This is the last part of our 4-part series comparing the 1980s' manga "Kenji" and Shenmue. In this post, we'll translate an interview with one of the developers of the hit arcade game Virtua Fighter, to gain insight into influences in its creation, to understand how the manga may have provided inspiration, and by extension may have helped to shape the game that eventually became Shenmue.
Parts in this Series
- Part One - Unveiling Inspiration: Exploring the Manga 'Kenji' and Shenmue
- Part Two - Character Threads: Themes and Characters in 'Kenji' vs Shenmue
- Part Three - Exploring Parallel Paths: Locations and Scenes in Kenji vs Shenmue
- Part Four (this part) - Insights From a Virtua Fighter Developer
Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter RPG and Shenmue
Soon after the release of the first Virtua Fighter in 1993, Yu Suzuki went on a trip to China, primarily to gather materials for the upcoming Virtua Fighter 2 which was released in 1994.
The following year, in 1995, research and prototyping started for Yu Suzuki's next game project, this time for the home console market. By 1996, a script had been developed for the new project, which was set in China and called Virtua Fighter RPG (VFRPG). It was to have featured characters from the world of Virtua Fighter, with the character of Akira as protagonist.
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| Chapter concept art created for VFRPG |
Shenmue and a 'Kenji' Connection: 4Gamer Interview with Virtua Fighter Developer Seiichi Ishii
While the materials gathered and experiences from Yu Suzuki's trip to China were valuable resources for the development of Shenmue in the 1990s, to what extent might the earlier manga Kenji have had as an inspiration to its creation?
Most published interviews with Yu Suzuki or AM2 developers I found did not carry any mention of Kenji, but more luck was had with an interview with former Virtua Fighter developer Seiichi Ishii, published on the Japanese website 4Gamer in 2017.
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| Seiichi Ishii, designer for Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter, shown here at age 24 after moving from Sega to Namco |
Below are translations of the most relevant parts from this interview.
In a section that introduces Ishii and his hobbies, the article shares his interest in martial arts from childhood, and Kenji is mentioned by name as a manga he read growing up:
Ishii: "My dad did karate, so I've always been interested in martial arts. I did a bit of judo and kendo myself, and I read various manga with fighting scenes like Karate Baka Ichidai [Karate Master], Dragon Ball and Kenji. I think Jackie Chan movies also influenced me.
"Also, I liked watching matches from the fighting organization [Fighting Network] Rings that Naoya Ogawa started, and I think that helped with coming up with ideas and personalities for game characters."
Then, in a section called "Works That Had a Significant Influence on Virtua Fighter", Ishii talks about the impact that Kenji had on Virtua Fighter's development at Sega:
Ishii: "In the development of the prototype, we created motions based on images from manga like Kenji. Doing so allows us to create powerful motions with a strong deformation effect. Even now, when modifying motion capture data for games, expanding the imagination to create motion is something I want aspiring game developers to experience."
Ishii goes on to reveal that he in fact introduced the manga Kenji to Virtua Fighter producer and AM2 head Yu Suzuki:
Ishii: "There were sticky notes all over the Kenji volumes. I strongly recommended it to Yu-san (Yu Suzuki), and I remember introducing it to the staff as reference material".
This sparked great interest in Yu Suzuki:
Ishii: "Yu-san got really into Kenji and even took the volumes that were on the company's bookstand on overseas trips.
"Due to this, Yu-san wanted to give it the title of Virtua Fighter: Bajiquan. If it had been named that way, the game might have had a completely different feel about it".
The Significance of Bajiquan in Kenji and Shenmue
The article notes that Bajiquan is the Chinese martial art that is learned by the protagonist, Kenji Goh, in the manga, and that this is also the style used by Akira Yuki in Virtua Fighter.
This connection was noted in a separate interview in February 2000 with the martial arts advisor for Shenmue, Testuya Hattori, who explained that Akira's Virtua Fighter techniques were adapted for use in Shenmue (link to interview):
"I used Akira's moves in Virtua Fighter as a reference and worked to make the moves and their naming more realistic."
Ishii continues:
Ishii: "Kenji is my favorite manga, and I particularly remember the episode about Li Shuwen (the founder of the Bajiquan school, Li-style Bajiquan) depicted in the extra gaiden chapters.
"After creating Virtua Fighter, I was able to meet a disciple of the person depicted in this episode, which was very moving. They also taught me how different my created motion of Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain (Japanese: 猛虎硬爬山 Mouko Kouhazan) was from the actual technique."
The gaiden chapters of Kenji referred to by Ishii tell the story of Li Shuwen, and in particular describe how he came to acquire his signature move of 'Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain'.
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| Li Shuwen performs 'Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain' on his opponent |
Not only is this move to be found among Akira's move list in Virtua Fighter, but it is also a move that may prove important in the story of Shenmue, being described in the Mysterious Scroll that Ryo finds hidden in the Hazuki Dojo in the first chapter of Shenmue.
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| Mysterious Scroll found by Ryo in Shenmue. The translation from Guizhang describes a tiger "rushing up Moon Mountain". |
Shenmue's martial arts advisor also mentioned this particular move in his 2000 interview, stating that "it will be a little while before we'll be able to use it in-game".
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| Xiuying Hong performs a memorable Bajiquan demonstration in the courtyard of Man Mo Temple. |
Not only does Ryo learn further Bajiquan techniques throughout his journey, but this martial art is tied to one of the central mysteries of the Shenmue story: its birthplace, the village of Meng Cun, is the location where Iwao Hazuki was accused by Lan Di of having caused the death his father. The truth behind this accusation is yet to be revealed.
Final Thoughts
This interview provides some fascinating insight into sources of inspiration and reference for Virtua Fighter, with Kenji notably being among them. Ishii reveals that the manga series was also held in high regard by Yu Suzuki, to the extent that he "even took the volumes that were on the company's bookstand on overseas trips".
With both Kenji and Shenmue covering Chinese martial arts, a certain amount of overlap and similarity is to be expected. Although our focus has been on Kenji, there was also, for example, a manga series called Judo Boy (published 1961-1962), involving a Japanese teenage martial artist who travels the world in search of his father's killer. [Information courtesy of PRS patron Alessandro Schiassi]
However, given the additional backstory provided by the Virtua Fighter designer confirming a connection with Kenji in particular during the development of Virtua Fighter, it is reasonable to conclude that some of the ideas and themes we have looked at in the earlier blog posts arose through inspiration from the Kenji series. Such elements may naturally have helped to shape the Virtua Fighter RPG project, which evolved to become the masterpiece Shenmue.
Personally, I really enjoyed the Kenji manga series and highly recommend giving it a read - it is not only entertaining, but weaves in information about various martial arts styles and historical events. I think it will appeal to many of the same audience as Shenmue. There is an excellent English fan translation available online, which I have linked below. Perhaps it may even hold hints about elements yet to be seen in Shenmue.
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Awesome series of articles and really fascinating to see the similarities between Kenji and Shenmue. Given me a strong desire to read the manga now!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it! It's definitely worth checking out, a fun read and contains a lot of historical references too.
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