I am not going to deny that the slow pacing in the first game turned some gamers off. However in my opinion, the narrative flowed naturally and everything made sense. If you embraced the slow pacing, you were rewarded with an amazing experience. Also, I do find it kind of ironic that people complain about the forklift sections for two reasons.
Slow pacing can turn people off for sure. I don't have a problem with games that have slow pacing, or that Shenmue starts off slowly. I think the pacing in Shenmue 1 is broken though.
From a narrative standpoint, it was ultimately about trailing the Mad Angels to the Chi You Men (thus leading to Longsun Zhao) via the Long Zha. From a gameplay standpoint, the forklift segments are broken up with plenty of fighting, learning new moves, and action. Then it all culminates on Ryo's fifth and final day where the stakes are seriously raised.
Disc 3 is about half of the game (10 hours long). Around half of that is driving the forklift (that's close to 5 hours!). The forklift can be fun in a way, but for a game about martial arts and ancient Chinese artifacts spending a quarter of it going to work and doing menial tasks makes no sense. Shenmue isn't about driving forklifts, so it shouldn't spend such a significant amount of time on what really has no significance on the rest of the series. People, like that reviewer, rightly recognize that it's just a filler side quest that has no bearing on the main story in anyway. It just feels like the game comes to a grinding halt in terms of its momentum after what I think is a perfectly paced Disc 2.
That's not to mention that most people don't find grinding away days doing a job simulator to be fun. I know it's controversial to say around here but I think the forklifts are the worst part about Shenmue (all 3 games). I dread replaying Shenmue 1 because of it.
I don't know about anyone else, but I remember Shenmue Chapter One: Yokosuka not for the forklift segments.I remember it for its incredible opening. I remember it for its surrealist dream sequences. I remember it for the awesome motorcycle ride to and from the harbor. I remember it for the awesome fight between Gui Zhang and Ryo and the seventy man battle afterwards. I remember it for the adamant look of vengeance in Ryo's eyes as he was meditating in the dojo. And finally, I remember it for the melancholy feel of Ryo leaving everything in Yokosuka behind.
For sure. Shenmue 1 is about 50% brilliant for me. It's filled with great memorable scenes and characters. The thing is though the third Disc is on rails. you have to work at the harbour for 6 days and can't explore Dobuita anymore. There are a few action scenes sprinkled in each day, but even fighting can be boring if it's repetitive and without stakes.
For me anyways, the minute day to day details added up in the end; making the larger events much more impactful. Also please speak for yourself when you say "everyone" wants a sequel to Shenmue II (a great game don't get me wrong). My problem with Shenmue III's narrative was not its slow pacing. My problems with the narrative were ideas not being fleshed out, no culminating tension that pays off, and rushed pacing. Something the first game did not have an issue with since it told its story with intricate detail.
Shenmue 1 and 3 have different issues. I agree with you on your criticisms of S3. Shenmue is definitely enhanced with the moments in between the story beats.
I get that Shenmue (especially the first game) isn't for everyone. However, I honestly believe the first game has just as much merit as the second game. It's this long road that Ryo has traveled on that makes Shenmue so memorable. And for me at least, it started with the first game. It's not about being a life simulator, asking for sailors, or forklifts.
I get where you're coming from, I still think S1 is a decent game with a lot of good parts. But S1 is supposed to be the first chapter of 11 and I think the major issue with it is it was supposed to be one game with S2. Breaking the games up was the big mistake that impacted Shenmue's legacy because it caused the first game to become bloated with filler and in turn alienate a lot of mainstream people. I can't blame people for not understanding Shenmue when Shenmue 1 spends more time fleshing out the MA than the CYM have been in 3 games.
The waiting can be a bit tiresome, and I can see how others would simply look at the game at a glance and think its slow and boring, but they can't see the forest through the trees.
I think this is the crux of it. Most people can't see the potential of Shenmue from the first game alone. I remember when it came out and I played it. I was sitting and talking with a friend who also had played it and we were thinking of where the sequel would go. We both agreed that Shenmue was alright but its merit would rest on how S2 played out. We both thought it had great potential but were skeptical of it being good. One year later and we got our socks knocked off by a sequel we couldn't have imagined and became fans ever since.
We were able to see the potential of Shenmue through the flaws. Poor design decisions like the forced waiting, forced working, uneven pacing, bloated story etc. made it so that a lot of people who just weren't as invested in the potential of the story turned away from the game. It's a shame because you see it with the HD re-releases that so many reviews are only of the first game. Hardly anyone is willing to give Shenmue 2 a chance to change their minds.
