Random Shenmue Thoughts

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I’ve been going back and forth playing Shenmue and Shenmue 2 recently. Last time I beat them both was when the remasters were first released. Currently looking for Charlie.

Gotta say, I still love the atmosphere of both games. They’re both very different from each other, and it’s still hard for me to figure out which one I prefer. I still feel like there’s so much I haven’t found in Shenmue 2, to the point where it’s kind of overwhelming. I think that’s why I gravitate towards the first game a little more. Something about that small, small town feel gets me. It’s good to go back every once in awhile to remind myself why I love these games. They’re so earnest. Especially in this day and age where I’m so cynical about everything 😂
 
code l name said:
As I get older, I find myself gravitating towards the first game more and more. Perhaps it’s sense of familiarity, community and home. Perhaps it’s the dynamic FREE music.

It’s a game so unlike many modern titles yet always pulls me in.
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I’d always considered S2 to be my favorite, but, like you, my appreciation for the first game has grown a lot in recent years (something that your post just helped me to realize). When I compare the two as video games, I still think that S2 has the original beat in just about every measurable category, but there’s just some intangible quality that has me craving the first game as of late.

As you say, that’s likely to do with the sense of familiarity and community that S1 exudes, but I think that there’s perhaps a little more to it than that. I always saw the first two Shenmue games as being in perfect balance; one giving off those cosy hometown vibes and the other selling the promise of a new world full of adventure. I guess in my younger days I yearned for the latter, whereas now I prefer the idea of having somewhere to belong and call home.
 
WuyingRen said:
I guess in my younger days I yearned for the latter, whereas now I prefer the idea of having somewhere to belong and call home.
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In my original post I was going to write something similar but you stole the words out of my mouth. I couldn’t agree with those sentiments more and that’s part of the beauty with Shenmue.
 
code l name said:
In my original post I was going to write something similar but you stole the words out of my mouth. I couldn’t agree with those sentiments more and that’s part of the beauty with Shenmue.
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It did occur to me as I was writing that post that most people probably go through a similar change in perspective as they get a bit older and the wanderlust begins to dissipate. I also found myself wondering whether perhaps Yu had this perspective shift in mind when designing the games all those years ago, but I think I may be giving him a little too much credit there.
 
WuyingRen said:
I also found myself wondering whether perhaps Yu had this perspective shift in mind when designing the games all those years ago, but I think I may be giving him a little too much credit there.
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Yes, he had. Shenmue talks a lot about his director as is not just his most personal world but one of the most personal and brave games ever. Imho Ine-san mother figure, Ryo and Fuku-san and some others are splits of Yu-san life or personality. That could be a reasonable explanation for so many reconnings and changes, because his own perspective shifts along time.
And maybe now Im the one giving to much reading here but I believe certain aspects of gameplay are also personal YS touches. For example, the way how stamina depletes in Shenmue 3 its he telling how he thinks about energy and vital force, after the lapse from S1&2 releases.
 
Seaman said:
Yes, he had. Shenmue talks a lot about his director as is not just his most personal world but one of the most personal and brave games ever. Imho Ine-san mother figure, Ryo and Fuku-san and some others are splits of Yu-san life or personality. That could be a reasonable explanation for so many reconnings and changes, because his own perspective shifts along time.
And maybe now Im the one giving to much reading here but I believe certain aspects of gameplay are also personal YS touches. For example, the way how stamina depletes in Shenmue 3 its he telling how he thinks about energy and vital force, after the lapse from S1&2 releases.
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Oh I’ve no doubt that Yu sought to create those contrasting atmospheres across the two games. In fact, I believe he’s expressed as much in interviews over the years. What I was talking about was more the idea that he somehow foresaw each game resonating differently with players depending on what stage in life they were at and that their feelings toward the series might gradually change to reflect that over time.

I suspect that you’re right about his own experiences in later life having shaped a lot of the design choices that went into S3 though. Like in the first two games, just about everything about Shenmue 3 felt remarkably deliberate, albeit with the intentions behind some of those decisions being a little more opaque at times.
 
WuyingRen said:
I also found myself wondering whether perhaps Yu had this perspective shift in mind when designing the games all those years ago, but I think I may be giving him a little too much credit there.
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It’s hard to say, I think the truth was it was rather serendipitous. For example during games development, we learnt for a while he was adamant of keeping Akira as main character despite staff wanting it to be a wholly original character, only to change his mind. In addition thanks to amazing work done by @Switch we have interviews where the game was originally going to start in China before being changed.

It’s likely while they were fleshing out chapter 1 they honed in on those elements but it’s hard to envision it any other way.
 
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 The Casual Meeting with Yu Suzuki from My Dreams
- Ho- hoa! Y-you a-are the Yu Suzuki! Sweet lord!

[He gives me the cold glare in silence]

- When Shenmue next? When? Let me hug you! Hugs!

- Dont touch me, kid.

- Hugs! Tickles! Kisses! Huuug!

[He unleashes bajiquan form on me]

- I told you dont touch me! Told you!

- Ay! Yu-san! Ooof! I love you! Arrgh! Palm Thrust?! Cool! Ungf! My ribs! Reduced to vaporwave!

- For a million time, I got nothing to do with that visual style! Kiai!

- Unnngh... *Cof* Yu-san... Yes, you did it with Outrun... *spurt* Also you incepted the desire for a blonde copilot... into a whole generation... Look, my own pool of blood is heartshaped, its honoring you...

THUMP! [Very hard stomp in my head]

I pass away and awake at the hospital. Doctors and police asks me who attacked me, who did this tremendous disaster to your body, boy? I proudly answer:

- Unnng... dizzy.. Look at me and rejoice, sir mister police and lord doctors, because it was his majesty Yu Suzuki... The mastermind behind Virtua Fighter, Shenmue and vaporwave.

So Yu-san reappears in the ER room, very angry and restart beating me for repeating he created vaporwave.

- For a million time...
 

I might be late to the party with this one but I thought it was a cool find. I was nearly going to be dumb and say 'how did he do this on disc 1?' :LOL:


This is probably my favourite scene in the first game. Departure for hope was the perfect choice for background music. I have these moments where I could stop thinking about Shenmue for months but I always get sucked back in...
 
the problem with being a shenmue fan is, you start seeing/hearing shenmue everywhere.

i was rewatching big trouble in little china and i could swear i could hear part of the motorcycle chase tune.

 
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