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London coach tickets are booked!

http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx318/askvera/s2cd_sigbanner.png


DOWNLOAD - https://www.dropbox.com/s/8qkby011a3tkgg2/Shenmue%20II%20Character%20Database.rar

Yep. After nearly a decade, it's done, people :D

HISTORY OF THE SHENMUE II CHARACTER DATABASE PROJECT
Ever since casting my eyes upon screenshots of Shenmue published in the (now defunct) UK magazine Computer and Video Games, I have been absolutely enthralled by the series. This game was definitely something different. As the famous tagline proclaimed in the trailers before its release – RPG had changed. Sure, hailing the game as being its own exciting new “genre” with a somewhat silly acronym as its name (FREE- Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment) was being a tad overzealous perhaps, but you had to admire Yu Suzuki’s ambition for this game. When I finally got to play it on the Christmas morning of 2000, it did not disappoint. The atmosphere created was just amazing to me – a realistic, living, breathing town with over 300 individual characters – all with their own specific daily routines and, in supplementary materials, all named and given detailed biographies! Throw in the fantastic music and the engaging (if not completely original) story and you really had something special. And this was only part one of the saga...

Bundled with the game was the ‘Shenmue Passport’ disc. Through the Dreamcast’s internet connection, this enabled access to all sorts of information about the game, as well as ranking leaderboards for the various mini-games and the chance to get exclusive capsule toys. One of the best features was the character profile section however; as you met and conversed with the characters during a playthrough, their profiles would gradually be added to the Passport. Now to some, giving all 300+ characters names, stats, and biographies may seem extraneous, (especially given characters that Ryo can’t even speak to have detailed information about them!) but it really shows the love and care put into the game by the developers and the amount of depth to Shenmue that few games have matched.

PASSPORT EXPIRED
The Passport service was eventually taken offline in April 2002, but thankfully the character profiles had also been published in Prima’s strategy guide book for the game, so the information was still readily available to fans.
Which brings us to the sequel game, Shenmue II – which I got the following Christmas in 2001. This sadly could end up being the last game in the series, despite it ending on a cliffhanger and at a game-changing point in the saga’s story. Nonetheless, the sequel’s world was even bigger than the first’s– Ryo travels to Hong Kong to continue his quest, with most of its areas completely dwarfing Shenmue I’s in terms of size, as well as the amount of characters – around 700. There was also a lot more mini-games and sidequests to discover, and fans generally agree it is more action-packed and that the plot moves a lot quicker than the first game (though some will argue Shenmue I’s atmosphere has more charm) And what of these 700-odd characters? Were they all named and profiled as per the original game? As it turns out, yes – but these were not readily available to the fans outside of Japan.

Firstly, unlike the first Shenmue, there was no Passport. There was no Prima guide either, as the Dreamcast version had been cancelled in America. America eventually saw an updated version of Shenmue II on the Microsoft Xbox, and a Prima guide was finally published. However, unlike the Shenmue I book, there were only profiles on the main characters; Ryo, Shenhua, Xiuying, Fangmei, Ren, Joy, Wong, Lan Di, Dou Niu and Yuan. The Xbox version, with the new snapshot feature, did include profiles on some of the other characters; unlocked when you took pictures of them, but it didn't come close to having profiles for all the characters. Would we ever know the names and backgrounds of the reams of anonymous characters?

A FAN EFFORT
Shortly after I had completed Shenmue II, I looked around on the internet for fansites/information about the series, ultimately finding the excellent Shenmue Dojo website. I joined the forums, and this was in fact one of the first message boards I signed up to on the internet. My handle on the forum was (and still is) ‘Miles Prower’, as I am also a long-time fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of games (and Sega games in general). I made a lot of good friends through the Dojo community and have many fond memories associated with the forums. I think between us we have probably discussed every single aspect of the games to death, but as many fans will attest, you find or notice something new with every playthrough of these wonderful games. Not to mention the very active hacking/modding scene that developed, mostly headed by longtime member LanDC, in which reams of unused content was discovered and many interesting and or humourous modifications made to the game. I still get a warm nostalgic feeling every time I watch LanDC’s Road to Amihama videos in particular.

And indeed, the question of whether detailed character profiles existed for Shenmue II’s cast was raised in discussion. In a thread from 2003, a member named Eek the Cat shared some scans of a guidebook he owned published in Japan called the Shenmue II Perfect Guidebook. The scans showed that there were indeed names and profiles for each and every character.
Eek was even kind enough to put all of the scans together on a CD for me and mail it to me, and even threw in a couple of audio CD’s he had compiled containing music from Shenmue II (sadly the second game never had any official soundtracks released).

The problem? Being that this book was from Japan, the character names were in Chinese and the information in Japanese. Through discussion in the topic, another forum member called khien agreed to help with translating the character names as she could read Chinese. And so began the effort to translate the many character profiles. I began by gradually posting them within the topic, and then eventually creating a website (which, thanks to Web Archive, you can still view here , albeit with most of the images missing).

Continuing into 2004 and beyond, progress was quite slow, mainly due to me starting university. Khien’s life ended up becoming quite busy as well, but thanks to the efforts of another forum member, Oda Ryo, the translation work still continued. The forum member Kiyuu (possibly Japan’s biggest Shenmue fan, and often referred to as the ‘Shenmue Queen’), also informed me that another book existed, the Shenmue II Complete Guide, which contained profiles for characters not included in the Perfect Guidebook; namely those for the many pedestrians who wander the streets of Hong Kong. I made the effort to acquire this book myself and make scans for the remaining profiles.

RESSURECTING THE PROJECT
As the years went on, however, my free time became less and less. I studied for three years at university and after graduating in 2008, I was working full time; in short I was growing up. It was also looking increasingly unlikely that a Shenmue III would ever emerge. Life went on. However, my enthusiasm to complete the project was somewhat fired up again when Peter from the forums (who most likely owns the biggest Shenmue collection in Ireland) got in touch with me on Facebook asking if I was still working on it, as the Dojo staff had managed to get an interview with one of the voice actors for the English dub of Shenmue II (a very interesting read by the way, which can be found here , and they had requested that video clips be assembled of the characters he voiced, which he supplied a list of – but only by name and brief descriptions. Using the information from my project I helped with finding some of them. I then found myself wanting to get the project finished once and for all, and got back in touch with Oda Ryo who happily assisted me with getting the remaining names translated.

I had also spoken to the member ‘thegreatchai’, who had also been attempting to catalogue the character information on her wiki site, and over time we assisted each other greatly. I began transferring the information to an Excel spreadsheet with the intention of creating a complete database of all the Shenmue II characters – which after assembling a numbered list I discovered there are exactly 700 – surely a deliberate intention of the creators? At any rate, after a few months work the project was finally finished. I am glad that this information is now easily accessible to Shenmue fans, and while some may consider me obsessive or downright insane for pursuing with the project, it was worth it for a game series that I love so much and one day hope will be continued in some form. We can but hope. The saga may still go on....

DOWNLOAD - https://www.dropbox.com/s/8qkby011a3tkgg2/Shenmue%20II%20Character%20Database.rar

Please feedback and let me know if you spot any mistakes or errors, or any factoids about the characters that I may have missed. Most of all, enjoy :D

"Sir, people on the Internet are saying we're not as good as we used to be! Word's beginning to spread, sir!"

"Hmmmm... Very well, destroy all evidence of how good we used to be. Then we can blame it on rose-tinted spectacles!"

"Genius, sir, utter genius."

I love anything cyberpunk, i'm already sold even if it's shit


I'm not sure if this was a sarcastic comment implying that people will buy anything, regardless of quality, as long as it's cyberpunk buuuttttttt.... I'm like that. Can't get enough of that cyberpunk, where did it go since the 90's? Now everybody wants things impractically powered by steam. Even games are steampowered... haha...

Really glad to see ryan, mue 26(chris), and south carmain (ruben) yesterday. Thanks for the good time guys. Shame I don't have more time to do it often. Now that makes 4 dojo members I've hung out with!

If the 3rd Banjo was released 2-3 years after the second something new would be very welcome...as long as it was not nuts & bolts. After 10 years people just want a platformer in modern visuals.

Tho to be fair after 8 years Nintendo turned Metroid First Person and it paid off. A new idea can be fine as long as it works. N & B just got it wrong esp when it was supposed to be a platormer originally but changed part way into development. So it was really a slapped together mix
speaking of metroid, which one on wii is the good one?
M gets a bad rep but really is a good game. Story is actually decent it's just that if people have not played every game in the series and know all the lore. Then they miss out on a lot. It's the Voice Acting and lack of art design that is the real weakness. Might have been much better if they released it at the same time as Fusion in 2002

That said Prime 3 is my fave.

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Hey guys, I just threw together a quick soundscape video inspired by the Tomato store from Shenmue 1. I was standing outside a drug store last week waiting for the bus, and the sound of the automatic doors opening and closing reminded me of it. This is what I'd think it'd sound like standing outside the Tomato store on a chilly winter night (close your eyes for a better effect).

I was thinking of making something similar that encompassed most of Dobuita street (starting at the bus on the freeway and making it all the way down to bar yokosuka or something). I spent about 30 min making this video, so it was more of a trial run to see if anyone else cared.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gAKmuHL1Q4

I think this describes the current atmosphere http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/353/279/e31.jpg

so let's shift gears. Still can't adjust back to Chicago time. I still wake up as if I'm still in London haha. And usually people say you will miss it later on when the holidays are over, but I'm kinda missing everyone and everything from there right now. Maybe I just need to adjust back and give it time, but It felt so much different (in a good way) when I was there.

Last two are definite favourites. Bit late now, but I will post some stuff in here tomorrow. Could be a great topic!

Yep I'm the troll.

I'm the one who constantly takes shots at everybody but get's pissy when people want to have a laugh back.
I'm the guy who will say to someone they write like a retard because they have dyslexia yet when someone else says something to them they get called a bully for picking on someone with disabilities despite it being unrelated.
I'm the one who spams topics with GIFs non stop.
I'm the one who has to post in every topic about a game even if I don't care about it to say it looks shitty and continue to do so every page or two.

Must be me who's the troll.

The thing is people aren't picking on you. I'd stop calling you out now if you just stopped posting like this just like everyone else would. As Qwerty said no one is calling you out for being fucked up but because you post stupid shit just like we would if Kenny or OL did.

People started coming back when you got demodded for a reason. Sadly they all left again because you still do the same shit despite saying how you are different now.

You know, I'm surprised no one is excited at the idea that Corey Marshall will show up this weekend when I posted it. get happy.
well the first time wasn't that great, people took the piss out of him and he barely answered any questions

Yeah, Cory was a bit of a damp squib. He only answered one question. That's still something to be grateful for of course, but I thought it was a bit cheeky the way he proceeded to come back, blatantly ignore everyone's well written questions, and just try and promote whatever his "latest project" was. I say we ban him.

^ :shock:

sitars

See how the mind works here? You got all worked up after a discussion about Hindus in London, and the result was this lovely slip.
lol what did I miss?

Nob ed, I almost choked on my butty coz of that.
Mock all you want on a internet forum but that's why I was in a mental ward...kicked him down the sitars ...It's a part of me....

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Depends on what genre you're into.

but I'll name a few off the top of my head that i know came out over there.

-Zack and wiki
-A boy and his blob
-Muramasa the demon blade
-SkyCrawlers Innocent Aces
-Tatsunoko Vs Capcom
-House of the dead overkill (where you don't need to stand up and sit down every 5 minutes)
-One Piece Unlimited Cruise

You are not authorised to read this forum.

http://i47.tinypic.com/96iatk.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/2gxfdkh.jpg

I like rooms with views...

http://i50.tinypic.com/a5e2as.jpg

Awesome kitchen!

http://i46.tinypic.com/ous7k3.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/2tf84.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/a59ilc.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0gxfcmwgM1r6y3u1o1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1uqyd6TNG1qix0dvo1_500.jpg

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http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2kqv1f0GZ1qlluv1o1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1ksguVaP21ql6r8lo1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2rkytoniW1r6y3u1o1_500.jpg

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http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8ezvs3Qns1rne55no1_500.jpg

A few more from my tumblr page.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6wbbiATfg1qlgbvzo1_500.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m355rxMXwb1r9huvco1_500.jpg

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http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1jkrhH5Nr1r9bu4go1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0q4o8yBYe1qmbt9lo1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m085nhgtBX1r6y3u1o1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m02w09D1QA1qcmibao1_500.jpg

If I ever win the lottery or just become rich as fuck I plan to buy a place in a place like Hawaii or the Keys where every morning I can wake up to a bright blue ocean.

http://cdn.hawaiilife.com/rets/images/listings/249767/2012_12_04_23_23_00/620w5.jpg
http://cdn.hawaiilife.com/rets/images/listings/352441/2012_08_25_08_28_00/620w5.jpg

Yep, Italian plumber, we all know which side they batted for in WW2. (plus you can find bottles of wine adorned with Swastikas in some supermarkets there! )

I'll confirm that its not me. I don't have a Playstation Network Account and lack the required hardware to make use of one.

I wouldn't be so creepy about trying to befriend you. I'd like to think that I'm nicer than I probably come off as on this site.

Thief is "So fuckin' awesome."

Spokes, there's a general rule you'll find in the Ts&Cs of any competition. Any involved with the running of said competition, indeed also those directly related to any of these people are exempt from receiving any prize of any sort. Now, I don't have a direct link that can prove this, but it is in fact law in both our respective countries.

If you'd like though, I can take to Google and find it. Either way, are you honestly telling me that you'd be willing to break the law, thus becoming a criminal for the sake of $20 worth of PSN points? I always thought you were a good, upstanding citizen, as do many. Not only would this put you in a compromising position in terms of law and respect, but it would also negate any and all of the votes you received to become runner-up in the category.

Is it really worth it, Spokes?

@Spokes: Coincidences exist. And more often than not, people who come up with those things change little facts to fit in with what they're creating because they know that hardly anyone will look into it.

@SC, Rakim, Segata: Kanye West is everything that's wrong with Hip-Hop. Fucking EVERYTHING. I will have a smile on my face when I read or hear of his death.

@Peter:Toldja we don't want you back.

Riku Rose wrote: Queers.

Says the guy with a gay man in his sig
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I7Ue2wX6iQ[/youtube]

Enjoy!
http://www.mediafire.com/?ol1uetym16p2g9z

south carmain wrote: I saw you

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dZW1C3neao[/youtube]

Been meaning to use this one. :)


http://imageshack.us/a/img11/3272/pheonixbadending.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img849/1476/badending.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img580/5227/stolenbag.jpg

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/1931/cantfindlandi.jpg

Yokosuka Martian wrote:

They forgot a couple:

You turn my cheeks Khmer Rouge.


I want to Saddamize you.

The ancient Egyptians were mostly like brown skinned caucasians similar to modern Iranians . .

Iranians(persians, azeri turks or any other iranian ethnic groups) have no physical or genetic similarities with ancient egyptians,
Ancient egyptians look more like east-african populations with a dark red skin and light facial hair( not like in that image)
the dominant haplogroup among them is the E-M78, descendant of the east african hgrp E-m35 and cousin of the berber hgrp E-m81

as for running it on the DC if the DC can process high res textures then you would need to run the game through a modded DC that could run games from an SD card as each disc would become 5gb+

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f111/antdog817/DODE.jpg

http://dknute.livejournal.com/

You want to wait for that thing, not the older less reliable serial port sd card readers. Also no need to modify the Dreamcast, they all plug right in. Even the optical drive emulator is just a replacement for the GDRom drive. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40bCn2z7t5o

I played this: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/612107 and I found it special.

I can't seem to revert after they changed mine today too. How come they let you go back but they forced this BS on me and Sonikku? I find the blue garish. I no longer seem to have garish ads for dating sites in my side bar any more though :s. I miss those..I was always waiting for the day I broke and thought "fuck it, OK Hotmail fine you win, lets DO THIS! I'm finally gonna ask that ridiculously hot woman (who looks suspiciously like a famous glamour model) who you tell me is "desperate for a man like you" out on a date! sign me up to this shoddy looking site". Alas I fear that day will never come now :( Damn you Outlook!!!

That's exactly what I'm saying though. You hate the aesthetic stuff, which is fine. They are indeed cliched as all hell. Some like it, some don't. But they're still not technically bad games, when it comes down to the real meat of it all; the battle systems, the level-up progression, the balance of it all.
If they all had the same look and story of, say, the Ys series, you'd probably like them a lot.
And ToS2 wasn't included in what I was talking about, since it's not a main entry. Haven't played it myself, so I know nothing of it's terribleness.

Yea! long live the Vita!