- Joined
- Oct 27, 2019
- Favourite title
- Shenmue
- Currently playing
- Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (PS4)
Shenmue: A Slow Pace Story
I had the idea for this thread when i thought about Shenmue III, that people had mixed feelings about the game, specialy about the story progress, some people think that Shenmue III is filler, some even think that the game only have 20 minutes of story and that nothing important happened and much more, i respect different opinions i just don't agree with this, i want to reflect here about the pacing of the story, about what Shenmue is for me, and what i feel about this things. Everything i will write here is not a fact, is just my opinion.
I decided to put this thread in the Shenmue IV part , i decided this because i will talk about all the games and the future of the story.
First i want to say again that what happened with Yu Suzuki is really sad, one time he even said... "If i continued to do a chapter per game i would not complete Shenmue in my lifetime." This for me means that his original idea was to make 11 games or something like this, this means for me that his original idea was to make one chapter and one location per game. First chapter in Yokosuka (In Japan even the name of the game is Shenmue Chapter One: Yokosuka), one chapter in a boat, one chapter in Hong Kong/Kowloon, one in a train, one chapter in Guilin, one chapter in Niaowu and so on...
Yu Suzuki only did like this with the first game. The main plot of the first game is to learn where is Lan Di, is to find him. Ryo spend the entire game finding more clues about Lan Di and searching for him and he didn't even saw Lan Di in the end of the game, sure we have other things in the story like the parts with the mirrors, Nozomi, Guizhang, Mark, Tom, Shenhua, The Mad Angels and other characters, but the main plot of the game is to find where is Lan Di and he didn't even saw Lan Di in the end, so we can say that the main story didn't advance a lot in the first game, it was a slow pace, just the beginning of the story, the first game have a slow pace and i love this in the first game.
I remember that for Shenmue II he said that he decided to put just one part of chapter 5 in the game, chapter 5 is the Guilin chapter, this part that he chose to put in the game was the part with Ryo meeting Shenhua in Guilin, another thing i remember is that Yu Suzuki decided to advance more the story like this because he was sure that he would not have another opportunity to make another Shenmue game at that time, something like this so he decided to advance more the story this way.
In this case i think it was a beautiful decision because the Guilin part fits so wonderful in the final moments in the game, the Guilin part in Shenmue II is perfect and unforgetabble to me, but is still really sad that he had to compromise his original idea and vision. In Shenmue II Ryo spend quite some time to find Lishao Tao/Xiuying, and he spend even more time in the game searching for Yuanda Zhu. I think we can even say that the main plot of the second game is to find Yuanda Zhu and of course searching for Lan Di.
Shenmue II for me have fast pace moments, the story advance more fast but some moments are slow pace too, after all Ryo did in Shenmue II he only saw Lan Di in a helicopter. They just looked at each other and that was it, this was the only moment between Ryo and Lan Di in the game, so again in my opinion this is a slow pace.
For Shenmue III Yu Suzuki decided to make the story more slow pace again like he did in the first game, the main plot of the game is to find Yushen Yuan, Shenhua's father, the story of the game have other things too like the conversations with Shenhua and strengthening the bond with her, training with Master Sun, Red Snakes, meeting new characters and seeing Ren again, training with Grandmaster Bei, Niao Sun, fighting Lan Di for the first time and more but the main plot was to find Yushen Yuan. Ryo and Shenhua spend the entire game searching for him, in this case they found her father, Ryo saved him in the final moments of the game.
For me the Shenmue games are like detective games. In all the Shenmue games the players need to search for more clues, we do that by asking NPCs, this way we can fill the notebook little by little and the story will progress this way, Shenmue Games for me
really are like detective games and i love this so much, is one part of the essence of Shenmue for me and i really hope this continue
in Shenmue IV and V.
In my opinion Shenmue games are not the type of games that everybody will enjoy, it is a slow story and in a lot of parts with a slow pace, about the gameplay the Shenmue games are about Ryo Hazuki asking NPCs and trying to find clues about the things he wants to know, i love that Shenmue games are like this, is one of the unique and special things in the Shenmue series for me.
Shenmue for me is not just about Ryo wanting to kill Lan Di, it is about Ryo's journey, it is about the people he meet and what he learns from them, is about Ryo growing as a martial artist and as a character, is about Ryo trying to find a path in his life, is about Ryo saving the world, something like this because i think in the next games he will destroy the Chi You Men and save everyone.
What is the most important in Shenmue in my opinion is not the destination, what is the most important is the journey, and Ryo's journey is a slow journey, a journey where we see Ryo meeting characters, making new friends/bonds, learning and developing little by little as a martial artist and as a character, and all this is not filler to me, it is wonderful in my opinion to see Ryo's Journey this way. When Yu Suzuki complete this beautiful saga i think i will appreaciate even more the whole Ryo's Journey.
Shenmue is inspiring me to create a story with a Shenmue vibe/feeling, my story is a slow pace story like Shenmue so i really don't want to cut things in my story, i dont wan't to make my story fast pace all the time just to finish quickly, so i think is really sad what happened with Yu Suzuki, he even had to cut Baisha in Shenmue III, this was sad.
I really think if Shenmue III had been released for Dreamcast or Playstation 2 more people would have been more accepted with the slow pace and slow progression in the game, but this didn't happened, a lot of people waited a lot of years for this game, some people even waited 18 years for this game so they wanted to see the story advance more fast, i understand that people feel this way, i really do but in my opinion Shenmue is a slow pace story.
Some time before Shenmue III release Yu Suzuki in a interview said that Shenmue III will get us to 40% of Ryo's Story, so for me it really seems that his vision for Shenmue is that it really is a slow pace story, and i really love this in the Shenmue story, i don't have problems with slow pace in games, i love this type of games.
I love that Shenmue I is slow pace and i can really feel Yokosuka, i love that the entire game is in Yokosuka, i can really feel the city, the characters, the animals, the weather, everything, is like i'm there in that world. I love that in Shenmue II we learn little by little the Four Wude, i love that the training with Xiuying is slow pace, i love that the ending parts in Guilin have a slow pace and i can really feel Guilin and the moments between Ryo and Shenhua.
I love that Shenmue III have a slow pace and i can really feel Ryo and Shenhua streghtning the bonds and being more closer, i love that the training with Master Sun is slow and i can really feel Ryo learning little by little, so when he finally defeat Yanlang is a wonderful moment to me, same thing when Ryo won the fight against Longqi Ge. I love that Bailu Village is slow pace and i can really feel the village and the characters, i love that Ryo lost to Lan Di but showed that he improved a bit, so when the time comes and Ryo win the final fight against Lan Di the moment will be more special and beautiful to me.
But we live in a world that prefers GTA and other games where everything is fast all the time, where everything happens fast all the time, big explosions all the time, fights all the time, violence all the time, guns all the time and much more, i like this types of game too but for me Shenmue is different and with a slow pace and i love that, i love that Shenmue is a slow pace story.
In a perfect world where Yu Suzuki have lots of chances to make games he would probably end Shenmue in Shenmue VI or something. Shenmue III got us to only 40% of the story, this for me is prove enough that Shenmue is a slow pace story. Only 40% of the story so i really think Yu Suzuki don't want to finish Shenmue in Shenmue IV, is his story and i really think he don't want to rush and cut a lot of things in his story, i really think he don't want to cut a lot of places and characters of this wonderful saga.
In my opinion Yu Suzuki will only end in Shenmue IV if he is desparate and certain that he will never have more opportunities to make more Shenmue games.
Imagine for a moment that Shenmue is your story, a story with many chapters, a story with many locations and characters, a story that you created with a lot of love and is important to you, would you want to cut a lot of things just to finish quickly?
There is a lot of things to happen in the story in my opinion, a lot of places to go like Baisha that was cut in Shenmue III, Ryo will probably need to go to Luoyang and there we will probably know more about Shenhua, the Shenmue tree and other things, in Shenmue II we can see a flashback with Shenhua's parents, we can see another Shenmue Tree, we can see that the place is not Bailu Village, i really think Ryo need to go to Luoyang or other place to learn more about the Shenmue tree and more about Shenhua.
In Men Cun Ryo will probably discover the truth about what happenned between Iwao and Sunming Zhao, the forbbiden city i don't know what will happen there but it will be another nice location for the story.
In the next part of the story we will probably see and learn more about the other leaders of the Chi You Men, Ryo will probably train with a Shaolin Master, Xiuying will probably come back and see Ziming again and much more, i really think it will be better if this things are not rushed and i imagine that Yu Suzuki don't want to rush his story, Yu Suzuki knows the whole story, he knows when and how will be the best way to end i'm just making theories with the informations he gave us over the years.
If Yu Suzuki ends Shenmue in IV he will probably have to cut a lot of characters, places and parts of the story, i just hope that if this happens he release the Legend Of Akira original books/scripts for the fans, this way i think we can see more about his vision, this way i think we will see all the characters and locations that he had to cut in the games. In the anime if he have a chance he can put this parts too.
I don't know 100% if Yu Suzuki vision was to create a slow pace story, i don't know if for him Shenmue is a slow pace story, only Yu Suzuki can answer this questions, but thinking about everything that he said so far and the ways that he did Shenmue, Shenmue II and Shenmue III i really think his vision for the Shenmue story is that it is a slow pace story.
A story that what is important is the journey, a story that what is the most important is seeing Ryo travelling, meeting people, learning with them and growing little by little, growing as a martial artist and as a character and living this journey and this for me is not filler, this for me is beautiful, it is beautiful for me seeing this wonderful journey, and when i finally see the moment where he is similar to Akira Yuki i really think i'm gonna cry so much, i feel that i'm gonna cry so much in the end of Ryo's journey.
It is difficult for Yu Suzuki to have opportunities to make more games and finish the saga, so i really think it will be better if he decides to end in Shenmue V, with Shenmue IV advacing a lot in the story and reaching the 70% of Ryo's journey, something like this and Shenmue V the final parts/ending of the story. I really have a feeling that in the current situation he will decide to finish in Shenmue V, i hope he can make a deal or something like that to develop Shenmue IV and V together, something like this, i hope he can finish the saga in Shenmue V, if he wants of course, this way i think this beautiful saga will end in a nice way.
What do you all think about this? you agree that Shenmue is a slow pace story? you like that Shenmue is a slow pace story or you prefer things happening fast all the time and Ryo defeating Lan Di fast? some people think Shenmue should have ended in Shenmue III, if that had happened the ending would not be good in my opinion.
I respect different opinions i'm just reflecting that i think i have an unpopular opinion, i love with all my heart that Shenmue is a slow pace story, i love with all my heart that we can see Ryo's journey and Ryo developing little by little, this is one of the reasons why i'm okay with Shenmue III, this is one of the reasons why i like Shenmue III, but Yu Suzuki is 62 years old, i don't know when he will decide to retire, so Shenmue will probably end in Shenmue IV or in V in my opinion.
I just know two things, one is that i will always support Yu Suzuki, and the second thing is... LetsGetShenmueIV
I took a lot of days to write all of this, i really wanted to put a lot of my thoughts about what i feel about Shenmue, what Shenmue is for me, that i like the slow pace and more, thanks for everyone that read everything, really means a lot to me.
In this thread we can talk about the whole story of the games, the pacing of the story in the games, what we think will be good in terms of pacing in the next games, the future of Shenmue and much more, thank you.
LetsGetShenmueIV by Shenmue Forever
I had the idea for this thread when i thought about Shenmue III, that people had mixed feelings about the game, specialy about the story progress, some people think that Shenmue III is filler, some even think that the game only have 20 minutes of story and that nothing important happened and much more, i respect different opinions i just don't agree with this, i want to reflect here about the pacing of the story, about what Shenmue is for me, and what i feel about this things. Everything i will write here is not a fact, is just my opinion.
I decided to put this thread in the Shenmue IV part , i decided this because i will talk about all the games and the future of the story.
First i want to say again that what happened with Yu Suzuki is really sad, one time he even said... "If i continued to do a chapter per game i would not complete Shenmue in my lifetime." This for me means that his original idea was to make 11 games or something like this, this means for me that his original idea was to make one chapter and one location per game. First chapter in Yokosuka (In Japan even the name of the game is Shenmue Chapter One: Yokosuka), one chapter in a boat, one chapter in Hong Kong/Kowloon, one in a train, one chapter in Guilin, one chapter in Niaowu and so on...
Yu Suzuki only did like this with the first game. The main plot of the first game is to learn where is Lan Di, is to find him. Ryo spend the entire game finding more clues about Lan Di and searching for him and he didn't even saw Lan Di in the end of the game, sure we have other things in the story like the parts with the mirrors, Nozomi, Guizhang, Mark, Tom, Shenhua, The Mad Angels and other characters, but the main plot of the game is to find where is Lan Di and he didn't even saw Lan Di in the end, so we can say that the main story didn't advance a lot in the first game, it was a slow pace, just the beginning of the story, the first game have a slow pace and i love this in the first game.
I remember that for Shenmue II he said that he decided to put just one part of chapter 5 in the game, chapter 5 is the Guilin chapter, this part that he chose to put in the game was the part with Ryo meeting Shenhua in Guilin, another thing i remember is that Yu Suzuki decided to advance more the story like this because he was sure that he would not have another opportunity to make another Shenmue game at that time, something like this so he decided to advance more the story this way.
In this case i think it was a beautiful decision because the Guilin part fits so wonderful in the final moments in the game, the Guilin part in Shenmue II is perfect and unforgetabble to me, but is still really sad that he had to compromise his original idea and vision. In Shenmue II Ryo spend quite some time to find Lishao Tao/Xiuying, and he spend even more time in the game searching for Yuanda Zhu. I think we can even say that the main plot of the second game is to find Yuanda Zhu and of course searching for Lan Di.
Shenmue II for me have fast pace moments, the story advance more fast but some moments are slow pace too, after all Ryo did in Shenmue II he only saw Lan Di in a helicopter. They just looked at each other and that was it, this was the only moment between Ryo and Lan Di in the game, so again in my opinion this is a slow pace.
For Shenmue III Yu Suzuki decided to make the story more slow pace again like he did in the first game, the main plot of the game is to find Yushen Yuan, Shenhua's father, the story of the game have other things too like the conversations with Shenhua and strengthening the bond with her, training with Master Sun, Red Snakes, meeting new characters and seeing Ren again, training with Grandmaster Bei, Niao Sun, fighting Lan Di for the first time and more but the main plot was to find Yushen Yuan. Ryo and Shenhua spend the entire game searching for him, in this case they found her father, Ryo saved him in the final moments of the game.
For me the Shenmue games are like detective games. In all the Shenmue games the players need to search for more clues, we do that by asking NPCs, this way we can fill the notebook little by little and the story will progress this way, Shenmue Games for me
really are like detective games and i love this so much, is one part of the essence of Shenmue for me and i really hope this continue
in Shenmue IV and V.
In my opinion Shenmue games are not the type of games that everybody will enjoy, it is a slow story and in a lot of parts with a slow pace, about the gameplay the Shenmue games are about Ryo Hazuki asking NPCs and trying to find clues about the things he wants to know, i love that Shenmue games are like this, is one of the unique and special things in the Shenmue series for me.
Shenmue for me is not just about Ryo wanting to kill Lan Di, it is about Ryo's journey, it is about the people he meet and what he learns from them, is about Ryo growing as a martial artist and as a character, is about Ryo trying to find a path in his life, is about Ryo saving the world, something like this because i think in the next games he will destroy the Chi You Men and save everyone.
What is the most important in Shenmue in my opinion is not the destination, what is the most important is the journey, and Ryo's journey is a slow journey, a journey where we see Ryo meeting characters, making new friends/bonds, learning and developing little by little as a martial artist and as a character, and all this is not filler to me, it is wonderful in my opinion to see Ryo's Journey this way. When Yu Suzuki complete this beautiful saga i think i will appreaciate even more the whole Ryo's Journey.
Shenmue is inspiring me to create a story with a Shenmue vibe/feeling, my story is a slow pace story like Shenmue so i really don't want to cut things in my story, i dont wan't to make my story fast pace all the time just to finish quickly, so i think is really sad what happened with Yu Suzuki, he even had to cut Baisha in Shenmue III, this was sad.
I really think if Shenmue III had been released for Dreamcast or Playstation 2 more people would have been more accepted with the slow pace and slow progression in the game, but this didn't happened, a lot of people waited a lot of years for this game, some people even waited 18 years for this game so they wanted to see the story advance more fast, i understand that people feel this way, i really do but in my opinion Shenmue is a slow pace story.
Some time before Shenmue III release Yu Suzuki in a interview said that Shenmue III will get us to 40% of Ryo's Story, so for me it really seems that his vision for Shenmue is that it really is a slow pace story, and i really love this in the Shenmue story, i don't have problems with slow pace in games, i love this type of games.
I love that Shenmue I is slow pace and i can really feel Yokosuka, i love that the entire game is in Yokosuka, i can really feel the city, the characters, the animals, the weather, everything, is like i'm there in that world. I love that in Shenmue II we learn little by little the Four Wude, i love that the training with Xiuying is slow pace, i love that the ending parts in Guilin have a slow pace and i can really feel Guilin and the moments between Ryo and Shenhua.
I love that Shenmue III have a slow pace and i can really feel Ryo and Shenhua streghtning the bonds and being more closer, i love that the training with Master Sun is slow and i can really feel Ryo learning little by little, so when he finally defeat Yanlang is a wonderful moment to me, same thing when Ryo won the fight against Longqi Ge. I love that Bailu Village is slow pace and i can really feel the village and the characters, i love that Ryo lost to Lan Di but showed that he improved a bit, so when the time comes and Ryo win the final fight against Lan Di the moment will be more special and beautiful to me.
But we live in a world that prefers GTA and other games where everything is fast all the time, where everything happens fast all the time, big explosions all the time, fights all the time, violence all the time, guns all the time and much more, i like this types of game too but for me Shenmue is different and with a slow pace and i love that, i love that Shenmue is a slow pace story.
In a perfect world where Yu Suzuki have lots of chances to make games he would probably end Shenmue in Shenmue VI or something. Shenmue III got us to only 40% of the story, this for me is prove enough that Shenmue is a slow pace story. Only 40% of the story so i really think Yu Suzuki don't want to finish Shenmue in Shenmue IV, is his story and i really think he don't want to rush and cut a lot of things in his story, i really think he don't want to cut a lot of places and characters of this wonderful saga.
In my opinion Yu Suzuki will only end in Shenmue IV if he is desparate and certain that he will never have more opportunities to make more Shenmue games.
Imagine for a moment that Shenmue is your story, a story with many chapters, a story with many locations and characters, a story that you created with a lot of love and is important to you, would you want to cut a lot of things just to finish quickly?
There is a lot of things to happen in the story in my opinion, a lot of places to go like Baisha that was cut in Shenmue III, Ryo will probably need to go to Luoyang and there we will probably know more about Shenhua, the Shenmue tree and other things, in Shenmue II we can see a flashback with Shenhua's parents, we can see another Shenmue Tree, we can see that the place is not Bailu Village, i really think Ryo need to go to Luoyang or other place to learn more about the Shenmue tree and more about Shenhua.
In Men Cun Ryo will probably discover the truth about what happenned between Iwao and Sunming Zhao, the forbbiden city i don't know what will happen there but it will be another nice location for the story.
In the next part of the story we will probably see and learn more about the other leaders of the Chi You Men, Ryo will probably train with a Shaolin Master, Xiuying will probably come back and see Ziming again and much more, i really think it will be better if this things are not rushed and i imagine that Yu Suzuki don't want to rush his story, Yu Suzuki knows the whole story, he knows when and how will be the best way to end i'm just making theories with the informations he gave us over the years.
If Yu Suzuki ends Shenmue in IV he will probably have to cut a lot of characters, places and parts of the story, i just hope that if this happens he release the Legend Of Akira original books/scripts for the fans, this way i think we can see more about his vision, this way i think we will see all the characters and locations that he had to cut in the games. In the anime if he have a chance he can put this parts too.
I don't know 100% if Yu Suzuki vision was to create a slow pace story, i don't know if for him Shenmue is a slow pace story, only Yu Suzuki can answer this questions, but thinking about everything that he said so far and the ways that he did Shenmue, Shenmue II and Shenmue III i really think his vision for the Shenmue story is that it is a slow pace story.
A story that what is important is the journey, a story that what is the most important is seeing Ryo travelling, meeting people, learning with them and growing little by little, growing as a martial artist and as a character and living this journey and this for me is not filler, this for me is beautiful, it is beautiful for me seeing this wonderful journey, and when i finally see the moment where he is similar to Akira Yuki i really think i'm gonna cry so much, i feel that i'm gonna cry so much in the end of Ryo's journey.
It is difficult for Yu Suzuki to have opportunities to make more games and finish the saga, so i really think it will be better if he decides to end in Shenmue V, with Shenmue IV advacing a lot in the story and reaching the 70% of Ryo's journey, something like this and Shenmue V the final parts/ending of the story. I really have a feeling that in the current situation he will decide to finish in Shenmue V, i hope he can make a deal or something like that to develop Shenmue IV and V together, something like this, i hope he can finish the saga in Shenmue V, if he wants of course, this way i think this beautiful saga will end in a nice way.
What do you all think about this? you agree that Shenmue is a slow pace story? you like that Shenmue is a slow pace story or you prefer things happening fast all the time and Ryo defeating Lan Di fast? some people think Shenmue should have ended in Shenmue III, if that had happened the ending would not be good in my opinion.
I respect different opinions i'm just reflecting that i think i have an unpopular opinion, i love with all my heart that Shenmue is a slow pace story, i love with all my heart that we can see Ryo's journey and Ryo developing little by little, this is one of the reasons why i'm okay with Shenmue III, this is one of the reasons why i like Shenmue III, but Yu Suzuki is 62 years old, i don't know when he will decide to retire, so Shenmue will probably end in Shenmue IV or in V in my opinion.
I just know two things, one is that i will always support Yu Suzuki, and the second thing is... LetsGetShenmueIV
I took a lot of days to write all of this, i really wanted to put a lot of my thoughts about what i feel about Shenmue, what Shenmue is for me, that i like the slow pace and more, thanks for everyone that read everything, really means a lot to me.
In this thread we can talk about the whole story of the games, the pacing of the story in the games, what we think will be good in terms of pacing in the next games, the future of Shenmue and much more, thank you.
LetsGetShenmueIV by Shenmue Forever
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