Random Shenmue Thoughts

Sakuragaoka Winter Snow

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I was on Youtube listening to music when i saw this video on the recommended part of YouTube, the title of the video caught my attention and not in a good way, this video was posted 11 days ago, it is a recent video.

The title of the video is... "SHENMUE: How did SEGA's Best Game become UNBEARABLE?"

The title and the video is in portuguese of Brazil, my first language.

I really think the title of the video is really harsh, the word "UNBEARABLE" this way was not nice, the title and with this thumbnail is really harsh in my opinion, but of course people can dislike Shenmue all they want, i just don't think these kind of titles and thumbnails are nice.

Like i said in other post the Shenmue series is struggling to survive, in my opinion this could really harm the Shenmue series even more.

I decided to watch the video, i really wanted to see why this person thinks that the first game is so UNBEARABLE now.

First he starts by saying that Shenmue was a revolutionary game at the time it was released, he explained in detail all the reasons why Shenmue was so revolutionary in 1999, and i agree with everything about this part of the video.

Then he continued... "So why the game is so unbearable now?" he basically said that the qualities that Shenmue had in 1999 now in 2023 are flaws. I will make a list here about the reasons why he thinks the game is so unbearable now, and i will give my opinion about why i don't agree with him.

1. Too much conversations with NPCs.

He said that he probably did 70% of the game and that he can't stand talking with NPCs anymore, that even if we decide to get straight to the point we still spend most of the time talking with NPCs in the game.

2. The dub is bad

In his opinion the dub is unbearable and aged really poorly, that the graphics of the game are really good but the dub is boring, and that he can't stand talking so much with NPCs. I really don't know if he played the game with the voices in japanese or in english.

3. Lack of Fighting scenes

He said that he is not a fan of fighting games but even for him he thought that the game lack fighting scenes, that if the game have 5% of fighting scenes is a lot, he even compared Shenmue to GTA, that Shenmue is not like GTA that we have guns and that we can attack people on the streets, that most of the time in the game we will only talk with NPCs.


4. Waiting in the game

Long story short he said he can't stand waiting in the game, that in a lot of parts in the game we have to wait, and that when he have to wait in the game he just put the controller on the side and start using his phone, and that this is really bad for him.

He knows that we can do other things in the game like exploring the city, buying things on Tomato Convenience Store and stuff like that, but he said he doesn't have much free time, real world free time so he doesn't want to do stuff like that, and then he compared Shenmue to GTA again, that in GTA we can at least driving cars, attack people and much more, but he thinks Shenmue is practically just talking with NPCs.

5. Story

He said that it doesn't make any sense, that if the game was really realistic we would have a gun and we would shoot Lan Di, that we would not spend time training martial arts, that we would achieve revenge with a gun, or put the japanese police in the case to pursuit Lan Di.


That it doesn't make any sense Ryo collecting clues so he can fight Lan Di, that this is not realistic.

Long story short he thinks the game aged poorly.

I respect his opinion, he can dislike Shenmue all he wants, i just want to share my opinion about why i don't agree with him.

1. Talking with NPCs in Shenmue is one of the most fun and relaxing aspects of Shenmue to me, every NPC is different, and when we get a new clue the conversations with NPCs will change, will also learn many things about the world of the game and about the characters with these conversations.

Talking with NPCs in the game is really that unbearable to the point of being a bad thing in the game? in the video he said a lot of times how much he dislikes talking with NPCs, i really don't agree, i love talking with NPCs in Shenmue.

2. I don't know if he played the game with the voices in english or japanese, some people say the dub is bad but is a matter of opinion, to me the voices in Shenmue are one of the charms of the game and now i can't imagine Shenmue, Shenmue II and Shenmue III without these voices, one of the reasons why the Shenmue games are so unique is because of these voices.

I like both the english and japanese versions but i prefer to play the game in japanese.

3. Shenmue to me is not just about fighting, Shenmue to me is a detective game and like a life simulator. he compared Shenmue with GTA, he said that in GTA we have guns and that we can attack people on the streets, that for him Shenmue is just talking with NPCs.

Shenmue is not GTA, will never be GTA and doesn't need to be like GTA to be good, is not a flaw to me that we can't have guns in Shenmue, is not a flaw to me that we can't attack people on the streets in Shenmue.

In my opinion the fighting scenes in Shenmue happen when it need to happen. Ryo only enter in fights when someone attack him first, when he needs to fight somebody to get closer to Lan Di, and when he decides to help someone. Ryo don't carry guns and knifes, he only use his fists and this is linked to martial arts, to me all these details are beautiful.

Shenmue should be more like GTA? just thinking about Shenmue being like GTA it feels like a nightmare to me.
This in the image is a nightmare to me 😱
images.jpeg​

4. In Shenmue when we need to wait to progress the story we can do other things in the game like exploring Yokosuka, playing mini games, training our moves, buying capsule toys, buying cassette tapes, talk with NPCs and much more. If the player doesn't want to do any of these things then the player will really have to wait.

I understand that some people don't want to wait, especially these days people want everything now and fast, instant gratification, i'm not this way but i understand that some people don't want to wait.

The option to choose to wait or not was added in Shenmue II, and this feature is also in Shenmue III, this feature is nice, this way people can choose what is best for them.

I don't mind at all waiting in the first game, while i wait for the right time i do other things in the game like training my moves, playing mini games, buying capsule toys and so much more, and i always have a relaxing and beautiful experience, the first game gives many options to do other things while we wait, the game to me is not just talking with NPCs like he said, to me is much more than that.

5. In this part i couldn't believe what i was hearing, it really feels like he thinks Shenmue needs to be like GTA in every way, he complains about martial arts in the story, he complains that Ryo don't have a gun, that if the game were realistic Ryo would achieve his revenge shooting Lan Di, or envolving the japanese police in the case.

About the police getting involved in the case we have the answer to this question in the game, In the game when we try to call the police Ryo say... "I don't want the police involved" or "No. I will avenge my father's murder on my own."
police.jpg​

About the complaint that Ryo don't try to achieve his revenge with a gun... as far as i know is really hard to get a gun in Japan, it is not a flaw to me that Ryo only use his fists, it is not a flaw to me that Ryo can't attack people on the streets.

The point i want to make is that Shenmue is a martial arts story, in Shenmue II Ryo even say that he is not interested in having guns, Ryo only want to use his fists to achieve his revenge, and this is probably is linked to martial arts
It is really a flaw that Shenmue is a martial arts story? i really don't agree.

To him the game aged poorly, to me is extremely unfair to compare an old game with a new game and then say that the old game aged poorly.

To me is extremely unfair to play old games and analyze these old games with modern standards, and then say that because the old game don't have this modern standards then it means the game is bad now and aged poorly.

Imagine comparing Tekken 1 with the new Tekken 8 and then saying Tekken 1 aged poorly? is extremely unfair in my view.
Tekken 1 and Tekken 8.jpg​

A game will only be good at the time of its release? i don't agree with that and i don't understand the game industry these days. One of the reasons why Shenmue III is criticized is because the game has a similar style than Shenmue I and II, to me there is nothing wrong in doing a game this way, in my view is just a different style and i love the Shenmue style.

I played the first game from beginning to the end for the first time in 2015, while i was playing i never compared Shenmue with the recent games of 2015, i knew Shenmue is a old game, i knew what i could find in the game because is a old game, i just wanted to play the game and have a good time.

To me games don't age poorly, to me a good game will always be a good game. There is so many old games that i want to play for the first time and i will probably enjoy, because i really have a different mindset when i play old games, and when i play old games i don't analyze the old games with modern standards because in my view this is really unfair.

I know Shenmue is not for everyone and is okay, people have different opinions and that is okay, of course people can dislike Shenmue, is just that sometimes is so tiring to see my favorite video games series getting criticized about literally every single thing, even about the fact that Shenmue is a martial arts story.

You know when a child is bullied at school every single day? to me this child is like Shenmue, i never saw other game series getting this hate like Shenmue gets.

Shenmue is not GTA, Shenmue is not Yakuza, Shenmue is not Final Fantasy, Shenmue is not Watch Dogs, Shenmue is not Red Dead Redeption, Shenmue is not Resident Evil, to me Shenmue doesn't need to be like other game series to be good.

Shenmue is Shenmue and this is the main reason why i love this wonderful game series so much. 💚
 
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~ ヒキ ~ said:
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This in the image is a nightmare to me 😱​

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XD Ay... Hiki de mi coraçao, you just made my day with this pic.
If Yu Suzuki see this I bet he will lulz his arse too. He's open to feedback to a limited extent, which is "I wont turn Shenmue to what is not". He wont change its nature because Shenmue is more important to him that to any of us fans. He isnt attached to the astonishing visuals, breathtaking soundtrack or unique game mechanichs but he's attached emotionally to the emotions it inspires (excuse redundance). YS will never turn Shenmue in GTA. I believe this so hard that in the remote case that us Dojo fans, get struck by a lightbolt in the head and demand turning Shenmue in GTA he will say "Well, fuck it, fuck you, its not gonna happen. Im retiring. Travel well people".

The guy seems to try a respectful critic approach but with strong mistakes like as you said transposing aspects that worked for lot of people to modern standards, a thing that can't be done with any form of artistic expression. In my opinionation, this way of proceeding devalues videogames as art media, and makes it closer to 1-use shaving razorblades or milkshakes. Probably if he reads your blog, specially how Shenmue 3 is played (your food and training routines log) he could change his mind. He gave credits to S1-2 so its not much of a lost cause.
The gun theory is maximum bollocks tho, It trash practically all pure martial arts movies from 60s to here. Bruce Lee with a uzi OMG. Spitting over Chuck Norris corpse... Then he take a piss over it too...Omg.

To me games don't age poorly, to me a good game will always be a good game
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Ditto. This is also a common trope nowsdays. If you want to sound elevated you say "xyz game has aged poorly", in the same way that cool-long-time-ago magazine Rolling Stone said years ago randomly "this album is so nihilist"..."this band is kitsch" loud sounding words devoid of true meaning. It looked like writting about wine imho, that really ages poorly or nice not videogames. One can desdain entire generations. When my parents were kids, and me too, we got scared of Dracula or The Mummy. Today its not that scary. Means it aged poorly? Or people has become more hardened, less innocent? Really think about this Hiki, and rest of dojo friends.

You know when a child is bullied at school every single day? to me this child is like Shenmue, i never saw other game series getting this hate like Shenmue gets.
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Yes I do.
Shenmue trascends critics, bad reviews, and meanings given by different people. Its what one want its to be, so for some it will be trash and to others It will be gold.
Last, when Shenmue IV gets finally announced before anyones think it will stop rotatives again and all the previous buzz wont matter.
 
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xatruio said:
Stopped reading when the fuckwit suggested using a gun to shoot Lan Di.... JFC

bless you Hiki!
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Sounds like bro should have used the cheat for Reo Hazuky's gun.

LKMz29Z.png
 

So last night I watched this very long review of Shenmue. While the review goes into a lot of divergent topics and can be a little scattered at times, I thought a lot of interesting topics and discussion points are raised. A few highlights-

- I actually never questioned why the first game was set in Yokosuka but him going into the regions history with William Adams or Matthew Perry and talking about the convention of Kanagawa was pretty fascinating. It's mentioned a handful of times in the review, through it's choice of location, mechanics and focus how Shenmue really is an anomaly when you think of modern large scale productions.

- He highlights some messages on the Sega run BBS channel where they had a dedicated Shenmue section. This was all a year prior to Shenmue's Japanese release. It would be fascinating to read all their impressions, but just seeing what they thought of the games visuals, debating what genre the games falls under, or even complaining about QTE's is quite insightful.

- He spends some time covering two Shenmue fan games. I honestly can't say I recall Shensonic in too much detail but the fact it was discovered it was created by now a former Finnish politician Simon Elo was pretty funny. Shenmue Zero was a much more known quantity although I never played it. Finding out Austin McConnell who did a wonderful video called "Doubita after Dark" was responsible for Ryo's child voice was pretty funny.
 
xatruio said:
Stopped reading when the fuckwit suggested using a gun to shoot Lan Di.... JFC
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He really suggested that, i couldn't believe what i was hearing.

His exact words were... "another point that I think is bad, if you have the slightest bit of realism, you will take revenge on Lan Di with a bullet, you won't be training martial arts to beat the Chinese who killed your father, you will go with a gun and kill Lan Di"

He really thinks is a flaw that Shenmue is a martial arts story.

My reaction: What? you are joking, right? Oh... no, you are serious about that. 🙄

Yu's reaction:

Yu.jpg
 
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If Shenmue 3 hadn't come out in the age of youtube and streaming, we would have never known how difficult the concept of Shenmue games is for most people to understand. :LOL: I never thought it was so complicated game to understand. However, it turns out that it is! So many people get it wrong. They don't understand the essence and played it the wrong way. I've always thought that games like silent hill, ico, shadow of colossus were more complicated to understand by the most of the gamers, but it turns out that they are much better accepted.

I'm starting to think that the modern gamer needs a video tutorial or something to understand how to play these games properly. :) The other day I was watching a streamer playing for the first time. He was almost at the end of the game and didn't know what to do. He didn't ask people at all, he didn't look at his notebook, he tried to figure out where to go by wandering aimlessly... He didn't look for maps, he didn't look for road signs... It was painful to watch. :p
 
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