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[Cindi Mayweather]

Cindi, please explain the "parts" with Shenmue. Shenmue is part 1, Shenmue II is...

Tried to google, but got conflicting results.

Originally, Shenmue was supposed to be 16 chapters.

They sized it down to 11.

Shenmue 1 is chapter 1. It is a prologue. The boat is its own chapter and we miss it. Nothing of worth really happens besides Ryo learning some Chinese and fighting Gollum reject #1 again. Shenmue II starts on chapter 3. It has three-four chapters. Shenmue III starts on chapter 6 or 7.

 

[MrCunningham]

Originally, Shenmue was supposed to be 16 chapters.

They sized it down to 11.

Shenmue 1 is chapter 1. It is a prologue. The boat is its own chapter and we miss it. Nothing of worth really happens besides Ryo learning some Chinese and fighting Gollum reject #1 again. Shenmue II starts on chapter 3. It has three-four chapters. Shenmue III starts on chapter 6 or 7.

Woah, woah, big spoiler at the end with that image...

Spoiler

Ryo transforms into Akira from Virtua Fighter.

 

[Sorcerer]

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

I agree, being dropped into this world where everything is open to explore, plenty of stuff in the world that has nothing to do with your quest but its there for you. A lack of guidance. Its beautiful stuff really.
I didn't mean to say Yu stumbled in a mean way. Just that most players wanted to be guided and led by the hand. So this is a case where something is taken away (stream lined i guess) years later and it becomes wildly popular as opposed to keeping something and adding to it.

 

[Spaghetti]

Woah, woah, big spoiler at the end with that image...

Spoiler

Ryo transforms into Akira from Virtua Fighter.

Not sure if serious.jpg

But really, Shenmue was Virtua Fighter RPG at one stage, and this image is from pre-production work when that's what it was. We don't really know how the series is going to end now.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

I agree, being dropped into this world where everything is open to explore, plenty of stuff in the world that has nothing to do with your quest but its there for you. A lack of guidance. Its beautiful stuff really.
I didn't mean to say Yu stumbled in a mean way. Just that most players wanted to be guided and led by the hand. So this is a case where something is taken away (stream lined i guess) years later and it becomes wildly popular as opposed to keeping something and adding to it.

I meant it in the sense that I feel comparing Shenmue games to Yakuza or GTA seems silly to me. They're similar only in that you can do certain things in an order you want while following linear narrative structure. People say Yakuza is an improved version of Shenmue when their goals couldn't be further apart. I feel a lot of these comparisons come from a place of expectation. People watch the intro and assume it's a wild martial arts game with nothing but kicking ass. It's understandable to not be into Shenmue's mundane idiosyncrasies but when people tell me they think Yakuza improves upon the Shenmue game formula usually what they mean is "I want to kick ass" and that Yakuza fulfills the expectations that they wanted out of Shenmue. There are many valid criticisms of Shenmue games but most seem to come from the players own idea of what the games should be rather than accepting them as they are. I think it says a lot of important things about games and game players.

Furthermore, I argue that games are still catching up to Shenmue games. Despite the awful dub and literal translation there's something there. Even Alex says he wants closure and continuation. Even though the dialogue can be drab and Ryo often doesn't make sense, by the end of the game you're fully invested in his adventure. I think the mundanity, like the article I linked argued, helps achieve this. We see modern games like Uncharted 4 dedicate entire chapters to organic character development. We see Nate Drake loitering in his attic reminiscing the glory days and spends his nights watching Netflix with his wife. That forced mundanity gives us more to chew on with Drake's character and care that much more than if we had another chapter shooting bad guys in its stead. It's not Shenmue and calling Naoyuki and hear about him help Yasao with his math homework - which he's bad at - or Ryo talking to Shenhua about his country and what it's famous for, but in terms of earnest attempts I think it doesn't have to be. It tries. I haven't played Life is Strange yet but I played the demo and I ADORE its mundanity. I remember my words being "holy shit, this is like Shenmue" despite the magic power time hopping motif. As an aside, I need to pick that game up.

This is why I think anyone who compared Shenmue and Yakuza as certifiably insane as a fan of both and why Chai is a terrible character who acts as an anomaly among the everyday stuff going on and ruins the games tone. Shenmue 1's main villain should have been Terry.

 

[Sorcerer]

I meant it in the sense that I feel comparing Shenmue games to Yakuza or GTA seems silly to me. They're similar only in that you can do certain things in an order you want while following linear narrative structure. People say Yakuza is an improved version of Shenmue when their goals couldn't be further apart. I feel a lot of these comparisons come from a place of expectation. People watch the intro and assume it's a wild martial arts game with nothing but kicking ass. It's understandable to not be into Shenmue's mundane idiosyncrasies but when people tell me they think Yakuza improves upon the Shenmue game formula usually what they mean is "I want to kick ass" and that Yakuza fulfills the expectations that they wanted out of Shenmue. There are many valid criticisms of Shenmue games but most seem to come from the players own idea of what the games should be rather than accepting them as they are. I think it says a lot of important things about games and game players.

Furthermore, I argue that games are still catching up to Shenmue games. Despite the awful dub and literal translation there's something there. Even Alex says he wants closure and continuation. Even though the dialogue can be drab and Ryo often doesn't make sense, by the end of the game you're fully invested in his adventure. I think the mundanity, like the article I linked argued, helps achieve this. We see modern games like Uncharted 4 dedicate entire chapters to organic character development. We see Nate Drake loitering in his attic reminiscing the glory days and spends his nights watching Netflix with his wife. That forced mundanity gives us more to chew on with Drake's character and care that much more than if we had another chapter shooting bad guys in its stead. It's not Shenmue and calling Naoyuki and hear about him help Yasao with his math homework - which he's bad at - or Ryo talking to Shenhua about his country and what it's famous for, but in terms of earnesty. I haven't played Life is Strange yet but I played the demo and I ADORE its mundanity. I remember my words being "holy shit, this is like Shenmue" despite the magic power time hopping motif. As an aside, I need to pick that game up.

This is why I think anyone who compared Shenmue and Yakuza as certifiably insane as a fan of both and why Chai is a terrible character who acts as an anomaly among the everyday stuff going on and ruins the games tone. Shenmue 1's main villain should have been Terry.

Wow!!!
Eloquently said.

 

[openrob]

Cindi, please explain the "parts" with Shenmue. Shenmue is part 1, Shenmue II is...

Tried to google, but got conflicting results.

Chapters are loosely tied to areas, but are just different parts of the story.

Shenmue
Chapter 1: Yokosuka
2: boat

Shenmue 2
Chapters 3-5

Spoiler

3: Hong Kong (Wan Chai)
4: Kowloon Walled City
5: Guilin

 

[xenorevlis]

Well, it's over. I wasn't sure how much more I could last (or they, lol). At least the competency for fighting games helped them not repeat anything many times aside from the final fight.

I had to shake my head and laugh when they blurted out something like "I can tell just from looking that it's nothing like Virtua Fighter". The majority of animations look to be the same as VF 3 and 4.

Still interesting to see the conflicting POVs they had. Some hilarious moments in most episodes from sheer confusion, delirium, and crew chemistry.

 

[Alienfan]

As someone who enjoys seeing the breadth of what video games can do, and likes knowing as much of the industry as they can, I'm really happy they chose to do Shenmue; it was a game i'd always wanted to try out for myself, but had no idea what they game actually was about. After experiencing the game through the ER, I'm genuinely shocked at how little happened in the game, I mean there was less plot than most games open with. But while the game might have been hot trash and a text book on bad game design, I still had a blast watching it - hope they choose something different next time, rather than jumping on Shenmue 2.

 

[Sectorseven]

The chapters thing always confused me, especially when people count the omitted parts like the boat ride. Just make each game one chapter, or if you want to be technical while also simplifying it, call each game a volume.

 

[LiK]

I want a doc about the localization process.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

The chapters thing always confused me, especially when people count the omitted parts like the boat ride. Just make each game one chapter, or if you want to be technical while also simplifying it, call each game a volume.

Making it one per chapter would mean 11 games which obviously isn't possible nor reasonable.

Some chapters may be skipped because that makes the number of chapters fewer in number, which enables the greater possibility of the story being finished. It's not that confusing and at best the games should have the chapters listed each time you start a new one, Uncharted style, but for the most part, each location is a chapter. In III we will likely get three chapters because there's three locations.

I want a doc about the localization process.

Ditto

 

[adamsapple]

I want a doc about the localization process.

I want clips of Tom's VO session !

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Switch wrote something on the localization and a weird line just today.

http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2016/10/especially-since-you-bought-merchandise.html?m=1


He talked about the awkward translation here too.

http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2016/09/unnatural-utterances-at-tomato.html?m=1

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

I appreciate what shenmue did, but damn does it look like a nightmare to play now. Good endurance run.

 

[Incandenza]

I think I would be a LOT more amenable to Shenmue's weirdness were it not for the inconceivably bad voice acting. Even after reading about how it all happened, it still boggles my mind.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

these GT guys like Lucky Hit in Shenmue 2 a bit too much. And they aren't particularly lucky. It's like watching gamblers who suck and have a bad addiction

 

[Zafir]

Well, that's what happens when you do a English localisation in Japan instead of doing it in a country where the native language is English. Mark is a good one, the fact he struggles to say the R in Ryo is telling that he's probably not a native English speaker.

I don't think it's surprising really, I mean it's not like SEGA had that much experience in voice acting. Sonic Adventure really wasn't much better for it either.

 

[jett]

Only thing this ER did for me was make me realize that Shenmue was much more awful than I could've possibly remembered. I could only endure a few episodes of this shit.

 

[colonyoo]

Simplifying everything, Yakuza's a fast-paced JRPG with a beat-em-up for its battle system while Shenmue is an exploratory adventure game that sometimes lets you get into fights. Having watched this whole playthrough now, it seems especially silly to compare them when really all they have in common is "realistic Japan where you can goof off with darts and Space Harrier."

 

[Spaghetti]

Well, that's what happens when you do a English localisation in Japan instead of doing it in a country where the native language is English. Mark is a good one, the fact he struggles to say the R in Ryo is telling that he's probably not a native English speaker.

I don't think it's surprising really, I mean it's not like SEGA had that much experience in voice acting. Sonic Adventure really wasn't much better for it either.

That's down to inconsistency with a Romanised pronunciation (Ryo) and how it's said in Japanese (Dyo), I believe, and not because the the voice actor.

I don't think anybody in the actual Shenmue cast wasn't a native English speaker, just it came down to a combination of rushed/inconsistent translation, direction coming from non-native English speakers, and Japan being a haven for bad actors who speak English.

 

[Zafir]

That's down to inconsistency with a Romanised pronunciation (Ryo) and how it's said in Japanese (Dyo), I believe, and not because the the voice actor.

I don't think anybody in the actual Shenmue cast wasn't a native English speaker, just it came down to a combination of rushed/inconsistent translation, direction coming from non-native English speakers, and Japan being a haven for bad actors who speak English.

Yes that's what I was implying. A non-native english speaker would struggle to say Ryo due to the differences in English and Japanese.

Other people manage to say it okay. So I can't imagine it was something in the voice direction.

Edit: Besides, I wasn't necessarily just implying the voice actors anyway. I mean the voice direction will have been done by Japanese people also. Like I can totally see why Mario ended up with such a ridiculous accent - the Voice director, who probably didn't have much experience of Italian accents probably told the guy to do the stereotypical accent. Same with Tom's accent.

 

[Isambard]

I have questions about Shenmue.

I wonder, if the the game was meant to be evoke everyday life, why Shenmue needed to have a story in the first place.

I also wonder, by the same token, why Shenmue's story had to be a fantastical martial arts saga about murder and revenge and mysterious ancient artifacts. Wouldn't a generational family drama have made more sense? Been more radical? With the setting of the Hazuki Dojo, you wouldn't even need to abandon marital arts component.

But, more than, that, I wonder why the game drops the payer into the deep end of Ryo's daily life with little structure or presentation. Its a problem of immersion when Ryo wanders around his own neighborhood, interacting with old friends and acquaintances, like a lost tourist. Without any sort of effective introduction to the setting or cast of characters, I'm not playing the game as Ryo. I'm playing as some alien entity that's taken possession of his body and is attempting to act out his life.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Yu Suzuki I believe is Chinese-Japanese. It's a martial arts saga because Yu has a fascination with martial arts, particularly China and Chinese martial arts. This can be seen in Virtua Fighter. Akira practices Bajiquan, Lau, Pai, Shun Di, Sarah practices Jeet Kun Do. Chinese martial arts are all over the place in Shenmue and Virtua Fighter. Yu himself practices Bajiquan.

It's a sweeping Chinese martial arts saga but because in many ways it's a tribute to Suzuki's ancestry. He loved China and Chinese culture. You seem to assume that Shenmue series = Shenmue 1. It isn't.

Shenmie presents a slice of life but it also presents a sweeping epic. Its Virtua Fighter roots will shine through more in II.

I never had that problem with immersion. Like I said earlier, the house itself is a giant playground for exploration. I tore that place up inside and out when I first started playing. I never had the problem you've had. The story is from Ryo's perspective but as a player you're being invited into his world. People give directions assuming you know them, which in turn forces you to explore the game. I never found anything in the game remotely feeling like a lost tourist. One of the first things you see is your notebook. You see Naoyuki and especially Nozomi's number right the and there. Hinting that you should call them. What do you mean by not having an effective introduction to the setting and characters? Does it not force you to talk to Ine and Fuku on day one? In order to talk to Tom, you you have to talk to Nozomi who sends you to Tom. Granted, Ichirou and Naoyuki could use an official introduction, but they hang out at the arcade literally every night and again, Naoyuki is in Ryo's memo pad. The game doesn't introduce these elements because you are now involved in Ryo's life and it is up to you, the player, to investigate and explore that life. You get more of what you put into it. Shenmue is heavy on exposition, which is why exploration is important.

 

[Spaghetti]

Yes that's what I was implying. A non-native english speaker would struggle to say Ryo due to the differences in English and Japanese.

Other people manage to say it okay. So I can't imagine it was something in the voice direction.

Mark's voice actor is a guy called Jerry Ledbetter. It's definitely the voice direction.

Even Ryo (Corey Marshall) will sometimes flip between Dyo and Ryo in the English dub of both games.

I have questions about Shenmue.

I wonder, if the the game was meant to be evoke everyday life, why Shenmue needed to have a story in the first place.

I also wonder, by the same token, why Shenmue's story had to be a fantastical martial arts saga about murder and revenge and mysterious ancient artifacts. Wouldn't a generational family drama have made more sense? Been more radical? With the setting of the Hazuki Dojo, you wouldn't even need to abandon marital arts component.

Because Shenmue's story, ultimately, isn't about what happened in the first game. It's about everything that comes after; the journey through China chasing after Lan Di/uncovering the mystery of the mirrors/whatever unknowns come next. I think Yu Suzuki has described it as a story about self discovery in a foreign land, at one point. The overall story is influenced by a type of Chinese fantasy called Wuxia.

What was seen in the endurance run is basically the prologue to a larger story.

So why wasn't the larger story what you saw in the game? Well, it was going to be. Shenmue + Shenmue II were originally one game, but as the project grew in size and cost, and SEGA desired a killer app, the game got split like a year before release in a less than favourable way, and parts were stretched to compensate.

 

[Spaghetti]

Edit: Besides, I wasn't necessarily just implying the voice actors anyway. I mean the voice direction will have been done by Japanese people also. Like I can totally see why Mario ended up with such a ridiculous accent - the Voice director, who probably didn't have much experience of Italian accents probably told the guy to do the stereotypical accent. Same with Tom's accent.

Well, you did say:

Mark is a good one, the fact he struggles to say the R in Ryo is telling that he's probably not a native English speaker

- which I took to mean you're talking about the voice actor, but no biggie.

I can't remember the source, but there's a podcast out there where Corey Marshall (Ryo) said the voice director was Japanese and using a translator, and basically got little direction with a "one complete take and done" mentality to just get through the volume of dialogue that needed recording.

The backstory to the dub kind of says it all.

EDIT: Extra Shenmue dub weirdness, Mark was voiced by an English speaker in the Japanese version speaking Japanese, and Tom was voiced by a Japanese guy doing a weird phoney broken Japanese American accent.

 

[Zafir]

Mark's voice actor is a guy called Jerry Ledbetter. It's definitely the voice direction.

Even Ryo (Corey Marshall) will sometimes flip between Dyo and Ryo in the English dub of both games.

Guess I didn't notice it, Either way as I said in my edit. I wasn't really necessarily suggesting it was just the voice actors. The voice direction was obviously bad anyway.

That isn't unique to Shenmue either. Silent Hill 2 apparently had similar issues, Guy Cihi had some amusing tales to tell about the recording process of that game.

Well, you did say:



- which I took to mean you're talking about the voice actor, but no biggie.

I can't remember the source, but there's a podcast out there where Corey Marshall (Ryo) said the voice director was Japanese and using a translator, and basically got little direction with a "one complete take and done" mentality to just get through the volume of dialogue that needed recording.

The backstory to the dub kind of says it all.

Fair enough, and yeah I can see that happening.

Having voices on such a large scale was kind of unique back then anyway. I'd imagine Shenmue had more lines of dialogue than most localisations of that era. Even say FInal Fantasy X, most of the NPCs aren't voiced.

 

[Spaghetti]

That isn't unique to Shenmue either. Silent Hill 2 apparently had similar issues, Guy Cihi had some amusing tales to tell about the recording process of that game.

Yeah, most English dubs of Japanese games of the era were done the same; to varying levels of success.

Metal Gear Solid was the outlier, thankfully.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Because Shenmue's story, ultimately, isn't about what happened in the first game. It's about everything that comes after; the journey through China chasing after Lan Di/uncovering the mystery of the mirrors/whatever unknowns come next. I think Yu Suzuki has described it as a story about self discovery in a foreign land, at one point. The overall story is influenced by a type of Chinese fantasy called Wuxia.

What was seen in the endurance run is basically the prologue to a larger story.

So why wasn't the larger story what you saw in the game? Well, it was going to be. Shenmue + Shenmue II were originally one game, but as the project grew in size and cost, and SEGA desired a killer app, the game got split like a year before release in a less than favourable way, and parts were stretched to compensate.

This could further help explain it better than we could? I dunno.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbrSmqnegIk

 

[MrCunningham]

Not sure if serious.jpg

But really, Shenmue was Virtua Fighter RPG at one stage, and this image is from pre-production work when that's what it was. We don't really know how the series is going to end now.

It was an awful joke. Sorry. Yeah, I knew that Virtua Fighter RPG was what Shenmue started out as. Back in the day there were all sorts of gaming magazine rumours about the hinted at Virtua Fighter RPG. If you were a Sega fan back in the day, this was your Final Fantasy VII remake (so to speak).

 

[Sectorseven]

Making it one per chapter would mean 11 games which obviously isn't possible nor reasonable.

Some chapters may be skipped because that makes the number of chapters fewer in number, which enables the greater possibility of the story being finished. It's not that confusing and at best the games should have the chapters listed each time you start a new one, Uncharted style, but for the most part, each location is a chapter. In III we will likely get three chapters because there's three locations.

They already hacked it down from like 16, so they're not bound by the numbers, and it's still confusing. Hong Kong is two chapters for some reason, maybe? The whole thing just makes it less approachable to newcomers. Listing the chapters in game would make sense, except they never did it.

 

[Shaanyboi]

I'm not sure playing this game with original Japanese voiceover would make it any better. If anything, it might be worse. The shitty voice direction atleast gives it something that resembles charm. If I was just listening to a bunch of Japanese voice actors who I couldn't tell were any good or not, I'd have nothing to keep me entertained.

lmao

seeing the GT guys play Shenmue 2 and the difference in attitude is incredible. They're actually giddy and excited to play

What a depressing existence. Or... quaint. I'm not sure which. Like a cat that doesn't quite understand that its reflection in a mirror isn't another cat.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

They already hacked it down from like 16, so they're not bound by the numbers, and it's still confusing. Hong Kong is two chapters for some reason, maybe? The whole thing just makes it less approachable to newcomers. Listing the chapters in game would make sense, except they never did it.

How is this confusing for newcomers? Just play Shenmue 1 and 2. There are two games. It's not that hard and it's not like you can skip chapters in game anyways. I agree they can decrease chapters but it's not like that's any different than skipping the boat. The result is the same in the end. All you need to know is that each location is a chapter with a specific mood and atmosphere as a newcomer. You have to remember that Shenmue has been in limbo since 2001/2002. I'll ask Suzuki on Twitter myself if there will be clarification on the chapters.

Hong Kong has one chapter as far as I'm concerned. Some people consider it two, but there is no official thing on it. We'll see when III comes out.

 

[Spaghetti]

They already hacked it down from like 16, so they're not bound by the numbers, and it's still confusing. Hong Kong is two chapters for some reason, maybe? The whole thing just makes it less approachable to newcomers. Listing the chapters in game would make sense, except they never did it.

They do, though.

Ultimately it doesn't actually matter, the 16/11 chapter stuff is really just behind the scenes stuff fans talk about. Chapters in the game are listed chronologically no matter where in the game plan they're pulled from.

Chapter 3 (Ryo and

Spoiler

Ren

on a train) from the plan was culled from Shenmue II's content, but Yu Suzuki said it'd possibly be included in a potential Shenmue IV. He's not afraid to chop and change parts (at least, not isolated "bottle episodes" like Chapter 3 or the mini-chapter on the boat).

 

[V-Faction]

Finished the run last night, and I just want to say...

I really hope they stop calling him Ryu soon.

The legend of Ryu Hakazuki shall never die.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

I have questions about Shenmue.

I wonder, if the the game was meant to be evoke everyday life, why Shenmue needed to have a story in the first place.

I also wonder, by the same token, why Shenmue's story had to be a fantastical martial arts saga about murder and revenge and mysterious ancient artifacts. Wouldn't a generational family drama have made more sense? Been more radical? With the setting of the Hazuki Dojo, you wouldn't even need to abandon marital arts component.

But, more than, that, I wonder why the game drops the payer into the deep end of Ryo's daily life with little structure or presentation. Its a problem of immersion when Ryo wanders around his own neighborhood, interacting with old friends and acquaintances, like a lost tourist. Without any sort of effective introduction to the setting or cast of characters, I'm not playing the game as Ryo. I'm playing as some alien entity that's taken possession of his body and is attempting to act out his life.

I liked the fact that you pieced together his relationship with each character organically over time way better. You're even still getting little tidbits of insight as to how Ryo feels about his friends back home in Shenmue 2.

It's actually really effective for how it doles out the gravity of Ryo's situation in piecemeal. Like for me and a lot of other runs I've seen it doesn't really sink in how much Ryo's life has gone off the rails till Nozomi meets him outside of the Tattoo Parlor.

Most of the relations are really easily perceived through inferred too. I never got the GB confusion around Ryo & Nozomi's relationship. Its pretty obvious they're not actually dating but have feelings for each other and that's it.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

I liked the fact that you pieced together his relationship with each character organically over time way better. You're even still getting little tidbits of insight as to how Ryo feels about his friends back home in Shenmue 2.

It's actually really effective for how it doles out the gravity of Ryo's situation in piecemeal. Like for me and a lot of other runs I've seen it doesn't really sink in how much Ryo's life has gone off the rails till Nozomi meets him outside of the Tattoo Parlor.

Most of the relations are really easily perceived through inferred too. I never got the GB confusion around Ryo & Nozomi's relationship. Its pretty obvious they're not actually dating but have feelings for each other and that's it.

Agreed. I do think it could be communicated better how much in a bad place Ryo is on disc 1, though.

I'm surprised people are confused on the relationship of Fuku and Ine. Do they not know san denotes Mr/Mrs/Ms? It wouldn't make sense that Ryo calls him dad specifically 'father', his friends - Nozomi, Eri, Noriko, Naoyuki;etc - by first names, but still call his mother and brother san. You can get a clue into their relationship by how he addresses them. I'm surprised by how many people think Ine is Ryo's mother when he clearly adds -san to her name. You can understand their relationship right then and there due to san.

You can deduce that Ryo's mother is dead by the family Buddhist shrine, the comb in the basement, and ultimately his passport disc profile. I see this exposition through exploration thing to be great and a nice look into how Shenmue takes advantage of the video game medium.

 

[CoolBatteryCharge]

Endurance Run: Shenmue - Part 27 (Epilogue)

Our run may be over but now it's time to actually learn how to play the game. Or become even more confused?

 

[Jintor]

non-japanese people or people who don't necessarily bother to learn the cultural stuff don't necessarily know about the precise usage of honourifics. I don't think that is that surprising. And even when they kind of know, they don't necessarily understand its use in a family context. I think it was pretty unsurprising that they kind of equated it to just being ultra respectful of your parents - at least, that's what it seemed like they initially thought to me

 

[Tuffty]

Oh my god, the forklift preview music.

 

[batfax]

haha wow that forklift video

Nice they did the Passport disc. All the "WHO ARE YOU"s definitely make me hope they do Shenmue 2 at some point.

RE: Honorifics - Even if it was just a super respectful to parents thing, it seems like it'd be really funky to call your mom by her name, -san or not. =P

 

[Keyser Soze]

Oh my god, the forklift preview music.

From F355 Challenge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4ksC-4IJ8w

 

[strafer]

Nozomi is making me depressed.

 

[orient]

It's really impressive how the high-res models on the passport are almost up to PS3/360 standards, minus the stupidly sweaty skin that personified last gen. Obviously the animation isn't as good.

 

[MassiveNights]

Ha...ha

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

I'm watching the bonus video right now.
Who's the mysterious lady that keeps showing up in the preview videos? Is she actually in the game?

 

[strafer]

I'm watching the bonus video right now.
Who's the mysterious lady that keeps showing up in the preview videos? Is she actually in the game?

Keep watching.

 

[NekoFever]

I'm about 15 episodes into this and my god do these guys have an awful sense of direction.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Keep watching.

Yeah, Alex just mentioned that she's in 2.
So, was she cut from the first game? It seems weird that she was featured in the advertising while not being in the game at all.

 

[Zafir]

(Shenmue 2 spoilers)

Heh funny how they comment on

Spoiler

Xiuying

.

Spoiler

It's interesting that she's in those promotional material videos considering there's nothing else from Shenmue 2. Was she meant to be in Shenmue originally? I mean Chen obviously gives you the letter to go see her, but I don't see why she would be in the first game otherwise unless they changed the story.

Edit: Wow she has a completely different Voice Actress too, hah.