"Play as 1 of 4 characters" - April Edition '99 of GamePro

[Ceej]

While it's clear that the journalist that wrote this had no idea what he was talking about, it's pretty cool that they had Aberdeen, Guilin, and and Kowloon in these screenshots. I can't tell where Ryo is in the two pictures that are farthest left.

[Three Blades]

Did anyone else, when they completed Shenmue 1 the first time, thought they'd miss entire sections of the game because of screenshots in magazine previews? I remember thinking, "Did I miss the part where Ryo is in the forest??" and "Why didn't I get to fight a fat guy on a roof like I saw in that magazine?"
...because those were from Shenmue 2 and I didn't know.

[LucBu]

While it's clear that the journalist that wrote this had no idea what he was talking about, it's pretty cool that they had Aberdeen, Guilin, and and Kowloon in these screenshots. I can't tell where Ryo is in the two pictures that are farthest left.

On those shots I'd guess:

The furthest left is an early design for the thin street which you pursue Zhu's assistant first time you meet him when he gets captured by Yuan's thugs. Think it's called White Dynasty Qr. That's the street with the long QTE amidst the market stalls in S2. It's also the place where you can do the Chawan Sign and get the cutscene with the abused boy.

The second is another early scene from S2. It's where Ryo jumps the fence following Wong at the beginning. (Notice how the fence is broken underneath which is where Wong crawls in through). Early textures. Fence looks amateur. Gives hope to those early concept renders for Shenmue 3 eh?

[amiga1200]

it's only right die-hard fans would know, implying: i'm not!
...
mixed thoughts here:
1, YAYY! would be interesting to play the game from key character perspectives.
in a sense, a LOT more game.
2, goddamnit!
just as well i wasn't aware, gonna puke...
possible one element that would add to the overall experience.
...
it's also possible to counter effect a good thing, with a sad realization...
doesn't make it any less worthwhile.

[killthesagabeforeitkillsu]

Being able to play as other characters is certainly a plus in my book if done correctly.
For example, if I play as Ren I expect his personality to be felt via game mechanics. From his unique fighting moveset, to the way he approaches and interacts with people. Imagine if you had the option of switching between Ryo and Guizhang in the 70 Man Battle or got to play as Ren when he tells Ryo to take the elevator in the Yellow Head Building.

[Sonoshee]

Did anyone else, when they completed Shenmue 1 the first time, thought they'd miss entire sections of the game because of screenshots in magazine previews?

I remember the official UK Dreamcast mag posting a couple of images after Shenmue was released; one of Ryo and Ren falling off the scaffolding on to the van and the other was a bunch of stalls where the QTE occurs after Yuanda Zhu's associate is kidnapped. I remember them specifically saying they must have been from Shenmue 2 since those images were around before the original Shenmue was released.

[shenmue852]

Did anyone else, when they completed Shenmue 1 the first time, thought they'd miss entire sections of the game because of screenshots in magazine previews? I remember thinking, "Did I miss the part where Ryo is in the forest??" and "Why didn't I get to fight a fat guy on a roof like I saw in that magazine?"
...because those were from Shenmue 2 and I didn't know.

No because at the time the Japanese version had been out for a while, and although no one imported, word did spread that the second game was going to be in Hong Kong (it had been a year since the JPN release so it was enough time for anyone who looked up the game on google to get clear indications.

Weirdly enough I never saw screenshots from Shenmue II before I first played Shenmue. I had heard the 2nd game was in Hong Kong though and looked up screnshots of Shenmue II soon after I beat the first.

[BlueMue]

You gotta love these old magazines, at times where the internet still wasn't the main source of info and you had to believe the editors. All the vague guesses and wrong information. So nostalgic.

[Henry Spencer]

All the vague guesses and wrong information.

Sadly, that still happens aplenty.

[Ryo Fhan]

Wasn't Yu the producer for Daytona?

Yu was the co-producer indeed but the main man behind Daytona was Toshihiro Nagoshi, one of the Shenmue lead programmers and the creator of Yakuza.

Nagoshi and Yu need to team up for Daytona 3 man... oh my

[Miles Prower]

Did anyone else, when they completed Shenmue 1 the first time, thought they'd miss entire sections of the game because of screenshots in magazine previews? I remember thinking, "Did I miss the part where Ryo is in the forest??" and "Why didn't I get to fight a fat guy on a roof like I saw in that magazine?"
...because those were from Shenmue 2 and I didn't know.

Yeah, I did this too I remember getting to the end and thinking, wait, what happened to the bit where you're handcuffed to that guy?