GOTM Shenmue Megathread

[Althena]

This is a long overdue thread to talk about the series that is very near and dear to my heart (and Random Encounter's): Shenmue. What can I say about this game that hasn't been said? The music, the story, the characters, the forklifts! The insanity of waiting 18 years for the third installment. I want to talk about all things Shenmue here and hear what you have to say about it as well.

This thread is to cover all three games. What were you favorite thing about them, what didn't you like, etc.

[Althena]

I'm also curious to know: If you haven't had any experience with the games, I would love to hear what you thought after seeing the playthroughs.

[The Grimace]

The biggest parts I like about the games are just how ambitious they were for trying new things back in the day- the games were trend setters! They had a day night cycle with a living world, the depth of which had never been seen in games before. The amount of fun things to do throughout the day is a big draw. Things like collecting gachapon, the various "job" mini-games, the depth of the characters... It's extremely charming.

Shenmue's characters are really enjoyable and I like how diverse the cast is, especially between the two games. Seeing the different ways Ryo would react with people was a joy. Dobuita in particular is so well represented that it's a character in itself, though I got a similar but lesser vibe from both Hong Kong and Kowloon. Dobuita just really shined.

Progressing the plot felt slow, but even worse in Shenmue II. This is largely influenced by the slice-of-life gameplay approach. I go back in forth in my mind asking myself, "why does it work for Persona and not for Shenmue?" My answer is that Persona games are 70+ hour endeavors, and Shenmue is way shorter. Shenmue has great side characters too, but we don't get to see them frequently. Ryo feels a lot more lonely in his search for justice, which is partially by design. Solitude comes hand-in-hand with avenging one's family, and he clearly isn't in a place to be enjoying to make friends.

It felt easier to miss a lot of really cool things we worked toward in Shenmue too, like Delin's farewell or saying goodbye to Mimi. For this series, emotional events between characters are major. It would have been really helpful to have more word in-game on when something so major is happening the player can miss. Being untold does add to the "living, breathing" nature of the games' world, but it's really inconvenient as a player.

Combat seemed more stressful than fun. In the same vein, I dislike the over-reliance on Quick-Time Events in Shenmue II. The only games I have fond memories of Quick Time Events in are Final Fantasies XIV and XVI.

They tried a lot of new things and I respect the games, but I prevent hyping myself for the Shenmue. I'm in a weird place with my feelings on episodic gaming and Shenmue's back-and-forth development feels dangerous to get invested in.

[Althena]

Combat seemed more stressful than fun. In the same vein, I dislike the over-reliance on Quick-Time Events in Shenmue II. The only games I have fond memories of Quick Time Events in are Final Fantasies XIV and XVI.

Combat was fun, not stressful except when it went into the weird almost first-person view like in the Beverly Hills wharf sequence. The QTEs are very stressful, though.

They tried a lot of new things and I respect the games, but I prevent hyping myself for the Shenmue. I'm in a weird place with my feelings on episodic gaming and Shenmue's back-and-forth development feels dangerous to get invested in.

Welcome to life as a Shenmue fan! Yu Suzuki will break your goddamn heart.

[The Grimace]

I feel for you guys. I hate it when good stories are left unfinished for too long.

I've had the benefit of knowing how long it has been on the backburner going in... That's a way different weight than I can imagine.

[Random Encounter]

Heads up, Shenmue I & II is included in the AGDQ Humble Bundle, which is $12. It will be available for the next two days. If you were looking for a copy of this and also wanted to support the Prevent Cancer Foundation, this is the way!

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/speedrunning-with-awesome-gdq?utm_source=threads,twitter&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=agdqjan25

[Althena]

Heads up, the Megathread is back, baby- in preparation for Thursday! Start stacking your crates, pull out your capsule toy collection, and sharpen your forklift forks!

[The Grimace]

[Delin emotes Intensify]

Oh, thank god- I thought I worked tomorrow, but I'm off in time to be able to join the stream.

[Althena]

What are some things you want to see in Shenmue III? I won't spoil, but I am curious.

[Sarah Valentine]

I know the combat is pretty well grounded in realism, but I would love to see Ryo bust out a dragon punch or hurricane kick.

Also on my wishlist: petting a cat. That was one of my favorite things from Shenmue 1!

[Althena]

I almost got my own Mimi to pet!

[The Grimace]

Cat petting would be high on my list.

I'm not sure what I would specifically expect from a Shenmue sequel nearly 20 years after inception. They've done a very good job with what I'd seen so far- high quality voice acting and bringing back Ryo's voice actor was a major win for me already, and I appreciate that they kept the sound effects from 1&2 for nostalgia. It wouldn't feel like Shenmue without these unifying factors.

I hope the combat feels more fluid for the player. As a viewer, it looks a lot better, but if it's not fun to play, that's an issue.

[Althena]

The combat does feel good and fluid- one of my gripes was they did change up the combat in that the combos don't include directionals anymore. I had said on voice chat during one of the other GOTM (I don't remember which) that the combat in this game is "castrated", which was a pretty hasty exaggeration. It's good, but it's different. I also like the way they integrated QTEs in this game. The system isn't perfect, but I am still having a lot of fun, and that's what matters.

[Random Encounter]

The QTEs that I have seen seem a lot less bullshit, but granted Shenmue II was going a little too hard in that regard. That and it's still too early to tell for sure.

[The Grimace]

Yeah, true. Keeping my fingers crossed there. The QTEs in the recent stream looked fair, though the UI still takes me out of it. That was a complaint I had in 1&2 as well.