I have at long last finished Shenmue II, almost fifteen years after finishing Shenmue. I sort of wish I would have played it back when I was younger, and if it came out on Dreamcast here in the U.S., I probably would have. I would have been more able to immerse myself in the world, and play leisurely at that time. At the same time, I'm glad I was able to play and understand the original Japanese version, something I couldn't have done back then.
Overall, the game was a great experience. Something I've always liked about these games, is I never feel like I'm playing a game, so much as I'm in Ryo's world, playing his story. Of course, I can just wander over to an arcade and play some Space Harrier or Outrun if I'm feeling the need for some classic gaming while I'm wandering around Ryo's world.
Probably one of my favorite aspects of Shenmue II, was wandering around areas loosely based on real locations, especially the walled city. It's fascinating that the city was still standing in 1987, when Ryo is there in Shemue II, but was mostly demolished soon after. I mentioned earlier that I wished the game had more emphasis on it's fighting system, and while it did have some difficult fights, nothing felt to me anywhere near as dramatic as the 70 man fight in the first Shenmue. However, I did enjoy seeking out move scrolls and participating in fighting matches for cash scattered throughout the areas, mostly in Kowloon.
As for the QTEs, I never did manage to fail any that changed the course of the game, or cutscenes, just ones that made me sit through cutscenes again or replay a segment, which was a shame. There was only one of these that actually annoyed me though. There are several QTEs after the disc 3 boss, and if you fail the last one (which I did because you have to hit a button and then two simultaneously--the game does give you major hints that this will happen, but I managed to land my thumb on one button before the other) you have to actually fight the boss over again from the beginning. This felt like artificial difficulty to me, but the boss was fairly easy, so it wasn't that big of a deal.
Also, as some of you have pointed out, I did indeed miss the duck races. I may very well pick up the game again and make sure to do the right things to experience them, but for now I'm pretty burned out on Shenmue.
I'll discuss the rest of my thoughts with spoiler tags, so I can talk more freely about the game's last two discs.
It's actually pretty difficult to collect my thoughts on Shenmue II. It's one of those games, along with its predecessor, which I can totally understand people not liking, but I absolutely loved the experience. These are games for people with patience and the willingness to get slowly invested into a narrative. What surprised me was that disc 3 was essentially a climax. The ascent of the Yellow Head building and the fight with Dou Niu while Lan Di looked on felt like a satisfactory ending to a chapter. Then the game told me to put in Disc 4. The entirety of Disc 4 felt like the perfect example of why some people don't like Shenmue and why some, myself included, absolutely adore these games. For anyone reading this who doesn't know, the fourth disc of Shenmue II is essentially walking and having conversations with Shenhua, the girl who appears to Ryo in Shenmue and is finally revealed. This whole disc is extremely slow, and in my opinion, extremely beautiful. I'm not just talking about the nature and the graphics in this segment, I'm talking about the conversations themselves. There's an option to hurry ahead instead of converse, and never once did I have an urge to press it. I was simply fascinated by everything Shenhua had to say, her questions about distant things, and her stories about her village.
As for the actual ending, with the mirror, the sword, and the peom....it does make you want to know where the hell the story was going. I understand the desire many have to see an end to this story, and I would also love to see this story continued but I also hope the story was pretty far from ending at this point. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, and more than one character's motivation is under some sort of scrutiny. It also seems pretty clear that quite a bit of mysticism, and possibly ancient magic was being brought into the story at this point. Also, I felt like Ren's final scene of throwing the knife into the map as he contemplated treasure felt like it may have been alluding to him playing a further role, which would be fantastic. This is one of those games that will stay with me for a long time, and I do genuinely hope we get a continuation of the story it started. Also, since we're in the spoiler tags, Rosebud was a sled, and Shenmue is a tree.
I am very glad you enjoyed the game man! It is always so heartening to hear someone enthuse about a game that most people write-off as good or bad without playing through it entirely. There is a lot you may have missed in Shenmue 2 and no one can blame you for missing it, as the game itself has a lot of depth and content that requires meticulous exploration and timing.
Don't feel too bad about failed QTEs leading to other paths in the game, as those paths are honestly, quite minor, but would definitely give you a nice change of pace in the narrative as you play a second time in the future. The Duck Races are a must to figure out, as is the birthday party and I encourage you to some day fire up the game again and shoot for the stars.
Another thing that I really encourage you to do is go to the fortune tellers. Not only do they fill in some of your journals, but it also gives you some insight into the world a bit farther than just going through the game. Even if the answer seems simple on where to go, plunk some cash down on them. Different fortune tellers talk very differently and their method of fortune telling is very different as well. Some tellers can be very telling, while others can be very obtuse, but also add clues about characters and the story that aren't evident in the events themselves.
On to the spoilers....the game may be incredibly old, but such an ending really needs to be talked about behind closed doors as I would hate to ruin it for people.
I am with you on the conversation with Shenhua. Some may be annoyed by it, but I consider it a epilogue to the story, much like how I felt the first half of Shenmue feels like a Prologue. The magic involved just blows my mind and really makes me wonder if the legends that people constantly elude to are real about the mirrors. Ren will definitely make an appearance again, as should Gui Zhang from Shenmue 1 as he says he will join up with him after his leg is healed....add to it his connections with Joy (would that mean that their meeting up was not coincidence?
I also should suggest tracking down a copy of the U.S. Xbox release of Shenmue 2, or at least look at the comics online that were available in the game as they too fill in some of the gaps between Shenmue 1 & 2, and elude to some more characters who will show up later.
As I have said ad nauseum is that Shenmue is misunderstood as a game, because a lot of people treat the series as just that, a game. Mechanically, the game is flawed as a game, I understand that, but those flaws should not completely overshadow the theatrics and pacing of the story being told. I really feel that the way people play the game can drastically affect how they enjoy the game.
Most games use action sequences to progress story, moving from fight A to Fight B to continue with Story elements C, D and E, but Shenmue works a bit different. I have actively approached the games as a collector, as an explorer, as a fighter and as social butterfly, each way providing different experiences and different elements of the game that set it apart from others.
Anywho, I'm glad you enjoyed the game and I can't wait to hear what happens the day you pick it up again and try things a bit differently this time around.
Ack wrote:I don't know, chief, the haunting feeling of lust I feel whenever I look at your avatar makes me think it's real.
-I am the idiot that likes to have fun and be happy.
I'm totally with you. Shenmue is really kind of it's own thing, which uses the interactivity inherent in the medium to tell as close to an interactive story as they could, above and beyond how anyone had tried to do interactive stories in games. It gives you so much freedom, and the detail is insane in ways I think many won't even realize. From how your eyes naturally rest on prominent things, the way people's actually do, to how npcs act during different parts of their schedules, to them all having their own freaking voice actors, I could go on and on.
I'm definitely going to replay it, could be as soon as December if I have the free time. I didn't realize the xbox version actually added anything. I'll be checking out the comics today for sure. I think for my second playthrough I'll use a walkthrough to understand how to unlock events I didn't see the first time around, and I'll use big and small/reloading the game to get excess cash to do things I didn't do like visit fortune tellers. I'll probably do a much more leisurely playthrough, over the course of a lot more time. I did forget to mention how cool it was to see what the game was looking like when they were designing Shenmue for Saturn.
Yay to this Shenmue love. I want to +1 both of your posts, Czernobog and BogusMeatFactory. The storytelling is great in both games. The pacing is what a lot of people do not care for, but is a delight for others. I think in such a fast-paced world we live in, Shenmue gives us pause and lets us revel in the journey of Ryo.
Shenhua's piece in Guilin towards the end of Shenmue II is a nice break from the chaos of Hong Kong and Kowloon. I think if Shenmue 2 ended after the showdown, and Shenmue 3 picked up in Guilin, you'd have some similar gripes about how slow the first game started so slow. I think you're right though that the epilogue-like feeling of Shenhua's introduction is brilliant.
A lot of the charm of these games is the exploration aspect, and how close the depictions of the real-life locations are in the game. For some of us, we may never be able to visit those places, so the allure and mysticism through Ryo's eyes is enough.
For me the last disc of Shenmue II was something I really wasn't expecting, but after the 3rd disc I thought it was pretty much over anyway. At the very end I realized that it was important to setup the never to be seen III.
Yes, it's nice to see the real love for the series here.
Xeogred wrote:The obvious answer is that it's time for the Dreamcast 2.
Great Yu Suzuki,
Shenmue is quite terrible.
Stick to arcade games.
Own: Mega Drive, Saturn, Dreamcast, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, PS Vita, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii U, Game Boy Advance, DS, 3DS, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox, Xbox 360
