General Impressions

[spud1897]

Another question, this one goes quite a ways back.

There's a boy at a mask shop in Niaowou. He wants Ryo to buy him a rare capsule toy outside of the Hotel. I bought upwards of 110+ capsule toys from that machine and never got the rare item the boy requested. I imagine that side quest expired over time, and I also lost interest in it.

110 capsules from that machine is no exaggeration. I think I tried again and went up to about 120 - 130, but I can't remember the final number.

How exactly was I supposed to get that rare capsule toy and complete that side mission?

Me buying so many capsules at once was a sort of test to see what kind of odds it took to get it. Looks like the I had zero chance of finding that toy without some other solution.

The capsule drops are brutal. Literally brutal. I had one (car set) took me about 100 goes to get the last one and there's bugger all we can do about it unfortunately

 

[Thomasina]

When I first started to post about Shenmue 3 here, you guys were really drilling me with "what does bad game design mean?" and that right there is indeed bad game design. I thought I'd encountered a bug or there was something special you had to do to acquire it, but looks like it's just pour as much money into the capsule machines as you can, for as long as you can, and cross your fingers. That's disappointing to hear.

I posted all my thoughts as I was playing on another forum. I can go back and see that on February 20, I bought 111 toys in one sitting. I know I went back and think I tried one more time but never got it.

 

[mjqjazzbar]

I gave up on the side quests because they were all like that, at least the ones I tried. Oh, I did do the one with the kung fu girl in Bailu.

 

[spud1897]

When I first started to post about Shenmue 3 here, you guys were really drilling me with "what does bad game design mean?" and that right there is indeed bad game design. I thought I'd encountered a bug or there was something special you had to do to acquire it, but looks like it's just pour as much money into the capsule machines as you can, for as long as you can, and cross your fingers. That's disappointing to hear.

I posted all my thoughts as I was playing on another forum. I can go back and see that on February 20, I bought 111 toys in one sitting. I know I went back and think I tried one more time but never got it.

I'll say this some of the capsules in Shenmue 1 are an utter bitch to get. Probably just as hard and don't get me started on the Gold Dural. I've not, in what 20 years, ever won that bugger in the Raffle

 

[xatruio]

I'll say this some of the capsules in Shenmue 1 are an utter bitch to get. Probably just as hard and don't get me started on the Gold Dural. I've not, in what 20 years, ever won that bugger in the Raffle

I won it once..... during a random play for a quick spin at the arcade.......i was so pissed i wasn't in a full playthru save file.

 

[Rydeen]

The end was great, I just wish the story had been more spread out throughout the entirety of the game[...].

I felt like the narrative tempo was a bit uneven at times in Niaowu, as well, after finishing the game. I was easily distracted by everything else going on in the city, and had to force myself to progress the story most of the time, so it wasn't an issue for me, really. Plus I enjoyed Ren's contributions a lot.

The castle was great. It would have been awesome if the game had more infiltration missions. I think thats where the game tends to shine in terms of action and adrenaline.

Same. I had the same thought at the end of the story DLC, too. Walking into that sort of dilapidated building, and having the more tense background music kick in felt like it was something missing to an extent from Niaowu. I'm actually surprised there wasn't something similar with the Red Snake's warehouse. There were a lot of abandoned buildings around it; I would have thought that Ryo, maybe along with Ren, would have run some reconnaissance, beforehand. Maybe they'd even get spotted, and jumped.

To me, those 3 bad guys were major players. Why'd they save such unique character designs for the final minutes of the game? Were they previously planned to have a much larger role in the game? There's not many other characters I can recall that looked as elaborate as those 3. I don't feel like the Shenmue 3 we have is the full vision, so everything I see that looks cool, or has the potential to be interesting, I can't help but wonder what the original plan was.

So, this is an issue that was introduced much earlier than Shenmue III.

This was the initially planned chapter sequence for VFRPG--I'm pretty sure they are what were novelized in pre-production. You might notice that the first one (top left) is Yokosuka, the second one is Hong Kong, and the fifth one is Bailu. The third and fourth chapters were cut for Shenmue II. It's potentially the case that the fourth one was Baisha, which would make it a chapter that was cut twice. That may be part of why Baisha was cut; Because it would have been too much work to try to shove it into the game, out of sequence.

This is mostly me speculating, but if you look at the fourth chapter art, there are four portraits, and one of them appears to be Lan Di (top left). Perhaps, it's Lan Di, and three bodyguards. (The portrait in the bottom left looks a little like the silver haired, Bruce Lee impersonator.) So, I think it's possible that Akira was meant to face off against Lan Di for the first time before meeting Shenhua. At which point, he surely would have been easily dispatched, and realized that he would need considerably more training to be any match for Lan Di. It's just a theory, though.

I posted all my thoughts as I was playing on another forum. I can go back and see that on February 20, I bought 111 toys in one sitting. I know I went back and think I tried one more time but never got it.

Those are a 2 Yuan machine, so you would have put in 222 Yuan, but if you sold the doubles you had, you would have been at a net -118 Yuan. The set, with the rare toy, sells back for 105 Yuan, I believe. So, you got unlucky. The odds on the rare toy in each machine are rough (probably a 1/64 chance, if I had to guess), but it's a balancing act. If they're not uncommon enough, it kills the economy, because they'd be too easy to make money on. I've dumped a ton of time into the capsule toys, and while it can seem impossible to get the sets at times, they're common enough that you can actually make pretty good money on them, if you're not too unlucky.

I'll say this some of the capsules in Shenmue 1 are an utter bitch to get. Probably just as hard and don't get me started on the Gold Dural. I've not, in what 20 years, ever won that bugger in the Raffle

Yeah, same. I've tried really hard to get one, too. I think the Prima guide says it's a 1/256 (which is crazy) chance to get the Gold Dural, but I've played the raffle at least a thousand times in total, and never seen a Gold Dural. Have gotten tons of silvers, though.

 

[RetroLord120]

The oversized boobs and red hair weren't really fitting.

Have you not seen her concept art

Dem big bois were always there

 

[Thomasina]

Have you not seen her concept art
View attachment 7732
Dem big bois were always there

Yes, I like it a lot. For some reason those boobs don't pop out at me like they do in the game. Maybe it's the shape or something. In the game she has pointy boobs. It looks really weird. I don't like her new design at all.

@Rydeen, that definitely looks like the silver haired guard. That's pretty cool.

I hope one day Suzuki puts together a huge craft book (is that the term I want?) with as much concept art as possible, with details on what the plans were, both original and how things evolved over time.

I remember when I finished Shenmue 2 back in ~2003 I would come online (pretty sure to Shenmuedojo) and stare at artwork and be mystified by it. It was incredible to just look at things and imagine what they would lead to.

Someone should start a project like this. 100s of pages of art and insider information. And not just link it to a pre-order or whatever. Do it individually.

And can someone tell me what the "pog" reaction means? I don't get it.

And I'll add one positive note. My perspective on the game has gone from "I'll never play this game again" to "When it hits $10 on Steam I'll buy it and maybe play it again in ~5 years". That's a hell of a turn around considering how many times I seriously thought about giving up and not finishing it.

 

[Rydeen]

I hope one day Suzuki puts together a huge craft book (is that the term I want?) with as much concept art as possible, with details on what the plans were, both original and how things evolved over time.

I remember when I finished Shenmue 2 back in ~2003 I would come online (pretty sure to Shenmuedojo) and stare at artwork and be mystified by it. It was incredible to just look at things and imagine what they would lead to.

Someone should start a project like this. 100s of pages of art and insider information.

That would be very cool to see at some point. I would love to see something like this, too. Actually, the other day I decided to take another look at the PDF version of the backer artbook for Shenmue III, and got myself really excited to maybe one day have the physical version in my hands. It is (for the most part) absolutely stunning. I imagine it probably won't be bound with a hard cover, but I just hope the paper quality will be good enough to do the artwork and graphic design justice.

And can someone tell me what the "pog" reaction means? I don't get it.

Look up "PogChamp." It's a meme. I've had to look it up more than once, personally. Short answer is shock, or surprise, I guess.

My perspective on the game has gone from "I'll never play this game again" to "When it hits $10 on Steam I'll buy it and maybe play it again in ~5 years". That's a hell of a turn around considering how many times I seriously thought about giving up and not finishing it.

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty stoked about that.

 

[24Nathan]

Sounds like you think of those 3 as more generic thugs. They were some of the coolest designs in Shenmue 3. I'd hope they're not just generic thugs like the tall skinny dork in Niaowou.

But that also leads to a concern I have. To what extent has the vision of S3 been compromised? And furthermore, to what extent is the original vision of the remainder of the story compromised to fit into this smaller budget and scope?

To me, those 3 bad guys were major players. Why'd they save such unique character designs for the final minutes of the game? Were they previously planned to have a much larger role in the game? There's not many other characters I can recall that looked as elaborate as those 3. I don't feel like the Shenmue 3 we have is the full vision, so everything I see that looks cool, or has the potential to be interesting, I can't help but wonder what the original plan was.

There's also the potential for those 3 guys to accompany Landi in later games, but is Landi really going to surround himself with bodyguards that get taken down with single blows? Feels like something was disconnected there with those 3.

I'd be interested to know how the final product differs from the grand vision as well. Sadly...I don't think we will ever know.

 

[Godokunodan]

The capsule drops are brutal. Literally brutal. I had one (car set) took me about 100 goes to get the last one and there's bugger all we can do about it unfortunately

It cost me 800yuan to get the Lan Di toy to complete my set. If it was too easy, it wouldn't be worth it. Spending all that money put me back to work. Luckily forklift driving, fishing, and wood cutting are all fun.

 

[Godokunodan]

Here's what you do: first get 800 to 1000 yuan. Second, Save your game. Third spend 800-1000 yuan to get your Gold Dural. If you don't : fourth load your previous save. Repeat steps 1-4 until you get your Gold Dural. By law of averages, there has to be an instance where you get your Gold Dural, and you don't have to spend over 1,000 for it. That's the tactic I took to get the Lan Di toy to complete my set.

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

I'm not satisfied with the new Niao Sun design. The oversized boobs and red hair weren't really fitting. Anyone think we'll get to see her in her original form in the next game? I remember being mystified by her original design, it was way more brooding and sinister than this current iteration. I wish they'd kept the original style.

TF are you talking about?

They were SMALLER than every single bit of concept art and the like that we ever got before.

EDIT* Of course, I'd be late to the party...

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

This was the initially planned chapter sequence for VFRPG--I'm pretty sure they are what were novelized in pre-production. You might notice that the first one (top left) is Yokosuka, the second one is Hong Kong, and the fifth one is Bailu. The third and fourth chapters were cut for Shenmue II. It's potentially the case that the fourth one was Baisha, which would make it a chapter that was cut twice. That may be part of why Baisha was cut; Because it would have been too much work to try to shove it into the game, out of sequence.

This is mostly me speculating, but if you look at the fourth chapter art, there are four portraits, and one of them appears to be Lan Di (top left). Perhaps, it's Lan Di, and three bodyguards. (The portrait in the bottom left looks a little like the silver haired, Bruce Lee impersonator.) So, I think it's possible that Akira was meant to face off against Lan Di for the first time before meeting Shenhua. At which point, he surely would have been easily dispatched, and realized that he would need considerably more training to be any match for Lan Di. It's just a theory, though.

Take a look at the old boards and some of the threads on here; there's a ton of great stuff that's been discussed :)

So, Card 3 has seemingly been cut completely; no trace (from what we can tell) exists in any of the games.
Card 4 was repurposed (in parts), to the 3rd game and possibly the 2nd; Yanlang is the guy bottom-right, indeed bottom-left could have been the silver-haired guy. Mustache-man, who knows? lol

You can see Niao Sun begin to be shown in card 5, going through cards 6 and 7; all of 5, parts of 4 and 6, were used in III. Beyond that, we don't know how much more has been added or taken away.

We figure that IV will include the rest of 6, all of 7 and possibly even dip into 8 (which, for a 5 game total, makes sense; 3 cards per game).

Don't forget, a ton has been re-purposed, changed around and nixed altogether, we really don't know, sadly.

 

[Rydeen]

It cost me 800yuan to get the Lan Di toy to complete my set. If it was too easy, it wouldn't be worth it. Spending all that money put me back to work. Luckily forklift driving, fishing, and wood cutting are all fun.

Kind of funny you mention that one. I've only bought about 20 capsule toys from that SII character machine, in total, and three of them were Lan Di. I guess that machine just likes me, but I got him so easily that I kind of thought he must be less rare than the rare capsule toy in other machines. I honestly do what you mentioned here all the time, though:

Here's what you do: first get 800 to 1000 yuan. Second, Save your game. Third spend 800-1000 yuan to get your Gold Dural. If you don't : fourth load your previous save. Repeat steps 1-4 until you get your Gold Dural. By law of averages, there has to be an instance where you get your Gold Dural, and you don't have to spend over 1,000 for it.

I find that more often than not I get the rare one within 350 Yuan or so. I've tried this kind of tactic with the Gold Dural at the Abe Store in the first game quite a bit. I've spent literal hours at a time, multiple times, just buying chocolate, and pulling raffle tickets as many times as I possibly could, but never saw a Gold Dural. It was basically what made me give up on trying to make a "perfect" file. That and the second slot house certificate.

Take a look at the old boards and some of the threads on here; there's a ton of great stuff that's been discussed :)

I've tooled through them a bit in the past. Lots of interesting discussion. I enjoy trying to piece together what actually happened behind the scenes.

 

[24Nathan]

The capsule toys are odd. Some of them, I spent days in game and hundreds of Yuan to get, while others came out almost immediately. The prize wheels, however....

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Only did the Prize Wheels in the DLC and it took me a combined hour at the most, to get everything.

 

[24Nathan]

I did them on the DLC and measured how many times the wheel spun compared to where I pressed go on the power meter. It was very random. I think I spun ten times on two or three different places each on the meter, and the results were very sporadic.

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Mhm, I remember the test you did.

I myself tried to do certain things, but not sure if I had stumbled upon a formula or not.

 

[Godokunodan]

I did them on the DLC and measured how many times the wheel spun compared to where I pressed go on the power meter. It was very random. I think I spun ten times on two or three different places each on the meter, and the results were very sporadic.

This is absolutely true. Adam Koralik made a video on Big Merry cruise saying you could predict where the wheel would stop based on the power meter point you pick. He was absolutely wrong. Its completely random.