Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

[Himuro]

For all this talk about how 1 is apparently so much better, II doesn't get enough credit where it's due. None of us would be here waiting for the third installment if not for the Guilin chapter of II, let's be real. I'm pretty positive if not for the Guilin section of Shenmue II, the fanbase would have scattered. Shenmue II is literally the glue that's been holding the fanbase for 14 years and people still don't give it respect just because it's different from 1.

[Amir]

I'm looking forward to new experiences. That's why I'm most excited about Baisha in Shenmue 3 (though I am looking forward to seeing my ugly mug in Choubu ).

[Zoltor]

To Himuro :

"The fact that Shenmue 1 purists cannot see the deliberate contrast between the two for storytelling purposes is worthy. I personally put and 1 and 2 on par with each other, for they're different games trying to achieve completely different things, but made up as part of a grand franchise. It's kinda of like Star Wars. Sure, you can pick a favorite movie out of the bunch, but what makes Star Wars work is the entire trilogy - the full story."

Yea, I really can't understand why people can't grasp such, It's like story telling 101 lol

" You just prefer 1's setting. " (What, bold tags don't work in this forum sigh)

That's exactly what's going on.

"Shenmue II is as much about Ryo's day to day as it is in 1. If not more so. You air out books for close to a week or two. You literally wake up and do chores for a Taoist Temple every day. Yet it's not about Ryo's day to day? lol okay."

Yea, people are definitely talking out of their asses, when they claim otherwise.

"For all this talk about how 1 is apparently so much better, II doesn't get enough credit where it's due. None of us would be here waiting for the third installment if not for the Guilin chapter of II, let's be real. I'm pretty positive if not for the Guilin section of Shenmue II, the fanbase would have scattered. Shenmue II is literally the glue that's been holding the fanbase for 14 years and people still don't give it respect just because it's different from 1."

Truer words have never been spoken. It's the biggest, most epic cliffhanger ever made for anything, without such a ending, there wouldn't be such a dire need for a Shenmue 3 in the first place.

[Shibiryo]

Here's some little thing though:

-In Shenmue 1 Ryo takes on 70 grown ass men ADULTS which are actually dangerous, yes with Guizhangs help but meh..

-In Shenmue 2 when Ryo gets ambushed by the Heaven members, he cant even beat up 70+ kids (assuming they are kids) and so the player is forced to lose.

Just saying.

[Himuro]

You're not "just saying" anything. In fact, you didn't say anything. Your argument is daft, mate.

[BlueMue]

I find it amusing that in these kind of topics Shenmue II is always described as "shallow" in comparison.
I get the feeling that people don't look under the surface as much in II or simply forget all the stuff it has to offer.
Now this might not be a prime example right here but I just wanted to get this out.

[Shibiryo]

It's just the fact that the days go quicker in Shenmue 1 and that Shenmue 2 (for me) is too crammed and is out of my comfort zone. There's also less notalgia due to the multiple areas you can explore and the music is "different" now read carefully, I mention "different" not better or nostalgic. Tracks like "Rain" the FREE music "Loneliness" and also flashback music "Memories of distant days" The fights are also more challenging whilst Shenmue 2 makes everything piss easy and no I do not see Ryo developing as a character but instead goofing around with Fangmei and Joy. Shenmue 1 has it all and is the "real" Shenmue experience game in my eyes. I know I sound harsh but I'm just expressing my opinion.

[Himuro]

It's just the fact that the days go quicker in Shenmue 1 and that Shenmue 2 (for me) is too crammed and is out of my comfort zone. There's also less notalgia due to the multiple areas you can explore and the music is "different" now read carefully, I mention "different" not better or nostalgic. Tracks like "Rain" the FREE music "Loneliness" and also flashback music "Memories of distant days" The fights are also more challenging whilst Shenmue 2 makes everything piss easy and no I do not see Ryo developing as a character but instead goofing around with Fangmei and Joy. Shenmue 1 has it all and is the "real" Shenmue experience game in my eyes. I know I sound harsh but I'm just expressing my opinion.

How is there less nostalgia due to multiple areas? Due to the multiple areas, I find things I've never seen before every time I load up Shenmue II. Shenmue 1 has those songs, but Shenmue II has Morning Fog's Wave and the Guilin tracks and THIS.

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Why do you keep bringing up nostalgia anyways?

I does not have harder fights than II. II has the hardest fights in the series thus far: Izumi, the street fighters, and more.

Ryo doesn't develop as a character in Shenmue II? Are you SURE you played the game? Ryo becomes OBSESSED, going to the point of climbing an abandoned building full of planks just to get to Zhu Yuanda. Ryo ignores every lesson he is taught by his father, and starts lashing out. When he meets Xiuying, and says he's talking to the master, he not only interrupts her, he raises his voice, which is something Ryo would have NEVER done in 1. Ryo starts to any and all humility and respect for authority in II, and it's very much about his growth and journey not only as a martial artist, but also a person.

If you were incapable of seeing that through in II, I'm sorry, but there's nothing to argue over if you can't see it.

Ryo was just goofing around with Fangmei and Joy in II? Your argument is completely insane and absolutely bonkers.

I find it amusing that in these kind of topics Shenmue II is always described as "shallow" in comparison.
I get the feeling that people don't look under the surface as much in II or simply forget all the stuff it has to offer.
Now this might not be a prime example right here but I just wanted to get this out.

It actually exposes II's critics as the ones that are shallow usually.

[Zoltor]

It's just the fact that the days go quicker in Shenmue 1 and that Shenmue 2 (for me) is too crammed and is out of my comfort zone. There's also less notalgia due to the multiple areas you can explore and the music is "different" now read carefully, I mention "different" not better or nostalgic. Tracks like "Rain" the FREE music "Loneliness" and also flashback music "Memories of distant days" The fights are also more challenging whilst Shenmue 2 makes everything piss easy and no I do not see Ryo developing as a character but instead goofing around with Fangmei and Joy. Shenmue 1 has it all and is the "real" Shenmue experience game in my eyes. I know I sound harsh but I'm just expressing my opinion.

What game did you play? I ask this, because there is clears as day signs of character development in Shenmue 2, even with the ever so adorable fangmei aside, his outlook on life has been changing since he started staying with Xuiying, and has continue to change after he left as well, also it seems like he's far more comfortable when talking to people, especially by the end of Shenmue 2.

We discover Ryo is actually attracted to woman, lol if that Isn't development, I don't know what is.

In any case, if you want to make the argument that 1 is supposedly better, because Ryo developes more as a char, lmfao, you're going to lose, because Ryo doesn't develop much during the first game, and nomatter how you slice it, Ryo develops a hell of a lot more during Shenmue 2.

You need to play Shenmue 2 longer, the Shenmue games are not meant for you to rush through just the story, and listen while doing so, then I'm sure you'll hear a bunch of music you'll love, Shenmue 2 has plenty of memorable soundtracks.

Also Shenmue 1 takes place in Japan, while Shenmue 2 is in China, so naturally they'll be different(thankfully so, Chinese, and Japanese music are noticeably different, if there was Japanese music in China, it would seem very out of place.

Furthermore, btw fights in Shenmue 2 are way harder then in Shenmue 1.

To BlueMue: Omg yes, it really baffles me when people say that. With al the Chinese philosophy, back story of characters, it having a deeper meaning, and details put in the most unlikeliest places, all the seemingly endless secrets ect, how can anyone claim that Shenmue 2 is Shallow.

To Himuro : bloody hell, forgot to mention that, yea Ryo was basically about ready to bite her head off at that point, if he didn't meet Xuiying when he did, I Imagine Ryo would've become a cold blooded murderer when asking people info about Lan Di's whereabouts.

[sand4fish]

Come on, the core experience between the two games is basically the same. In no way the first game is more "environmental", unique, nostalgic or harder than the sequel. Trying to squeeze water from a stone, aren't we?

To be fair, I do admit I do find the first game to be a tad better, but not for nostlagic reasons or that I prefer Japanese culture over Chinese. Lol

[James Brown]

i think the OP wasn't necessarily saying Shenmue 2 is a bad game or anything, they're the greatest 2 games ever created, but there is undeniable differences between the two of them, some of which a few of you getting upset have actually mentioned as points as to why they're not different. Himuro said that the first game is about being sad, lonely, yet surrounded by locals and familiar faces, and the second game is about being lost in this massive city, not knowing anyone, and facing uncomfortable challenges...those are contrasts between the 2 games. The first game because of this definitely does feel more nostalgic because it's Ryo's home town, and it feels like home - a second home to alot of us fans.

The second game is amazing, and infact the whole Guilin chapter bizarrely feels more similar to Shenmue 1 than the rest of Shenmue 2, because of the slow pacing, and wonderful music, and the first familar face of the second game in Shenhua - which again is such a unique feeling that the series can give you, when a character that you have only seen in short dreams from Shenmue 1, when you meet her in Shenmue 2, gives you that comforable feeling again and takes you far far away from the new scary world you just experienced in Hong Kong!

[Himuro]

Yeah, I agree with all that, but it seems deliberate. I mean, that's what cities like Hong Kong are like: isolative.

[Henry Spencer]

Kowloon was the most realised and best area in Shenmue 2, I reckon. That whole area just felt dangerous and fun to explore due to all of the mini games, fights and how nasty some of the NPCs can be. It was the equivalent to Shenmue 1's Harbour, where most of the fights and story scenes took place. Hong Kong, in comparison was a little disappointing to me and was the weakest part of Shenmue 2, outside of the NPCs that I liked (such as Xiuying, Guixiang and Jianmin; I kinda found the rest rather dull, to be honest). I always find Disc 1 of Shenmue 2 to be the weakest part of the series, by far. It's just so "meh" compared to the rest of Shenmue 1 and 2. I personally won't miss HK at all.

Areas in Shenmue series go like this for me in terms of faves:

Harbour/Kowloon>Dobuita>Guilin>Yamanose/Hazuki's Residence>Hong Kong>Sakuragaoka

That's just me though.

[Shibiryo]

Whenever I load up the original Shenny I always get a different feeling, as if it is another new day just like real life, huge atmosphere on a small comforting scale such as Dobuita and Sakuragoaka. Shenmue 2's Kowloon was amazing and the best area as Henry stated however the atmosphere never changed and so it always stayed the same apart from NPCs and so this took time. Time went slower in 2 and I wish it would go faster so we can see day by day, just like Shenmue 1 and to experience a more real-life atmosphere. 2 is great, don't get me wrong, I'm not entirely shitting on it. It's just different and not my liking.

[James Brown]

Whenever I load up the original Shenny I always get a different feeling, as if it is another new day just like real life, huge atmosphere on a small comforting scale such as Dobuita and Sakuragoaka. Shenmue 2's Kowloon was amazing and the best area as Henry stated however the atmosphere never changed and so it always stayed the same apart from NPCs and so this took time. Time went slower in 2 and I wish it would go faster so we can see day by day, just like Shenmue 1 and to experience a more real-life atmosphere. 2 is great, don't get me wrong, I'm not entirely shitting on it. It's just different and not my liking.

I think alot of this is down to the incredible sound and music that was pulled off in Shenmue 1, the atmosphere walking from Ryo's home into Sakuragaoka just literally echoes. You can hear the detail in Ryo's footsteps, generally walking through a mix of gravel, concrete and snow. Coined with the eery quiet surroundings, the set paths of unqiue NPC's and the ever changing weather effects is probably why we get that feeling you decribed about each Shenmue day feeling like a new day. Whereas in Shenmue 2 like you said, you can be running through South Carmain Quarter for example, and it never really feels that different, only day and night, or rain or no rain - and the same random NPC's wandering around aimlessly - with the same music which kind of drowns out the atmosphere somewhat, with the same sort of background hustle and bustle noise that makes you feel like the streets are busy and bursting with people.