Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

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Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Shibiryo » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:23 pm

I'm here to say that the original Shenmue is very unique and of its's own kind, well kind of, we all know this very well but how are they different and why?

Shenmue 1 is without a doubt more environmental and a day-to-day experience. No two Shenmue days are the same with Ryo able to practice in depth the moves he learns whilst also being able to collect many things and pet a kitten and also bizzarly communicating with his girlfreind.

Shenmue 2 makes up for what the original had to offer and thus polishes it in return for limited environments so that Ryo is unable to truly go through that day-to-day experience which always feels different but the more open world hong kong makes up for this, therefore we do not notice much. Not to mention the fact there are more orphanes and women in this game compared to the first. The people are all different and not just moderately rich Japanese people from Shenmue 1.

Shenmue 1 is a different type of game in comparison to two, this is due to the timex timey time thing where the days go faster. Shenmue 1 is like no other whilst the second game ditched that by adding time skip and making days go by slower. Man Shenmue 1 and its environment with full on dialogue wiith every unique NPC is something we may not see again, Shenmue 3 bring it back because Shenmue 1 is so superior to 2 and if you dont think so I fnd that unusual since Shenmue 1 was damn unique. To be fair Shenmue 2 is epic but the gameplay is not as realistic and much of an experience in terms of the nostalgic area and high end NPC dialogue. Of course they're both great however we all have our preference. Funny how both the two games not similar in terms of small things like in game time. Shenmue 1's biggest flaw is not being able to save anywhere though, they had their reasons for that though I guess.

When the night falls in Shenmue 1 I honestly love it, Shenmue 2 however not so much. The 7pm night fall in 2 is not as great, sadly. What are your thoughts about the difference in the two games?

Sorry that the title is quite out of context about what I'm on here but mabye you didin't even get what I said in the first place anyway, heh.

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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Bellator » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:46 pm

Agreed.

Shenmue II is a kickass game but Shenmue I is the "full on shenmue experience".
The immersion into the world, the vibe you got from running around the streets of dobuita or going to the harbor are really what lead to this hard core spartan like shenmue fanbase that exists today.
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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Shibiryo » Sun Sep 20, 2015 5:29 pm

Shenmue I was like urban surrealism, while Shenmue II was more like an adventure movie--a really good adventure movie, but I tend to favor the former. It's the feeling of having an adventure in your hometown, where things happen that are far more interesting than you'd ever expect from life--versus going out on an epic journey. On one hand, you have people who know you on the streets, and people who care about you. You find that things you once thought were just ordinary turn out to be far from it, and the whole thing folds out like a tale of personal discovery. On the other hand, you're somewhere entirely new. You have the opportunity to meet new people and to find out about the rest of the world. You're no longer the insider, but you've come to mix thing up.

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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Yokosuka » Sun Sep 20, 2015 5:41 pm

Someone told me Shenmue 2 was the real Yu's vision but I never found the source.

I've the feeling that Shenmue 3 could be the game that divide the fans as we don't know to which episode it will be closer or perhaps it feel completely new.
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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby strider16 » Sun Sep 20, 2015 5:47 pm

Don't know really... While the first game shows us all that surreal Yokosuka, full of his details and ambience of a calm place well known by the main character, the second game is fast paced, as a lively and intense city which details aren't still known by Ryo. So, Ryo has to begin his journey, and while quite independent, he still had not all the skills to stride towards his goal. By the time he left Yokosuka, he is a lot more experienced and knows what to do in a way to catch Lan Di as soon as possible. I don't think one or other game is better, it is the way I choose to understand the changes between these two games.

But, even if the second game isn't as immersive as the first, I think the relationships are more developed in S2. It may be due the fact I played s1 with eng dub, and 2 with jap dub.

If the series started right of with a S2 spirit it could had been more popular at the time, but that first and priceless experience of true S1 would be lost, so I don't think it would worth.
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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Rakim » Sun Sep 20, 2015 5:56 pm

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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby James Brown » Sun Sep 20, 2015 6:31 pm

I agree also, I love Shenmue 2 to bits aswell but Shenmue 1's emotion and flow is why i fell in love with the series, the story in 2 is great however, and I appreciate the game for sheer size and length of the game.

It's weird in a way that they were meant to have been worked on at the same time, as evident in the Sega Saturn footage that had Shenmue 2 gameplay shown, yet they do feel completely different in the mechanics. I wonder if at some point Shenmue 2 did have more of the style of Shenmue 1, but they waited until Shenmue 1 was released to judge the direction of Shenmue 2. They probably had feedback about saving and waiting around from people who played the first game, and then decided to add the additional features for example.

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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Yokosuka » Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:08 pm

It's interesting to notice that Shenmue 2 is overly the favorite among the newcomers though.
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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Zoltor » Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:29 pm

Yokosuka wrote: It's interesting to notice that Shenmue 2 is overly the favorite among the newcomers though.



I'm not a new comer(I played Shenmue 1 back in the day on the DC, and is what made me love the series), yet still feel 2 is a overall better game, by a rather large margin at that.


The pacing is perfect in both games, for the setting they take place in, and the size of the games, so I really don't understand people's complaint about that. Also the world in 2 is even more detailed, and interactive then the first game(I think people just don't realize it, because naturally most people in the gaming scene, know more about Japan, then China).

However It's a shame instead of Forklift Racing/um I mean driving :) as a job, 2 has crate moving, which is executed in the silliest way possible. It really is the true meaning of laughably bad, thankfully you only have to do it once.

That's what I think it comes down to most people who say 1 is better, is 2 doesn't have the awesome Forklift driving job, and the job that replaced it sucks.
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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Englishhedgehog » Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:03 pm

Shenmue 2 >>>>>> Shenmue 1 and I love Shenmue 1.
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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Zoltor » Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:35 pm

Englishhedgehog wrote: Shenmue 2 >>>>>> Shenmue 1 and I love Shenmue 1.


Yea same here :)
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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Henry Spencer » Mon Sep 21, 2015 6:19 am

One reason is probably due to how much time they had to develop Shenmue 1. Suzuki basically stated that they spent so long on Shenmue 1 they didn't want to ever do that again.

Some of the development team is different on Shenmue 1 as opposed to Shenmue 2 also, such as Nagoshi, creator of the Yakuza series worked on Shenmue 1 and didn't on Shenmue 2 and Keiji Okayasu who was listed as "Game Director" on Shenmue 1 didn't work on Shenmue 2 at all. Masanori Ōe who was "Design Director" of Shenmue 1 only worked on Shenmue 2 as a Supervisor. Eigo Kasahara who was Planning Director on Shenmue 1 did not work on Shenmue 2 at all either. And so on and so forth. Different staff means different games, ultimately.
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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Himuro » Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:01 am

Shenmue 1 and 2 are both amazing and I have no idea why anyone wants 2 to be more like 1 given they explore completely different themes, ideas, and settings. They're deliberately different. Shenmue 1 is a game about sadness, loss, depression, and being alone. Shenmue II, is how all those emotions can warp and destroy even the nicest kid. Shenmue III, going off of disc 4 of Shenmue II, is going to be about how Ryo can heal as a person and learn to move on past his father's murder.

As for why 1 is different from 2: why not? Who would want to play the same game with the same ideas and themes twice in a row? Both games are perfect compliments to each other.

Here's the thing that Shenmue 1 purists can't fucking understand.

Shenmue 1 takes place in Ryo's hometown. He knows everyone; they know him. He grew up there and it's in the Japanese countryside for the most part, compared to Hong Kong. In Yokosuka, he talks to the people who trim his hair, where he buys his local meat, where the man who lives with him and is practically a brother to him has a crush on the local host girl at a bar. It's deliberately about Ryo's most intimate feelings. More than that, Ryo is like, the top dog in Yokosuka pretty much, and he and Guizhang take on 70 dudes in one giant fight.

Contrast with Hong Kong, a large, massive area of a foreign country where Ryo knows no one and has to start fresh. In Hong Kong, he's fish out of water, and he's just another person. He realizes he's not even that good when it comes to martial arts and there's always someone better than him, or one step ahead of him. Ryo's challenged and pushed and prodded and has to live where he doesn't know a soul as he tries to grow or is pushed into uncomfortable situations that challenge him (airing out books, catching leaves, learning WUDE, going to Kowloon, climbing Ghost Hall building, losing to Dou Niu TWICE).

The fact that Shenmue 1 purists cannot see the deliberate contrast between the two for storytelling purposes is :rotflmao: ](*,) 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.

Ultimately, you must remember that I and II originally were supposed to be one whole game.
Last edited by Himuro on Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:26 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Himuro » Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:11 am

Shibiryo wrote: I'
Shenmue 1 is a different type of game in comparison to two, this is due to the timex timey time thing where the days go faster. Shenmue 1 is like no other whilst the second game ditched that by adding time skip and making days go by slower.


Shenmue II days are not considerably slower. Also, you can avoid skipping time in 2 altogether. I highly suggest it. There's really only one time in the game where you NEED to skip time and that's waiting for the Wulinshu.

Shenmue 3 bring it back because Shenmue 1 is so superior to 2 and if you dont think so I fnd that unusual since Shenmue 1 was damn unique.


And Shenmue II isn't unique? Shenmue II has you working part time jobs for money, airing out books, catching leaves, learning kung fu, traveling to three different real world locations in one game. It's one of the most unique games ever made. It has a ton of things to do, tons of secrets, an amazing story. It's one of the few (if not only) game to actually feature martial arts in a way that feels representative to real life.

To be fair Shenmue 2 is epic but the gameplay is not as realistic and much of an experience in terms of the nostalgic area and high end NPC dialogue.


This isn't well written, sorry. Shenmue II's gameplay is just as realistic as 1's. What you are referring to as realistic here isn't "gameplay". You just prefer 1's setting.

Personally, I find Shenmue 1 fans who find 2 to be inferior without having the brain power to realize that they're two deliberately different games trying to build on each other, to be among the most annoying in the Shenmue fanbase.

Preferring II to 1 is "unusual"? LOL. Okay.

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.
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Re: Why is Shenmue 1 so different to the sequel?

Postby Kiske » Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:24 am

It would never come to my mind to oppose the two games in the contest of "which one is better".
The way I see it, Shenmue is the one who made me fall in love with its universe, Shenmue 2 beeing the one who kept me in love over decades.

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