Do you prefer Shenmue or Shenmue II?

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Over the years I've come to loath disk 4 as it's just a horrible way to end a playthrough of everything before it. I mean it's that way by design as it's meant to lead into Shenmue 3 and it would pace perfectly in that case... but we never got 3 lol so it's just this slog to a cliffhanger ending that really isn't satisfying. The first few times I loved it because it is a great way to get a man hyped for Shenmue 3, but as the years went by I started to dislike it for obvious reasons...

But I have to admit, I've enjoyed disk 4 a lot more ever since June 20115...

That's no problem and as usual, I'm generalising here; there will be some of us that won't like the same points, hardcore or not.

 

[DigitalDuck]

I'm in two minds about Disc 4.

On the one hand, Shenmue II ends at Disc 3. You have the final dungeon, a big boss battle, and then you're done and you say goodbye to everyone as you learn more about what happened and head off to places new. Disc 4 is an epilogue that doesn't really belong in Shenmue II, as it's completely different tonally and pace-wise to the rest of the game, and Yu has even said previously (iirc) that it was only in Shenmue II at all because he feared there not being a Shenmue III.

On the other hand, Disc 4 is the most chill few hours you can have, and a great calm down after the Dou Niu orgasm. And would there really be as much clamour for a Shenmue III without it? The cliffhanger was perfect in that respect, there could be nothing else that makes you want to know more than, "You know the two MacGuffins you're slowly learning about? The ones prophecised as being a map to the key to resurrecting an ancient god that could destroy the world? WELL GUESS WHAT, HERE THEY ARE, TOGETHER, AND FUCKING MASSIV- The story goes on..."

The genius bastard.

 

[lyris1]

One other reason I think I prefer Shenmue 1 is that it seemed to fit the DC system limitations better. Shenmue 2 ups the number of NPCs on screen but at the cost of some slowdown in parts, and some of the character models are pretty ropey.

Not only that, but the decision not to use mipmapping on the textures *really* hurt it in Guilin on Disc 4. There are some far out shots of the landscapes where the entire screen is crawling with pixels. Still a highly enjoyable game, but when Shenmue 1 was out, the talk was of how amazing the graphics were.

Shenmue 2 still looks good on the whole, but I guess the fact that it appeared when PS2 games were beginning to pick up steam visually, plus the Xbox had landed, took a bit of that technological shine off.

It's crazy that at the time, none of us had much of an idea that we were playing a series that originally started life on the Saturn. In spite of the fact that the English font used in the subtitles and other text was either identical to or very close to the Sega Saturn BIOS font! Hidden in plain sight...

 

[xatruio]

Slow down is very easily ignored by running through, or simply rotating the camera off to either side of screen if walking. Never been even a small issue for me by always using the analoague trigger for movement.

Also, never occurred me which font were used by subtitle, good catch! Recently made a random discovery in Sonic Adventure: The Station Square Chao garden icon uses a Saturn logo quite blatantly...!

 

[lyris1]

It does? Got a picture?

 

[xatruio]

Spoiler

As for slowdown work-around, If you'd like to see a rough video, I could also post something quick. Really only Dragonn Street briefly at the entrance beginning disc 3, in front of the tea houses of Dimsum Qr, Wise Men's Qr on the main stairs (with optional airplane sightings) and open pedway (with two trees between Kung Fu shop and Lucky Charm Qr). The most egregious is the Worker's Pier fountain. Ocassionally even adjusting the camera to gaze upon the pretty architecture doesn't negate the slowdown.

 

[reminisce]

Tough to say. I found Shenmue II so fun I actually completed it, but Shenmue I is a Classic’s Classic, if that makes sense. May delve deeper into this later.

 

[Kiba]

2 is an incredible ride, but 1 has a depth of world-building missing in 2 due to -- I believe I have read -- development time constraints, as opposed to design revision. Specifically, I refer to the frequent use of the telephone and being able to buy and play cassettes and games, and the forklift job. Those little touches just put Shenmue 1 on top a little bit for me, although I can't imagine life in general without Shenmue 2, and I don't really regard them as separate games, but literally as chapters of a continuous saga. Shenmue 2 was bigger and better in almost every way, except with respect to these crucial details that made Shenmue 1 so unique by feeling like a real world. Lifting boxes just isn't as fun as driving a forklift, and being able to collect usable media was not only a very worthwhile motivator, collecting cassettes was super 80s. I wish 2 had those elements, but I'm not complaining.

Also, one last thing that puts Shenmue 1 ahead for me: magic weather. The seasons. That was at least half of what made Shenmue so unique and realistic. Being a temperate climate, the Yokosuka adventure had very diverse and atmospheric weather, whereas Hong Kong being a year-round tropical climate was quite visually and tonally boring after a while and made me lose my sense of the passage of time. However, Hong Kong and Kowloon are fantastic, necessary settings, so I'm not complaining about this fact either. It is simply my personally preference to replay Shenmue 1 more often for the seasonal changes. Oh, and the kitten. The Come Over Guest House cat just isn't the same. :)

 

[paddyj]

I'm weird in that I played Shenmue II before I played the first game so my opinion might be skewed; but Shenmue II is my favourite game. The sheer magnitude and depth of the game was something I'd never experienced before. I'm OCD with these types of games and like to explore every nook and cranny and talk to every NPC until they start repeating themselves, so after spending such a long time in the area I was blown away to find out the game didn't end after Hong Kong. The fact that the game continued even after Kowloon was insane at the time.

The ending is bizarre, beautiful and unexpected. I've never finished a game and thought "well what the hell happens next??" It's the perfect cliffhanger and what lead me to check the Dojo every week just for some hint of information on when the next game would be released.

I didn't play Shenmue until years later, after watching Shenmue the Movie, and whilst finally getting to play it was a great experience that I've repeated many times since, it just doesn't match up to the sequel. The main difference is that Shenmue II is an adventure, a giant world to explore with many people to meet which leads to meaningful bonds with people like Ren and Shenhua, instead of wooden relationships with Nozomi and Fukusan. This is what's lacking in the first game.

I don't know if I'd feel different if I played them in the correct order.

 

[tekoteko]

I prefer the first.
I finished Shenmue2 in 2001, 17 years ago, both are really good. But the first is diferent because it bring a new view to games, Qte, rpg+fighting+races...

The second has all of this in a better way, in the whole thing, the second is more complete, but the first Changed how we see this kind of games.

 

[segamon]

...Dou Niu orgasm.

That is a thought I wish I could unthink, heh.

 

[hyo_razuki]

S2, if I have to choose one. I I love both of them. S2 is my favorite game of all time. S1 comes in at a very close second place with S2 being the only game to ever surpass it in my opinion.

 

[Revan]

I really do love both. However, while the first game has more nostalgia for me because I can vividly remember being blown away by it the first time I fired the game up, I do prefer the slightly faster paced storytelling of Shenmue 2 where multiple chapters get covered and we get to see a bunch of different locations in the same game. Shenmue 1 concentrating all of its time on one area/chapter was great to establish the world and characters, but now I want to experience a greater chunk of the Shenmue story which Shenmue 2 provided.