Shenmue Dojo

Hello guys I suppose I better introduce myself. I am a huge Shenmue fan from the UK who has been lurking about reading the forums for a while and feel now is the time to sign up. Been a DC/Shenmue fan since day one and adore both games although slightly prefer 2nd.

I realize threads have been done in the past comparing xbox vs dc Shenmue 2 but after conducting a side by side test on various set ups I feel this may finally bring some closure or positive opinions to the debate. Before I start I will mention that Shenmue 2 is in my book the greatest game of all time and either format is a positive experience.

test 1

I have ran both versions side by side on a 26inch Sony Trinton ctr television that I purchased in 1999 and is of a very high standard, the picture is as good as the day I bought it and is the highest quality I have seen of any crt. Both consoles are using a high quality rgb scart cable, 2 of my friends and my wife all agreed the same thing as I.
The DC version looks crisper and the colours are more vibrant, the xbox version clearly has less slowdown and a higher polygon count but we all agreed it looked a bit washed out and all 4 of us agreed the dc game simply looked more nicer.
Nothing wrong with the xbox version mind and it wont bother you unless you have seen the dc one in action.

test 2

ran both versions through a 40inch HD Samsung tv on rgb scart and the image was pretty poor and unplayable to a fan such as myself. Tried the dc with a vga box and still the results were poor, also tried dc on 20inch lcd monitor with vga box and results were poor washed out and pixalated if that word exists.
Tried S2 on my 360 through HDMI and was actually impressed with how it looked, obviously not as good as crt but acceptable and nice to see on a big screen.

test 3

We all know how good dc games look through vga but I inherited from work a 20inch Mitsubishi crt flat screen diamond monitor which was a blessing. The dc's natural 640 output is way ahead of its time.
It simply looks breathtaking and is in my opinion the ultimate way to play Shenmue. I have noticed certain details in the graphics which I have not noticed before, it really is a sight to behold and I will argue the case against anyone saying they know of a better way to play the game. Remember if you can get hold of a vga box ( difficult for me as they were never relesed in the UK and it cost me £25) you really need to play it on a crt monitor, which thankfully can be found in charity shops and car boot sales (garage sales) for peaunts as nobody wants them.

so thats my verdict , no disrespect to the xbox version but S2 simply looks better on the dc, even through crt.

There's nothing wrong with the DC version whatever tv you play. Never tried the vga cable but I will buy one. Xbox version is far too bright, too much glare. I never want to play that version ever again, horrible. Just enjoy the game for what it is, an old game that was ahead of it's time.

Amen to that, Dreamcast Shenmue 2 all the way.The game still looks fantastic today, for me. I always loved the vivid colours of the Shenmue games, the Dreamcast seemed to be able to create them so effortlessly.

Only reason I won't play DC Shenmue II is because it doesn't work for me on disc 3... dreamcast isn't very reliable..

The consoles are easily serviced, a few sites on the net with guides. Also, are you sure it's not the disc? And why does everyone have problems with disc 3?

Dreamcasts always seem to fizzle after a couple years and start booting you back the system ui. It's not for every game though, packed discs like Shenmue can give my Dreamcast trouble while discs like Soul Calibur work just fine.

I don't know what ui is but if your talking about random rebooting it's got nothing to do with disc size. The pins between the motherboard and power board need a light bending. Works a charm.

Ok. The boards are slightly different beteen PAL systems and yours but it's still the same problem. The mother board floats above the power board in both. The power board has six long pins that pass through the bottom of the mother board. Just slide the top board off and bend the pins slightly. They are not joined by solder so it's a really easy fix. Some people have said to drop solder at the join but I wouldn't bother. Google Dreamcast common problems and you should find a tutorial to fix the problem. It's really worth it.

GD roms can be fixed fairly easy
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwGzKfDURzU[/youtube]

Ha. I've done this one as well. It's actually a very straight forward console to repair. Not like the PS3 and 360 with dry solder joints round the cpu's. We didn't have red rings in my day.

I know what you guys mean. I had 1 modded 360 with bad a bad X-Clamp, fixed. I also have 2 PS3s with bad BD-Rom lasers. One hacked, one useless. I tried repairing the laser but the damn drive I received had a busted motor. Got it from thegamersfix.com . They were really nice about it though, I got a full refund.

The only retro systems that ever went bad on me was my Dreamcast and my Sega Nomad.
My DC was overheating because when I tore it apart to look into a certain mod, I failed to put the metal plate back on correctly which stopped the cooling method altogether. The No-mad was found in a truck in my grandfather's junkyard. Worked for a bit but then blew something on the motherboard. Never looked into the problem.

As always with new members: Welcome to the Dojo!

I still have yet to play Shenmue in VGA, been sporting composite since I was little! I really enjoy Shenmue 2 on the DC much more than Xbox, however, when it comes to modding the game, I prefer the Xbox version due to better performance handling in high-demand mods and ease of file transfer and not having to re-burn and re-burn and re-burn.