Bluecast wrote: Shenmue seemed like a series that started in a realistic footing but would get more fantastical taking Ryo and the player in a stranger journey over time. Right now that unfinished character looks straight from Street Fighter V. Shenmue however has done some cartoonish characters before.I am sure technical limitations played a factor in the DC era why they might not have been as exaggerated as we see here. I also want to point out that Shenmue Online had some crazy shit. There was a half man half spider thing. There was a man where his arms were so long they dragged on the ground like a gorilla. Sure the game was cancelled but it could be telling of what to expect later in the series.
I'm thinking the exact opposite about the influence of technical limitation on the original charadesign. They purposely exaggerated the faces to make each character more unique and recognizable as they couldn't do much more technically. The Dreamcast coulnd't display as much as polygons than PS2 but did have an excellent RAM for textures. Slight cartoonishing was just a trick.
By the way, who sincerely viewed these characters as "cartoonish" when the game released or was showcased in the issues? These characters were incredibly realistic for their time.
I don't think the story turning points should have any repercussion on the charadesign style art, whatever the fantastic material they might unfold (if it was what you meant).
One of the ingredients that made Shenmue so great is that AM2 put high realism at the service of immersion in order to involve more easily the player in a heavy-storylined game. In this way, progressing becomes more motivating than classic games, with kicking the rare villain' asses a truly satisfying act for instance. If really Shenmue turns to get a slightly-cartoonish style, I think we're going to lost main of its original force.