Poll: First Playthrough: Japanese VA or English VA?

First Playthrough: Japanese VA or English VA?

  • Japanese

    Votes: 46 54.8%

  • English

    Votes: 38 45.2%
  • Total voters
    84
danielmann861 said:
It’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t (which has really been at the heart of Shenmue III since it was announced)
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Honestly, I think they made the right choice. English dub for the classic stupid cheese, and Japanese dub for the quality drama the way it was intended. If we didn't have access to both, then I agree it would probably be more of a dilemma.
 
Truck_1_0_1_ said:
Tom for example, you write as him being more authentic in the Japanese dub, but I guarantee you if we never had an English dub to begin with, he would hardly be as memorable or as iconic
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And you have the inimitable Ryan Drees to thank for that :D

So sad he wasn't called on board for Shenmue 3...
 
Japanese. I'm excited about it too as this'll be my first time having my initial experience with a Shenmue game be in Japanese.
If I couldn't speak Japanese I'd be using the English dub though. Cuz y'know subtitles and whatnot.

I'll give the English version a go on a later playthrough just for nostalgia's sake
 
I'm actually flipping now. English on second play, Japanese first. My mind was changed by my own post; My original message upon voting wanted to soak in photography and body language along with hearing my native tongue. Yet, I've been proficient at, and prefer to, read subtitles in film and games for at least 15 years regardless of language--I can read dialogue and watch body language simultaneous and plenty sufficient.

Besides, I've been planning on playing it back-to-back since I first pre-ordered in March anyway, so I'll hear Shenhua's great new English actress soon enough.

oof my changed vote just tipped the balance in favor of Japanese haha
 
English dub without a doubt! There's no way I'm missing out on any unintentional hilarity. I played Shenmue II subbed as that was the only way and loved it, but the xbox port often had me creasing. All part of the charm. There's no right answer imo, just glad we can choose this time!

Also no one delivers a "Lan Di!" like Corey!

LET'S GO THE ARCADEEEEEE!!! I'm like HELL YEAH KIDDO IM ALREADY HYPED ?
 
English VO.

Some games take themselves way too fucking seriously. Can't wait for a refreshing change with some delicious Shenmue cheese.
 
I literally can't choose. On the one hand, I grew up with the Dreamcast version of Shenmue 2 and really enjoyed the Japanese voice track. Like Daniel, I really like Masaya as Ryo. On the other hand, as goofy as it is, I'm used to the English dub in the first game and Corey IS Ryo for me, just as much as Masaya is for me in Shenmue 2. The English dub, whilst not great, does also sound better in Shenmue 3.
 
Reprise said:
I literally can't choose. On the one hand, I grew up with the Dreamcast version of Shenmue 2 and really enjoyed the Japanese voice track. Like Daniel, I really like Masaya as Ryo. On the other hand, as goofy as it is, I'm used to the English dub in the first game and Corey IS Ryo for me, just as much as Masaya is for me in Shenmue 2. The English dub, whilst not great, does also sound better in Shenmue 3.
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I concur. I'm used to the English dub for the first game and Japanese in the second.

Playing through Shenmue 1 at the moment in Japanese, and it's a bit weird, just because it's not what I'm used to.
 
I remember I was quite bratty (whatever is less dramatic than the term traumatized) when I had to play with the Japanese VA of Shenmue II on Dreamcast. I nearly did a backflip when I heard that their would be an English VA releasing for Xbox. So, long answer made short, English VA hands down. I know I poked fun at Marshall's present crack at Ryo in another thread, but I don't think I could relive the experience I had that made me love the series in the first place -- i.e., Shenmue I (English).
 
Japanese all the way. Used to the Dreamcast version of shenmue 2 always preferred the Japanese va for ryo over Corey. I used to like the cheese back when 1 was released but I don’t want it in a new game particularly.
 
Elfshadowreaper said:
I would say English but I hate how they edit Corey’s lines. He’ll be like “Do we need to go to. The store?” Or “Shenhua, I was wondering do you. Know about the four wude?”

I don’t think I’ve heard it that bad in the Japanese audio.

And then the other day I heard Shenhua introduce Ryo as “Leo” and it sounded so bad. And the pronunciation of names in the English has always seemed inconsistent. It takes me out of the experience.
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This is unironically my favorite part of the dub. Even the small bit we heard in the demo had me cracking up at parts. I really hate the "hurf durf just like 1999! :)))" comments, but in this case it really was like I was teleported back in time.

average shenmue dialogue.jpg

Reprise said:
I literally can't choose. On the one hand, I grew up with the Dreamcast version of Shenmue 2 and really enjoyed the Japanese voice track. Like Daniel, I really like Masaya as Ryo. On the other hand, as goofy as it is, I'm used to the English dub in the first game and Corey IS Ryo for me, just as much as Masaya is for me in Shenmue 2. The English dub, whilst not great, does also sound better in Shenmue 3.
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I was kind of facing the same dilemma for a while. When I first heard the JP audio through the Magic 2018 trailer (played 2 on DC with english dubs added back in, so didn't hear the Japanese audio like many others did through that), I was seriously shocked by how good it sounded. So natural and exciting. Ultimately, I decided on english for my first playthrough solely on the fact that it's how I initially experienced the first two games.
 
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This is a really tough decision and one that I'm still not comfortable to make. Despite playing through the 1st two games first with English voices I don't know if I'll play 3 like that.
 
I will play all the times with japanese voices, i hate dubs on anything i prefer listen to the original voices always, if any game doesn't have the original voices is a move on. Like some jrpgs that are english voices only god no, i don't wanna bleed from my ears.
 
I'm actually the exact same way; anime, has to be in Japanese. Foreign films, have to be in their language.

I have 0 issues with subtitles, in fact, I have put them on every opportunity I can, whenever I watch something (its VERY easy to miss dialogue, specifically when a character is hard to understand).
 
I played the original Shenmue in English and the second game in Japanese as those were the versions released on the Dreamcast in the UK.

On my HD remaster playthroughs I repeated what I had done previously on the Dreamcast and switched the language from English to Japanese on the 2nd game. In some ways I liked doing this because it made the 2nd game feel (even more) like I had gone to a foreign country and was out of my comfort zone.

I'm currently replaying the titles and at the moment I'm midway through disk 2 on Shenmue 2.This time however I'm playing Shenmue 2 in English for the first time and it isn't as bad as I thought it would be (I remember trying this on my first HD playthough and finding it unbearable but this time I stuck with it).

Shenmue 3 I'll complete first in English then again in Japanese.
 
GM-Shenmue said:
I will play all the times with japanese voices, i hate dubs on anything i prefer listen to the original voices always, if any game doesn't have the original voices is a move on. Like some jrpgs that are english voices only god no, i don't wanna bleed from my ears.
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I get ya. Although I think I'm able to go either way. Some dubs I don't mind. For example, I actually really like the dub for Persona 4. To the point where I actually think I like it better than the original Japanese track. Honest, I really dig Persona 4's dub and tend to play that game with the dub more often than not.

But then there are other instances where it's the Japanese track or nothing (Death Note comes to mind)

As for films? Depends on the film...9 out of 10 times, it's original language. I think with live action stuff the disconnect is so noticeable and off putting. When your watching an actor say their lines but the dub is so clearly off from the mouth movement, it's a complete disconnect. So I tend to watch foreign films with their original language more often than not. That and I feel you should show the original actors respect for their performances.

But on certain occasions, I like having a dub. Godzilla movies can be wildly entertaining with the English dub turned on for all the wrong reasons. Ichi the Killer has a hilarious English dub that makes Kakihara sound like Clive Owen.

I can go back and forward but more often than not I tend to stick to original language. But sometimes I find myself enjoying dubs for all the wrong reasons.
 
Alright so I finally caved like a retard and watched the youtube ad, and I have to say I actually didn't think Corey sounded bad there at all. For the record, I thought Corey sounded bad in plenty of other places and am sure the JP voice actor will be even better on that scene, so it's not just a matter of me blindly defending Corey.
 
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