BalHan wrote: I love the Shenmue games, my favourite games of all time, but I've noticed what I think are contradictions in both games and I would appreciate it if someone could shed some light on them for me.
1. In Shenmue 1, Master Chen says Iwao and Yuanda Zhu brought back a mirror from China. However, in Shenmue 2, Yuanda Zhu says Iwao alone brought both mirrors back.
2. In Shenmue 1, Ryo says, with resignation, 'I can't believe my father killed someone'. However, in Shenmue 2, when told by Yuanda Zhu that Iwao killed Lan Di's father, he reacts with horror.
3. In Shenmue 1, Chai tells Ryo that Lan Di hates Yuanda Zhu. However, in Shenmue 2, when Lan Di is on the ladder of the helicopter and has the chance to kidnap Yuanda Zhu, he doesn't. This, perhaps, is not a contradiction but a seeming hole in the story.
There may be others that I can't think of right now but I will post them if I think of them.
PS: If there is already a thread on this, could a member kindly post a link?
I think at least two of these errors sit squarely in the lap of poor translation, as is quite common in
Shenmue (e.g., Master Chen refers to Lan Di as
the leader of the Chi You Men, when he is, in reality,
one of four leaders), but, not being anywhere near competent enough a translator, I'll offer my own views to each of your concerns:
1) It's possible Zhu helped Iwao get the Mirrors out of China, or, at the very least, was something of a confidant to Iwao during this time of strife, which was never fully explained, hence the contradiction presented by Master Chen and Zhu himself
2) This one
really seems like a translation error with little-to-no other explanation. In
Shenmue, when Ryo states, "I can't believe my father killed someone," it strikes me as being said in complete disbelief - a more appropriate line would have been something along the lines of "My father never killed anyone. I will never believe it" - as opposed to the implied begrudging acceptance, so when it is confirmed in
Shenmue II that Iwao did, in fact, kill Lan Di's father, Ryo acts on that disbelief; that the man he held so much respect for could be capable of murder
3) Zhu is very important to Lan Di, but it's possible the latter, upon seeing Ryo on the rooftop of the Yellow Head Building, realised Ryo would go to the ends of the earth to pursue him, so instead turns his attention to him as a pawn. Had Lan Di managed to kidnap Zhu, chances are he would have tortured him for information. But what if Zhu didn't break under torture and spill the beans? Lan Di would have been stuck, and his next moves would become muddied and unclear. Leaving Zhu with Ryo, however, means the former would be almost guaranteed to divulge the information, therefore turning Ryo into an asset. Lan Di might have predicted that Zhu would tell Ryo to go to Bailu Village, as that's where Lan Di is heading, so all he has to do is bide his time, wait, and keep a watchful eye on Ryo
What do you think, dude?