Random Shenmue Thoughts

Watching this, has anyone tried this Global Illumination shader in ReShade with Shenmue I & II? Apparently works with any DX9+ game:

 
I really want to like Ren, but he fucking slashed at my face with a knife literally the first time we met. Everything afterwards has been lovable asshole territory, but potentially gouging someones eyes out with a blade is kind of serious lmao. I seriously don't remember that part from my previous playthrough at all, must have mentally blocked it out or something.
 
Dietsoap said:
I really want to like Ren, but he fucking slashed at my face with a knife literally the first time we met. Everything afterwards has been lovable asshole territory, but potentially gouging someones eyes out with a blade is kind of serious lmao. I seriously don't remember that part from my previous playthrough at all, must have mentally blocked it out or something.
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Ren is a bad dude, not even completely sure he is loyal yet.
 
I think he has developed his loyalty, as Ryo has proven to be a stoic, Samurai-type himself, one who can exert influence.

Ren is selfish and looking out for himself, but he knows that Ryo is not in his way for riches or wealth, which is why he tags along.
 
Deep Silver is the Western publisher and has a very good history with Sega, which evolved into outright publishing exclusivity in Europe. Seeing some dots connecting between them both. Not too far fetched for Sega to team up with Deep Silver for a theoretical Shenmue IV. Would be nice if Sega stepped in before Shen4 to publish the PS4 Japanese Shenmue lll...

(side thought: Randomly found out Lakshya Digital is a Keywords Studio, much like D3t--developer of the HD reissues)
 
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I'm about to start day 4 on the forklift. There's a bunch of great moments in the harbour but my favourite just might be the Shadow Step lesson. I find the scene very well-acted; the VO and animation is spot on.

The technical performance tanks in certain areas of the harbour on PS4, much like on Dreamcast. Not that it affects the experience that much, but it's a shame they couldn't polish it up to the same level as the rest of the game which, in general, runs smoother than on original hardware.

I even noticed what appears to be screen tearing at the very top of the screen while riding the forklift, and NPCs popping in and out more frequently. I think the engine struggles to keep up with the speed of the forklift.

One last nitpick: the forklift racing song is slightly off in parts. Not a big deal but it's there.

Anyway, looking forward to the climax of the game so I can move onto Hong Kong!
 
So I just finished...and I guess there is no prophecy voice over at the end in Japanese? Only text? Strange! I never really understood why it was a man's voice at the end of the English version and not Shenhua, either.
 
Yeah the Japanese version is text only, this is how it already was on the Dreamcast.

I also find it strange that they didn't just reuse Shenhua's voice lines from the prologue. The voice is just a narration I guess, but it feels weird as nothing like that ever happens anywhere else. So it makes you wonder what character is reading this to you.
Oh and not to forget that even the translation is slightly different from the prologue.
 
BlueMue said:
Yeah the Japanese version is text only, this is how it already was on the Dreamcast.

I also find it strange that they didn't just reuse Shenhua's voice lines from the prologue. The voice is just a narration I guess, but it feels weird as nothing like that ever happens anywhere else. So it makes you wonder what character is reading this to you.
Oh and not to forget that even the translation is slightly different from the prologue.
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Shenhua's "dad". :unsure:
 
Man, Shenmue II leaves a great first impression. Controls are so much quicker and responsive (even popping capsule toys is more tolerable). Navigating tight spaces is no longer slow and awkward. Colours are so vivid and bright. It feels so bustling and alive thanks to the increased NPC count and detailed environments. I knew all of this already, but seeing it in HD on a big screen really hammers it home, without the insane texture crawl of the Dreamcast version and overly soft look of the Xbox version. It also runs like butter and the sound quality is like a dream compared to Shenmue I.

I'm still of the opinion that playing in Japanese is a lot more immersive than playing in English. For some reason the English dub seems quaint and endearing in the first game, but in Shenmue II it comes across as bad and distracting. Ryo has improved, and some of the main characters are OK (Shenhua's pretty bad) but the average NPC ranges from completely flat to hilariously terrible. This discrepancy could just be the fact that Shenmue II feels like a more modern experience, so the expectation in my brain is different. Or it could just be that the English VO is worse in general because there's a lot more of it and they didn't account for it in the budget. It's probably a mix of both.
 
orient said:
Man, Shenmue II leaves a great first impression. Controls are so much quicker and responsive (even popping capsule toys is more tolerable). Navigating tight spaces is no longer slow and awkward. Colours are so vivid and bright. It feels so bustling and alive thanks to the increased NPC count and detailed environments. I knew all of this already, but seeing it in HD on a big screen really hammers it home, without the insane texture crawl of the Dreamcast version and overly soft look of the Xbox version. It also runs like butter and the sound quality is like a dream compared to Shenmue I.

I'm still of the opinion that playing in Japanese is a lot more immersive than playing in English. For some reason the English dub seems quaint and endearing in the first game, but in Shenmue II it comes across as bad and distracting. Ryo has improved, and some of the main characters are OK (Shenhua's pretty bad) but the average NPC ranges from completely flat to hilariously terrible. This discrepancy could just be the fact that Shenmue II feels like a more modern experience, so the expectation in my brain is different. Or it could just be that the English VO is worse in general because there's a lot more of it and they didn't account for it in the budget. It's probably a mix of both.
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Couldn't be more bang on if you even tried; WONDERFUL assessment.

The voice actors fit their characters so much more in 1, compared to the Japanese (even if ridiculous and over the top, Goro and Tom especially, sound MUCH more like how their characters look, than they do in Japanese).

But in 2, Xiuying is infinitely better in Japanese, same with Joy and Ren too. The voice acting in general, is much better in Japanese, in 2.
 
I've been wanting to replay both games in Japanese, since I've only played the second one as such. But man, I just don't know if I'll be able to finish both before Shenmue 3 comes out.

With the English version of Shenmue being my very first experience with the game, I want to continue with Shenmue III in English (as strange as it sounds).
 
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