The length of time since you last played 1 and 2?

Shenmue - I only played PS2 games at the time but I hooked up the old DC and played a few minutes of Shenmue sometime in June 2003 for a dose of nostalgia, never touched the DC again after that. I don't think I could've seriously played it anyway because the DC was old and prone to errors and I'm not sure if I even had all of the discs for either Shenmue game anymore. Didn't wanna bother with getting a new DC or new copies of the games.

Shenmue II - June or July 2002, I don't remember exactly, it was definitely before August since that's when I received a PS2 as a gift and just lost interest in the DC.
 
I played both games only once.

Right when they were released in Europe, so Shenmue in December 2000 and Shenmue II in November 2001.

It was like magic and immediately made me a huge fan. Since these days, I’m collecting every piece of memorabilia I can find, and I’m reading every article and watching every video. I’m only selective about Let’s Plays (as they are so long), but still watch many of them. I also set me up with mutliple Dreamcasts and multiple copies of both games, partly for collecting purposes, partly for archival purposes (enabling future generations to experience Shenmue on the original hardware, long after most Dreamcasts and discs are broken!).

I vividly remember many details about my first, and to this day only, playthrough, and thinking about it fills me with joy and nostalgia. I think the reason why I never played the games a second time is that I’m afraid it will take something away from this experience.

With the announcement of Shenmue III, I decided to play the first two games shortly before the release of the third. But now I’m not sure if I can resist trying out Shenmue I & II. Oh well, I guess my abstinence ends after 17 years. Yearly playthroughs, here I come!
 
Shenmue I December 2014
Shenmue II January 2015
 
2011/12 was the last time I had a proper playthrogh. Between that time and now I can't recall spending any longer than 5mins in a session (and it's been about a year since i booted it up to a Queen St save file just to explore and try lucky hit) so yeah, I am counting down the minutes rn ?
 
Flagship said:
2011/12 was the last time I had a proper playthrogh. Between that time and now I can't recall spending any longer than 5mins in a session (and it's been about a year since i booted it up to a Queen St save file just to explore and try lucky hit) so yeah, I am counting down the minutes rn ?
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That's a long time.

How come?
 
spud1897 said:
That's a long time.

How come?
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Around that time was when HD rumours/xbla&psn ports were cropping up. After that guy who worked at SEGA who half-teased the ports I genuinely believed it was happening. So I refrained from playing the originals in order to build some anticipation for them.

Year after year passed but there was always some rumour or something that lead me to believe they were coming. So I held on and it was around E3 2015 that I really started to struggle with 3 and rumours of 1&2 surfacing again (I still remember all those subtle neogaf/tweets) but I believed (well, hoped with desperation) that they'd come, and now they are and honestly: Ive never looked forward to something so badly than this.

As to why I put them off: you know, I think my mindset back then was to not overdo playing it. I'm not sure why because I don't feel about it that way anymore but when I was 11-12 when I first played shenmue: it took time to gestate the fact that this would become a game that I would really come to respect dearly. I use to try and play the other notable games of that era (very popular games) but never quite understood how I didn't like them as much as shenmue.

But now I'm aware just how much of an impression this game made to me and just how unique of an experience this is. I'm pretty much listened to some soundtrack from Shenmue pretty much daily since then. And I already know just how much I like them so I look forward to re-experiencing them again and doing a bunch of things I missed out on back then.

(My playthroughs on 11/12 were doing the side stuff but even then I missed a ton!)
 
Just finished II on Dreamcast a few minutes ago for my final playthrough of both games before the re-releases arrive :)
 
I tried several used Dreamcast consoles to replay the saga last year but had problems i.e getting stuck on loading screens and having the console randomly reboot during the game so I'm glad I'll be able to play through Shenmue 1 & 2 again on PS4 before Shenmue 3.
 
Flagship said:
Around that time was when HD rumours/xbla&psn ports were cropping up. After that guy who worked at SEGA who half-teased the ports I genuinely believed it was happening. So I refrained from playing the originals in order to build some anticipation for them.

Year after year passed but there was always some rumour or something that lead me to believe they were coming. So I held on and it was around E3 2015 that I really started to struggle with 3 and rumours of 1&2 surfacing again (I still remember all those subtle neogaf/tweets) but I believed (well, hoped with desperation) that they'd come, and now they are and honestly: Ive never looked forward to something so badly than this.

As to why I put them off: you know, I think my mindset back then was to not overdo playing it. I'm not sure why because I don't feel about it that way anymore but when I was 11-12 when I first played shenmue: it took time to gestate the fact that this would become a game that I would really come to respect dearly. I use to try and play the other notable games of that era (very popular games) but never quite understood how I didn't like them as much as shenmue.

But now I'm aware just how much of an impression this game made to me and just how unique of an experience this is. I'm pretty much listened to some soundtrack from Shenmue pretty much daily since then. And I already know just how much I like them so I look forward to re-experiencing them again and doing a bunch of things I missed out on back then.

(My playthroughs on 11/12 were doing the side stuff but even then I missed a ton!)
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Ah very fair

The mindset not to overdo it is a good one. Thinking back I've played both through every year since release and I love both games and will be opening the HD collection with joy. However the concern I have it will it give me that same impetus like the dreamcast did.

I'll be slowing down how I play through them both I think to ensure I take the time to enjoy them as much as I can & as close to my first playthrough as possible.

Like you I didn't truly begin to appreciate the impact the games would have on me until my late teens/early 20s.

The music is on another level so when the Japanese version arrives at my house I will be enjoying that CD that comes with it
 
I last finished Shenmue 1 roughly 4 years ago. That was my 3rd completion since I first bought it back when it came out. With Shenmue 2, I just completed the XBOX version maybe 6 months ago for my 2nd completion ever. First time was when the PAL version first came out. So I am SO happy to replay these again and take my time with them. Here I am a grown man with children excited for a videogame. Oh wait... not "just" a video game but SHENMUE!!
 
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Two years ago. And before that 5+ years. I like to leave large spaces before replays so they feel 'fresh' when I return to them.
 
Just finished Shenmue I a week or two ago, and am playing Shenmue IIx right now!
 
Last year. Managed to play them once every year since release.

Nice to have a much easier set up from next week rather than having to set up the DC
 
It’s been several years since I played either one of them but have played II more recently then I. Looking forward to the 21.
 
It's been a good few years for me, I'm looking forward to playing the remasters and introducing my wife to the series!
 
Last time I beat both 1 & 2 was 2009 according to my VMU.
That's going to change though because I've just dusted off the ol' Dreamcast and just hijacked a save from the last time I was playing Shenmue 1 from 2015, it's saved at the beginning of the third disc.

...I was going to wait until the re-release but I guess I am just impatient and need me some Shenmue...
 
I've tried to play both in recent years, but wasn't satisfied. Earlier this year I started Shenmue I, but my Dreamcast started freezing upon leaving a shop fairly early in the story. It's been longer since I played Shenmue II, but I was so disgusted with the 360 d-pad that I set it aside. The only times that I've beaten the games were on my original play-throughs when they were released. So I'm ready to dig in!
 
Zoyous said:
I've tried to play both in recent years, but wasn't satisfied. Earlier this year I started Shenmue I, but my Dreamcast started freezing upon leaving a shop fairly early in the story. It's been longer since I played Shenmue II, but I was so disgusted with the 360 d-pad that I set it aside. The only times that I've beaten the games were on my original play-throughs when they were released. So I'm ready to dig in!
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Hah, That's exactly why I stopped playing my last save with Shenmue 1, my Dreamcast kept freezing but randomly now it's working I have been playing everyday this week with no issues it's weird..
 
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