director, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi |
"Yu Suzuki kept nagging us: the music during the game needs to be there, but mustn't draw attention to itself. For people like us who had previously created ordinary game music, finding the right balance was extremely difficult, and it gave us a hard time." - Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
[Screenshot from Shenmue I & II release] |
[Screenshot from Shenmue I & II release] |
Takenobu Mitsuyoshi |
Categories: Articles & Interviews , Takenobu Mitsuyoshi , Translations 2 comments:
Monday, July 10, 2023
Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for July 2023
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:
"Unlocking the Mystery: The Significance of Two Letters"