I'm a hardcore Shenmue fan, I just want to know if anybody else here is a fan of the (now abandoned) series.
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I'm a hardcore Shenmue fan, I just want to know if anybody else here is a fan of the (now abandoned) series.
I'm a fan as well, but this thread has no chance to end well.
Shenmue's great. It's right up there with melatonin, Valerian root, and Tylenol PM for me.
Shenmue II is the best game I've ever played, but yeah, you're not going to like how this ends, noob.
How about some Lucky Hit???
Every day I get a little bit closer to turning my back on this life and getting a job moving boxes around with a forklift on the docks. Someday I will finally be free and it's all thanks to Shenmue. :sonic:
I have Shenmue 2 on both Xbox and Dreamcast sealed.
:/
Maybe one day I will try one.
You'll have better memories of them if you don't.
DIAF NOOBQuote:
Originally Posted by everlast88
I tried to like Shenmue, but it just didn't take. I understand people like the series but just don't quite get why. Kind of like Yoshi and Excite Truck, now that I think on it.
James
Shenmue shouldn't have been much more than the video that comes with Shenmue II.
Both games are full of flaws but they're also among my favourite games of all time. I want Shenmue III but I fear the story's going to go all Indigo Prophecy with unrealistic shit.
It has an arcade in it and fantastic voice acting.Quote:
Originally Posted by James
Oblivion is what I take for night time aches and pains. Fuckin bore fest.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gooch
Man, I loved Indigo Prophecy up until maybe 20 minutes after I got out of the diner. As soon as the first "dodge shit" Quick-Time Event, the whole thing went to hell.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
Shenmue is boring crap. The dialogue was horrendous, the gameplay was non existent, and anyone who promotes these box moving/book shuffling excuses for games has no soul.
With that said....I gave both of these games an honest chance, I played through both to the end even though I found them eye gougingly boring, yet I still can't see the appeal. Both of them were ahead of their time as far as technology goes but that didn't make them any good as far as I'm concerned. I still cannot understand how people didn't find these games boring. QTE's should have been replaced with something that was actually fun, the do a job 10,000 times should have also been replaced with something that was actually fun, and there needed to be far more of the fighting since that was what was easily the strongest part of the game.
Both Shenmue 1 and 2 are on my list of all time favorites, but I just have a gut feeling that they haven't aged well. They were definitely interesting "experiments", with an intriguing premise, but the execution of the games just came off as way too niche and slightly flawed. Sega just tried to cram way too many gameplay elements into the Shenmue series, and it never really panned out.
This being said, the Nintendo DS and the Wii are making some interesting strides in the "adventure" genres lately. So, I actually wouldn't mind seeing a third Shenmue game come out on the Wii. The Wii's graphical capabilities should be strong enough to handle Dreamcast style graphics, and it would be interesting to use the Wii remote to open up drawers, drink a can of soda, play a game of lucky hit, and simply perform all the odd jobs that he has to in the game.
I also wouldn't mind seeing a third installment of the Shenmue series come out in the form of a text based adventure game for the DS. Shenmue 3, with the art style and gameplay of something like Hotel Dusk would be pretty awesome IMHO.
The rooftop fight in Shenmue 2 is one of my favorite gaming moments of all time.
I know the first had some glaring flaws, but the sequel just did everything right for me.
I hope Ine-san docks Brand X's allowance for being such a disrespectful jerk. :mad:
No, I really don't want this. I'm already sick of Wii games throwing up onscreen prompts every time I'm supposed to pretend I'm pulling a lever or whatever the hell. The intentions are sometimes decent but it's not immersive in the least, if anything it drags you out of the game even more.Quote:
Originally Posted by magnifiedplaid
Shenmue and Shenmue II were really simplistic and whimsical. Some people are going to like that kind of charm, and some people have no soul.
Thats true, I can definitely see your argument there. I think some games use the motion controls really well (Zak and Wiki), but the majority of the time it does drag you out of the experience. Plus, it would be way too easy for Sega to do a really crappy port of one of the Shenmue games with some half assed motion controls thrown in.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grave
Like you say, the "intentions are decent" and in a perfect world the Wii controls would offer a completely immersive experience. However, more often than not, the Wii controls have the opposite effect of what was intended. Still though, with the proper development time put in...and with the motion controls used in a smart manner...they could really add to the immersive feel that Sega was originally going for with the Shenmue series.
Shenmue is the best game I've ever played. Shenmue II is the second best game I've ever played.
Both games are great, 2 is definitely better. Both games have problems, though, and I could very easily see someone despising them. I appreciate how meticulously designed the gameworld is, though. Labor of love, etc. And isn't it illegal to dislike something with a cherry blossom-catching minigame?
This definitely needs repeating.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brand X
I had no idea so many TNL posters like the game. It's amazing (not the game).
Throw me in the "I don't get it" pile. I tried it for a weekend and went back to figuring out how to jump rooftop-to-rooftop in Crazy Taxi.
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.
For those in the "don't like it" pile, I'm curious if you guys don't like the graphic adventure genre in general or is it specifically this series?
I <3 Sam and Max and Grim Fandango, so it ain't that.
edit: I think part of it is that Shenmue has no sense of humor about itself. It's pretentious.
Shenmue to me seems way before it's time... There was so much potential that could have been accomplished, but I don't think that the Dreamcast could entirely produce everything that they wanted. I truly think that Sega should totally redo the game for ps3 or 360 make it one large game like the originally intended, take out some redundant gameplay and add things that worked real well that was in Yakuza. I know it's just a pipe dream, but they'll never continue the story so they should just redo the whole thing.
I love the adventure genre. I just found the Shenmue games to be totally boring.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
I love Shenmue but I totally get why others don't. Ryo's a thick-headed unlikable character and the first game is paced like a day at work.
I agree with you. The first game's pacing was fucking terrible, but me wanting to find out what was going to happen kept me playing. The second game didn't have the same horrible pacing so i thought it was light years betterQuote:
Originally Posted by Frogacuda
I have both games for Dreamcast, but I've never gotten around to playing through them. I tried a few times, but I could never figure out what I was supposed to do. There are all these kids and old people harassing me about trivial shit and all I want to do is find the bad guys and beat them up. Maybe I'll give it another shot once I've cleared through some of my unplayed game, but it's hardly a priority.
Shenmue did have the best orchestral score of any game, though. I'd be lying if that had no influence on how the game affected me.
The first game does do a few things better. No town is as well designed as the first one and the not really a spoiler but just in case: the mega beat 'em up battle at the end is better than any action part in II.
I feel like playing these games again. And Dreamfall, too, because it reminds me of it.
I forgot about that last part until you brought it up again, but I am glad you reminded me.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
It does the first Shenmue absolutely zero justice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kidnemo
The first game I have fond memories of. It was fun (if totally tedious), and different. I like games that surround me, and that fucker surrounds you.
Shenmue II though, does not surround you as much as try to trap you in the most shallow parts of itself.
Yeah, the problem is that the first game and the second game were suppoed to be a single game, and they ended up having to drop the later chapters and pad the hell out of the first one to make it full game length.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
If it came out as one game like it was supposed to with the first chapter half as long as it was, it would have been absolutely amazing.
Shenmue I and II probably get replayed more at my house year to year than most anything else, except maybe Metal Gear games.
As time marches on, I don't think the games aged well. Definitely not the gameplay, and certainly not the incessant loading of the Dreamcast versions. I'm not sure what other game allows you to travel in and out of buildings and other locations completely seamlessly and without visible loading, but I wish Shenmue came out when that was technically feasible. Even then it would be hard to ignore the constant errand-running gameplay, the stale main character, and the drawn out first installment.
I did like the supporting characters in Shenmue II though.. probably more than any other video game I've played. And the music in both games are amazing.
This may be due to the fact that I was a diehard dreamcast owner vehemently and blindly defending his purchase, but I have some pretty fond memories of Shenmue 1. There was so much shit about it I hated, but at the time I thought that the whole was a lot better than the sum of its parts. It was almost relaxing doing all that pointless shit, like taking care of the cat and randomly wandering the streets talking to people about sailors. I especially loved going online and checking out people's top scores in the passport.
I don't know if I could ever play it again though, I remember sinking HOURS into this thing, it might be too painful to attempt it in this day and age.
I don't have much love for part 2 though. I think this is probably due to the fact that I played it on the xbox way after it came out, so any sort of fanboy allure had long since run its course. The ending pissed me off, but Ren was pretty cool.
Also Space Harrier.
Word. It's like how the ancient Greeks would appreciate a cracked vase more, because that crack served to highlight the beauty of the rest of the object.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
Some people don't get Shenmue, because they pick it up they"re like "okay, I'm a karate dude, I've got the hair and everything, when do I punch shit?"
But it's not like that. You have to surrender yourself to the game's world and pace; you have to be willing to live in that virtual world by its own rules. And when the fighting does arrive, it's that much more meaningful because it's taking place in the context of this semi-normal life.
II is about 30x better than the first, it's still one of my favourite games ever. The soundtrack was gorgeous, exploring dingy 1980s Hong Kong was marvelous, and the corny kung fu movie elements (do you know of the four wu de?) added to everything. And the game finally lived up to its promise as a Virtua Fighter rpg where you were fighting underground for cash against strikingly familiar characters.
But really, it was that second half, where you though that the game was completely over, you'd beaten the last boss, and suddenly this huge area opens up and you're in mainland China and the story really starts to pick up. Plus, the conversation with Shen Hua was a more rewarding denouement than any last boss they could have dreamed up.
Shakespeare it ain't, but it was a wonderful experience if you "got" it.
It's hard not to get a boring game that puts you through mundane tasks while having to deal with some of the worst dialogue ever to be put into a game. I have played plenty of games where walking around talking to people and doing tasks was very enjoyable (Bioware RPG's come to mind), and neither Shenmue is one of them. That's partially due to the technology available at the time, but that's no excuse to make a game so devoid of excitement and fun that you should look forward to working a fork lift or doing a QTE.Quote:
Originally Posted by StriderKyo
Also:
Tomato Convenience
Welcome to Pizza
Has another game's soundtrack ever come close to touching these? I think not.
Tain, did you like Suzuki Bakuhatsu? How was the language barrier?
Most adventure games are worthwhile for their interesting characters, well-written plots, clever puzzles and situations, or some combination of these.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
Shenmue has none of that. What it does keep from the genre are tedious fetch quests and a bunch of knick knacks to collect, except here they don't do anything.
As a huge fan of the original Shenmue on the Dreamcast, I, and many other fans of the original, were quite disheartened to hear of the sequel’s cancellation in the U.S. for the DC. Thankfully, Microsoft saved the day when it was announced that the game would see a U.S. release, but on the Xbox. As someone who would have been just happy getting the planned DC game, I was quite pleased when I heard that MS would be adding things to the Xbox version, and upgrading the graphics a bit. Sadly, I couldn’t buy Shenmue II, or an Xbox to play it on, until over a year after the U.S. release of Shenmue II. In that time, I played through the original Shenmue in anticipation of finally playing the sequel. To my amazement, Shenmue II lived up to every expectation I had for it, and then some.
Shenmue II begins where the original Shenmue ends, with Ryo on a ship bound for Hong Kong in search of Lan Di, the man who killed his father (Iwao Hazuki.) It is in Hong Kong where you will meet up with a majority of the game’s newest characters, who will both oppose Ryo at times, and help him on his quest for Lan Di. Character involvement in this game is taken further than it was in the original, although some of the new characters don’t have quite as much depth as those in the original.
The gameplay in Shenmue II is comprised in a similar manner as the original game. You’ve got your free battles, in which you take full control over Ryo Hazuki in his battles, and then there are the Dragon’s Lair-esque Quick Timer Events (or QTEs), which have been revamped a bit in the sequel to include more button presses, to keep you even more vigilant of the commands given to you. The key changes from the original to the sequel are the location, and the cast of characters. The locations in Shenmue II (Hong Kong, Kowloon, and Guilin) are more vast, expansive, and detailed than those featured in the original game.
The cast of characters is also broader this time around, although that isn’t always a good thing due to some of the character bearing strikingly similar characteristics to folks from the first game. No one from the original game, barring Ryo (and Shenhua, who was in Ryo’s dreams in the original), Lan Di, and Iwao Hazuki is featured in any prominent way in the sequel. Although some of the most memorable characters in the original, like Fuku-san, Tom, and Nozomi are given quick mentions in the game, which serves as a nice way of tying things together from game-to-game. The new characters, who don’t resemble other characters from the original, are fantastic. Memorable characters like Ren, Xiuing,Yuan, and Dou Niu are introduced in this game, and they fit in just as well as the best characters from the original game did.
Now that I’m done with my diatribe on the locations and characters (at least for the foreseeable future), let’s get back to the gameplay. One small change from the original is that you can now opt to have time pass by via a menu selection, rather than go find things to do to pass the time. While this feature is fine for those who can’t be bothered to wait for the next key event, it does lend itself towards not allowing you to really immerse yourself in the environment. One of the things I enjoyed most in the original Shenmue was walking around town, talking to folks, playing in the arcade, buying capsule toys (which now include Rent-a-Hero, much to my delight), and in general, making full use of what was provided to me by the game. The sequel lets you do that, but by offering a method of bypassing one of the key components of the original, it kind of cheapens the game a bit. Thankfully, you don’t have to make use of the feature, but its mere inclusion is a bit of a disappointment to me.
The aforementioned QTEs take on a whole new life in the sequel. In the original, they weren’t really used too much, as the free battling, which in and of itself wasn’t used enough, tended to take precedence over it in many fighting scenes. In the sequel, you’ll be doing plenty of QTEs and free battles, which equals more excitement for the player, and more involvement in the goings on of the game as well. The revamped QTEs are a breath of fresh air, as the added button presses really help to keep them from getting stagnant.
The aforementioned Xbox-exclusive features to Shenmue II include some graphical filters (that are pretty much useless) and a nice snapshot feature that enables you to capture some of the game’s most memorable moments (of which there are many) and view them in the game’s snapshot viewer. This feature also unlocks some nice hidden stuff, which adds to the game just a tad since it fleshes out some of the new characters.
Controlling Ryo through his journey is just as easy at it was in the original, due in part to the Xbox controllers featuring a nearly identical button layout to the Dreamcast’s controller, which makes transitioning from one system to the next quite effortless. The controls are quick and responsive, which is important in a game where your reflexes will be tested quite a bit. You don’t want muddy controls costing you a valuable free battle, or an important, or lengthy QTE, and in Shenmue II, you won’t have to worry about that.
Shenmue II’s graphics are some of the most jaw-dropping I’ve ever witnessed. The sheer amount of things in this game is staggering, and all of them have been given pain-staking levels of details. Sure, the game’s DC roots show through at times, but the game still looks fantastic thanks to the laborious effort put into them. Little touches, like fantastic lighting and reflections, add to the mood of a certain area and really help give the game a sense of realism it would otherwise lack. The game’s many characters all look fantastic, and barring the painted-on business suits that adorn some of the characters, they look stellar when compared to nearly any other game out there.
Shenmue II’s sound, particularly the soundtrack, aren’t quite as memorable as the original’s. The music in the original Shenmue, mainly the title theme, was some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard in a video game. While the music in the sequel follows the same path as the original, for the most part, the music just isn’t quite as impressive as the original’s. In the original, nearly every piece of music was memorable, and helped add to a scene, or a character in some form. In the sequel, that isn’t the case. Only a few pieces of music really add to anything. Despite its shortcomings, the music is still better in Shenmue II than in 90% of other games on the market. The sound effects are pretty much identical to those featured in the original. They’re fantastic, and fit nearly everything perfectly. The voice acting on the other hand, isn’t fantastic. While it isn’t horrible by any means, some of the voices are just off, like the young Xiuing’s voice, which sounds as if she smoked a few carton of cigarettes a day due to it being so deep. Ryo’s voice acting is pretty much identical to the original’s, it’s solid, but not spectacular in any way. Ren and Joy each have great voice acting, which is nice. For the most part, the main characters feature solid voice acting, while the peripheral characters, oddly enough, feature great voice acting.
Shenmue II’s replay value is solely determined by how much you are willing to put into the game. If you are willing to give the game a chance, and come into with an open mind, odds are, you will end up liking the game. If you enjoy a slow-paced game, you will absolutely love Shenmue II. Conversely, if you like fast-paced games, you’ll probably enjoy the game as well, particularly the action-packed (and QTE-heavy) Kowloon portion of the game. The addition of the snapshot viewer also gives you a little incentive to get through the entire game, as some of the most beautiful scenery is featured in the final chapter of the game in Guilin.
All in all, Shenmue II is a fantastic follow-up to the much-beloved original game. More of everything is provided, and while some changes in the pace aren’t really needed, they are there for those who wish to make use of them. The graphics are fantastic in most places, but the game does occasionally show its Dreamcast roots, which isn’t always a bad thing, but in some cases, it is. The music is decent enough, it’s better than in most games out there, that’s for sure. However, it’s not as good as the music featured in the original. The voice acting isn’t too shabby, it’s not the best ever seen in a game, but it’s not the worst either. If you’re looking for a game that will both make you think and leave you at the edge of your seat, pick up Shenmue II as soon as possible.
Jeremy review?
I did like the Shenmue story and the characters that weren't Ryo, but Ryo was a total douche.Quote:
Originally Posted by sethsez
I'm looking for some sailors.
Shenmue's story is okay, basically a generic coming of age story that got dragged out way too long. The best thing about Shenmue is the immersion of being in a small Japanese town, then Hong Kong.
yakuza >>>>>> this
I loved the Telltale Sam and Max series and i loved the Monkey Island stuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
Basically, I think this game is hurt by being too diverse. The combat in this game is done better in Yakuza and was not interrupted by the adventure parts. The world immersion is good, but it doesn't match any mmorpg for me. And I think the adventure stuff pales to the previously mentioned games.
Yep, the obvious joke.Quote:
Originally Posted by YellerDog
Come to think of it, if the main character in Shenmue had been say, a cow, working at a forklift factory and fightin' battles, it would have been 10x better.
Shenmoo.
Day 1.Quote:
Originally Posted by YellerDog
QTE Title FTW IMO.