by Let's Get Sweaty » Tue Oct 30, 2012 3:31 pm
Airing the books and lugging crates were not enjoyable tasks, but they weren't supposed to be. It was part of the story, teaching Ryo (and the player) the value of patience and investment/sacrifice if you want to get anywhere in life.
Of course a lot of people have no tolerance for this when they sit down to play a videogame, but Shenmue is more than a game. It's an experience, telling a tale that involves the player in ways that other designers wouldn't dare - forcing the player to share the hardship that Ryo endures, so that we know we've genuinely put in the work to earn our reward. We can't experience Ryo's sense of humble achievement if we don't go through it with him.
That probably sounds nuts to some, but when you place it in context with the overall character arc along which Ryo is expected to travel - a hasty young man, consumed by the desire to fight Lan Di, into a level headed, mature hero with a greater grasp of responsibility - it only fits that the player is expected to travel the same road of emotional development.
And that happens by not brushing off the less exhilarating and more frustrating parts of his journey.