Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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ian
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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From what I’m told it ran over a cat! :ocry:
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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On the day that it snowed?

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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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Proph and I got our Steam keys tonight. I've redeemed the key and the DLC key too!

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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

Post by ian »

and are you actually going to play it?
We've had if for a year now. Hasn't left the shelf after I did the update as soon as I got it.

I should probably play it before the PS4 servers are shutdown and the system and game are rendered completely useless.

I'm still angry though... AND OBLIGATORY: WHERE IS MY FUCKING FORKLIFT!
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Skynet
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

Post by Skynet »

Mate, my physical edition never left its packaging, I installed the Epic version and never played it, now I redeemed the Steam one and will never play it :olol:

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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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That'll learn em!
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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"This is your fault for not making this sooner, Yu!"

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ian
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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ian wrote: Sat Nov 07, 2020 3:00 pm If I get the forklift, or even to a lesser extent Ryo I’ll say: THIS IS COOL!

If I get Shenhua or worse, Chai I will start asking neighbours how I can find the people who ripped me off, then I’ll go to kick their asses, and after 20 years of getting a fraction closer, I’ll give up and go to the arcade and play super hang on.
IT'S FUCKING CHAI... BECAUSE OF COURSE IT FUCKING IS.
has a little scrap of paper inside to say it's a backer exclusive toy capsule. Still better than the slip case.
but at this point, the games final chance at redemption has turned into the final fuck you...

I'd go to ebay with it but it would become a case of: CAN'T YOU GIVE ME ANYTHING FOR IT?
I can give you this telephone, it is shaped like Mary Worth.
...
I'm gonna keep this Mary Worth phone right here. Her stern but sensible face will remind me never to do anything so stupid again!

Hey Ian, you wanna back some game on kickstarter?

Sure.
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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I haven't got mine yet, but it's in the country. Let's see if I get something worse than you.

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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

Post by Skynet »

ian wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 11:50 am
ian wrote: Sat Nov 07, 2020 3:00 pm If I get the forklift, or even to a lesser extent Ryo I’ll say: THIS IS COOL!

If I get Shenhua or worse, Chai I will start asking neighbours how I can find the people who ripped me off, then I’ll go to kick their asses, and after 20 years of getting a fraction closer, I’ll give up and go to the arcade and play super hang on.
IT'S FUCKING CHAI... BECAUSE OF COURSE IT FUCKING IS.
I got Chai... :angryevil:

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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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Skynet wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:29 pm I haven't got mine yet, but it's in the country. Let's see if I get something worse than you.
Worse? like a coronavirus laced turd with rusty nails poking out of it?

Chai is the worst one.

I bet the numbers were 1000 Chai to 50 Shenhua to 5 Ryo to 1 forklift.

I’ll check eBay in a few weeks and see if I can find any good ones, or just a flock of chai.
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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ian wrote: Sat Jan 09, 2021 9:05 pma flock of chai
ian ran, he ran to ebay
ian ran, he ran all night and day
ian couldn't give Chai away

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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

Post by ian »

So I've spent the past few days playing Shenmue 3 while I slowly download survival games.
I figured it's time, so I redeemed my kickstarter rewards (A phonebook and something else) and all the day one AKA FUCK YOU KICKSTARTER BACKER edition rewards (About a billion times better than the kickstarter ones and twice as much content) and started it up. And after I started it up, I've come back to it a couple of times, and sank hours and hours into it each session.

Impressions... Well, It's better than 2 so far. But I didn't like 2 all that much.
This game is very much Shenmue... VERY much Shenmue for better and worse.
Controls feel stiff, movement is awkward and slow, the dialog is stupid when it's not too busy being hilarious, there's just enough variety in all the mundane tasks to keep me coming back. Its a mix of horrible and brilliant, just like Shenmue has ALWAYS been.

So far I've been in a few fights, and fighting so far is better than Shenmue 2.. I've got to beat the shit out of 4 people so far, and not had a single quick time event in them yet, and that was something that REALLY killed 2 for me. So far, at the snail like pace I am playing the game, I've only come across QTE's when in the sparring sessions.
And even when the game bullshitted me out of a victory in a fight I was easily winning, I didn't feel the need to reload and not waste all my food items.. I just thought, OH THAT'S FAIR ENOUGH.
THIS IS A FANTASTIC IMPROVEMENT ON 2!

Shenmue 2 taught me a lot when it comes to money, and those lessons learned doing the fucking horrible jobs for a pittance or gambling all you have and reloading if you lose pays off big time in 3!
So a failure of 2's gameplay has actually made 3 a better game.
I'm not cutting down fucking trees or going on a treasure hunt for herbs all day like some moron... NOPE, I'm gonna bet all my money and tokens on roll it on top, lucky hit, flower wind etc etc, and mother fucking turtle races! and if I lose, GUESS WHAT? I'll reload till I win.
This tactic worked REALLY early in 3 when I had to beat a bookie at flower wind etc etc, if you win you get the winnings, AND he tells you what you want to know. if you lose, you lose money and he wants you to go again. If you approached this as a gamer not familiar with Shenmue 2, this would drive you mental, and poor, but because I had training this is now a brilliant mechanic.
Save and reload a few times and you go from 5,000 tokens and $200 to 47,000 tokens and $1300.
And then you can go mental on capsule toys untill you are broke again, at which point you spend your useless tokens on stupid prizes which you then immediately pawn and spend the money on more capsules.

Something that took me right out of the story though is that there are capsules in game of all the original people... OK, I'm a Japanese kid in 1986, my dad gets murdered and then I go to Hong Kong, after that I make my way to a small little village in China in March 1987, I go to this village where all the doors have holes in them and they barely have electricity. And what's that in the middle of the town square? Why it's a capsule machine selling toys of ME, my friends and foes.
How in the fuck does this little backwash town have my likeness in a capsule toy? and further to that, how do they have a toy of me driving a forklift?!?!
WHAT IN THE FUCK? is this like the matrix or Truman show and someone fucked up?
I first came to this town ONE DAY AGO, AND YOU HAVE TOYS OF ME? AND NOT JUST THAT, BUT A TOY OF ME IN A FORKLIFT WHICH IS THE ONLY SINGLE JOB I DID FOR MORE THAN ONE DAY?

Aside from that, there is an element I can't decide if I like or hate. The cutscenes (particularly with Shenhua) seem WEIRD.
It's like they were going for the end of 2 vibe where you get a cutscene, walk for 10 minutes, get a cutscene, walk for ten minutes and repeat for 4 hours.
The cutscenes kind of cut out for no reason with no warning, then cut right back into the next one with Ryo and Shenhua in a slightly different place.
I would be tempted to say that this occurrence is fucking annoying at the very least, but then I feel that this is happening because I am being spared 5 minutes of useless walking down a path at a set speed and I love them for not subjecting me to that nightmare again.

So far Shenmue 3 is better than 2, but still not as good as 1. I still feel angry at how hard they dicked us kickstarter backers over, but it's not a blind fury anymore and I can approach the game as an actual entertainment product, and SO FAR 3 is more entertaining than 2. (it might go off the rails, or it might become better than the original but I'll do a full review or add to this first impression when it's finished)
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

Post by ian »

Well I've finished 3. Minor spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't played the game and may want to if anyone still cares about the story.

I am firm in my belief that without 2 being so crap, 3 would have been a much worse game. The fighting started better than 2 and then quickly went off the rails because of the kung fu levels. So I'm at 85% health and kicking the shit out of someone very easily, they're on their last hit point and then the game magically decides NOT ON MY WATCH, YOU LOSE, GET BETTER AT KUNG FU! this pulling you back would be like if you had a dog out on a walk and you let it go to sniff a tree but right as it was about to get to the tree, you violently yank the leash backwards and leave the dog on its ass. The player is the dog. This aspect of kung fu levels turned out to be the most frustrating and boring part of the game, because there was actually no way around it. You HAVE to have better kung fu for certain points, which means grinding training and sparring, you HAVE to buy a 5000 credit kung fu book, which means grinding and endless saving and reloading at the casino.

Each time I was presented with a quick time event I tuned out, and simply focused on remembering the pattern so when it replayed I could be focused on mashing the button till the next one without even watching the scene. I had a bit of paper and was prepared to start writing the combo down if I was presented with another 40 story shenmue 2 climb.
But the QTE's were never as bad as 2 so I didn't need the bit of paper to get back to my talking to strangers and finding herbs to pick.

I had immense fun exploring the world picking herbs, and having conversations with more people than I needed to because it wasn't a burden. Picking herbs to make money would have made it feel like work and I would have hated that mechanic, but just exploring around the world and finding them in places ended up being very rewarding, because I was always sorted for money.
Shenmue 3's world is the absolute highlight. Even though the graphics are very dated by todays standards there are parts that are just so beautiful and well thought out. And each time as I found I was sick of exploring and looking at this part of the game, the game was just about ready to let me move on to the next point. After Bailu (the first town) was starting to get a bit stale, the game was like OK IAN! here is Niaowu (The second town) which felt absolutely massive to explore.
And just as I was thinking the game will end in this city it takes you across the river and sets you up for the final show down.

The only MAJOR story spoilers, and my biggest rant are here:
Spoiler
The final fight of the game shat me off to no end. Lan Di is in your sights as you fight him in a burning building. What COULD have been the most rewarding payoff after waiting 20 years for this was a complete fucking wank of gameplay.
You take out his minions with a couple of QTE's and Ren is there with you as support. AND NOW, IT IS TIME TO MAKE LAN DI PAY!!!
BUT, despite the 9001 FUCKING levels of FUCKING kung fu the FUCKING game made you FUCKING get, you land 0 FUCKING hits on him and then evacuate the FUCKING building in a FUCKING cutscene.

And to add insult to injury (Rather, lack of any injuries in the FINAL FUCKING FIGHT) Lan di escapes the fire.
THEY HAD A PERFECT ENDING. RIGHT THERE. RIGHT IN FUCKING FRONT OF THEM. Lan Di is dead, Ryo got his vengance, this new random girl has the real mirror, which could have been the plot of the shenmue 4 that will never happen.

THEY COULD HAVE ENDED IT PERFECTLY, AND LEFT IT OPEN FOR A SEQUEL. but no.. The cutscene says Lan Di will go somewhere else, so you follow and the credits roll.
FUCK THIS FUCKING GAME... Lan Di DIED IN THE FUCKING FIRE IS NOW FUCKING CANON!
The only way Shenmue 2 ruined Shenmue 3 for me was actually with a part time job.
Because Shenmue 2 made earning money simply SO TEDIOUS, by the time Shenmue 3 was going to let me drive a forklift again, I'd been saving and loading gambling wins to the point I was basically a millionaire for the 9th time (only to get capsule toys) and simply skipped forklift driving. If 2 hadn't of been so shitty with the moving boxes guy, I wouldn't have known if I ever needed money to just gamble saving and loading for half an hour.

To summarise.
As a game 3 is not great. As a Shenmue game however, I feel 3 is better than 2. But only because I found 2 very bad and it taught me what I needed to expect for 3.
Neither 2 or 3 could be held up as good GAMES, but Shenmue 1 is a good game.

Here is 3 as intended:
shmoo3.jpg
(You couldn't play on a 68CM TV, the text is just completely not readable, but the rest of the game looks nice ON CRT)
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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There are currently ‘no concrete plans’ for Shenmue 4, says Yu Suzuki

But the designer wants it to be more accessible to newcomers if it happens

Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki has indicated that he doesn’t have any concrete plans for Shenmue 4, but reiterated that he wants to make it more accessible to new players if it happens.

Suzuki was speaking this weekend at a special event to celebrate Shenmue in Yokosuka, the city where the series is based.

As reported by Famitsu, Suzuki discussed several topics, including the recently released Shenmue anime, and spoke about Shenmue 3 and his potential plans for a sequel.

According to Famitsu, Suzuki said that Shenmue 3 was a work made for the fans, with the fans in mind, and was a crowdfunded Kickstarter title for this reason.

Suzuki said that because it was created to please the fans, he was happy that it was well-received by players who had enjoyed the previous games.

However, he also feels that the focus on fan service meant that newcomers “felt like they had been left behind”, making the third game a difficult entry point for those who’d never played the first two titles.

As such, although Suzuki said he doesn’t yet have any concrete plans for Shenmue 4, he stated that he’s eager to “make it possible for new players to play the next one”.

Suzuki’s latest comments echo an interview he gave to IGN Japan two years ago, in which he also said he believes Shenmue 4 will happen and that he wants it to appeal to a broader audience than the last game.

“With Shenmue 3, I really responded to the fans’ voices, so I wasn’t necessarily thinking about making any money,” he said at the time. “But since I’m running a company, I have to think about what can sell if I continue. I’ve been seriously talking about it over and over again.”

Suzuki had previously pledged to continue making Shenmue games “as long as there are those who wish to see Shenmue live on.” The commitment was made via an in-game letter to fans shown during Shenmue 3’s staff credits.

The long-awaited RPG sequel was released for PS4 and PC via the Epic Games Store in November 2019. It appeared to get off to a difficult start, debuting at No. 17 on the UK chart and selling just 18,000 copies during its launch week in Japan.

In the UK, Shenmue 3 sold a little more than half of the previous year’s Shenmue 1 and 2 remaster at launch.

However, sales will have been skewed by Shenmue 3’s huge Kickstarter success. In 2016 the project raised over $6.3 million from 69,320 backers, making it the highest-funded video game Kickstarter in history.

Shenmue 3 was published by Deep Silver, whose parent company is Embracer Group. Speaking during an earnings presentation in 2020, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors claimed that Shenmue 3 performed “fine” financially but proved to be “a core niche product”.

“Shenmue 3 is an IP and a product I love and, you know, I think financially it’s fine and I’m glad that the core fans are pleased,” he said. “However, I think it’s a challenge to see this as a mass market product. This is a core niche product and I think that’s the comment I’d like to do on that game.”

Source: VGC

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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

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I've pretty much given up on the Shenmue story ever being finished at this point. Shenmue III was pretty good but should have come out in like 2006 for the new next gen systems(Xbox 360,PS3 and PC). It took 19 years for Shenmue III to finally be released and it barely even continued the story. Shenmue IV should have come out in 2014 for Xbox One,PS4 and PC. The finally the series should have ended with Shenmue V in 2022 on the Xbox Series X,PS5 and of course PC. Each game continuing the story while having amazing graphics by coming out for each new generation of systems.
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

Post by Calavera »

I'm having thoughts of playing Shenmue 1&2 again but idk.
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

Post by ian »

Calavera wrote: Thu Sep 14, 2023 9:51 pm I'm having thoughts of playing Shenmue 1&2 again but idk.
Play 1 because it is a timeless masterpiece of video games.
Skip 2 and watch the anime to save time for the story.
Play 3 if you watch the anime and still want more Shenmue.
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Re: Shenmue thread: Do you know where I can find some sailors in HD?

Post by melancholy »

That’s some solid advice @ian. I was thinking of trying 2 again to see if I could get through it this time, but I forgot there was an anime.

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