First Time Playing Shenmue

[code l name]

At this rate I'm not going to catch the killer until Christmas next year.

Honestly it’s one of the beauties of the series, especially the first game is that it really rewards players going at their own pace and soaking in all the details, characters and trivial conversations you can encounter.

So I would say if you find it fun engaging in all these ‘distractions’ continue because it will make those narrative moments hit harder when they do arrive.

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Don't worry, Kayoko is a little angel. She'll forgive you for sure. I'd recommend calling Naoyuki whenever you get the chance--as long as you're playing with Japanese voices. She is quite possibly the cutest thing in the entire game. (Back off, Megumi stans.)

Also, there are many cats, also dogs, and even some pigeons. Many of them have their own schedules. I'm not saying you should stalk the neighborhood pets, but I'm also not not saying that.

Nozomi*

@TifaLockhartUK , keep these three things in mind:

- Absolutely enjoy your time playing the game, but do note that the cutoff date for the game/bad ending, is in April. Thus, if you wish to see everything to completion, get it done before then (I realise this is spoiler-ish, but we don't want someone to invest 100+ hours for it to go all for naught!)
- You can interact with virtually anything, so be sure to zoom in on anything that tickles your fancy/sticks out; you will get some great dialogue, info/lore on the series and also some humour thrown in as well.
- If you are disappointed with some things or wish there were more efficiencies, don't let that put you off on playing II; that game makes everything worthwhile :)

Have fun!

 

[Rydeen]

Nozomi*

Yeah, there's definitely more to those phone calls, but hearing Kayoko answer the phone for her brother actually melts my cold, frozen heart.

 

[TifaLockhartUK]

Well I now have a job, at least it get's me out of the house during the quarantine. Can't say I ever saw myself as a forklift driver.

I didn't expect another entire area. It's not my favourite area to explore as I much prefer just looking around the shops and houses. Still very much having fun though and need to get better at racing.

 

[ShenGCH]

Well I now have a job, at least it get's me out of the house during the quarantine. Can't say I ever saw myself as a forklift driver.

I didn't expect another entire area. It's not my favourite area to explore as I much prefer just looking around the shops and houses. Still very much having fun though and need to get better at racing.

Be careful swerving around those corners; running over more than three security guards in a single day will result in a 30% pay dock.

 

[Zoltor]

You probably won't notice any issues with the re-releases since you haven't played the originals. The 'issues' are overblown, even as a fan who's fairly familiar. The lack of loading times and dealing with the DC grinding your disc into dust cancel out any bugs you might experience.

Actually, when the HD collection was released, 1 was basically unplayable, it had so many major issues(oddly enough 2 worked pretty well), however yea like others have posted, most of those issues are supposedly fixed now, so it should be fine.

 

[Zoltor]

Honestly it’s one of the beauties of the series, especially the first game is that it really rewards players going at their own pace and soaking in all the details, characters and trivial conversations you can encounter.

So I would say if you find it fun engaging in all these ‘distractions’ continue because it will make those narrative moments hit harder when they do arrive.

^This. Shenmue is something you want to take your time with, It's not the type of thing you want to rush through.

 

[ShenGCH]

Actually, when the HD collection was released, 1 was basically unplayable, it had so many major issues(oddly enough 2 worked pretty well), however yea like others have posted, most of those issues are supposedly fixed now, so it should be fine.

I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I was playing on PC, so were issues dependent on the platform? I experienced just three issues with the first game, and those were negligible: the dried fish sticking through Ryo's hand during the first cutscene with Megumi; training not activating 7/10 times in the Dobuita parking lot; and Ryo's jacket sinking through the floor of the dojo after he throws it to the ground in the cutscene before he spars with Fuku-san the day he receives the sword handguard. Shenmue II, I had zero problems with. Even the soundtrack issues people complained about were nowhere to be found.

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I was playing on PC, so were issues dependent on the platform? I experienced just three issues with the first game, and those were negligible: the dried fish sticking through Ryo's hand during the first cutscene with Megumi; training not activating 7/10 times in the Dobuita parking lot; and Ryo's jacket sinking through the floor of the dojo after he throws it to the ground in the cutscene before he spars with Fuku-san the day he receives the sword handguard. Shenmue II, I had zero problems with. Even the soundtrack issues people complained about were nowhere to be found.

Zoltor has returned and is misconstruing/lying/using his opinion/experience as fact yet again!

I had 0 issues with the game on PS4, save for one instance of the footsteps sound disappearing; *1* instance. That's it. And I bought it on release day, before any major patches.

II OTOH, had absolutely no major issues either, save for the soundtrack problems; they REALLY surfaced and, like others have said, Queen St. was far and away the most-egregious of the soundtrack issues.

If there were any other problems I had with II, I have forgotten them, most0likely due to the fact that they were negligible.

 

[spud1897]

I was going to say while some had proper issues upon release others didn't. It was inconsistent I'd say, though we all had the crushed black scenario.

Either way they're generally fine now. Had they been released in the state they are now most wouldn't have been fussed I suspect.

 

[hmjohnny]

The other thing is that pretty much all of the detractors in the HD re-release vs the originals are things newcomers wouldn't notice anyway. Especially now that it's been patched and stabilized.

I would say it's the de facto way to play the games now. Unfortunate that it isn't the definitive.

 

[code l name]

Yeah I had no crashes or real game breaking issues on launch day with digital copy on PS4 version. There were things like minor bugs like bloom lighting even when disabled would appear when opening Ryo’s notebook or sound being far too low on Ryo’s footsteps. Still I got pretty lucky compared to many issues I saw.

I would say it's the de facto way to play the games now. Unfortunate that it isn't the definitive.

I would say the PC version with the community mods is the definitive version. You get laser fast loading times, dual language audio, true 16x9 presentation, restored audio and even some amazing HD texture packages which give the game a new visual life.

 

[Zoltor]

I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I was playing on PC, so were issues dependent on the platform? I experienced just three issues with the first game, and those were negligible: the dried fish sticking through Ryo's hand during the first cutscene with Megumi; training not activating 7/10 times in the Dobuita parking lot; and Ryo's jacket sinking through the floor of the dojo after he throws it to the ground in the cutscene before he spars with Fuku-san the day he receives the sword handguard. Shenmue II, I had zero problems with. Even the soundtrack issues people complained about were nowhere to be found.

Yea, I've heard people had better luck with the PC game. with the PS 4 version though, it wouldn't even play flashback type cutscenes. Also for some reason, arcade games would cause the game to crash if you beat them. There were many small issues(including sound issues... what is this, trying to play 2 on the 360 lol) as well, but those are prime examples of the bigger issues.

 

[Sonoshee]

I never really had issues with the ports on Xbox One.
The only one I did have that literally lasted minutes until I left the harbour via the bus was a first person view bug (which was actually pretty cool lol). I can't remember what triggered it though, maybe the game thought I was still in the forklift

 

[ShenGCH]

I never really had issues with the ports on Xbox One.
The only one I did have that literally lasted minutes until I left the harbour via the bus was a first person view bug (which was actually pretty cool lol). I can't remember what triggered it though.

You musta had a bad egg that morning.

 

[Rydeen]

I find there's still a number of issues with the Steam version (with mods even) that keep it from being definitive in my eyes. Maybe one of the worst of those problems is NPCs using lines they shouldn't be at the end of a conversation with Ryo (in the first game, anyway). I've noticed it specifically when talking with Naoyuki, and Hattori. They make no sense within the conversation, so it's pretty hard to ignore.

The only benefits I really see with it are the anti-aliasing, and shortened load times. I do agree that most things I don't like about the remasters won't really be detectable by newcomers. I wouldn't really want to see people judging the originals based on incorrect dialogue at times, though.

 

[TifaLockhartUK]

I got held up due to life being a drag but I finally beat the first game.

I'm about to play the second game right now! I'm going to miss Japan but I must find Lan Di!

 

[JCJ]

I got held up due to life being a drag but I finally beat the first game.

I'm about to play the second game right now! I'm going to miss Japan but I must find Lan Di!

When I played Shenmue II for the first time, I liked it but was slightly disappointed because I expected more of the same from Shenmue I, and the tone of the second game was different. But, in retrospect, I think that change is totally justified by the story, and what the series needed.

You will be in a bigger city, totally new to you, with a pretty different culture. Thus you'll be surrounded by lots of people that will feel more "anonymous", losing some of the cozyness of the setting of the first game. But, at the same time, the bunch of new friends and contacts you make there will be much more important to you, since they are everything you have there, your anchor to that world. And so your relationship with them will be stronger and more profound. Try to interact as much as possible with them and the payoff will be big.

Nowadays I think Shenmue II is clearly the superior game of the series. I envy you for discovering it for the first time.

 

[Rusted Gold]

I got held up due to life being a drag but I finally beat the first game.

I'm about to play the second game right now! I'm going to miss Japan but I must find Lan Di!

I actually started off playing Shenmue II. It wasn't until years later that I played the first game so all I had to go off of was the Shenmue Movie that came with the xbox port of Shenmue II.

Also it could be nostalgia but Shenmue II is my favorite out of the three, So I can safely say that your going to have a great time in Shenmue II just make sure to go off the beaten path and explore for the fullest experience. I started playing it again last night and very quickly I found a cut scene/interaction I never found before.

When I played Shenmue II for the first time, I liked it but was slightly disappointed because I expected more of the same from Shenmue I, and the tone of the second game was different. But, in retrospect, I think that change is totally justified by the story, and what the series needed.

You will be in a bigger city, totally new to you, with a pretty different culture. Thus you'll be surrounded by lots of people that will feel more "anonymous", losing some of the cozyness of the setting of the first game. But, at the same time, the bunch of new friends and contacts you make there will be much more important to you, since they are everything you have there, your anchor to that world. And so your relationship with them will be stronger and more profound. Try to interact as much as possible with them and the payoff will be big.

Nowadays I think Shenmue II is clearly the superior game of the series. I envy you for discovering it for the first time.

Exactly this, I had a friend that started playing the game and he asked me how to get somewhere "No joke" I started giving him the same directions as a NPC. There is defiantly a huge change in mindset on how you interact with the people of Hong Kong compared to Japan, which really makes new discoveries have more of an impact. I would say more but I refuse since anything else would be in spoiler territory

Your going to have a blast in Shenmue II