Shenmue (You had to be there)

[C..]

Is it just me or today except the rare few actually find Shenmue and like it as much as we all do. It seems that really like the majority of us including myself got the game when it came out or discovered it after Shenmue II. I'm not bashing anyone who doesn't know what it is or doesn't want to play it but when you ask someone whether they have played it they shrug it off by saying "oh yeah I've played that" or you try to explain what an amazing game it is and they don't take any notice?

[Nahovil]

For every person I've met who have had a Dreamcast, it is their favourite game ever, as it is mine. Granted, since I'm not a "gamer" and nobody owns a Dreamcast, they are only two.


It is impossible to measure the weight of nostalgia in loving something fondly, but one can infer it weighs heavily, particularly in people who tend to cherish times past. You had to be there if one was to have the full, enthralling and, thus, maximized, experience of being confronted with a distinct way of life while growing up in an uncharacterized European suburb.


That's not to say a grown man or woman in his 30s can't play it for the first time and not be fully captivated by it, but what will distinguish these assertions is, chiefly, a romantic and rational stance, I'd say.

[BlueMue]

It's natural that gamers may not be as impressed as we were, when the games came out. Although Shenmue is one of the most timeless games ever made it did age. Games just do that quickly and much more then movies or music.

It's just harder for them to get into it nowadays and people are just more impatient or to shallow to fully appreciate Shenmue. Not all of them though. I know someone over at the Spindash forum that started playing Shenmue in 2010 and it quickly became his favorite game of all time!

[C..]

Nobody even attempts to show any interest, if they truly knew what it was like they would be captivated like all of us are.

[mrslig100]

I played it a few years ago on nullDC (glitchy as FUCK)!!!
Id already seen 7th gen graphics.
So I only really had the game itself to fall in love with.
No "ahead of its time" shit.
No "revolutionary gameplay" crap.
Just the game for what is was.
AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT!!!
I got a sega dreamcast just to play this game!
Im not the "intended audience".
And what makes me any different from any other gamer?
anyone with a decent taste in games can tell a mile away that shenmue is a masterpiece.
If modarn gamers sat down and gave the game a chane they would fall in love with it!

[tomboz]

I recently decided to replay the Shenmue games as it had been some time since I last did. I usually try and play through them once every year - but it's probably been two years plus since I last did - owing to my Dreamcast disappearing. For that reason I opted to replay 2X first as my 360 is still hooked up. No issues there.

After competing that I started playing Shenmue with an emulator and was surprised at how dated the game felt.

Back when Shenmue was released it was the best looking game I'd ever seen. That alone made it a fantastic game to play. These days though it's nothing special and looks a little dated (understandable, obviously). All of the NPC's having dialogue was amazing at the time and so the fact that most of them just told you that they were busy wasn't really a problem when I first played. Now it just seems lazy. There were loads of things you could do outside of the story mode which gave you something to do when you had to wait for an event. Back then playing a game within a game ala outrun was cool. These days - not so much (it doesn't help that the emulator I'm using crashes when I try and play certain mini games). Analogue sticks weren't really common back then either and so controlling the game with the D-Pad wasn't an issue (I think the original Dual Shock may have been released - but most games didn't utilize the analogue sticks). Now it seems alien and very frustrating.

That's four massive issues a new player would have to overcome to enjoy the original Shenmue. Perhaps an older gamer who grew up with 8/16 bit graphics could appreciate how good Shenmue was for it's time; but to a younger gamer whose only experience with gaming is on PC/PS3/360 - Shenmue will look bad (average at best). They won't care that all NPC's have dialogue because that's common place right now - and so having to ask 10-15 people something because everyone you speak to is busy or tells you to 'kiss off' will get frustrating very quickly. The controls will be infuriating because near enough every game of the past ten years uses the analogue sticks for movement (it's second nature for me now).

The biggest issue that will prevent a new player from enjoying Shenmue will be the wait time though. I was playing yesterday and had to wait until night time to go to Heartbeats. I then had to wait until the following nighttime to get attacked and told about the tattoo parlor - and the guy there told me to wait until the next day to find Charlie. I switched the game off after being told to wait until the next day to meet Charlie at the arcade. 4 in game days for about five minutes of game-play is ridiculous. I'd forgotten how annoying the waiting in Shenmue could be and were it not for the fact that I loved the game - I think I would really struggle to get into it now.

Shenmue two is far more playable and has aged a lot better than the original game - despite the fact that when they first came out the original was my favourite. Unfortunately; playing the second game in an uncompleted series will not make sense to most people - and so I'd be surprised to see the Shenmue fan base growing too much anytime soon.

[spud1897]

I can agree with all of the above points tomboz.

I think that we all come from a time where games were varied and innovative. Shenmue comes into that mould.

The controls are dated but I do think considering its age the game looks quite good. Obviously groundbreaking at the time. I think "proper" younger gamers will get beyond the look of it. They will appreciate the story and how well it is told rather than the above flaws. Unfortunately (and I am making a bit on a generalisation here) there are not many gamers these days (in my experience) who appreciate games other than the generic stuff out there at the moment.

The wait function would have to go into the HD remake of Shenmue!

[tomboz]

I think "proper" younger gamers will get beyond the look of it. They will appreciate the story and how well it is told rather than the above flaws.

I'd have to disagree. I think it takes a certain level of perseverance to get to a point in the game where the story really becomes captivating. I was hooked from the beginning when I first played the game because the graphics were revolutionary; but the quality of the game's visuals aren't anything special by today's standards. With that in mind I really don't see new players willing to give the game enough time for it to get good.

As you say - the wait feature would have to be added to an HD port; but I worry that would make the game incredibly short and also rather disjointed. If you consider the actual gameplay involved in the original Shenmue - my guess would be that the game would be completable within two hours if the wait function is added. In this day and age that just isn't long enough (nor has it been since the days of the SNES).

Perhaps if Shenmue 1 and 2 were released as a continuous game that would address the issue; but I don't see Sega doing that as it will halve the money generated through the re-releases. It would also require the first game to be reworked to match the style of Shenmue 2 (IE, they'd have to improve the gameplay a little, alter the controls, add conversation options, gambling, the wait function, etc).

I read a post on here not too long ago regarding the format of any future Shenmue game(s) and can't help but feel that a complete title is the only way to go for the above reason(s). HD ports of the games wouldn't do too much in terms of bringing in new fans to the series because of how dated they've become and poor sales/reviews of the ports would be damaging to the future of the series.

[mrslig100]

I'd have to disagree. I think it takes a certain level of perseverance to get to a point in the game where the story really becomes captivating. I was hooked from the beginning when I first played the game because the graphics were revolutionary; but the quality of the game's visuals aren't anything special by today's standards. With that in mind I really don't see new players willing to give the game enough time for it to get good.

Ive shown shenmue to people younger than me.
All they needed was my word that the game was good.
Same principles apply for everyone else*

[C..]

Realistically all the points everyone has mentioned each are correct in their own way, in my opinion like that it has been mentioned only people who are gamers wanting to find something different or if you are good friends with someone and they see you playing shenmue and become interested that is really the only ways people are going to become interested.