bj00rn_ said:
I very much enjoyed playing this game. They tightened up a little from the first, but still had a lot of sloooooooow-itis..
But that was part of the game's (intended) appeal, really. This awesome slow-burn atmosphere punctuated by massive moments of electric conflict. You're meant to feel like the lost 18 year old you are.
Shenmue's great expanse of talking and investigating before even so much as an action QTE makes the action so much more rewarding, in my opinion. This is then combined with the feeling that everyone knows you - in his town, Ryo is well-known and well-liked. People are willing to help him out.
Shenmue II that safety net is gone. Nobody has heard of you, most are cruelly indifferent to you. Action happens more suddenly and often because Ryo is clashing with the environment around him. Yet as this action ramps up, the story slows down. For the longest stretch of Shenmue II, you get nowhere. It's kind of like learning you can't punch the world into the shape you want it. It's awesome in that regard.
EDIT - It's actually due to atmosphere I prefer the first game over the second. I mean, overall I think II is the better game, but I just feels more enjoyable to play. It's that "returning home" feeling about it. It also has a much superior sense of arc - by the end you feel like a chapter has been completed. Had it ended there, though immensely frustrating, tonally it might have worked. II on the otherhand covers three chapters and thus doesn't have an overly well developed sense of arc. Honestly, the final disc needed to be the start of the third game and the time spent in both Hong Kong and Kowloon expanded upon. Hong Kong especially. Despite being larger than any other environment in either Shenmue, it still felt smaller than Hong Kong had any right feeling.