Shenmue

[fredthezombie]

Hey guys I just finished Shenmue 1 the a week or so ago and I just want to see what other people think of the game. After hearing all the rave reviews that I read and saw, I decided I wanted to see what the hype was all about. Sadly though, the time I spent with the game went by so slowly. I had no attachment to the characters(they were just uninteresting to me in compare to the casts of games such as Lunar and FFVII) I loved how new of idea it was (for 2000 at least) but its ingenuity did not make up for its slow pacing. Now looking back upon all the reviews of the game it all seems to be based on nostalgia why people love this game so much. It has the potential of making a fantastic remake in my opinion, it would lay the way for the creation of the 3rd installment. What do you guys think?

[ExedExes]

I love it, easily one of my favorite games of all time on one of my favorite consoles of all time. An issue like yours is one of the common complaints/faults I hear about it. But it's deliberately slow. It was designed to mimic real time in the life of one man. Don't forget a real mastermind of game design was behind it, Yu Suzuki. There is just amazing art, graphics, animation, the moves Ryo performs were motion captured by real martial arts experts, and the attention to detail was nothing short of amazing. It was at the time a world record holder for most expensive game ever made (upwards of $75 million in an interview with Suzuki) and it was in development for so many years there was even a Sega Saturn tech demo video included as a bonus feature in Shenmue II.

I think the game is amazing if you put yourself in the mindset of all it took to create it.

[KDub]

Shenmue should never be remade. It is perfect the way it is! Anything but a graphics update would be a crime.

If they remake it they would probably remove all the crate moving parts! Tragedy...
Seriously I loved doing all the crate missions haha

[fredthezombie]

Yea I enjoyed the crate moving myself, his lunches were boring. In all I just wish there was more action sequences and missions including the motor cycle were used. I just felt like I waited whole days to see someone at a certain time, just for the person to tell me to come back the next day. I feel as if the controls could have been fine tuned a bit. And Frankly I don't think I would care too much if Nozomi died, she was too generic. I wish Ryo had more of an ability to talk back. I can see why someone wouldn't want the game to be remade, however I think if it was done right, it could gain the popularity it deserves and SEGA in a sense would finally be forced put out the 3rd game. Also as a side not I hear the 2nd one is great, and I want to play it but I don't want to do too much waiting around, is it a playable game for a very ADHD video game player? I hear it fixed a lot of the problems I mentioned from the first one, but I just beat Radiant Silvergun, and I want another game to blow me away like Silvergun but a different genre.

[KDub]

You simply want it to be a different type of game an remaking it and changing anything wouldn't get the game recognition since it wouldn't be the same thing.

As Exed said, it is there to mimic real life. Every day Ryo wakes up and gets dressed, collects the money that is left for him, stops and pets the rescued cat (and one day has to help find it again), and so on and so forth. He is going through each day and each hour to talk to each person to find the answers he needs. It isn't an action game where the next lead is a conveniently placed fight around the corner you couldn't get to before.

[fredthezombie]

I agree, what I mean by remake is not put more action in it what I mean is have different oppurtunities to do things between the primary events such as delivering your moms newly finished sweater to her best friends house before she leaves town in exchange for money or some other item, or have the items you win from the vending machines do more then have the ability to be looked at, maybe have Fuku-San more available to spar with. Delivery missions for Tom stuff like that. Maybe dates with Nozomi(as shallow as her personality is) know what I mean? I liked the whole arcade thing, but I can only play Space Harrier and Hang on for so long.

[KDub]

So you want it to be slower? Haha

But yeah I get you.

[AznKhmerBoi]

Shenmue is one of my favorite games and personally I really do like the slow pace of the game. This actually gave me time to run around and enjoy the town and the people that populate it. Explore long enough and you will become immersed in the game world and somewhat gain an attachment to certain NPCs.

Personally I don’t believe that many of those that hold high respect for this game are basing it off nostalgic values, but rather the enjoyment of the story and the world of Shenmue, an adventure game where you determine the pacing.

In terms of remakes, I have to agree with what KDub said "Shenmue should never be remade. It is perfect the way it is! Anything but a graphics update would be a crime."

[Dakinggamer87]

I love it, easily one of my favorite games of all time on one of my favorite consoles of all time. An issue like yours is one of the common complaints/faults I hear about it. But it's deliberately slow. It was designed to mimic real time in the life of one man. Don't forget a real mastermind of game design was behind it, Yu Suzuki. There is just amazing art, graphics, animation, the moves Ryo performs were motion captured by real martial arts experts, and the attention to detail was nothing short of amazing. It was at the time a world record holder for most expensive game ever made (upwards of $75 million in an interview with Suzuki) and it was in development for so many years there was even a Sega Saturn tech demo video included as a bonus feature in Shenmue II.

I think the game is amazing if you put yourself in the mindset of all it took to create it.

Totally agree it's an amazing game one of my favorites easily.

[ExedExes]

To answer the question, is Shenmue II worth it?

YES.

It does in fact fix a lot with the first game -- namely the new "time warp" feature that lets you speed up important meetings with in game characters so you don't have to wait all day. Lots more to see and do, new mini games, and you get to play Out Run and After Burner