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Shenmue 1 and 2 release

Started by bgmnts, August 02, 2018, 11:00:22 AM

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bgmnts

Is anyone as madly fucking excited as me for this?

Having never played 1 I have only ever played 2 but Shenmue 2 is so brilliant I am excited to play it again without having to buy it for megabucks.


madhair60

Never played this. Someone told me you have to wait for buses in real time. And it's on Dreamcast which has quite literally no good games that don't involve a taxi that's lost its mind. Doesn't look good for Shenmue.

I played the first one on the Dreamcast for about an hour at my mate's. I just went to the arcade and played Space Harrier or something. I'll definitely be getting this. Sounds like Yakuza but even more boring and laborious. Can't wait.

Fry

I loved Shenmue 1, but the version of 2 I played had subtitles only and no god awful English voice acting and that genuinely ruined the experience for me.

popcorn

I dearly love Shenmue and it is Right and Proper that it is getting a rerelease - it's always a bummer when cult stuff (or any stuff really) ends up banished to dead formats, undiscoverable.

I probably won't bother with it myself because I must've played the original games five or six times. The rerelease looks good - they've made a lot of smart improvements, like independent controls for movement and camera, and word on the street is that the loading times are almost non-existent, which must cut the playtime in half. I'm disappointed that apparently the sound hasn't been improved though - by which I don't mean the awful/wonderful voice acting but the super-compressed bitrates.

madhair60

I read there's a bit where you have to fight 100 lads. That sounds boring as fuck, are you sure this is good? I mean it's bad, right?

popcorn

It's extremely boring, in an odd, melancholic, zen-like way.

It's good for you, like sweeping the floor.

Bazooka

Quote from: madhair60 on August 02, 2018, 11:29:31 AM
Never played this. Someone told me you have to wait for buses in real time. And it's on Dreamcast which has quite literally no good games that don't involve a taxi that's lost its mind. Doesn't look good for Shenmue.

If this terrible post was a game, Superman 64 would be better. Dreamcast has lots of fantastic games, truly awful opinions sir.

St_Eddie

Quote from: madhair60 on August 02, 2018, 11:29:31 AM
Never played this. Someone told me you have to wait for buses in real time. And it's on Dreamcast which has quite literally no good games that don't involve a taxi that's lost its mind. Doesn't look good for Shenmue.

Including Shenmue and Crazy Taxi, The Dreamcast is host some fantastic games...

House of the Dead/Typing of the Dead
Metropolis Street Racer
Power Stone 2
Jet Set Radio
Samba De Amigo
Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Rez
Space Channel 5
Ikaruga
Soul Caliber
Skies of Arcadia
Street Fighter III: Third Strike


It's also host to the best colour palate ever seen in a games console.  I rate it only second to the PSOne.

brat-sampson

This'll be a fuuuun topic down the line. Playing Shenmue 1 in 2018 is going to be more than divisive... Look forward to looking for sailors, waiting for the in-game clock to tick forward 6-8 hours at a time if needed with no way to advance, working your regular job as a forklift truck driver down at the dock (which basically involves moving boxes around and the odd race to keep things spicy), some 'entertaining' voice acting, Space Harrier and more!

Personally, I played the original when it came out, never finished it, never touched the sequel due to the console switch etc, but have Kickstarter-backed the 3rd anyway, so I'm invested.

Since then I've also watched along as some of the Giant Bomb crew played through Shenmue 1 with mixed results, meaning I reckon I know enough now to be happy jumping straight into the second, which is meant to be a very strong improvement.

Twed

Switch would have been the perfect platform for this 😠

Bhazor

Quote from: popcorn on August 02, 2018, 11:56:06 AM
It's good for you, like sweeping the floor.

Which funnily enough you do.

Quote from: Twed on August 02, 2018, 03:13:15 PM
Switch would have been the perfect platform for this 😠

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

madhair60

Quote from: St_Eddie on August 02, 2018, 02:33:04 PM
Including Shenmue and Crazy Taxi, The Dreamcast is host some fantastic games...

House of the Dead/Typing of the Dead
Metropolis Street Racer
Power Stone 2
Jet Set Radio
Samba De Amigo
Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Rez
Space Channel 5
Ikaruga
Soul Caliber
Skies of Arcadia
Street Fighter III: Third Strike


It's also host to the best colour palate ever seen in a games console.  I rate it only second to the PSOne.

Those games are all shit. Happy to expand on why.

Bazooka

Quote from: madhair60 on August 02, 2018, 03:31:11 PM
Those games are all shit. Happy to expand on why.

I mean sure waste your time if you want.

madhair60


popcorn

Quote from: Bhazor on August 02, 2018, 03:18:22 PM
Which funnily enough you do.

Do you? I don't remember that.

You certainly drive a fork truck around a lot. And carry boxes. And books. And wipe a wall.

Twed

Quote from: Bhazor on August 02, 2018, 03:18:22 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsKEQCeTBck
That only strengthens my point!

"The Switch is perfect for going to jail you piece of shit!" made me laugh.

I could be playing Shamu right now in my mother fuckin office all to myself if it was on the Switch but guess what I can't because Sega fucked it up


bgmnts

Just pre-ordered it. Fuck yes.

Lemming

Shenmue is fantastic, but it does fall apart when you get the forklift job, mainly because of a lot of waiting for buses in real time. I don't remember any such downtime in Shenmue 2.

The ending to Shenmue 1 is one of the best endings to a videogame ever, though. The gang that's been constantly fucking with you as you do your excruciatingly boring forklift job attacks ALL AT ONCE, all 72 of them, and you somehow manage to beat the shit out of every last one of them with your ridiculous martial arts moves. None of the usual QTE fights that characterise the rest of the game either, it's just your actual gameplay skills against the enemies.

Any game that ends with nearly 100 of the antagonists all just attacking you at once is a quality game. See also: the last mission of Mafia 1.

Chu Chu Rocket is another great Dreamcast game, as long as we're defending the Dreamcast in this thread.

St_Eddie

Quote from: madhair60 on August 02, 2018, 03:31:11 PM
Those games are all shit. Happy to expand on why.

Please do, so that I may count the ways...

Quote from: brat-sampson on August 02, 2018, 03:03:45 PM
Personally, I played the original when it came out, never finished it, never touched the sequel due to the console switch...

But Shenmue II was released on the Dreamcast, before being ported to the XBox.

Kryton

Shenmue and its sequel were both way ahead of the time. Okay probably a little clunky these days, but I got lost in the world it presented. Lots of distractions and full of brilliant detail. Not sure how it would stand up these days, but I have a lot of fond nostalgia for these games.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Kryton on August 03, 2018, 12:25:18 AM
Shenmue and its sequel were both way ahead of the time. Okay probably a little clunky these days, but I got lost in the world it presented. Lots of distractions and full of brilliant detail. Not sure how it would stand up these days, but I have a lot of fond nostalgia for these games.

I dusted off my Dreamcast and replayed Shenmue a couple of years ago and I'm pleased to say that it's held up remarkably well.  Of course, for those who never understood the appeal of the game, time isn't going to change that but seeming as you, like me, thoroughly enjoyed the game, I can confirm that it's as charming and as engrossing as it ever was.

Kryton

The ONLY part I hated was the bit in Shenmue II when you had to climb inside that ruined building using the wobbly planks and if you failed you had to restart all over from the bottom, that bit could fuck off. Even the forklift bits were better than that.


popcorn

Quote from: Lemming on August 02, 2018, 09:04:53 PM
Shenmue is fantastic, but it does fall apart when you get the forklift job, mainly because of a lot of waiting for buses in real time. I don't remember any such downtime in Shenmue 2.

Don't you only have to do that once or twice? As soon as you get the job you automatically teleport down to the docks each day, don't you? Or do you need to get the bus after work ends each day? Of all the tedious, repetitive tasks in Shenmue 1 and 2, waiting for buses isn't one that springs to my mind.

Quote from: St_Eddie on August 02, 2018, 09:09:03 PM
Please do, so that I may count the ways...

But Shenmue II was released on the Dreamcast, before being ported to the XBox.

Not in North America.

St_Eddie

Quote from: popcorn on August 03, 2018, 02:32:27 AM
Don't you only have to do that once or twice? As soon as you get the job you automatically teleport down to the docks each day, don't you? Or do you need to get the bus after work ends each day? Of all the tedious, repetitive tasks in Shenmue 1 and 2, waiting for buses isn't one that springs to my mind.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that this is the case.  Also, for the record; I love the forklift job in Shenmue.

Quote from: popcorn on August 03, 2018, 02:32:27 AM
Not in North America.

True.  I guess that I always make the assumption that people on this forum live in the UK.  Silly really, as I know that's not always the case.

popcorn

I remember reading the announcement that Shenmue 2 wasn't coming to the Dreamcast and being absolutely gutted. And then one day my mate called me to tell me that he was in Game in town and holding a copy of Shenmue 2 for Dreamcast in his hands right that moment. He'd just stumbled on it - neither of us had any idea it was coming out in Europe. Either we missed some news (unlikely, as I spent my youth on Sega forums) or Sega did a pretty bad PR job (more likely, especially as the Dreamcast had already been canned by that point).

Anyway, he bought me a copy and brought it over. Closest I came to the same elation I felt that day was when I realised I'd somehow never seen Arrested Development season 2, despite having owned all the DVDs for years and having watched seasons 1 and 3 repeatedly. Kept thinking I'd seen season 2 too many times and skipping it on rewatch.

popcorn

#28
In retrospect, it was mad that Microsoft bought the Shenmue 2 exclusivity rights, wasn't it? I hope they didn't pay more than a fiver for them.

Lemming

As long as we're talking about Shenmue annoyances, has anyone managed to get the full Fangmei's birthday event? The last time I played I completely neglected the main story to try and hit all the events necessary for the birthday and still somehow didn't get it.

Quote from: popcorn on August 03, 2018, 02:32:27 AM
Don't you only have to do that once or twice? As soon as you get the job you automatically teleport down to the docks each day, don't you? Or do you need to get the bus after work ends each day? Of all the tedious, repetitive tasks in Shenmue 1 and 2, waiting for buses isn't one that springs to my mind.

Not sure, but I thought you had to get the bus home each day. I remember aimlessly wandering around like a pillock after work looking for the exit to the bus stop, and also walking home through Dobuita at night - in fact, I think you have to walk home through Dobuita at night to trigger a few story events where people ambush you. I also definitely remember walking past Nozomi's flower shop on the way home from work each day and trying to talk to her but always getting the same three or so lines.

There's also a bit of waiting around during the job itself - don't you have to take a lunch break that typically involves walking around the harbour and doing not much of anything? There's also at least one occasion where someone asks you to meet them after work, and that also ultimately involves just standing in the harbour waiting for the meeting time.

Shenmue's dedication to simulation/realism really appeals to me, but the forklift job (and possible bus-waiting surrounding it) really pushes it for me. I don't remember how many days you have to do the job for exactly, but it felt like it was starting to take the piss towards the end - although the ending, when you finally get there, makes up for it.

Quote from: Kryton on August 03, 2018, 02:10:09 AM
The ONLY part I hated was the bit in Shenmue II when you had to climb inside that ruined building using the wobbly planks and if you failed you had to restart all over from the bottom, that bit could fuck off. Even the forklift bits were better than that.

"It'll be a mess if I fall from here..."
*places a single foot on the plank and instantly starts chaotically jerking from side to side*
"WUH WUUUH AAAH AAAH"

I love the joke that immediately follows that sequence where Ren reveals there's an elevator that bypasses the entire plank nightmare.