Shenmue II too big ?

[Mystere]

I don't think Shenmue II was too big, I think the game needed to be to truly convey Ryo's journey from "hometown" to foreign metropolis. The player should feel lost at first. But I do think SII's epic size detracted from the intricate details which made Shenmue so immersive. For me, NPC routines, Ryo's forklift job, waiting (whether you like it or not) made the original game feel more like an "experience", almost a life simulator (well, for a 1999 videogame anyway).

The terrible jobs in II and overly helpful NPC's sorta dented the true "immersion factor" for me. I know HK / Kowloon are big environments, but the NPC guide feature felt really strange. Who guides a complete stranger across 3 Quarters, walking 5 paces ahead of them and making no conversation? Apparently everyone!

Detail / scope is a trade off I guess. I know I'm dreaming now, but if they can balance the size of II with the immersion of I in Shenmue III, I'll die happy.

[rome]

I think Shenmue 2 is pretty spot on, minus a few NPCs that do the opposite to S1, and everyone helps/walks you to the location you're looking for.

I hope S3 will be similar in any aspect. More like Shenmue, but more detailed.

[jcjimher]

I don't think it was too big, but I did miss the familiarity and density of the first game. For example, even though I know it was like that in real HK, I missed stores closing at night, and having deserted streets. I also tried to use the NPC guiding as little as possible, and of course I refused to buy any maps or use the wait feature when it was offered.

[Sonoshee]

Too big? Nope. It made going back through it in subsequent playthroughs even more enjoyable.

[Centrale]

Regarding the NPC guide feature, I don't remember really needing it in order to find a place. But I did use it occasionally just as an opportunity to slowly look around at all the passing scenery and take in the atmosphere.

As to whether it was too big? I liked the scope of it. But I must admit on my first playthrough, I missed quite a lot - I never even noticed Eileen Edelweiss, or the top floor of the arcade where the fights take place.

[gabril]

Shenmue II is way more fun with a big city but this is connected to the fact that Yokosuka, Sakuragaoka and Yamanose are Ryo's and Friends home

[Shibiryo]

I think Shenmue 2 is way more fun to explore given the fact that there's so many areas with different music in that specific area giving you a reason to check it out. There's almost always a new area you'd end up in when exploring places especially Kowloon, it's huge, I mean it. The streets of Wan Chai and Aberdeen are full of activity, its as fun as watching people just simply walk in the game because each NPC is uniquely doing a different activity, investigating something new in Hong Kong. The first game had NPCs just doing whatever in Dobuita whivh was cool but that was it, the harbour didint have as much NPC activity. Overall there is just much more detail and exploration to be done in the world of Shenmue 2. It was made to be bigger than 1, just take a look at the box art of Shenmue 2, the Xbox versions box art too states how massive the game is with over 1000 unique NPCs and visuals/environment.

[Zoltor]

Too big? It is most definitely not too big, It's like the perfect size.

The exploration aspect is so much better in 2, and expands upon what made the first game so amazing, It's the perfect size, and was um perfectly handled.

[James Brown]

I think Shenmue 2 is way more fun to explore given the fact that there's so many areas with different music in that specific area giving you a reason to check it out. There's almost always a new area you'd end up in when exploring places especially Kowloon, it's huge, I mean it. The streets of Wan Chai and Aberdeen are full of activity, its as fun as watching people just simply walk in the game because each NPC is uniquely doing a different activity, investigating something new in Hong Kong. The first game had NPCs just doing whatever in Dobuita whivh was cool but that was it, the harbour didint have as much NPC activity. Overall there is just much more detail and exploration to be done in the world of Shenmue 2. It was made to be bigger than 1, just take a look at the box art of Shenmue 2, the Xbox versions box art too states how massive the game is with over 1000 unique NPCs and visuals/environment.

You make some good points, but i'd disagree with you on the NPC's in Shenmue 2, they literally walk around randomly and there's the same few NPC's that are repeated throughout the game. The NPC's in Shenmue 1 were actually unique and identifiable, with set paths based on time and date, each incredibly detailed in their profile and given huge amounts of dialogue for each changing situation, rather than just mindlessly walking to where-ever Ryo needs a taxi to

[HEARTBEATSPAPI]

The first time I ever played it it really freaked me out how big it was compared to I and do still feel like I missed a lot of different cut scenes etc. That being said I was 11 years old and I didn't realise the game was fully in Japanese either so it was a pretty disorientating experience for me. Never the less, I love it!

[SMDzero]

I also thought that Shenmue two was too big to play too.

[iyapol]

In Shenmue, I felt that I knew every place, all the locals and shops, in Shenmue II I can't say that at all.

You've hit the nail on the head, my friend. In Shenmue, Ryo is comfortable with his small and familiar surroundings. He knows his locality like the back of his hand. He knows everybody from the lady sweeping the streets in Yamanose to the guy who runs the burger stand in Dobuita.

And then... *drum roll, please*

His adventure begins.

The much larger scale of Shenmue II compliments this perfectly. All of a sudden, Ryo is lost in a foreign land with no sense of belonging, nowhere to go and no friends to guide him on his path.

Like you, the gamer, he has no idea what he will find around the next corner, and I'm sure if he was to replay his Shenmue II adventure, things might work out differently the second time around.

[iyapol]

And on a side note, perhaps Yu acknowledged its size by introducing maps?

[SMDzero]

Shenmue 3 will prove that size doesn't matter.

[Yokosuka]

Shenmue II will never have any equivalent in the saga. You can't get bigger than Hong Kong, at least in terms of feeling for the time.

Maybe Shanghai if rewriting the story as it was part of the cancelled chapters.