Shenmue 1's Superiority

[Havel]

So I'll begin with why the original Shenmue was legendary compared to the sequel Shenmue 2. I know that there are different opinions but I'll have to share mine to mabye convince you if you think 2 was better.

First of all. The environments, interactivity, just spot on. Shenmue 2 lacked this since it included much bigger areas and the metropolis of Hong Kong. I'll agree that there was more to see and explore but Shenmue 1 makes up for this since it allowed more change and difference in each and everyday. You could interact with so much in your home by realistically opening draws whilst Shenmue 2 didin't have many. You could also pet a cat in 1 so fuck yeah!

Oh, the time difference. Shenmue's time feature included days that went on fairly quickly, making one hour in game time 5 minutes in real. Shenmue 2 also had this but damn, we were able to see that we would get late arriving home or see if there was any additional stuff to do in the day. You could also train your moveset more realistically through each day, although tedious, it made you feel more engaged and was time-worthy. Shenmue 2 limited training and made moves piss easy.

That brings me to another point. You can play the game however you like, Shenmue 2 focused too much on mini games which were slightly repetetive and meaningless. Shenmue 1 included collecting and you could have a big collection in your inventory or a small one. Shenmue 2 compressed everything you had and hid them
away, with no meaning whatsoever.

Finally, the music. The FREE music in the game, especially the one when you first leave your house, it is truly unique and emotional, even till this day, sure Shenmue 2 had great music too but Shenmue 1 was much more emotional and appealing. It always changed and suited the mood you played in. I think it was better than 2.

I just wanted to express my opinion on the original Shenmue and how superior it is to 2. Don't get me wrong, Shenmue 2 is also a great game, but different.

[Wude-Tang Clan]

The pace of the first game could be better. It doesn't really bother me, but I think, for other players who want action / fighting to happen faster, that there should have been more of it early on in the game.

For instance, I've always felt that Ryo should have fought Lan Di at the start of the game after entering the dojo. While it'd be impossible to defeat him, and the cinematic would play out just the same after you lose, it would have been a quick introduction to a very complex fighting system, that, in my opinion, was underutilized. It would have made me eager to fight him again as well.
Would have liked to have fought the men in the black cars as they make a get away, too.

I love how the story takes Ryo to all different areas, so that every chapter of Shenmue is different and new.
Personally, I enjoy playing the 2nd game more. Ren and Joy are far more dynamic and interesting characters than Nozomi and Fukuboi.

[zach]

I like them both. They are both different but still very much the shame.
I do think Shenmue 1 was more a showcase of how real a game can be in 1999, while Shenmue 2 just went further story wise.

[BlueMue]

Shenmue II has multiple rooms you can search through. The Free Stay Lodge, Come Over Guest House, Huang's room, Yuanda Zhu's room, Shenhua's house... Yeah these don't quite match up to the Hazuki residence but they come pretty close.

As for the music, both games go their own route and have their own share of awesomeness. I love the FREE music to death, it's pretty much the most atmospheric stuff I've ever heard. Shenmue II trumps with the sheer amount of tracks and their incredible diversity. And there are some incredibly atmospheric pieces in there, especially in Kowloon.

Just my 2 cents to this community favorite topic that pops up every now and then. Don't want to put your opinions down, just want to add mine to show how close the games are in these respects.

[Wude-Tang Clan]

Shenmue II has multiple rooms you can search through. The Free Stay Lodge, Come Over Guest House, Huang's room, Yuanda Zhu's room, Shenhua's house... Yeah these don't quite match up to the Hazuki residence but they come pretty close.

Was going to say that, but I didn't feel like checking to see if I remembered correctly or not .

[Ceej]

I don't think comparing these two games is as simple as you make it out to be.

When I play Shenmue I and II consecutively...I get homesick for Dobuita during my first couple hours of II. Hong Kong just seems like such a cold and foreign land compared to all the warm and welcoming people you meet during your time in Japan.
I don't know if Yu meant for the player to feel this way, but it's the same feeling I get when I travel away from home in real life. I'm enjoying the place where I am, but it feels like a piece of me is missing.

When you first arrive in Hong Kong, your money is immediately stolen and you're completely on your own. Ine-San isn't leaving money at the door for you every day...Fuku-San isn't in the dojo waiting for you to come and spar...Tatsya (sp?) isn't waiting for you to walk by the capsule toy machine so he can ask you for money. The shop owners in Hong Kong haven't watched you grow up like the owners in Dobuita did and they don't give a shit about who you are or what you're doing.

When I go right from Shenmue I to II, I always realize how much I take my allowance for granted. I can't just play darts and buy capsule toy machines to my heart's content (at first I least)...this is money I have to work for and earn...and if I spend it all I'm going to be broke.

It should feel like that though. An 18 year old kid that's traveling to a foreign country by himself should feel cold and alienated..and I think Shenmue II just nails that completely.

With that same train of thought, I don't think it's fair to necessarily compare the music from I and II. The FREE music in I is nostalgic and friendly. Whenever you listen to 'FREE 1' it's comforting and you feel like you're at home. There really isn't any free roaming music like that in II and I really like to believe that's intentional. Again, you shouldn't feel comfortable and nostalgic in this foreign country. The music in II has it's own distinct charm, but there's something that unique about it that completely separates it from the music in I.

So, to sum up my rant, I really believe that the first game is supposed to make you feel a certain way, while the sequel is meant to make you feel another. I don't believe one game is really superior to the other, it's really all about what you prefer. I personally prefer Shenmue I, but I would never tell someone that they're wrong for preferring II.

[Himuro]

First of all. The environments, interactivity, just spot on. Shenmue 2 lacked this since it included much bigger areas and the metropolis of Hong Kong. I'll agree that there was more to see and explore but Shenmue 1 makes up for this since it allowed more change and difference in each and everyday. You could interact with so much in your home by realistically opening draws whilst Shenmue 2 didin't have many. You could also pet a cat in 1 so fuck yeah!

Shenmue II still has a lot of interactivity. Not as much as 1, but it still has it. There's an entire room full of finely decorated pottery that you have to search through. There is nothing in 1, for example, nearly as detailed as that one room in terms of interaction.

Oh, the time difference. Shenmue's time feature included days that went on fairly quickly, making one hour in game time 5 minutes in real. Shenmue 2 also had this but damn, we were able to see that we would get late arriving home or see if there was any additional stuff to do in the day. You could also train your moveset more realistically through each day, although tedious, it made you feel more engaged and was time-worthy. Shenmue 2 limited training and made moves piss easy.

I don't understand this point at all.

That brings me to another point. You can play the game however you like, Shenmue 2 focused too much on mini games which were slightly repetetive and meaningless. Shenmue 1 included collecting and you could have a big collection in your inventory or a small one. Shenmue 2 compressed everything you had and hid them
away, with no meaning whatsoever.

This makes no sense. Both games are filled with mini games. In Shenmue 1, mini games play a far more crucial part than in 2 because 1 has more parts full of dead time, forcing you to do something, so that means playing darts at the Tomato Convenience Store at the harbor during dead hours waiting for the Mad Angels to show up, or going to the arcade because the tattoo parlor is closed. More than that, Shenmue I has far less mini games than II, making I the repetitive game. II has more to do, so during dead time, you have more variety to choose from rather than going to just one arcade, to play the same old games. The reason Shenmue II compressed your items is because it obviously had more to collect than 1, forcing them to put everything that's not a main item within sub menus. You say you can play 1 however you like, but you have made zero argument as to how you cannot do the same in II.

I'm not convinced by any of your points that 1 is better than 2.

I personally consider both to be one complete game, but I vastly prefer II for these reasons:

- More epic and thematic story that makes you think about things, such as the very nature of revenge, things you take for granted (as seen in the convos with Shenhua). It's a game with more to say.

- More locations, more things to do. Shenmue 1 feels extremely limited. You only have darts, Hang On, Slits, Space Harrier, QTE TItle, Excite QTE, and collecting toys. Shenmue II has all of that, plus rare capsule toys and secret moves in Lucky Hit stalls, multiple forms of gambling (street fights, lucky hit, big or small, duck races, roll in on top, arm wrestling, dart duels), Outrun, Afterburner II. It has secret events like Izumi/Eileen fights. It's just generally better in terms of content all around.

- Better character development. Ryo's character development is amazing.

- More options and ways to play the game to your liking. Want to get 100k HKs in 5 minutes? You can do so. Want to cheat and buy lighters at the beginning to offset losing your wallet? You can. Have a thing for Lucky Hit and working at Lucky Hit stands? You can. Want to spend all your time at the Duck Races? You can. Want to fail QTE's to see alternative routes and ways to play the game? You can. Like collecting toys so you can sell em off at pawn shops to make money? You can.

- DIsc 4.

[Supa]

Both are my favorite games of all time, Shenmue I being slightly above II.

I just like the hometown environment in Shenmue I. The snow, all of the familiar characters. That's pretty much it. I don't think the music is better or worse, and things like putting the capsule toys in a collection tab actually made things a bit better for me.