General Shenmue & Shenmue II talk

The game has been out for long enough now so the risk of spoiling things is not that great at all anymore.
It was decided for the thread to be rebranded into a more open Shenmue I & II talk. Keep firing away!
 
Can someone please recommend the best guide(s) for Shenmue II to complete both 'Fangmei Birthday Event' AND the 'duck races' event? It's been years since I've played through the game and done both events, so I'm not too hot on the finer details and I know if you do the chawan sign at the Blue Sky Cafe at the wrong time, you can get an event in which Eileen and Fangmei show up, but it messes up the Birthday event (so maybe you can't do both? I can't quite remember).
 
I'm doing another run through because I wanna play through Shenmue 1 in Japanese finally. I decided to try and get the good prizes from tomato convenience store without save scumming.

Currently at 22 bags of chips, 23 caramels, and 11 chocolates, and all I've gotten are few capsule toys and a cassette tape.

JERKS
 
Has anyone else found the immediate transition from Shenmue I to II a little jarring? I've never played them back to back like this and the subtle differences across the board are almost too much. I may end up taking a break before I truly dive into II.

Also, I never realized how much faster the combat is in Shenmue II. Dodge in Shenmue I doesn't really do anything, whereas dodging in II while take you halfway across the screen!
 
Ceej said:
Has anyone else found the immediate transition from Shenmue I to II a little jarring? I've never played them back to back like this and the subtle differences across the board are almost too much. I may end up taking a break before I truly dive into II.

Also, I never realized how much faster the combat is in Shenmue II. Dodge in Shenmue I doesn't really do anything, whereas dodging in II while take you halfway across the screen!
Click to expand...
I'm intrigued actually.

What differences are you talking about. The controls etc or more in Game?

The fighting is different and I miss how effective dodge is in 1.
 
Reprise said:
Can someone please recommend the best guide(s) for Shenmue II to complete both 'Fangmei Birthday Event' AND the 'duck races' event? It's been years since I've played through the game and done both events, so I'm not too hot on the finer details and I know if you do the chawan sign at the Blue Sky Cafe at the wrong time, you can get an event in which Eileen and Fangmei show up, but it messes up the Birthday event (so maybe you can't do both? I can't quite remember).
Click to expand...

The best guide is one you write yourself. ;)


Duck Racing:

1. Obtain a Bronze Medal. The easiest (and most immersive) way of doing this is to fail the A button QTE in Lai Lai Eatery when chasing Wong, and then compensate the waitress after you've earned some money (i$30). You can also win one from Roll it on Top in Lucky Charm Qr., or find one in the Vacant Lot near the Come Over Guest House (but this is only open after speaking to Izumi and Eileen).

2. Speak to Izumi (Tomato Mart) and Eileen (Pigeon Park). Eileen only appears after you start staying at Da Yuan Apartments.

3. Go to the third floor of the Pine Game Arcade and fight ($20 per attempt). You'll fight Eileen first, and Izumi afterwards. At this point you can optionally go and speak to Izumi and she'll show you her "special place", but this isn't required at this stage.

4. Go to Man Mo Temple and start catching leaves (you must have seen the cutscene where Xiuying is crying over her brother in order for the game to let you catch leaves again). If you catch multiple leaves multiple times in a row, you'll hear a "quack" and see a feather fall down - catch the feather and you'll get the opportunity to catch your very own duck.

5. Go and speak to Izumi and you'll be able to race your own duck ($50 per attempt). Your duck's stats start poor but increase every race depending on how you race. Overshooting corners more will increase your handling faster, going all out running out of energy will increase your stamina faster, etc. Winning a race earns you a Gold Medal.

Extra: After winning the Gold Medal (or sometimes, before - I don't know why though), you'll get the opportunity to race against mallard ducklings, a hen mallard, a drake mallard, and even (if it's raining) a penguin.


Fangmei:

Start Disc 2 of Shenmue II (i.e. start airing out the books) by February 25th. It's possible to complete the birthday sidequest starting later, but this gives you best results on all versions of the game. After airing out the books, talk to Fangmei. Walk away from her, and then walk towards her, and let her start a conversation with you. Many conversations have choices to make, and answering "wrong" will make her stop talking to you, but if you're paying attention the wrong answer should be obvious. Do this about 5-6 times every day.

February 27th: you should be at the point in the story where you can do Chawan signs. Do a Chawan sign at Man Mo Bistro, and follow the directions to Come Over Guest House and then Man Mo Park. Lose the QTE and fight; Xiuying will save you and Fangmei will look after you - this significantly raises her affection level for you. On the Xbox version (and possibly the re-release), Fangmei will not be around after this event.

February 28th: Go to Pigeon Park and talk to Eileen. From tomorrow onwards, both her and Fangmei (even if she previously disappeared) will be in Man Mo Bistro until 1:30pm.

March 1st: Go to Man Mo Bistro and talk to Fangmei and Eileen. Wait outside for the pair to leave, and then follow Eileen until she stops to look at some pots. Talk to her and you'll learn that Fangmei's birthday is on March 3rd.

March 2nd: Repeat the procedure, but this time follow Fangmei. When she passes Complete Clothier, a cutscene will play; head inside the store and buy her a present (for $150 - make sure you have the money!).

March 3rd: Head to Da Yuan Apartments and give her the present.

On your last day in Hong Kong: Head to Da Yuan Apartments and get a very special cutscene. Doing this will also give you a bonus cutscene at the end of the Kowloon part of the game.

Extra: On your first day of airing out the books, don't speak to anyone - just waste the entire day buying capsule toys. On the following day you'll get a cutscene with Fangmei where she tells you the Wulinshu is in the Man Mo Temple library.

Extra: After speaking to Fangmei and Eileen at Man Mo Bistro, head there anytime after 1:30pm for a unique QTE with Fangmei.

Extra: After speaking to Fangmei and Eileen at Man Mo Bistro, do the Chawan sign at Blue Sky Garden for a cutscene with them. They will not be around after this event (so make sure you do it on or after March 3rd).

Extra: After the fight in Dou Jiang Diner, go to the back of Man Mo Temple for yet another cutscene featuring Fangmei.
 
Thank you @DigitalDuck! That's exactly what I needed.

Quick question, what's the ideal date to skip to when messing up the QTE in the... I want to say barber shop?
 
I posted this question in another thread, but why does the owner at Wise Men’s Pawn say that the Lucky Pawn deals more in fortune telling than pawning?
 
Nevermind. I guess he has something negative to say about all the pawnshops in the area. I thought there may be more to that.
 
Ceej said:
Has anyone else found the immediate transition from Shenmue I to II a little jarring? I've never played them back to back like this and the subtle differences across the board are almost too much. I may end up taking a break before I truly dive into II.

Also, I never realized how much faster the combat is in Shenmue II. Dodge in Shenmue I doesn't really do anything, whereas dodging in II while take you halfway across the screen!
Click to expand...

Combat was the one that threw me off the most since everything feels looser. In the first game, it felt more technicial if that makes any sense to you, but I'm not really using the right wording. Dodging in Shenmue I actually requires timing, but in II, you can have a field day pressing the Y button and you'll roll all over the place and then some.
 
That Guy. said:
Combat was the one that threw me off the most since everything feels looser. In the first game, it felt more technicial if that makes any sense to you, but I'm not really using the right wording. Dodging in Shenmue I actually requires timing, but in II, you can have a field day pressing the Y button and you'll roll all over the place and then some.
Click to expand...
It's usually possible to get away with spamming Y in Shenmue I too, but I definitely know what you mean. It's a lot slower paced and more about parrying in Shenmue I.
 
Ceej said:
Has anyone else found the immediate transition from Shenmue I to II a little jarring? I've never played them back to back like this and the subtle differences across the board are almost too much. I may end up taking a break before I truly dive into II.

Also, I never realized how much faster the combat is in Shenmue II. Dodge in Shenmue I doesn't really do anything, whereas dodging in II while take you halfway across the screen!
Click to expand...

Well, it's not that the dodge in S1 didn't do anything, you still duck and parry with it, it's just that the slow pace of the combat made it feel more technical and useless sometimes.

I MUCH prefer the pace of S2's combat, it feels more responsive and the opponents feel more 1:1 with your speed, upping the challenge. I only wish that the dodge-duck-roll wasn't so automatic sometimes, it throws off some of my intentions to pull off certain moves. It would've been more preferable if you could only dodge roll once you've ducked and you immediately press the D-pad to trigger a roll in a direction, putting the control back in a skilled player, but it is what it is.

Plus the Hong Kong battle theme is much more awesome to fight through, lol.
 
Reprise said:
Thank you @DigitalDuck! That's exactly what I needed.

Quick question, what's the ideal date to skip to when messing up the QTE in the... I want to say barber shop?
Click to expand...

If all you're interested in is doing the Fangmei/Duck Racing sidequests, the best date to skip to would be February 24th (as you can complete the rest of Disc 1 on that day).

If you're doing other things too it'll be helpful to leave a bit more time.
 
DigitalDuck said:
If all you're interested in is doing the Fangmei/Duck Racing sidequests, the best date to skip to would be February 24th (as you can complete the rest of Disc 1 on that day).

If you're doing other things too it'll be helpful to leave a bit more time.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I thought that was probably the case. I'm probably just doing the Fangmei/Duck Race sidequests.
 
Life_247 said:
All I can think about was my play through before S2 came out and I did a save with loads of money and trained up moves. Wasted next to no money in the arcades and on toys - then Wong stole it!!!
Click to expand...

Almost fell head first into that this time around! 15 years since playing it. Luckily Joy's comment had me "wait a minute... This was important... Argh! Buy zippos!" Now regret not having blown all the yen on capsule toys. Definitely will next time playing SI.
 
spud1897 said:
I'm intrigued actually.

What differences are you talking about. The controls etc or more in Game?

The fighting is different and I miss how effective dodge is in 1.
Click to expand...

More in game. I know this is by no means the fault of Yu or the rest of the team, but the scale of Shenmue II doesn't allow for that feeling that every single detail has been carefully considered like in I.

I found the mouth animations much more natural in I than II as well...it seems like their mouths just move up and down in the second entry? Ryo's running animation is just different enough to be distracting as well.

That's all in addition to the (excellent) fish out of water feeling that makes you feel as if you just left your lifelong home for a brand new land ?

I think these are all nitpicks though, I've played Shenmue II to death and have never noticed this stuff before. I think a break will do me well.
 
Ceej said:
More in game. I know this is by no means the fault of Yu or the rest of the team, but the scale of Shenmue II doesn't allow for that feeling that every single detail has been carefully considered like in I.

I found the mouth animations much more natural in I than II as well...it seems like their mouths just move up and down in the second entry? Ryo's running animation is just different enough to be distracting as well.

That's all in addition to the (excellent) fish out of water feeling that makes you feel as if you just left your lifelong home for a brand new land ?

I think these are all nitpicks though, I've played Shenmue II to death and have never noticed this stuff before. I think a break will do me well.
Click to expand...

You’re getting the two games mixed up on the mouth animations.
 
Ceej said:
More in game. I know this is by no means the fault of Yu or the rest of the team, but the scale of Shenmue II doesn't allow for that feeling that every single detail has been carefully considered like in I.

I found the mouth animations much more natural in I than II as well...it seems like their mouths just move up and down in the second entry? Ryo's running animation is just different enough to be distracting as well.

That's all in addition to the (excellent) fish out of water feeling that makes you feel as if you just left your lifelong home for a brand new land ?

I think these are all nitpicks though, I've played Shenmue II to death and have never noticed this stuff before. I think a break will do me well.
Click to expand...

IF you watch the digital foundry reveiws on both games , im sure they mentioned how the gfx are not as good as the first game due to the scale.

But yeah i agree with you, I immediatly noticed the drop in gfx too , usually i play them further apart so dont notice.

One thing thats really jarring to me is the water effct in the harbour from the xbox version, it looks cheap and plasticy. Reminds me on something from blue stinger. Can someone mod the dc texture effect back in i wonder? It matches the rest of the gfx better.

Voice animations are definitely worse, especially Ryo. Probs a result as Eng VA being xbox only.

Also I dont like how 'useless' the world feels in hong kong in shenmue 2. The areas way larger, but most of it has no use. I know it was sort of the same in shenmue 1, but most of the places/shops/restaurents/bars etc were used for story parts etc , had cutscenes in them etc.

I think its as a result of the game going from less to chapters to more chapters.

I still love the game though, just saying the things i noticed that werent as good :)
 
I prefer Xbox’s water texture. It really adds to the opening scene. Even when I first played S2 on dreamcast, I was put off by how flat the water looked.
 
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