-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Giant Bomb are bringing back the Endurance Run... and it's Shenmue.
- Thread starter MassiveNights
- Start date
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Agreed. Getting the opportunity to play them back to back post-release was great. Imagine having to wait for II after that. At least II's ending gives you more to chew on.
Mechanized
Member
I can see why Shenmue was impressive back in the day. Unfortunately it's 2016, game didn't age well at all, it's not great. At the same time I want to see them play Shenmue 2 since the 16 part epic that was to be Shenmue never came into fruition, so some potential form of closure would be nice. I would have been pissed back in the day to finish the game and get a cliffhanger.
Admiral Woofington
Member
I was considering emulating Shenmue 2 but with no disc drive and the process being fairly tedious without it I think I might just wait for a possible shenmue 2 hd on ps4. I hope
Yea, I understand.
Dead Man Typing
Member
Yeah, as a UK Dreamcast owner the 1 year wait flew past. Not quite back to back but definitely a shorter time than Japanese and US owners had to wait. Plus the Dreamcast had tons of great games to play so it wasn't really an issue.
I really enjoyed this endurance run. It let me experience Shenmue through fresh eyes again while making me laugh. So much of what I love about the game was ingrained over the course of multiple playthroughs that I've lost sight of some of the issues these guys had even if I remember the sense of wonder and discovery from my first time through.
Plus, I was always looking at trailers and previews for Shenmue around its release. This meant that even on my first run through the game I had certain expectations of what was coming. I wonder how different it would have been if I'd went in completely blind.
This is the kind of trailer I wouldn't watch nowadays as it's got a lot of spoilers in it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US-lyfBSK9I
Basileus777
Member
Shenmue ended up being way lamer than I expected.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
I really enjoyed the ER. Depsite my criticisms, I think they did a great job past the first disc. I think Vinny could have been a bit more exploratory but it makes sense that he expected a more guided game. I think that they will enjoy II more. I will say that this was my first proper introduction to Giant Bomb and I enjoyed the chemistry of the Beast team so much that I now listen to giant bomb podcasts and go to the site every day. Even though the road was initially bumpy they made a new fan out of me.
It was interesting seeing Shenmue through fresh eyes. I now realize it's a lot more flawed than I remember. I also understand why the game is so divisive in that play styles differ largely. As someone who has played the games front to back multiple times, it's hard for me to remember what it was like my first time. But at the same time I think a lot of its flaws are dependent on the player. For instance, the guys don't like waiting, but I find it to be one of the things that makes it uniquely Shenmue and what I appreciate about it: that relaxed pace of a game you can play lounging around with a cup of cocoa. So it's neat - although sometimes frustrating - seeing people have the exact opposite reaction. Although, at the same time, I understand their frustrations.
It was interesting seeing Shenmue through fresh eyes. I now realize it's a lot more flawed than I remember. I also understand why the game is so divisive in that play styles differ largely. As someone who has played the games front to back multiple times, it's hard for me to remember what it was like my first time. But at the same time I think a lot of its flaws are dependent on the player. For instance, the guys don't like waiting, but I find it to be one of the things that makes it uniquely Shenmue and what I appreciate about it: that relaxed pace of a game you can play lounging around with a cup of cocoa. So it's neat - although sometimes frustrating - seeing people have the exact opposite reaction. Although, at the same time, I understand their frustrations.
yakuza builds on what shenmue did and ended up being the better series, imo. still very curious to see how well Shenmue 3 does everywhere and i enjoy seeing people getting into it for the first time or revisiting it after a long period.
I only played shenmue II on xbox and idek if I got super far into it, but i do know i had stronger feelings towards yakuza than shenmue.
computers putin'
Member
It was a very entertaining run on the whole, and I wish the guys at Giant Bomb did more endurance runs. Their commentary actually enhanced the experience on the whole, and I can't think of many youtube lets-players who actually do that with their commentary.The complaining did get a bit grating towards the end, and I found their complaints about the battle system especially annoying(and less valid) since they didn't even try to learn the ins and outs of fighting, but all in all it didn't detract from the run too much.I hope they decide to go ahead and play Shenmue 2.
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
A pretty good endurance run. Not sure if I want to see them tackle Shenmue 2, if they're going to do another Endurance Run I'd rather them try a game they might like. If they do Shenmue 2 maybe they could leave Alex behind. I generally like him, but his incessant negativity was a bit grating here. No matter what the game did he was going to complain.
With this Endurance Run, I finally have a grasp on what Shenmue is. I've heard tons of bits and pieces about it from over the years, but I never could piece together just what it was as a whole. It's been... informational, to say the least.
The oddest part of the game is the first disk. Ryo is off playing detective, but the most confounding aspect of the case isn't trying to find Lan Di's trail, it's just trying to find his way around town. It heavily conveys a sense of being a "fish out of water" to the player, except it's done in Ryo's own home town. Wouldn't that be more appropriate for when Ryo arrives in Hong Kong? I haven't seen any of Shenmue 2, so perhaps they take the same approach there, but then it's also weird that he would be as lost in his own hometown as he would in a foreign country.
The oddest part of the game is the first disk. Ryo is off playing detective, but the most confounding aspect of the case isn't trying to find Lan Di's trail, it's just trying to find his way around town. It heavily conveys a sense of being a "fish out of water" to the player, except it's done in Ryo's own home town. Wouldn't that be more appropriate for when Ryo arrives in Hong Kong? I haven't seen any of Shenmue 2, so perhaps they take the same approach there, but then it's also weird that he would be as lost in his own hometown as he would in a foreign country.
I think when I originally played it, that didn't seem to occur to me. You're basically exploring around this open world which was amazing for the time. I strongly remember being amazed at the ability to enter buildings. Seems quaint now but it was really cool. Also, the ability to open drawers and look at random crap in his home was a revelation. Like Dan said, its def of its time.
Haunted
Member
Shenmue is so, so good.
Not super surprised Vinny didn't really pick up on any of the nuances of the fighting system towards the end even with all that practice before, given that he Havel'd his way through Dark Souls, but the game is so good it still made for an enjoyable ride.
Not super surprised Vinny didn't really pick up on any of the nuances of the fighting system towards the end even with all that practice before, given that he Havel'd his way through Dark Souls, but the game is so good it still made for an enjoyable ride.
broncobuster
Banned
For a game that goes through great lengths to create a synergy between player and character, there is a huge disconnect there. Shenmue 2 handles it better because you and Ryo are on the same page. It's as you guessed, fish out of water, stranger in a strange land.
At the same time, starting alone in Shenmue 2 compared to a town where most folks know Ryo is an interesting contrast. Even if you can't fully appreciate that without playing 2. It sells this idea of going on a journey. Leaving your old life behind.
chromatic9
Member
Hope they do Shenmue 2 sometime. I'm only familiar with the first game so it would be interesting way to see it. I assume Shenmue 2 has some equally strange and memorable characters?.
chromatic9
Member
Watching the game again Ryo often reminded me of how Cristiano Ronaldo looks like him although not Japanese
.
he could dye his hair and put on a brown leather jacket and pull off Ryo. Not saying he's a spitting image but overall.
he could dye his hair and put on a brown leather jacket and pull off Ryo. Not saying he's a spitting image but overall.
openrob
Member
You have to consider that this was one of the first open world games ever. People now have as certain expectation to what that should look like. For example, having a mini map, or pop up objectives. I personally feel that these types of hand holding in an open world game takes away the idea of exploration, but understand that it is confusing at times. It's a bit similar to kokori village in OoT.
But the very thing that frustrates some is EXACTLY what I LOVE about Shenmue. There's some tedious bits, buy overall the atmosphere is what settled it for me. The game is not suited to an endurance run, because it INTENTIONALLY doesn't give you clues, or gives you time to kill SO you can explore. (Saying that, 12yr old me beat the game in 3 days flat).
That's why people who have played the game found parts of the stream frustrating. For people that play video games for a living they were bad at this game.
- E.g. 'i wish I could run during fights' and never pushed the run button despite it showing up op the start menu/button config, the move list, and not actually pressing L, which they use to run through the rest of the game.
- Not picking up on gameplay clues like one of the first things these guys find are phone numbers in the notebook. Then NEVER decide to call anyone (I think, because the game doesn't TELL you to).
- During Abby of the lunch breaks they could have called master Chen, buy sight consider it.
- Then they specifically don't know the buttons despite the layout showing when you press start.
- The press A debacle, not knowing X brings up the menu until half way through the game.
- Not really looking at all the inventory.
- Not looking at the move scroll until late in the game.
- Never bothering to see what 'TRAINING' does at the save point. (It's not super interesting, but come on, they never even check).
Being so eager to get to the end effects what you get out of it - but it made for one hell of an entertaining playthrough haha
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Nah, Shenmue I doesn't feel fish out of water to me at all. It's very intimate. People call Ryo by his first name, they mention things from his childhood. It feels like a community. When Ryo asks questions for things that are obvious the npcs are often shocked because it's something he should know. When they tell you where something is, they assume you already know where it is, because that's Ryo's hometown. This is a large contrast to II where when people tell you where things are, they are long and descriptive or they're willing to escort you to the destination.
Gamesradar had a great description of the differences of the two games but it has been lost to time.
The only way this could seem like fish out of water is because you're watching someone unfamiliar with Shenmie play it. The farewell to Dobuita cutscene exists for a reason: it's a goodbye to a community that raised Ryo.
There's a lot of Shenmue fans who prefer the original to the sequel purely because it feels like a more intimate experience due to its community. I said this earlier but every character in the game - including animals - have a written backstory and name. This leads to a feel of maturation as Ryo leaves his nest to foreign lands. Shenmue saga is in many ways a coming of age story and I've never thought how it handles that is anything but excellence.
Ah Vinny, looking for a handhold until the very end. When I played through this last I used a memorycard without the LCD screen so I didn't get any hints, and the last move wasn't that hard to do. Though I was impressed with his performance in the gang brawl, he did that better than me.
After this feature, I hope they don't bother with Shenmue 2, if their intention will be to go in and piss all over the thing. I hope the guys that want to, Vinny and Dan, check it out in their free time and see how it evolved. Alex's commentary track will not be necessary. I generally like the guy, but in that last episode I wanted to punch him in the mouth.
After this feature, I hope they don't bother with Shenmue 2, if their intention will be to go in and piss all over the thing. I hope the guys that want to, Vinny and Dan, check it out in their free time and see how it evolved. Alex's commentary track will not be necessary. I generally like the guy, but in that last episode I wanted to punch him in the mouth.
another entirely rational and level-headed shenmue fan
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Post your favorite Shenmue character profiles.
Another overly defensive Giant Bomb fan?
Ryo Hazuki
Ryo is the main character and hero of this story. He was born and raised at the Hazuki(Bukan)Dojo in Yokosuka by his father after his mother died of an illness when he was three years old. Although Ine-san, the live-in housekeeper, and Fuku-san, his father's student, also live there, his father Iwao was Ryo's only living relation-until of course, Lan Di murdered him. Ryo began training in the Hazuki Style of jujitsu when he was very young. This training enabled him to grow very strong, both physically and mentally. Although he harbors a strong love and devotion to the martial arts, he hasn't expressed much interest in succeeding his father as master of the Dojo. Ryo is well behaved and knows how to handle himself in a fight. Consequently, he's well known in the neighborhood of Yokosuka. Rather stubborn and competitive to a fault, he tends to act impulsively rather than think through a situation logically. A good example of this is the fact that despite knowing how Nozomi Harasaki feels about him, he hides his feelings and acts indifferently towards her.
Young Ryo
At age 7, Ryo began to seriously study the martial arts under his father’s tutelage. Around this time, he was dubbed Suedeheaded Ryobo by Setsu Abe, a shopkeeper, and was often scolded for being bratty. He experienced his first feelings of love for a girl during this time, but when a friend of his teased him about it, Ryo started a fight with him. Since then, he has shied away from any involvement with girls.
Iwao Hazuki
Iwao is Ryo’s father and the current master of the Hazuki Style martial art. He is a character of high morals who respects devotion to one’s convictions, proper manners and above all, trust. He is very calm and composed, personifying simplicity and courage. His only hobby is Shodo (calligraphy) which he often uses when writing letters and postcards. As a master of martial arts, he is a strict Sensei and is never satisfied with relying solely on one’s natural talent. He has continued to adhere to a strict training regimen throughout his adult life. When he was young, he is said to have set out on an overseas journey to learn from the various great masters of the martial arts. Although his son Ryo sometimes rebels against his strictness, he still respects him as a mentor and dreams of emulating him.
Masayuki Fukuhara
Fuku-san has been a live-in student of the Hazuki Dojo for almost 10 years. To Ryo, he is more like a member of the family. With his warm and gentle personality, Fuku-san makes every effort to achieve whatever goals he sets. Iwao, liking his diligence and honesty, took him as a live-in student despite Fuku-san’s lack of natural talent and the fact that he is a slow learner. Since then, he has been practicing Hazuki-style jujitsu with Ryo. He sometimes jumps to conclusions and acts impulsively, which often results in failure. Nevertheless, because of his frank, easy-to-talk-to personality, he is someone Ryo can go to for advice.
Ine Hayata
For more than 15 years, Ine-san has been the live-in housekeeper of the Hazuki household and has taken care of all the domestic housework and cooking as well as the family budget. She is a quiet, hardworking woman who is modest but emotionally strong. Aside from her sewing, cleaning and washing talents, she is an excellent cook. In particular, her traditional Japanese dishes can be compared to those of a professional chef. While she is rather old-fashioned and very particular about manners and discipline, Ine-san is quite generous and secretly keeps watch over Ryo. She is an indispensable member of the Hazuki household.
Nozomi Harasaki
Nozomi is secretly in love with Ryo. She was born in Japan but moved to Vancouver, Canada when she was very young. She then moved to Yokosuka, where her grandmother lives, when she was a junior high student. Initially, classmates bullied her, discriminating against her because of her different way she did things due to her different culture. At that time, Ryo would often stand up for her. Since then, her love for him has grown over the years. She has decided that she is going to confess her love to him. She has her own opinions but is considerate to others as well. She usually helps out at Aida Florist, her grandmother’s flower shop. She hopes to be an interpreter or translator in the future.
Chen Gui Zhang
Gui Zhang is the son of Master Chen, the owner of a Chinese trading company. While he is still learning how to manage the company, he also works as his father’s bodyguard. He always seems to be calm and gives the impression of being cool-headed and ever composed. However, this is due in part to his remarkably expressionless face. Born in Yokohama, Japan, Gui Zhang was trained in the Yan Qing Style of martial arts by his father since childhood and has continued training hard ever since. Because of their similar background, at heart, he sympathizes with Ryo, but on the outside, acts coldly toward him.
Akemi Sato
A hostess at Bar Yokosuka, Akemi began working there after being introduced to the bartender, Saijo-san by a friend shortly after graduating from high school. Akemi has many admirers, including Fuku-san, who frequently drinks there just to be near her. Before the incident, he came in quite often, but his grief and depression have prevented him from coming by recently. Akemi seems to be a bit concerned about him, or perhaps she simply misses his company.
Akira Nagai
He is one of the few gangsters who knows what ninkyo (chivalry) really is. Other Yakuza bosses throughout the Kanto region admit his superiority. However, he behaves like a friendly old man. Because he considers their organization a necessary evil, he pays attention to the local community and runs his office quietly. He seems to like the self-assured Tom, and often tells him stories of ninkyo.
Lu Tang Chen
This is the man in a suit who is always standing in front of Nagai Industries. Actually, Lu Tang Chen wishes to become a member of Nagai Industries because he is attracted by their noble image. He left his hometown Lushun, China, and smuggled himself into Japan 15 years ago so he also speaks fluent Japanese. Once, he had connections with a Chinese cartel but, being a man of old-fashioned integrity, he couldn’t accept their way of thinking, for they had no rules or honor. When Tang Chen learned about the Japanese concept of ninkyo-do (Yakuza chivalry) he decided he had to join. Tang Chen is always asking himself how he can improve his image. As a result of this self-assessment, he came to rely on two concepts. One is, “Men should be strong.” Although Tang Chen is strong, he abhors violence. His other concept is, “Men should be patient.” Tang Chen will keep standing there, regardless of the weather, until the day Nagai will accept him.Unfortuantely, without any relatives, guardian, or referee, Tang Chen will not be easily accepted by Nagai. Still, Tang Chen will not give up and goes there every day.
Tetsuya Nagashima
Tetsuya is a delinquent high school student who follows Akio Enoki. He looks like a real tough-guy, but in fact he is weak both physically and emotionally. He’s uncomfortable when not accompanying somebody strong, so he sticks to Akio when in Dobuita, and to Goro, a hoodlum and graduate from the same school, when in New Yokosuka Harbor. Recently he has begun to feel disgusted with himself, so he intends to reform and start a new life after graduation.
Yumiko Minamino
Yumiko is the leader of a tough girl gang. She always skips classes and loiters around the streets with Rena Isayama, trying to find prey. They threaten girls from other schools and rob them of their money. The police have caught her many times and that’s why the guidance section of the local police knows her activities pretty well. Being wicked and cold-hearted, she doesn’t mind fighting using a rod or steel pipe, let alone using foul language.
Eri Tajima
Eri is very close to Nozomi Harasaki and Noriko Nakamura. They have known each other since they were young. She first realized how Nozomi felt toward Ryo when she was a junior high school student. Moved by Nozomi's pure, deep love for Ryo, she has been supportive to her both openly and in secret. She is angry and often unfriendly with Ryo though, who takes an indecisive attitude toward Nozomi (but we are not sure whether he does this intentially or not). She seems to be an arrogant, selfish person, but in fact, she is quite insecure and hates being alone. Acting like a big sister, she always feels obligated to protect Nozomi and Noriko who she feels are vulnerable. However she sometimes makes careless mistakes, and Nozomi and Noriko who are more firm and reliable than they look, support her during those times.
Naoyuki Ito
Naoyuki is the older brother of Yasuo and Kayoko Ito. There's a big difference between the siblings' ages. He is a kind, gentle boy who takes care of his brother and sister while his parents are busy with their work. However, he often has to leave his sister with his younger brother because he is studying for the college entrance exams. He is close to Ryo and Ichiro who are in the same class. Ryo and Ichiro were already friends when Naoyuki's family moved to Sakuragaoka when he was in second grade. At first, the classmates bullied Naoyuki because he was the new guy, so when Ryo helped him out they became friends. He earned money doing a part-time job that he worked at since he started high school, and he recently bought a motorcycle, something he'd ben dreaming of for years. He is so exited that he can't stop talking about the motorcycle to Ryo and Ichiro. He is good at science and mathematics, and his grades are among the highest in the class. Above all, his physics grade is the top in the entire school.
Shigeo Yamagishi
Shigeo was born in Itabashi, Tokyo, and is well versed in the traditional martial arts. With a strong affection for the martial arts from childhood, he trained until he was drafted into the military shortly after turning 30. He was sent with the Kanto army to the front lines. Due to his knowledge of communication techniques, developed while working at a manufactuer of morse code generators, he was used on various missions (including decoding Chinese and Russian codes) as technical officer. When the war was over, he married and moved to Sakuragaoka at his wife's urging because she loved the cherry trees there. They even planted a cherry tree in their home garden. When his wife died, he cut it down, trying to break the link with his past, but now he seems to regret doing so. Ine-san has long been a close acquaintance with Shigeo. This friendship has deepened since his wife died. He now harbors feelings of affection for Ine-san, but he avoids showing her these feelings, instead often treating Ine-san and Ryo with indifference. Years ago, when Shigeo became aquainted with Iwao, the master of Hazuki Dojo, he restarted his training again. Iwao and Shigeo developed a close friendship and always drank sake together after their practices. Shigeo stopped training again after he hurt his back. He is very strict about manners and behavior, even with the children gathering around Abe Store. He has often scolded Ryo in the past for various reasons.
Tatsuya Yamamoto
Tatsuya has very strict parents who nag him endlessly about his studies so he goes out often and comes back late, which makes his parents even angrier. His monthly allowance from his parents is only 500 Yen, so he doesn't waste money. He can't afford to try the Capsule Toy Machine, his favorite pastime next to eating snacks, so he always tries to persuade Ryo, and any other adults he knows, to give him money. He sometimes flatters Nozomi and Mayumi to finagle money out of them. Sly examples include him saying, "Ryo said you are cute," to Mayumi and then pestering her for money. When Ryo found out, he scolded Tatsuya severely, but the young boy's never learned his lesson. Ryo sympathizes with him a bit because he also liked the Capsule Toy Machines when he was a child, but Iwao didn't give him enough money for it either. Still, Ryo worries about Tatsuya because he shows no interest in making friends and is more concerned with trying to get prizes.
Another overly defensive Giant Bomb fan?
openrob
Member
TJF (The Jitsu Foundation). One of the more widespread networks of Jitsu in the UK.
(Although they recently changed their name to TJJF - I don't really know why... :/ )
http://www.jitsufoundation.org/
Admiral Woofington
Member
lmao
seeing the GT guys play Shenmue 2 and the difference in attitude is incredible. They're actually giddy and excited to play
seeing the GT guys play Shenmue 2 and the difference in attitude is incredible. They're actually giddy and excited to play
Some of their old run of the original is up on YouTube, though in fractured bits and pieces. It's a good watch, though.
I guess the tone of a playthrough depends entirely on who you're playing with.
SuperStiltzkin
Member
I'm not sure if it's the translation or what, but the writing in Shenmue 1 is kinda balls. Ryo comes off as a passive idiot who always does what the bad guys say.
"Hey man! Meet me at the arcade tomorrow!" Instead of beating the information out of Tattoo man or any other thug he meets on the spot, he constantly agrees to meet them the next day to get ambushed. Bad dudes don't need time to remember what they need to tell you, they just need time to doublecross you!
"Come back in 4 hours to get your ticket!" Girl takes the money and runs. Comes back to the travel agency for reimbursement. Get jumped by dudes in Travel Agency and beats them up. Guy tells him to come back tomorrow for his ticket. If you couldn't trust the girl for 4 hours, why would you trust a guy who just tried to beat you up to wait a whole day?
"Mad Angels always harass the new guy! If you work there you'll meet them!" "Okay."
*After beating up like 20 dudes* "Okay here's your girlfriend. Now go beat up Gui Zhang and I'll tell you where Lan Di is" "Okay"
Ryo's decision to go and fight Gui Zhang STILL ended up being stupid even if he planned to tell Gui Zhang to throw the fight. Because he just goes "Hey I wanna fight you!" Exchanges blows for a while to make sure to piss him off. Then goes "hey pretend to lose!"
"Huh so Lan Di is going to Hong Kong..." is a revelation to him even after he knew for over a week that Lan Di was in Hong Kong. That's why he wasted all of Fuku-San's life savings getting scammed out of a ticket to Hong Kong in the first place!
And in the end when he confronts Lan Di before he gets on his boat. "You found me after all this time Ryo. Alright, you deserve a chance at revenge. Meet me in at the arcade tomorrow at 10pm." "...Okay"
"Hey man! Meet me at the arcade tomorrow!" Instead of beating the information out of Tattoo man or any other thug he meets on the spot, he constantly agrees to meet them the next day to get ambushed. Bad dudes don't need time to remember what they need to tell you, they just need time to doublecross you!
"Come back in 4 hours to get your ticket!" Girl takes the money and runs. Comes back to the travel agency for reimbursement. Get jumped by dudes in Travel Agency and beats them up. Guy tells him to come back tomorrow for his ticket. If you couldn't trust the girl for 4 hours, why would you trust a guy who just tried to beat you up to wait a whole day?
"Mad Angels always harass the new guy! If you work there you'll meet them!" "Okay."
*After beating up like 20 dudes* "Okay here's your girlfriend. Now go beat up Gui Zhang and I'll tell you where Lan Di is" "Okay"
Ryo's decision to go and fight Gui Zhang STILL ended up being stupid even if he planned to tell Gui Zhang to throw the fight. Because he just goes "Hey I wanna fight you!" Exchanges blows for a while to make sure to piss him off. Then goes "hey pretend to lose!"
"Huh so Lan Di is going to Hong Kong..." is a revelation to him even after he knew for over a week that Lan Di was in Hong Kong. That's why he wasted all of Fuku-San's life savings getting scammed out of a ticket to Hong Kong in the first place!
And in the end when he confronts Lan Di before he gets on his boat. "You found me after all this time Ryo. Alright, you deserve a chance at revenge. Meet me in at the arcade tomorrow at 10pm." "...Okay"
I guess it's to show he's trusting to a fault?
But it might just be plot contrivances to get him into scrapes.
The 'overly trusting' stuff reappears in Shenmue II, though played for comedy on a few occasions. I guess it makes more sense in a fish out of water story about a kid who knew nothing beyond his dojo and his neighbourhood.
Admiral Woofington
Member
what do you mean bits and pieces? I seem to have found a parts 1 through 10, each is like hours long. Is this not complete?
I'm talking about their play through of the original Shenmue, which wasn't archived officially. Their Shenmue II run is complete.
Berserking Guts
Member
Watching this ER really made me appreciate it's unorthodox pacing. I know it's a slow grind at the start with the occasional fight here and there. But I like that. Ryo isn't supposed to be an action hero from the get go, he's a regular school kid trying to find out who killed his dad.
His whole world is his neighborhood populated with friends and people he knows. It's only when he gets to the docks and gets a forklift job that he's thrown into the adult world. It really hit me how polarizing this was during the 70 man fight at the end. Ryo goes from safe inquiry in his quaint little neighborhood to a climatic brawl that bookmarks the next chapter of his life.
I think it was important for the first chapter of this supposed epic to have it's slow start.
His whole world is his neighborhood populated with friends and people he knows. It's only when he gets to the docks and gets a forklift job that he's thrown into the adult world. It really hit me how polarizing this was during the 70 man fight at the end. Ryo goes from safe inquiry in his quaint little neighborhood to a climatic brawl that bookmarks the next chapter of his life.
I think it was important for the first chapter of this supposed epic to have it's slow start.
Admiral Woofington
Member
ah understood. I guess I'll watch the playthrough of Shenmue 2. If the HD versions are ever put on PS4 I'll play them, particularly if the saves transfer to the third one.
As much crap as the GB guys gave the game, nowadays the waiting shit in the first one I can pass by surfing gaf and watch tv in my computer in the meantime. So it isn't a deal breaker. But you would think they'd add a time wait mechanic if they rerelease it.
Mm. If you can't find a way to play it yourself I'd definitely recommend the GameTrailers playthrough simply because Shenmue III gets announced around halfway through. That kind of buzz and excitement is one of a kind.
I would be surprised if SEGA didn't go the length to add the time skipping mechanic (considering how often they've said they want to do the ports well), but it might fuck up some gameflow things, require additional dialogue recording (or clips cribbed for Shenmue II, I guess), and may interfere with the engine (a debug beta of Shenmue showed you could skip time via debug menu but it risked enormous glitches).
We'll see. Even fans have been asking for the timeskip feature of II to be transplanted into the original since the early 360 re-release rumours.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
I train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu! I see you're doing Traditional Jiu Jitsu! Do you spar in your classes? Do you have any videos of your style? I would love to see!
I love the escalation in Shenmue games. I like how the games build up to a climax. I really enjoy how the games use fights as a story telling device. You never really fight, for the most part, unless the story demands it. I like that.
Time skip and pay Kogami for his undub.
Unfortunately, the undub is kinda busted because certain lines in English don't have an equivalent in Japanese, so there's just silence.
openrob
Member
Check out these couple of videos. I haven't actually been in probably 2 years haha. It is a lot of partnering up and 'allowing' your partner to drill the moves, until you are able to pull them off. There are also groundwork competitions, but no real upright 'sparring' until later grades really.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhhl_K3iCdg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkSetzon2fY
There is also a UK based Shenmue fan who runs a Dojo near London with his own style called Shin Atemi. That is a lot more of a 'contact' sport lol. In that type of club your sparring partner seems to completely resist and fight back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOuv23tNLyU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBS1T6WiD9w
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Doesn't Kogami translate them? I don't know. I tried it once. These days I just play the Japanese version.
The issue is that there's literally no sound file for the Japanese equivalent of an English localised line, I think.
EDIT: Unless there's a second undub that I didn't know about that does a fresh translation on the Japanese lines. The undub I'm familiar with just tries to transplant lines from the Japanese version of the game onto the English version's equivalent, which sometimes leads to the silence when there's no Japanese dub for the English subtitles.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
There are two undubs. I believe Kogami filled in the lines that lack an English translation.
_StreetSonic_
Member
Thank goodness they went passed the blue warehouse door! Until the Game Informer playthrough, it never occurred to me that others would think that they couldn't go pass that door.
I hope they play the second game. Until recently I thought if they get lost they can just ask someone to show them where to go, but after watching part 1 of the Game Informer playthrough they may not figure it out. They might not bother to talk to people as they look around or if they do the option might not pop up for whatever reason.
I hope they play the second game. Until recently I thought if they get lost they can just ask someone to show them where to go, but after watching part 1 of the Game Informer playthrough they may not figure it out. They might not bother to talk to people as they look around or if they do the option might not pop up for whatever reason.
No Alex mo' fun.
Admiral Woofington
Member
my biggest issue with the GT guys is probably that they don't laugh at some of the hilarious english dub dialogue in Shenmue 2. I'm too cynical to not laugh at that. But I'm enjoying myself I guess. Better than waiting for GB to play it.
Sorcerer
Member
The game is mind blowing when one considers how many years it proceeded GTA 3. And for the time those graphics are pretty amazing.
Comparisions to GTA 3 and Yakuza almost don't count because GTA 3 and Yakuza either really didn't have buildings you could enter or only buildings that were part of your mission could be entered. It seems the entire world was alive in Shenmue 1 and 2.
I guess where YU might have stumbled is that he wanted to simulate the actual mundane aspects of life, witch seems to be where people fall out of love with Shenmue. GTA and Yakuza zip you along.
Comparisions to GTA 3 and Yakuza almost don't count because GTA 3 and Yakuza either really didn't have buildings you could enter or only buildings that were part of your mission could be entered. It seems the entire world was alive in Shenmue 1 and 2.
I guess where YU might have stumbled is that he wanted to simulate the actual mundane aspects of life, witch seems to be where people fall out of love with Shenmue. GTA and Yakuza zip you along.
kogami's undub used US Shenmue to match up the dialogue with the existing English subs. About 3% of the text subtitles are still in Japanese, but this mostly affects Ryo talking to himself after training sessions and a cutscene involving Nozomi and the missing kitten.
It's very playable and actually works (there are no silent conversations in this version), unlike the sm1th/RDC undub which has dialogue that doesn't match up with the subs (eg the JP voices talking about a black car, while the English subs are referencing Chinese people) or no dialogue at all sometimes.
I highly recommend people check out kogami's undub, then play PAL Shenmue II. It's a much more cohesive experience when Ryo has the same voice throughout.
https://youtu.be/jHMLu5FZ7Jk
Cindi Mayweather
Member
When Yu talks about Shenmue he says he wanted to present every day life. I find its mundanity to be a part of its charm and makes it unique to video games. I think more games would benefit in being more mundane.
Gamasutra has written an excellent analysis on this aspect of Shenmue.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/117856/Analysis_On_Shenmue__Dare_to_Be_Dull.php
Similar threads
- Locked