Random Shenmue Thoughts

SliverOfSand said:
This is something I have always loved about Shenmue. The fact that I’m playing as a completely different person, and yet, it feels like I’m the one in Ryo’s shoes. Whenever I talk about Shenmue with people, I use statements like ‘I need to find Lan Di’ even though it’s a story with set characters. If Shenmue were a book or a show, nobody would say things like that. But the fact that Shenmue is a game allows it to be the most immersive experience possible. I think that’s what I love about games. When a game has a character with their own story and motivations, and yet the player can project themselves onto that character.

I think games sometimes lose that magic with all of the custom character options out there. Don’t get me wrong, I love having that feature in some games. I just think that even though you created the character yourself, it loses the impact on the story. I don’t know if this makes any sense, but for me, the more you get to personalize the main character, the less of a connection I feel. I think that Yu Suzuki was able to create a character that was ‘blank’ enough for the player to project but not to a point where Ryo has no personality at all.
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Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but I think understand where you are coming from. You prefer a middle ground between an established avatar with their personality and one without. So that you can feel a personal connection and relate to the character. If this is the case, I can understand and respect that viewpoint.

I will simply state where I am coming from. As someone who has grown up with role-playing games (both tabletop and video games), I tend to lean a bit more towards a custom avatar than a designed one. The reason for this is because I feel they are me in every sense of the word because of the effort I put into them. This is not to say that established avatars are poorly designed because they are not, it is just how I connect to a character.

In either case, you and I can agree that Yu Suzuki did an outstanding job in finding a nice middle ground between the two. In either case, thank you very much for your input in my meager opinion.
 
I've been going through some scans for a gaming site and recently scanned the Shenmue guides, Not sure if there are many Hi-res scans available but I'll leave them here incase there of any use:
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Hiki said:
I love all the scenes with Shozo Mizuki, it is one of my favorite parts of the game. Ryo made a friendship with a homeless man, this was really nice in my opinion. At first Ryo understimated Shozo, after that Shozo showed to Ryo that he knows how to fight and then Ryo learned a move with him.

We should never judge and underestimate someone because of someone's clothes, age, gender and much more. Ryo learned that with Shozo and with Xiuying aswell. Shozo Mizuki is one of my favorite characters in the game.

One of my favorite scenes in the game is the ending, Ryo saying goodbye to Ine-san and Fuku-san, Ryo doing the bow, Ryo walking one last time in Dobuita before going to Hong Kong, the Chai part, the flashback with Nozomi, Ryo in the boat while we can hear the main theme and the prophecy, it is just amazing, unforgettable.

When i play Shenmue i really feel like i'm there living a life in Yokosuka, like i really am in Ryo's place and the game have a homely feel, it is one of the beautiful things about this game.




Shenmue was released in 1999 and i finished the game for the first time in 2015, now i’m a Shenmue fan. To me games don't have an expiration date, a good game won't just be good at the time of its release, a good game will always be a good game to me, new games will not change my opinion about old games. I agree, lamentably this series nor its creator get the justice they deserve.

When I started playing Shenmue for the first time I didn't compare Shenmue with the new games at that time, i just wanted to play and have a good time with the game, i love old games, people love to compare old games with new games and then say they aged poorly, i don't do that, my mindset is that i just want to play and have a good time with the game.

Shenmue Chapter 1: Yokosuka is a masterpiece to me, a beauty work of art that i will love for the rest of my life, time will not change that.
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Very beautifully said Hiki. Shenmue has plenty awesome life lessons in it if you want to find them. It most certainly help shaped my 12 year old brain back in 2000.

I adore the ending too. I've told you and countless others before on this forum but the ending of Shenmue 1 is still my absolute favorite ending of any medium of all-time. Nothing has ever came close to that special ending. When Nozomi says how "I wish...we had more time" before turning away sad and walking away is phenomenal. It's wonderful in the sense that yeah she's right if only you two didn't have to both leave Japan they would probably live out their lives together. Such a special ending. I always loved how the last thing he thought of before leaving Japan was Nozomi and that sorta smile he gives before departing onto the boat is world-class storytelling.

I agree Hiki good things don't have a expectation date to them. I never understood why people think that way.

I also love how the game just throws you into the town without a map or anything. I'll never forget talking the burger shop guy and he telling me about Tom by the hotdog truck and at the time my 12 year old self being who the F is Tom lol. But it makes sense of course Ryo would know where everything and everyone is. Also getting to know both of those things is one of the terrific parts of the game. I know Nozomi's, Gui Zhang, the Hazuki residence & the weather phone numbers better than I know my friends phone numbers in real life and that is frankly great but also shows how much of a impact this masterpiece has had on my life.

I also have to echo that last statement Chapter One is truly a masterpiece in every since of the word.
 
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I search for Shenmue everyday for news. Very disappointing to see the first two "people also ask" results... u___u
 
In German the questions are bit more friendly which is a funny difference

The Translation is.

What is the Meaning of Shenmue
Were does Shenmue 3 takes place

and how many Dreamcast Games are there.

Nobody is asking why the game is bad. Or the stuipid Yakuza question.

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No news there, really. Even with Shenmue 1 & 2 on Dreamcast, this series has always been the video game equivalent of Marmite.
 
bcdcdude said:
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I search for Shenmue every day for news. Very disappointing to see the first two "people also ask" results... u___u
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I really would not let it get you down too much as you can not control how people feel. After all, actions speak louder than words. When I see countless people in Europe lining up for Yu Suzuki's autograph when I see almost seventy-thousand people crowdfunding Shenmue III; when I see Limited Run games run out of limited edition Shenmue III merchandise I can not help but smile.

I have learned from this fanbase to never give up despite the hardships that come our way. Just think in due time we will be getting a Shenmue anime of all things alongside a wealth of merchandise that will come with it. So to quote Nozomi "Cheer up will ya."
 
In Brazil this appear

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Translation
Will there be Shenmue 4?
How to play Shenmue?
and the last is... How much cost Skyrim? i don't know why this appeared about Skyrim when i searched for Shenmue.

Interesting to see the differences between the countries when we search Shenmue on Google.

Tsukuyomimagi99 said:
I really would not let it get you down too much as you can not control how people feel. After all, actions speak louder than words. When I see countless people in Europe lining up for Yu Suzuki's autograph when I see almost seventy-thousand people crowdfunding Shenmue III; when I see Limited Run games run out of limited edition Shenmue III merchandise I can not help but smile.

I have learned from this fanbase to never give up despite the hardships that come our way. Just think in due time we will be getting a Shenmue anime of all things alongside a wealth of merchandise that will come with it. So to quote Nozomi "Cheer up will ya."
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Beautiful words and i agree with everything. The Shenmue community never gave up on Shenmue and here we are now, we have Shenmue I and II HD, we have Shenmue III, SEGA released Shenmue products, we will have a anime and i think Shenmue IV will happen, Shenmue is in a better place now than it was 14 years ago.

The Shenmue community is beautiful, a community that never give up and this is beautiful. I'm glad I'm part of this amazing community. LetsGetShenmueIV.
 
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Thank you very much @Hiki as I feel very content with users like you and @Kenzo38130. I am content seeing YouTube comments praising the original Shenmue titles; I am content in seeing new YouTube personalities loving the series. I feel this way because it is humbling to know that once we older fans are gone, that you will be here to carry on the torch so to speak. To see a series have this much devotion behind it is wonderful.
 
I love all types of games, games with fantasy, action, adventures in different worlds and much more but games like Shenmue and Deadly Premonition made the mundane/realism in a interesting way, i love the details in this games, i love this type of games.

Final Fantasy XV is a more reality FF and i really enjoy XV.

Deadly Premonition is one of my favorite games. The story, the soundtrack, the vibe and feeling of the game and much more, the only thing i think it could have been better is the gameplay but it was ok, i got used to it when i played but it is a amazing game, especially about the story and vibe of the game, i really want to play Deadly Premonition again.

In my opinion the mundane/realism can be interesting in games, anime and other media, for me it depends on the day, some days i prefer to play fantasy/and other types of games but other days i love to play and see stories with more mundane/realism.

This type of games is amazing, don't you think, Zach? 😊
 
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I've started Shenmue II again and in Kowloon. I'm happy that i'm able to remember just enough that much of the story beats are fresh again.

I've just finished the point where Ryo and Ren are locked up and escape from Dou Niu. However, I noticed that when they get caught, the loading screen says "the 3rd day". Then after they sleep on the roof, they don't get back to the hideout until the next day...

Maybe that's why Shenmue III has a food system! Ryo and Ren must've been wasting away in Shenmue II!!
 
I don't know if anyone has posted this here but I found it very interesting, really interesting to see the house from the Ziming and Xiuying flashback, Yuanda Zhu room and Shenhua flashback house (About Shenhua flashback house i posted on another thread) this house is probably in Louyang and i have hope that we will see Louyang in Shenmue IV.

Really nice to see what the community discovered over the years, the Shenmue community is so passionate, we really love Shenmue in such a deep way, and here we are, people from all over the world connected because of Shenmue, and we never give up, this is wonderful, like i said before i'm really glad i'm part of this community.





Question for people here, anyone has ever done a complete 100% saves in Shenmue I and II? with all the cassette tapes, capsule toys, items, complete notebook and all the other things? i think i finished the first game 4 times and i still didn't experience all the dialogues, scenes and all the other things this game has to offer, Shenmue have so many details, details that i don't even see in new games, i know i said it a billion times but i will say it again, Shenmue is a masterpiece.
 
I'm having fun playing it and trying different ways of getting to the next objective (and purposefully failing QTE's!), but I think 100%-ing is too much effort for me. I've never got a Gold Dural or the Kids Dural with the fish in her head in all this time, but I don't have the time or patience to try these days!
 
Maybe people talk more about the first game, i don’t know, i love talking about Shenmue II, one of my favorite games of all time, a masterpiece, the Guilin part in Shenmue II is one of my favorite parts in videogame of all time, is one of my favorite parts in Ryo’s Journey, The Xiuying and Ziming story is one of my favorite parts in the Shenmue story, there are so many things to talk about Shenmue II.

I love talking about everything in the Shenmue World. I love talking about VFRPG days, What’s Shenmue (Have i told before that to me this demo is amazing? even the Shenmue demo is different, different dialogues and have its own little story and details) Shenmue I and II, Shenmue Online, Shenmue City, Shenmue III, Shenmue Anime, Shenmue IV, everything about Shenmue. 😊

I have plans to play all Shenmue games again this year.
 
code l name said:
I saw this lengthy Shenmue 2 review the other day from a series newcomer who thoroughly enjoyed the second game. It is one thing I noticed in the online discourse so much emphasis is on the first game and a lot of reasons people give up on the original is largely rectified in the sequel, yet if you look at discussions it is largely forgotten.
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This is a shame because Shenmue II is a masterpiece with plenty of memorable moments. From the four Wude to the catching of leaves to Xiuying hypnotically practicing in the moonlight to your adventures with Ren in Kowloon and finally to your contemplative trip with Shenhua in the Bailu mountains with a majestic hawk soaring over the waterfall. And for the Coup De Grace, a moment etched into players' minds for over fifteen years.

While I will always acknowledge Shenmue II as a masterpiece and I am fine with players preferring the second title over the first one, I will always have a soft spot for Chapter One: Yokosuka as my personal favorite in the series. For me, it felt a bit more grounded and less streamlined than Shenmue II.

What players consider flaws in the first Shenmue title, I consider being strengths. The slower pace engages you in the minutia of everyday life and rewarded those who were patient. It did everything in its power to encourage players to explore the rich world of detail Suzuki and AM2 developed. If one engaged with the world, the passport disc would open up a wealth of information to further engage you.

For example, Yamagashi-san was not only a martial arts practitioner but also served in the Japanese military during the war. He also has a crush on Ine Hayata oddly enough. Or how the shrine one raises the kitten at is for Inari a Shinto God of prosperity. Or that Nozomi fell in love with Ryo because he protected her from bullies due to her being discriminated against for her half-Canadian heritage.

These are things I think people sadly overlook in favor of jokes about sailors and forklift memes. While Shenmue II no doubt deserves its reputation as a masterpiece, I believe Shenmue Chapter One: Yokosuka with its richly detailed world, deep combat system, and excellently paced narrative makes it just as much of a masterpiece in my eyes as the second title.
 
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