Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

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Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby SMDzero » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:29 am

What if they packaged Shenmue 1 and 2 HD together as one game but most of Shenmue 1 was optional?

Ryo gets out of bed 3 days after his father is killed, Ine San immediately gives him Zhu's letter, Ryo goes directly to Chen, finds the mirror, and then Chen gives him a boat ticket right away.. not part time job required.

The whole of the original game could still be available but for players who want to rush through they can do so with out getting bored.


Thoughts?
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby SlySpy » Fri Dec 23, 2016 6:53 am

Bad idea in my opinion. You already have the digest and Shenmue: The Movie if they really wanted to truncate the story of the first game. Moreover, kickstarter stretch goals associated with a brief catch-up on the first two games have already been hit, so that is yet another way people can just brush up quickly.

If you're going to package these games together for actual playing, then you should do it right. Why even bother buying a collection with the first two games if you're just going to have a way to skip through the first game? That makes no sense at all.

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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby SMDzero » Fri Dec 23, 2016 8:34 am

SlySpy wrote: Bad idea in my opinion. You already have the digest and Shenmue: The Movie if they really wanted to truncate the story of the first game. Moreover, kickstarter stretch goals associated with a brief catch-up on the first two games have already been hit, so that is yet another way people can just brush up quickly.

If you're going to package these games together for actual playing, then you should do it right. Why even bother buying a collection with the first two games if you're just going to have a way to skip through the first game? That makes no sense at all.



Well what if Ryo receives Zhu's letter right away and THEN the game proceeds as normal.

No looking for black-suits, chinese, 3 blades, sailors, and charlie which never went anywhere really.
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby MiTT3NZ » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:21 pm

I think you're missing the whole point of the first game.

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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby redline » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:22 pm

shenmue isnt a story you are meant to rush.

when i first got shenmue 1 on the dreamcast i had no understanding of what the gameplay was going to be like, at first i was disappointed because it was really slow but after a few hours i got into it and loved it.

when shenmue 2 came out, it blew my mind for a second time..while i was stuck at school, a character i got to know so well (ryo) was going on an epic adventure- total escapism.


those who play 1 & 2 normally become fans.. and we need all the fans we can get.
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby SMDzero » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:56 pm

I still think the majority of the first disc's content can be cut... no reason why Ine-San can't give Ryo the letter right away.

Will gamers these days put up with looking for blacksuits, chinese, sailors, and then Charlie? This trail goes nowhere and is ultimately pointless... it was only okay back in 2000 because of the novelty of exploring the first "open" world.

Most gamers these days might stop playing the moment they are asked to look for sailors.

Why not skip to getting Zhu's letter?
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby MiTT3NZ » Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:46 pm

Because Charlie will appear randomly out of nowhere with no context, as with the sailors who call Ryo "schoolboy". The kitten would be reduced to some strange thing for players to stumble across. Introducing minor characters will no longer be in it so they'll essentially be faceless randoms, and the idea of living every day as opposed to the typical fast-track route will be gone. Character development goes out the window too.

As I say, you miss the point entirely.
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby SMDzero » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:13 pm

MiTT3NZ wrote: Because Charlie will appear randomly out of nowhere with no context, as with the sailors who call Ryo "schoolboy". The kitten would be reduced to some strange thing for players to stumble across. Introducing minor characters will no longer be in it so they'll essentially be faceless randoms, and the idea of living every day as opposed to the typical fast-track route will be gone. Character development goes out the window too.

As I say, you miss the point entirely.



It can be OPTIONAL though.

When you start the game you would be prompted with 2 options:

1.) Play Shenmue as originally conceived and intended

2.) Cut the crap and get to the good stuff!
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby MiTT3NZ » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:36 pm

Games are optional you fourteen-fingered pleb.

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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby sand4fish » Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:05 pm

There is already a streamlined Shenmue 1 HD in existence like the one OP suggested. It contains a single seamless cutscene, and it can be played forward and skip to the best parts of the game if players choose to do so. Here you go:

phpBB [video]


If players find boredom on the second game too, there's a very streamlined version of Shenmue 2 as well. And that way everyone should be up to speed for Shenmue 3 without a single game over screen.

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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby SlySpy » Fri Dec 23, 2016 6:49 pm

SMDzero wrote:
It can be OPTIONAL though.

When you start the game you would be prompted with 2 options:

1.) Play Shenmue as originally conceived and intended

2.) Cut the crap and get to the good stuff!


The "good stuff" is good because it's balanced out with the more mundane elements of the world that help make it feel real and lived in. There's a reason the 90 minute cut of Shenmue: The Movie left a lot to be desired for people, and why a fan made a five hour cut years later. Context is largely important to the events of the game. Your proposal still makes no sense.

Did you even play through Shenmue 1?
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby SMDzero » Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:12 pm

I just fear that a lot of people will be turned off by looking for sailors.

Let's face it... 99% of gamers who never played Shenmue but are aware of the game believe it was "that game where you look for sailors".
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby ShenGCH » Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:55 pm

Imagine players witnessing Ryo being fired from a job they didn't even know he (or, in effect, they) had :lol:
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby sand4fish » Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:59 pm

SMDzero wrote: I just fear that a lot of people will be turned off by looking for sailors.

Let's face it... 99% of gamers who never played Shenmue but are aware of the game believe it was "that game where you look for sailors".


Sorry, but I don't understand what's the criticism behind looking for sailors. Can you explain? The entire game has a detective clue chase structure to it and you want to cut content in detriment of context (and immersion), and somehow that would make it a better game?
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Re: Shenmue 1.. a mostly optional affair?

Postby SlySpy » Fri Dec 23, 2016 9:29 pm

SMDzero wrote: I just fear that a lot of people will be turned off by looking for sailors.

Let's face it... 99% of gamers who never played Shenmue but are aware of the game believe it was "that game where you look for sailors".


Let's face it; you made up a bullshit statistic. "Sailors" have always been a forced meme by the fans.

Shenmue 1, as is, is admittedly not a game for everyone. Your suggestion however, would turn it into a game that's not for anyone. What audience would be attracted to the idea of a "skip a chunk of main quests" option? The only time that could ever work is something like True Crime: Streets of LA, where you can skip main missions if they're too hard for you, but you get punished for it by having your game scenarios get worse, culminating in a worse ending.
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