The story of Shenmue, which begins in 1986, centers on a young man named Ryo Hazuki (芭月 涼 Hazuki Ryō). Ryo returns home one day just in time to witness his father's killing at the hands of a man named Lan Di. Both Lan Di and Ryo's father, Iwao Hazuki, are martial arts experts, but Iwao is no match for Lan Di's abilities. Lan Di enigmatically asks for "the mirror," and Iwao, unable to feign ignorance, reveals that it is buried underneath his sakura tree. Land Di finds the mirror and examines the decoration of a dragon, after killing Iwao. Ryo feels the need to avenge his father's death, even though he has no idea who Lan Di is or why his father was killed.
Ryo's first clue is a car that some of his neighbors saw on the day of the murder. Though his leads are few and far between, Ryo slowly makes progress in his investigation by interviewing people all over Yokosuka. Just as he is about to run out of leads, a letter from a man named Yuanda Zhu suggests that he seek the aid of a certain Master Chen, who works at the harbor. Through Chen and his son Guizhang, Ryo learns that a local wharf gang known as the Mad Angels is connected to Lan Di's crime organization, the Chiyoumen. Ryo also learns that "the mirror" stolen by Lan Di is part of a set of two mirrors. After much investigation, he locates the second mirror underneath his father's dojo. This mirror is decorated with a phoenix.
Ryo takes a job on the waterfront in order to learn more about the Mad Angels gang, and eventually he causes them enough trouble that the gang kidnaps his friend (and principle love interest) Nozomi Harasaki. To rescue Nozomi, Ryo must first fight Guizhang, then team up with Guizhang to defeat all seventy members of the Mad Angels gang. Upon defeat, the gang's leader reveals to Ryo that Lan Di has left Japan for Hong Kong. With the aid of the Chen family as well as his family and friends, Ryo boards a boat to Hong Kong. Before the close of the first chapter (and subsequent end of the game itself), he is instructed by Master Chen to seek out the help of a master of the Chinese martial arts located in Wan Chai named Lishao Tao. Concluding the first chapter of Shenmue, Ryo boards a boat and travels to Hong Kong in pursuit of Lan Di.
Continuing the story...
Shenmue II takes place in four main areas – Aberdeen, Wan Chai, Kowloon Walled City, and Guilin. The story continues the quest of the 18-year-old martial artist Ryo Hazuki to hunt down Lan Di, the mysterious Chinese man who murdered his father and stole a strange mirror with a dragon design.
Early on, Ryo's main goal is to locate and learn from Master Lishao Tao who will be able to help him find Yuanda Zhu, as he was instructed to do so at the close of the first installment. Yuanda Zhu, according to Master Chen, can help Ryo find Lan Di. In the midst of uncovering clues to Tao's whereabouts, he inadvertently becomes involved with the inner workings of Aberdeen and discovers the existence of a gang known as The Heavens.
Ryo meets Lishao Tao who happens to be a woman named Xiuying. She lets Ryo stay with her and teaches him a great deal about martial arts and about himself. She tries to show him that he has no chance against Lan Di and that his quest is bound to lead him down an evil path.
Lishao Tao is unwilling to aid Ryo in his search for Yuanda Zhu and so Ryo works on his own to find him. She does however, keep somewhat of a watchful eye over Ryo. Ryo soon discovers that the only person who is aware of Zhu's location is the leader of The Heavens, Wuying Ren (who is commonly referred to as Ren throughout). With the help of Joy and Wong, Ryo is able to locate the base where The Heavens operate from and soon meets with Ren. However, Ren initially sets out to pull con after con on Ryo until Ryo finally confronts him during a hectic chase that culminates in the revelation of the existence of the phoenix mirror to Ren and Ren seizing the opportunity he believes it holds to help Ryo in exchange for whatever amount of money that might be involved.
Shortly after that, Ryo meets again with Ren in Kowloon and begins his quest to pinpoint the location of Yuanda Zhu. Throughout the course of this, he (and Ren) discover that they are not the only people searching for Zhu and they soon discover that Dou Niu, the leader of a gang known as The Yellowheads (which, fittingly, are the rivals to Ren's own gang) and his partner, a woman called Yuan, are also hunting Zhu down in an effort to turn the man over into Lan Di's custody.
After acquiring a number of clues, Ryo finally makes his way to a seemingly abandoned building in a section of Kowloon. There he finally sees Yuanda Zhu but his meeting is cut short when Dou Niu, Yuan and a number of the members of The Yellowheads appear behind him. In the midst of an ensuing battle that forces Ryo out of the building, The Yellowheads kidnap Zhu and lock him up in their headquarters while they wait for the arrival of Lan Di.
Ryo, with the help of Ren (and later Wong and Joy), then makes a last gambit to rescue Zhu from his captors. Together, he and Ren storm the Yellowhead headquarters, often getting separated from each other in the process. During a notable sequence of events, Ryo is led to an underground elevator and fighting arena where he discovers that Joy has been taken hostage by thugs and a powerful martial artist named Baihu. He engages him in combat under the agreement that if he wins, Joy is to be set free.
Beyond that, Ryo (with Joy in tow) soon comes to the building where Dou Niu (along with Zhu and Wong - Wong who had been captured along with Joy but separated for undisclosed reasons) are positioned atop the roof (this takes place on the highest building in Kowloon). Once Ryo reaches the roof he is rejoined by Ren and while there he notices Lan Di hovering above on a rope ladder dangling from a helicopter.
Despite the momentary distraction, Ryo then engages Dou Niu in battle for the final time. In the aftermath, he is able to save Zhu from the clutches of Lan Di but he is unable to stop Lan Di from fleeing the area. Shortly thereafter, Ryo and Zhu discuss many things while in Ren's hideout near the outskirts of Kowloon.
Zhu reveals the real name of Lan Di (Longsun Zhao) and the purpose behind the two mirrors depicting the phoenix and the dragon, in which they reveal the location of a treasure that is destined to lead to the resurrection of the Qing Dynasty. Zhu tells Ryo that he would be better off looking for information in Bailu Village in Guilin. Ryo though is more interested in the region because he is told that Lan Di is headed there. At the end of the scene it appears that Ren intends to follow along on Ryo's quest though he does not depart with him.
The game comes to an ambiguous close shortly after Ryo reaches Guilin and encounters a young woman named Ling Shenhua, an inhabitant of Bailu Village (who he had only seen in the previous installment through dream sequences), and it is here that it is revealed that the title "Shenmue" refers to an ancient tree. Shenhua leads Ryo to her home on the village outskirts and upon arrival Ryo discovers that her family has some sort of connection with the mirrors. They travel to the stone quarry her father works in to find it completely abandoned. There is a cryptic note and a strange sword there. Using the sword and the mirror Ryo sets off a device revealing a massive depiction of the two mirrors. Near the end of the game things start to change with Shenhua seeming to have somewhat supernatural powers and the device in the caves causing the sword of the seven stars to float.
The game ends on this cliffhanger saying that the saga will continue.
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