Shenmue: combat showcase videos

[Richard Payne]

Shenmue and Shenmue II are dear to my heart for many reasons, one of which is its Virtua Fighter-inspired fighting engine. I spent quite a lot of time playing around with it and eventually started to casually play Shenmue’s 70 Man Battle time trial, taking inspiration from a variety of great Shenmue players and discovering a new side to the clumsiness and stiffness that is the Shenmue combat system.

After having recorded multiple clips over the course of roughly a year, I’ve compiled most of them into a video.

This is the first one of potentially many, but I am not sure there is an audience for something like this. If general response is good, I will be sure to invest some more time into creating other Shenmue-related videos.

That being all said, hope you enjoy this first “combo video”!

 

[Richard Payne]

Thank you all for watching my first Shenmue combo video. I hope it was able to truly capture the amount of hidden options available within FREE battles.

With that said, I am proud to present yet another compilation, showcasing even crazier combos, strategies and scenarios. I had a lot of fun making it and I hope it is able to reignite interest and curiosity in exploring and discovering new things about the games we love so much and, who knows, even drives you to revisit Yokosuka for the hundredth time. Enjoy!

 

[Richard Payne]

Hi everyone. It took me some time but I finally made another montage filled with even more unusual strategies, new combos and devastating beatings!

I can’t get enough of this combat system. It’s strangely addictive. Enjoy!

 

[code l name]

Hi everyone. It took me some time but I finally made another montage filled with even more unusual strategies, new combos and devastating beatings!

I can’t get enough of this combat system. It’s strangely addictive. Enjoy!

Amazing, you really take the games combat to the next level. The way you juggle and use the barriers to inflict extra damage is amazing.

May I ask, are you using a special controller? Or using default button combination?

 

[Richard Payne]

Amazing, you really take the games combat to the next level. The way you juggle and use the barriers to inflict extra damage is amazing.

May I ask, are you using a special controller? Or using default button combination?

Thanks man, glad to hear you enjoyed my videos! I’m playing on PS4 using a Dualshock 4 controller and default commands. I have Demon Drop assigned on L2 for quick use in speedruns but, other than that, everything else is manually input.

To be frank, my playstyle is not completely original. I learned several tricks from Shenmue player “The Kenjito Master”, picked up a few others from Shenmue player “afterblue” and added my own spin to truly maximize on Ryo’s moveset and the engine’s peculiar properties. Unfortunately, the HD remaster limits what I can actually pull off, as hitboxes and collision detection are pretty wonky and buggy.

 

[Richard Payne]

Hi there everyone. A few weeks ago I’ve experienced the “Nozomi easter egg” for the first time and had a really great time, so much so that it made me wish these two-on-two FREE battles were an actual thing. It all works surprisingly well and makes for some epic and chaotic fights!

I feel kinda sorry for Enoki and Nagashima, they have no idea what kind of trouble they get themselves into when they decide to take on both Ryo and Nozomi. These two make for a dream duo!

Seeing as it’s Nozomi’s birthday today, I find it fitting to share with you a montage I made a few days ago, completely centered on this easter egg and the staggering amount of choices this type of FREE battle offers. Enjoy!

 

[Richard Payne]

Hey everyone. I hope you’re all doing well in these difficult times.

Today I want to share with you a strategy I came up with to beat Chai at You Arcade (and possibly any opponent in Shenmue I) without even giving him a chance to fight back. No, it’s not the one where you spam Demon Drop over and over, nor is the one where you spam Crawl Cyclone, it’s something different!

In short, during most FREE battles you can abuse the surrounding walls (if there are any) to lock enemies in some pretty ridiculous combos. The timing is kind of strict and only a few moves seem to work (they must be used in a very specific way and order too…) but not even the Great Chai stands a chance against it!

I’ll leave you a video I made a while back showcasing the combo in its full glory. I encourage you all to give it a try sometime, it feels really good when you pull it off in its entirety.

 

[code l name]

Now that’s a beat down if I ever saw. Incredible.