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RTTP: Shenmue (This time to Finish it and Revenge my Father)

C

CoachKevin

Member
Edit: Please no Story spoilers. Thanks!

Let me start off by saying this is my first thread of NeoGaf, so I will do my best.

Over the last two weeks I have really got back into the Dreamcast (you can check out the DC Appreciation thread for more: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=408010). The Dreamcast means a lot to me as it was the first console I ever bought with my own money (kind of, I really traded in a PS1 and 10 games at EB games for the DC and NBA 2K). I didn't even plan on buying a Dreamcast when I walked into the local EB games a week after launch. I got to talking to the clerk about the PS2 and when that was coming out. He told me that it looks like the PS2 was going to be delayed for a while because the consoles themselves kept breaking down in Japan.

We got to talking about the Dreamcast, and the promotion they had going on, trade your PS1, and any 10 games, for a DC and 1 new game. After seeing NBA 2K running in the store I was sold (huge Celtics fan). So I told my Dad that I needed him to drive me back home so I could get my PS1. I was 13 at the time. To this day it is still my favorite system. For its games, for its history (a tragic one), for its fan base, and for its design (the actual console is sleek and solid).

I did end up getting Shenmue when it was released but only made it to the harbor job. I never finished it. During college I tried to replay the game, but classes and the Crackdown got in the way.

Now for the last week I have been replaying Shenmue and immediately I was sucked back in. The world is so full of life (for it's time) and the atmosphere is quite unique. The whole story of Shenmue's production is also very intriguing. Currently I am about an hour before the harbor job will start (I believe).

Here are a few things that make Shenmue so interesting (sorry I had to use my iPhone 4 for the camera).

1. Self Referential:
Batteries with the head of Sega on them (I believe it is the same guy in the Japanese DC commercials)
shenbatteries.jpg


2. A world with so much life in it:
This world was alive. I mean, they even had Santas walking around the streets in the days leading up to Christmas promoting sales at local stores!

santashenmue.jpg


Yes, there are some annoying things about the game, mainly having to wait for events, but you could easily make the case that this annoyance makes the game a great simulation. What it would be like living in Japan in 1986.

I know my thought's might be all over the place, but I just wanted to share it with you guys because I know some of you will appreciate it. I will continue to discuss my progress leading up to the end of Shenmue 1, and then hopefully continue onto Shenmue 2, which I have never played, so please no spoilers. Now...back to the game.
 
H

Hilbert

Deep into his 30th decade
I go through my dreamcast copy of shenmue 2 about once every 2 years. One of the best games ever. Especially that last disk.
 
ibu

ibu

Member
DECK'ARD said:
*Tomato shop music*
Click to expand...

I have that as a really annoying ringtone to piss off people.

I wish they would redistribute these as a HD release a la God of War Collection.
Saying that I still have bith on the Dreamcast, maybe I should give them a dust off and dive back in when the uni year finishes.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
pje122 said:
Yep, love it. Still holding out hope for Shenmue 3.
Also, try to get the DC version of Shenmue 2.
Click to expand...
I heard the xbox one is better because of the framerate. Is it worth the $60 to import the pal version on DC?
 
C

Cloudius12

Member
CoachKevin said:
I heard the xbox one is better because of the framerate. Is it worth the $60 to import the pal version on DC?
Click to expand...
If you don't mind the English localization on the xbox version and you can play it, I think thats the way to go. If you however want to play the game on DC, I think you will be in for a treat as the Japanese Voices are fantastic.

and yes, please continue to play Shenmue II. The game is 10x better if not 100x.
 
P

PowderedToast

Junior Member
the xbox version also has dual analogue so you can swing the camera around ryu. it's not a massive change, there's no 'free camera' like wind waker or anything, but it's always noticeable when i pick up a dreamcast controller that it lacks a second analogue.

personally i think the Jap VA justifies the price, it goes a long way because the sequel is suitably more expansive and 'foreign'.
 
J

Jo Shishido's Cheeks

Member
I'm still astounded by the ambition of this game, I truly feel that I will never be as impressed by a game ever again. This was my first Dreamcast game which came as quite a jump over the PS1 and it felt like I was actually playing real life. I spent way too long opening up all of the drawers, phoning people and doing random tasks.
It has remained my favourite gaming experience without doubt since then. I still see things in life today and I'm instantly reminded of Shenmue. I got my Dreamcast, VGA adapter and copies of 1 & 2 out recently. Will play them through once I kill my backlog.
Can't wait!!

Me and my brother still quote the hell out of this game to this day.
"hey miiiiiiissssssster, wanna play baseball?"
"uh..... not right now."
Hahaha
 
J

jay

Member
Jo Shishido's Cheeks said:
I still see things in life today and I'm instantly reminded of Shenmue.
Click to expand...

The country of Japan, including its language and culture, reminds me of Shenmue.
 
T

TheTowel

Member
It's tough to match the culture of Ryo's hometown. Don't remember what it was called though. Okinawa maybe? The second games various settings seemed hectic and overkill. Maybe thats how Suzuki wanted to present Hong Kong.

Still one of my favorite series, though.
 
B

Blimblim

The Inside Track
It's funny how much L.A. Noire reminds of Shenmue. Not the story and stuff, but in the scope, the characters details, the incredible ambition, and of course how you get to manipulate objects with your hand.
 
G

geebee

Banned
Blimblim said:
It's funny how much L.A. Noire reminds of Shenmue. Not the story and stuff, but in the scope, the characters details, the incredible ambition, and of course how you get to manipulate objects with your hand.
Click to expand...
Damn, you just made my last 2 hours of work extra long. My copy is waiting for me.
 
B

Blimblim

The Inside Track
geebee said:
Damn, you just made my last 2 hours of work extra long. My copy is waiting for me.
Click to expand...
I hope it's the PS3 version, the 360 one is really inferior in terms of graphics and framerate.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Story Progress:

(First off, how do I do spoiler tags?)

I just bought a boat ticket and found out I am about to be screwed out of 60,000 yen.

here are some more pictures and observations.

1. Life in the World:
  • Christmas Music in the days leading up to X-mas
  • When it rains outside everyone uses umbrellas.

(OK maybe some of the people are a bit off/stereotypes)
tomshenmue.jpg


2. Detail:
I still think he world of Shenmue is more detailed than the majority of games released today. Obviously there are the draws, but then there are the vending machines, working arcade games, names on all of the houses, items in the stores, etc. It is like Yu Suzuki and his staff took constant notes during their everyday life to track what they interacted with. Then decided what could be done in game and how it could be worked into the story.

arcadeshenmue.jpg
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
CoachKevin said:
PAL version is, the Japanese version does not have English subtitles.
Click to expand...

again though, totally worth it! gonna do another playthrough with my copy later this year.

keep going man, and keep exploring. never ceased to amaze me how much hidden content there was - i recall going back to Ryo's house on a seemingly random day, and near the tree by his father's dojo, he had some flashback of an earlier birthday or something. Blew my mind.
 
S

SCULLIBUNDO

Banned
Definitely make sure you get the DC version of Shenmue II and not the fucking terrible XBOX version. Shenmue II is the greatest game of all time.

Will be checking this thread from now on. I envy you getting to play through for the first time.
 
H

HomerSimpson-Man

Member
If you handled the first Shenmue dubbing, then you can handle Shenmue 2 on Xbox with the added benefit of smoother framerate and better image quality.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Scullibundo said:
Definitely make sure you get the DC version of Shenmue II and not the fucking terrible XBOX version. Shenmue II is the greatest game of all time.

Will be checking this thread from now on. I envy you getting to play through for the first time.
Click to expand...

OK, will do, but with the DC boot discs, the one I have won't boot to VGA, only composite, is there another way around this?
 
M

micster

Member
Ive been wanting to replay the first Shenmue the last few weeks. I love it, it took me completely by surprise when I played it because its not my usual type of game. I think I want to replay it to restart Shenmue 2 which I just completely couldnt get into. I think Lucky Hit and just simply getting lost killed 2 for me.
 
D

Dead Man Typing

Member
The Xbox version isn't terrible, it just has some pretty annoying voices at times. Also it is just a literal reading of the subtitles Sega of America did on the rush job translation for the Dreamcast version.

So no bad language, Shenmue 1 dropped the S-bomb in certain places along with some stronger language, Shenmue II says "damn" a lot.

The names of characters are reversed incorrectly, in Shenmue 1 you hear of a man called Bob Stevens*. When he is mentioned in Shenmue II he is called Stevens Bob*, which is wrong, but forgivable since the subtitles were rushed to get the PAL Dreamcast version out quickly.

The voice actors, who said the names correctly in Shenmue 1, now say them back to front in Shenmue II. It's easier to ignore in text form than it is with people saying the names wrong.

Apart from that though it is very nice to look at, better shadows (sometimes disappear when played on a 360), smoother framerate and minor improvements to the fighting system.

For the more authentic experience, the Dreamcast PAL version allows you to use your Shenmue 1 save file (some hacking may be required to get a US save file to work with the PAL game) and the voices are much more natural. You can ignore that name mix up thing.

*Bob Stevens is a made up name used here as an example.
 
A

AtlusAram

Atlus USA Developer
Dead Man Typing said:
The Xbox version isn't terrible, it just has some pretty annoying voices at times. Also it is just a literal reading of the subtitles Sega of America did on the rush job translation for the Dreamcast version.

So no bad language, Shenmue 1 dropped the S-bomb in certain places along with some stronger language, Shenmue II says "damn" a lot.

The names of characters are reversed incorrectly, in Shenmue 1 you hear of a man called Bob Stevens*. When he is mentioned in Shenmue II he is called Stevens Bob*, which is wrong, but forgivable since the subtitles were rushed to get the PAL Dreamcast version out quickly.

The voice actors, who said the names correctly in Shenmue 1, now say them back to front in Shenmue II. It's easier to ignore in text form than it is with people saying the names wrong.

Apart from that though it is very nice to look at, better shadows (sometimes disappear when played on a 360), smoother framerate and minor improvements to the fighting system.

For the more authentic experience, the Dreamcast PAL version allows you to use your Shenmue 1 save file (some hacking may be required to get a US save file to work with the PAL game) and the voices are much more natural. You can ignore that name mix up thing.

*Bob Stevens is a made up name used here as an example.
Click to expand...

The Xbox version, as I recall reading, does also have a number of unusual visual issues, despite being superior hardware (likely required by porting from a PowerVR GPU to an Nvidia one). Things like broken transparencies.

Don't know how scientific their screengrabbing is here, but:
http://shenmuedojo.net/new/extras/s2xboxvsdreamcast.html
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Got it, I will see if I can track down a copy for the DC for $50.

Waiting for the guys "with my ticket" in front of the arcade...
 
A

AtlusAram

Atlus USA Developer
CoachKevin said:
Got it, I will see if I can track down a copy for the DC for $50.

Waiting for the guys "with my ticket" in front of the arcade...
Click to expand...

This tidbit is not really helpful for you, but I recall that back when it launched, my local EB Games (at the time) actually brought in a couple import copies of Shenmue 2 EU, and even offered the bootloader disc along with purchases. I think it cost me $60 in total, but it was so worth it (and there's something so cool about the big blue EU case it comes in).
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Wow, disc two was short. On to disc three... Time for some fork lift races. I guess I was a lot closer to finishing it back in 2000 than I thought.

BTW I hate that golum skinhead.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
CoachKevin said:
BTW I hate that golum skinhead.
Click to expand...

heh....you're supposed to! but yeah, he really is awful.
doesnt help that Ryo keeps waving the mirror over his head and inviting the creature, though.
 
Z

zaidr

Member
My dreamcast is almost dead (i think the laser is shot).
Any way to play this game nowadays? On PC maybe?
 
S

SCULLIBUNDO

Banned
Dead Man Typing said:
The Xbox version isn't terrible, it just has some pretty annoying voices at times. Also it is just a literal reading of the subtitles Sega of America did on the rush job translation for the Dreamcast version.

So no bad language, Shenmue 1 dropped the S-bomb in certain places along with some stronger language, Shenmue II says "damn" a lot.

The names of characters are reversed incorrectly, in Shenmue 1 you hear of a man called Bob Stevens*. When he is mentioned in Shenmue II he is called Stevens Bob*, which is wrong, but forgivable since the subtitles were rushed to get the PAL Dreamcast version out quickly.

The voice actors, who said the names correctly in Shenmue 1, now say them back to front in Shenmue II. It's easier to ignore in text form than it is with people saying the names wrong.

Apart from that though it is very nice to look at, better shadows (sometimes disappear when played on a 360), smoother framerate and minor improvements to the fighting system.

For the more authentic experience, the Dreamcast PAL version allows you to use your Shenmue 1 save file (some hacking may be required to get a US save file to work with the PAL game) and the voices are much more natural. You can ignore that name mix up thing.

*Bob Stevens is a made up name used here as an example.
Click to expand...

No way man. The dub in Shenmue is bad, but tolerable, but the dubbing in Shenmue II makes Shenmue one's dub look like it was done by Disney/Ghibli (known for good dubs).
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Christmas Eve, damn is this game beautiful. Little touches like the Merry Xmas signs.

xmaseveshenmue.jpg


Sucks I got my first day of work on x-mas eve.
 
ajim

ajim

Member
Scullibundo said:
No way man. The dub in Shenmue is bad, but tolerable, but the dubbing in Shenmue II makes Shenmue one's dub look like it was done by Disney/Ghibli (known for good dubs).
Click to expand...
Yep, when I heard they used Fuku San's voice for Ren I nearly threw up in my mouth (especially having played the Japanese SII first, and the acting was amazing in comparison - Ren's VA was excellent).

A lot of the main characters are 'ok' in SII, but, the majority are downright disgusting lol.

Still, Shenmue I and II are the best games ever made :D

Glad to see you're enjoying the game, CoachKevin :D
 
T

TheTowel

Member
ajim said:
Yep, when I heard they used Fuku San's voice for Ren I nearly threw up in my mouth (especially having played the Japanese SII first, and the acting was amazing in comparison - Ren's VA was excellent).

A lot of the main characters are 'ok' in SII, but, the majority are downright disgusting lol.

Still, Shenmue I and II are the best games ever made :D

Glad to see you're enjoying the game, CoachKevin :D
Click to expand...

Agree about the characters in Shenmue II. Something about the characters in the first that made me feel comfortable, like I was at home. They were genuine and you could see the tension between Ryo and them - like they knew he was going through, wanted to help, but gave him space and time to figure things out.

On the subject of shenmue II characters. I HATED Joy's voice in the Xbox version. So much better in Japanese. Lucky enough to have my first play through on the PAL version. Got that EB Games deal when it was around for Christmas.
 
W

Wanace

Member
I hope this makes it to digital download services soon. Preferably with Japanese voices and English subs, and the ability to carry your save from 1 to 2. I have the PAL versions but I'm worried that my discs will end up scratched and unreadable or that my poor Dreamcast will completely kick the bucket someday. Plus it would be nice to play it on a comfy controller instead of the abomination that is the DC controller.
 
B

Ben Pierce

Member
Man, I really loved both games. I haven't played them in years, so I don't know how they've held up, but I'm afraid to go back and find them unplayable by today's standards.
 
ajim

ajim

Member
Ben Pierce said:
Man, I really loved both games. I haven't played them in years, so I don't know how they've held up, but I'm afraid to go back and find them unplayable by today's standards.
Click to expand...
Still VERY playable, dude. I mean, yeah, controls are clunky as fuck, and the VA isn't too sexy, but the story, gameplay and atmosphere holds up today extremely well, and in some cases is still the best at what it does. Definitely worth a playthrough or two with Shenmue II.
 
C

CoachKevin

Member
Ben Pierce said:
Man, I really loved both games. I haven't played them in years, so I don't know how they've held up, but I'm afraid to go back and find them unplayable by today's standards.
Click to expand...
Some of the game mechanics are dated, but it is very playable. Kind of like a 16-bit RPG.

Loving my playthrough.
 
K

krakov

Member
I replayed Shenmue 2 recently on 360 and it's still an amazing game imho. Will get a new Dreamcast some day so that I can replay the first one as well.
 
G

grafcheyne

Member
I've been feeling like replaying this game so much the past few weeks. But alas, I have no opportunity to do so for at least a few months :(

I suppose Let's Play videos will have to suffice for now. That and the amazing soundtrack.
 
J

Johnlenham

Member
I remember spending bloody ages in the arcade and spending money on the toys that come in the eggs is it? Ive not played it since release way back in whatever time that was.
 
H

Hixx

Member
Still the greatest games ever. Only Resident Evil 4 comes close.

The things I'd do for a current/next-gen Shenmue 3...
 
M

Milchjon

Member
The game that got me into consoles, the game that made me buy a DC and, 10 years later, STILL my favorite game. I still spend some time with Shenmue every year, apart from the controls I think it holds up really well. Especially because there's nothing else like it.

Is there any comparable game that I missed? Especially when it comes to world simulation? Stuff like GTA IV just feels really different.
 
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