Walkthrough: Part One - Shenmue II Guide - IGN (2025)

Walkthrough: Part One

Aberdeen & Wan Chai

Note: Before you start, if you haven't played the original Shenmue or just want a refresher of the storyline watch the included Shenmue The Movie DVD or just read IGN Xbox's Previously on Shenmue article. Those will fill you in on what's happened up until this point in the game.

Welcome to Hong Kong! As soon as you step off the boat Ryo will read the letter given to him by Master Chen at the end of the first game which tells him to seek a man named Lishao Tao at the Yan Tin Apartments, South Carmain Qr, Wan Chai. I guess we'd better get moving. Walk forward to trigger a cut-scene with some musicians. You'll be given the opportunity to give them $100 to bring yourself luck - you don't have to but if you do the woman will point you in the direction of Wan Chai. Continue in the only direction you can go until you come to the annoying tour guides and photographer, after they have gone a woman with a child will show you an inn where you can stay for free if you want to (when she thanks you for helping the girl this is a reference to something that happened in the Shenmue comic strip at Shenmue.com). Go to the map dispenser outside the inn and buy a map ($10). If you go into the inn you'll find a forklift toy at the back in the drawer, a winning can on the shelf, and the flier for the Honest Pawnshop. You don't need to do anything else here so you're free to leave.

Walk past the fortune teller outside and onto the next section of Worker's Pier. As you walk forward you'll be offered an arm wrestling match against a big Mexican, Jimenez Garcia. Accept the offer as not only can you win $100 or more easily, you'll also get given directions towards Wan Chai. To arm wrestle him bash the A button and be ready to press left or right in a QTE until you can get his hand down. If you play a second time it will be tougher but you can win more. When you've finished here carry on towards Wan Chai to meet up with Joy, one of the main characters in the game. When she's finished with you go towards the big fountain (Pigeon Park) and on the way you might want to spend some money on lighters and stuff on the stalls along the waterfront *hint hint*

***BEGIN SPOILER*** (Highlight text below to read spoiler).

Ryo is about to be mugged and have all his money stolen so spend it all on lighters. You can buy them for $50 each and sell them in pawn shops for $20 each meaning you'll retain 40% of your lost money.

***END SPOILER***

Walk across Pigeon Park until you get to the far side of the fountain. Follow the signs to Wan Chai until you get a cut-scene - your first encounter with the Heavens gang. After they've finished their little trick with you carry on the way you were going onto Queen's Street and look for a couple of drunken guys in an open-air cafe on your left. Walk up to them to trigger a cut-scene in which Joy will come to your rescue. She'll tell you that Wong, the boy who took your bag, can be found playing in Pigeon Park. Go to the waterfront side of the fountain and you'll see Wong, initiating your first proper QTE. The combination is:

A, LEFT, RIGHT, A, B, LEFT, LEFT, RIGHT, A, RIGHT, DOWN, A

If you mess up read the following section, if you succeeded you'll have to free battle two Heavens, then you can skip ahead.

Go to the Lai Lai Eatery, the restaurant you ran through during the QTE. Talk to the woman in green and she'll tell you to find Wong around the corner. Go there to find him and trigger another QTE.

If you fail this one as well go to the Lai Lai Eatery again where you can free battle with two Heavens, beat them and Wong will appear, if you lose go to the fountain and fight again.

Wong will take you to your bag and return it to you. The Phoenix Mirror is still in there, but all of your money has disappeared - the Heavens gambled it away. To make up for the money he'll tell you about the Come Over Guest House in Wan Chai where you can find help, and will draw you a map to it. Go back to Queen's Street and across the bridge at the far end to get to Wan Chai.

Walk through the first district of Wan Chai, Green Market Qr. When you get to a certain point Joy will catch up with you and tell you how to get a discount at the Guest House as she knows the owner. In fact she knows a lot of the people around Hong Kong. Follow Wong's little map until you find the Guest House and go in to get a room where you'll be able to stay for the time being - room 203. Go up there and put Ryo's bag in the closet, now if there's some time left in the day you can go for a look around town, but if not just go to bed because you'll have to go to work in the morning with Joy.

The next day Ryo's alarm will wake you up at 7:45am and Joy will arrive to help you get a job. She takes you to Fortune's Pier near where you first met her so that you can carry crates. I see the horror in the eyes of all of you that played the original but don't worry, after this time you don't have to do it again. Listen to your partner's instructions and press the relevant direction until you get the crates to the far side of the warehouse. Obviously dropping crates will slow you down and you only have until 1:00pm to carry them. You'll get $10 per crate for every one that you pick up so you don't have to actually get them all the way across to get paid. When you're finished head back through Pigeon Park on the way to Wan Chai and you'll meet up with that annoying photographer you met at the beginning of the game, so just watch the cut-scene and you'll get a free photo of Ryo and Joy together. Now head to Wan Chai.

In Green Market Qr walk through it as if you were heading to the guest house but when you come to a T junction where you'd normally turn left go right instead. You should see some steps leading into the next district of Wan Chai ahead of you. Go up them and into South Carmain Qr. Pick up a map from the nearest map dispenser (get into the habit of doing this whenever you enter a new district) and go into the park with the big red tree, Lotus Park. You'll meet the old Tai Chi master Jianmin who will show you where to find Yan Tin Apartments if you spar with him. He's faster than he looks, but when you're finished go the way he showed you - right at the fork outside Lotus Park. Walk on until Ryo spots Yan Tin Apartments and pauses outside, then go in. Inside you'll meet up with an old woman who thinks you're a land shark trying to move her out. Ryo will find out that Lishao Tao lives in room #205. Go up the stairs and find the room.

Knock on the door and a guy will tell you that Lishao Tao has moved out but he'll tell you where if you cross his palm with silver. Give him $50 if you have it and he'll tell you that you can find Tao at the "Man Mo Something" in the nearby Wise Man's Qr. Leave the apartments and follow the signs to Wise Man's Qr or ask for directions.

When you get to Wise Man's Qr follow the signs to the district called Scarlet Hills. It's very easy to spot when you find it as there is a huge staircase to go up and it's dominated by the Man Mo Temple. This is the "Man Mo Something" that the guy in the apartment was referring to. Go into it and you'll meet Hanhui and Xiuying. Hanhui says that he'll take you to Tao if you know about the Four Wude, but first you'll have to find out what the hell he's talking about. If you head back to Wise Man's Qr Xiuying will give you a little bit of help by telling you to ask a martial artist. Conveniently there's a martial arts shop (Wise Man's Kung Fu) down the street from the steps to Scarlet Hills, so you should go and ask the owner about Wude. He'll tell you to talk to Master Zhoushan at the Guang Martial Arts School in Green Market Qr. You would have gone past it on your way to South Carmain Qr so go back the way you came and as you enter Green Market Qr from South Carmain Qr it will be the courtyard with all the people training on the right. Go in.

Master Zhoushan is the old man on the raised platform, go and talk to him about Wude and he'll tell you that he has no right to talk about Wude after he ruined another man's life. Looks like you're going to have to sort out this little problem, so you'll need to go to Golden Qr and find the former pupil who is now a street performer. If you head back to the Come Over Guest House Golden Qr is a bit further past it.

Walk along Golden Qr until you come to the mall. It's the big building that has smaller streets running around the outside of it. Go inside and walk up the homeless guy on the right. He's your street performer but he won't help you unless you help him out first - you'll have to break a rock with your bare hands as part of his show. When Ryo is holding the rock and you have the power bar press A when it is full and again when it fills again. If you do it right you'll smash the rock, impressing the watching crowd. Impressed, the street performer will introduce himself as Zongquan and will give you a letter to take back to Zhoushan. Deliver it and Zhoushan will tell you that Zongquan broke the first Wude by becoming a street performer - JIE, never show off your skills thoughtlessly. Talk to Zhoushan about Wude again and he'll tell you to go see Jianmin in Lotus Park.

Head to Lotus Park and talk to Jianmin who will offer to teach you a new move called the Tai Chi Iron Palm, the combination for which is X+A. Perform the move and he'll offer to tell you the second Wude if you can do it on the tree until the leaves cover the ground. Keep at it until you're finished and he'll tell you the second Wude - GON, practice every day without fail. Why can't these martial artists just tell you all the Wude? Go and ask Zhoushan about martial artists again and he'll tell you about someone called Zhangyu who owns a barbers shop in Three Blades Street, Lucky Charm Qr. The Three Blades should be familiar to anyone who played Shenmue.

Find Lucky Charm Qr (you can get to it through Golden Qr) and Three Blades Street which is marked by a huge sign so it's hard to miss and enter Zhangyu Barber's. Zhangyu says that he'll tell you the third Wude if you let him trim your hair. He'll tell you not to move no matter what, then put a razor to Ryo's throat. A QTE will start but DO NOT PRESS ANYTHING. He's testing your cool and if you pass he'll tell you the third Wude - DAN judge with a clear mind. He'll then tell you to drop in on the Bloom Tailor down the street where martial artists get their clothes made. They can probably help you track down someone who'll tell you the fourth Wude. Go there and the owner will tell you about Guixhang who lives at Yan Tin Apartments. Head to South Carmain Qr.

Go to Yan Tin Apartments and you'll find the old woman who thought you were a land shark being pestered by the real land sharks. Ryo will intervene and you'll free battle them in the construction site. Kick their asses and the old woman will reveal herself to be Guixhang! She remembers that the last Wude is do not hesitate to do the right thing but can't remember the name. Don't worry, Master Mo at the Man Mo Temple will know. Go there but when you arrive the guy at the door won't let you in. Keep pestering him and when the option to negotiate or break in appears choose to break in. When the guy's attention is diverted go through the door and then inside offer to clean the soot off the walls. Go and wipe the wall to the left of the main altar on the wall opposite the door and you'll find the symbol for the fourth Wude - YI. Xiuying and Hanhui will appear and as promised you'll be introduced to Lishao Tao...it's Xiuying!

Go outside and fight her, or rather don't. You won't be able to hit her and eventually she'll overpower you and give you a map to her apartment where you'll be staying now. Either follow the map or follow Xiuying to her apartment at Da Yuan Apartments and approach Xiuying when she stops at the door. Follow her upstairs and you'll reach her apartment where you'll be staying now.

The next day when you wake up you'll get to meet another one of the main characters, Fangmei. She'll take you to the Man Mo Temple where you'll have to help air out the books from the library in exchange for Xiuying's hospitality. You have to carry stacks of books outside whilst trying not to go too fast and drop them. Pick up a pile with A and use the right trigger to walk or run (depending on how hard you press it), but the faster you go the more often you have to perform QTEs to avoid dropping them. When you finish you'll get a cut-scene with Xiuying if you manage to finish the task, and whether you do or not Hanhui will give you a move scroll for your hard work. Look at it in your inventory to read it and learn the move.

When you've finished at the temple you won't be able to leave Wise Man's Qr until you've dug up some details on Yuanda Zhu. You might as well start nearby so ask the old woman at the bottom of the steps to Scarlet Hills in front of the antique shop about Zhu. She says that he founded a company called the Five Star Corp and wrote a martial arts book called the Wulinshu. Apparently the Wise Man's Kung Fu shop has a copy so go and check it out. Ask the owner about it and he'll say that the only copy around is kept at the Man Mo Temple Library. The problem is that the library will be closed by now so go there and choose to wait until tomorrow (I bet you wish Shenmue had that feature!). Air out the books again and Hanhui will teach you the Lunging Strike move (forward+X+A), then go into the Library when you're finished. In the rear left corner there is a locked cabinet with the Wulinshu inside but it's locked tightly.

Head towards the front of the Temple and Xiuying will arrive. Ryo's mind is too bent on revenge at the moment so she won't let you have the key until you've proven that your mind is clear. Copy what she does and catch a leaf - follow one down and when you hear a chime press A to catch it. When you've done it once Xiuying is not convinced and will ask you to do it three times in a row. Do what you did before, but if you miss once you'll have to start the three again. When you finally manage to do it she'll give in and give you the key. Go and get the book and Ryo will look through it to find a scrap of paper as well as some information on the man that Lan Di said Ryo's father killed at the beginning of the first game. There's nothing else you can do today so just head back to the apartment for a cut-scene. Look at the photograph that Xiuying drops and go to bed.

The next day after Fangmei gives you some information on who Ziming in that photo was and you've done your book duties take the paper that fell out of the Wulinshu to Collect Antiques in Wise Man's Qr. The owner will explain to you that it's a Chawan sign used by martial artists to communicate. Take it to Guixhang at Yan Tin Apartments and she'll give you a demonstration of how it works - arrange the cups into the positions shown on the paper. Maybe this will let you get in touch with Yuanda Zhu...

Go to Wise Man's Qr and find the Man Mo Bistro next to the park. Go inside and you'll find four cups on a table, so arrange them into Zhu's Chawan sign. You'll be told to wait at the Come Over Guest House so go there through South Carmain Qr and on the way Zhoushan will teach you the Wild Throw (B+direction). Follow his instructions to learn it and then continue to the Guest House.

When you get there go in and wait until 7:00pm when you'll receive a phone call telling you to go to Man Mo Park. It's right next to the Man Mo Bistro where you were earlier so make your way there. There will be a thug hiding in the shadows under the tree but be wary because you'll be attacked from behind and will have to press right in a QTE then free battle two of them. Together they're pretty tough as they can surround you but if you can seperate them and take them on one at a time it's easy. Beat them and they'll reveal that they're looking for Zhu and he makes contact with people at the Dou Jiang Diner in Lucky Charm Qr. Go there and find the Diner (ask for directions if you're lost) and do the Chawan sign at the table. Someone will drop off a note with instructions to be at the Diner at 8:00pm. You can choose to wait if you don't have anything to do in the meantime, but at 8:00 you'll meet an associate of Zhu's. Before anything can happen a group of thugs will crash the party and you'll have to free battle them.

Your efforts have been in vain though as the associate has disappeared, taken by black-suited men. To get him back you'll have to fight in one of the biggest QTEs in the game. Enjoy it! The combination is:B, A, A, A, B, X

Then you'll have a command QTE - down, down, X - followed by the rest of the main QTE:B, A, B, B, B, A, B, A, X, A, B, X

Finally to finish it off you'll be introduced to Yuan with a command QTE - DOWN, RIGHT, A

Now that you have time to relax the associate (named Zhang) will tell you some plot revelations regarding Zhu, the Chiyoumen, and another crime syndicate called Yellow Head. Looks like you're going to have to find Ren, leader of the Heavens gang in Aberdeen. It's too late to do anything now so you'll have to wait until the next day.

Today there will be some construction work going on in Wise Man's Qr so you'll have to take a detour through Lucky Charm Qr. On the way you'll get a cut-scene with Joy and then you should head back to Aberdeen. Walk along Queen's Street and when you turn the corner onto Worker's Pier you should see a couple of boat captains talking. Ask the left one about the Heavens and he'll tell you about their base in Beverly Hill Wharf which is conveniently right around the corner down the alley next to them. Go there and try to get in past the guard. He won't let you in but that's never stopped you before has it? We'll just have to be a little more creative.

Go to Fortune's Pier and go around to the right and up the red metal staircase. At the top is the Blue Sky Beer Garden - go in, along the corridor, and onto the balcony. Talk to the girl who works there behind the counter to the right as you go out. She'll tell you that the guy playing darts hangs around with Heavens members so agree to play darts against him. Whether you win or not he likes you so he'll tell you to go to Warehouse 8 at 7:00pm. Go down the stairs and choose to wait at Warehouse 8 which is situated just opposite the stairs.

Free battle the Heavens and when you beat them they'll take you to Beverly Hills Wharf to see Ren. Unfortunately they're not quite as trustworthy as they made out so you'll be attacked by the whole Heavens gang. Fight as much as you want but eventually the screen will black out and you'll be overwhelmed. When you wake up you'll be on a boat being tended to by Wong, the boy who stole your bag at the beginning of the game. He'll give you a Heavens Zippo lighter which is the pass to get into Beverly Hills Wharf whenever you need to. Time to track down Ren.

When you reach dry land turn right and go up the steps on the left. You'll get into your first first-person free battle. The Heavens aren't tough to beat if you stick to Ryo's three kick combo (A, A, A). In the group ahead talk to the one who was on the gate and fight all of them. When you win he'll tell you where to find Cool Z - Ren's right-hand man. Carry on the way you were going and turn right, then right again at the next turning. Kick these guy's asses to get a map of Beverly Hills Wharf which will come in very handy. Keep going and go straight ahead at the street fight to battle some more Heavens who will take you to Cool Z when you win.

Cool Z says that he'll let you see Ren for a fee of $500. There's no way around it, you're going to have to get the money. If you have it already just talk to him again and pay him, if you don't go and gamble, pawn off toys, street fight, arm wrestle, work, or whatever you want until you have the money (see the Basics section for more on making money). When you've shown Cool Z the money he'll agree to take you to Ren's Warehouse. Ren gladly accepts your donation only to pull a knife on you so that you'll have a command QTE: left, right, A. You've proven yourself so he'll give you a map of Fortune's Pier to show where to meet him.

Head to Fortune's Pier and follow the map (walk past the staircase leading to Blue Sky and turn right if you can't be bothered) to find Ren. He'll take you into F Warehouse where he'll pull a little heist on the gangsters and leave you to fight them. Yuan will set two of them on you so free battle them. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, but go outside to find Wong and Joy waiting for you. Ren's in Pigeon Park enjoying his takings. Go to the fountain and Ren and the Heavens will all run off in different directions. Don't bother with the lackeys - you're going for Ren. He'll run off to Lucky Plaza on Queen's Street which is a small alley on the left if you stand facing the bridge to Wan Chai. Go down it and he'll run into the contruction site.

As you follow him you'll have another QTE to tackle as Ren tries to slow you down. The combination is:DOWN, A, LEFT

This is followed by Ryo walking across a narrow pole so that you'll have to press the direction buttons to help him regain his balance. Once you're past that you'll find Ren on the roof. There will be a command QTE (UP, A, UP) and you'll fall off the building onto a truck. Ren's money-hungry nature can't resist the money that he sees with the Phoenix Mirror so he'll tell you that Yuanda Zhu is in Kowloon and he'll meet you there.

The next day go to the Man Mo Temple and around the back to see more of the plot revealed through a flashback, as well as Xiuying teaching you the powerful Counter Elbox Assault (back+X+A). Perform it on Hanhui and you'll learn it. Fangmei will give you a photograph of everyone, and then pack your bags because you're going to Kowloon!

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