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Old 07-08-2015, 01:02 PM   #26
Talon87
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So long as we hit $8 million, I'll be happy. I would like for Bailu Village (which is legendary in Shenmue lore) to have more to it, but it doesn't strictly have to. But the combat needs to be A-grade. It's frankly somewhat embarrassing just how outdated the Virtua Fighter engine in Shenmue 2 (2001) is for a game that is ostensibly "a story-driven martial arts game." I'm mostly here for the grand story and wonderful characters, yes, but I'd really love for the grandfather of 3-D fighters, Yu Suzuki, to re-invent the wheel from scratch using everything he knows today and all the modern tools at his disposal.

That stated, hitting $11 million would be a dream come true. The geographic scope of Shenmue 2 coupled with the open world depth of Shenmue 1 coupled with modern graphics and a cutting-edge fighting engine ... YES PLOX.
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Old 07-08-2015, 05:50 PM   #27
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Not sure if you've ever heard of it, but a lot of fans liken Sleeping Dogs to a Shenmue for the modern age. Sleeping Dogs does have a fantastic open world and combat system, so if they looked to that for inspiration on where to take the game, then I imagine that would be great.
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Old 07-08-2015, 06:27 PM   #28
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Originally Posted by deoxys View Post
Not sure if you've ever heard of it, but a lot of fans liken Sleeping Dogs to a Shenmue for the modern age. Sleeping Dogs does have a fantastic open world and combat system, so if they looked to that for inspiration on where to take the game, then I imagine that would be great.
The comparison I always hear, even/especially within the Shenmue community, is the Yakuza series of games. Sadly, this series too is cursed in the West! ^^; Not internationally, mind: just in the West. Apparently they didn't bring one of the Yakuza titles over to America because of projected poor sales? I can't even imagine. That would be like bringing over Shenmue 1, Shenmue 2, and Shenmue 4 but leaving Shenmue 3 as a Japan-only exclusive. But yeah, putting such cursed luck aside, I hear that if you want to play "the spiritual successor to Shenmue" you're supposed to play the Yakuza games. *shrug* No idea. Never played 'em.

That stated, I'll try to remember your recommendation for Sleeping Dogs.

That stated that stated, my attitude towards both Sleeping Dogs and Yakuza is, "But it's not Shenmue. " Gotta be Shenmue, man. Nothin' can replace Shenmue. And that's in large part because of the story to which and the characters to whom I am so attached. You can't just tell me, "Well, these games are Shenmue clones! So enjoy! " and expect me to get over Shenmue. Even if I enjoy Shenmue's spiritual successors or clones, I'll always want closure on Shenmue. I think a lot of my fellow fans feel the same way. It'd be like saying to a Firefly fan that some other science fiction show was "the spiritual successor to Firefly." Doesn't matter. You fell in love with that tale, with that universe. I could gush at length about Shenmue, but suffice it to say that the characters I so love in Shenmue are so perfectly suited to the world in which Yu Suzuki has written them.
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Old 07-08-2015, 07:50 PM   #29
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Totally. Nothing can replace the original that pioneered it all. And as you said, fans deserve good closure to the series - even though...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yu Suzuki
“Yes indeed, the story is far away from being completed and to be honest, I do not think that it’s possible to end it during Shenmue III. If I had to do it my way, players would experience the ending during Shenmue V. But that seems to be a lot so I’m going to try to finish it within the next 2 games.”
So! Hopefully Shenmue 3 will be a success and the jumpstart the series needs to get people talking and investors happy to pour some into Shenmue 4, and hopefully Shenmue 4 doesn't turn out to be the next Shenmue 3!
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Old 07-08-2015, 08:50 PM   #30
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Yes, I understand all of that already. I'm not saying that Shenmue III will provide me with closure in the sense of "it will give me the very end of the tale." I simply mean that not having Shenmue III ensures no closure, and that having Shenmue III is a necessary step towards / a part of said closure.

Believe me when I say, I'm actually quite happy / relieved to hear that Shenmue III won't be wrapping things up entirely. It means that we get that much more story -- assuming III's length isn't compromised, of course, and that it'll be roughly as meaty as II was. While I dread the outcome where III is deemed to be yet another commercial failure and this kills off Shenmue's chances for future official games in the main series once and for all, I am optimistic that we're best off with a Shenmue III that doesn't wrap up the tale than we are with one that does.

Suzuki saying that the story should end in Shenmue V makes a lot of sense to me from where we stand looking at the end of Shenmue II. It definitely feels like the end of the second act in a five-act play. While I think it's possible that he could end it well in just four games, I imagine that having five games to work with would give him the artistic freedom to end Shenmue IV in a narratively appropriate place. Shenmue II, while it ends with one of the most legendary cliffhangers in all of gaming, still ended on a motherfucking sweet cliffhanger. Like, it would've been well received with all big smiles if we had gotten Shenmue III by 2004. It's only because we didn't that such a sweet cliffhanger became such a painful, tragic one for the community. Getting to do five Shenmue games would probably mean that Shenmue IV ends in a similar way to how Shenmue II ends -- the same sort of "OMG WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" crazy cliffhanger -- whereas only getting to do four games would mean that Suzuki would be forced to situate that climax or plot twist in the middle of IV+V, where the player can then immediately move on with the game and reach the ending in mere hours, rather than being able to situate it at the tail end of a game where he can force the player, as an artist forcing his patrons, to chew on that scene for the next two to three years while they wait for the next game to come out and to answer their burning questions.

The comparison I would make is, imagine if J.K. Rowling had been in a similar position with Harry Potter to what Yu Suzuki is in with Shenmue: it would be like if we imagined her saying, "I'd prefer to tell Harry's tale across seven books, but if you forced me to do it then I could do it in six." And she merges Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince into one omnibus tale. Such that {character}'s death at the end of Book 5 becomes an intermission marker on the road to all the goodies Book 6 revealed rather than being this big, emotional note on which we ended Book 5 and then had to wait two years for for closure.

As many a fan has noted on the Shenmue Dojo forums, on Twitter, and elsewhere: it's okay. It's gonna be okay. We're getting Shenmue III.
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Old 07-10-2015, 05:55 PM   #31
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Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
The comparison I always hear, even/especially within the Shenmue community, is the Yakuza series of games.
Those people are dumb ~_~ The two series are nothing alike.

Quote:
Sadly, this series too is cursed in the West! ^^; Not internationally, mind: just in the West. Apparently they didn't bring one of the Yakuza titles over to America because of projected poor sales?
We got Yakuza, Yakuza 2, Yakuza 3: Butchered Edition, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza: Dead Souls (which no anywhere wanted ever).

We're missing Yakuza Kenzan (ps3), Yakuza: Black Panther (psp), Yakuza: Black Panther 2 (psp), Yakuza 5 (coming to the west summer 2015... changed to fall 2015, digital only), Yakuza Issin (ps3/ps4), and Yakuza 0 (ps3/ps4) an whatever they have planned next!

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I can't even imagine.
*looks at Earthbound 2, Shining Force 3 Pt.2 & 3, .hack//Link & Versus, AA Investigations 2, PSP2i & PSO2, Valkyria Chronicles 3, fucking Dragon Quest games, etc...*
Its not hard ta imagine reality ;_;
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Old 07-10-2015, 07:35 PM   #32
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One person asks:

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@yu_suzuki_jp Will the story and plot of Shenmue 3 be accessible to newcomers who are unable to play Shenmue 1 and 2? #YouaskYu
With all due respect, OH GOD, I HOPE NOT! I hope that Yu treats Shenmue 3 just like he treated Shenmue 2 in this regard. Shenmue is an epic, not a weekly serial. You don't write The Two Towers in such a way that it makes perfect sense to people who skipped over The Fellowship of the Ring. You don't write Deathly Hallows in such a way that it makes perfect sense to someone who's never read a Harry Potter book in their life. So you don't write Shenmue 3 in such a constrained, impotent manner as to make it "newb-friendly"! You don't do that! If you want Shenmue 3 to make sense to you, you have lots of options, lady. Ruining Shenmue 3's presentation is not one of them. You can play the old games, watch someone else do it on Twitch or YouTube, or read a plot synopsis on Wikipedia.

I am a-okay with Yu including a 10-minute cinematic synopsis of Shenmue 1 (just like he did at the start of Shenmue 2) and another 10-minute cinematic synopsis of Shenmue 2 right before Shenmue 3's first chapter begins. I am also fine with him including longer versions as stand-alone videos to be watched, as he did with Shenmue 2x (the North American release on XBox).
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Old 07-10-2015, 08:45 PM   #33
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Ya really! They dun need to burn precious time an money retreading old stuff for the sake of newcomers!
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Old 07-11-2015, 07:42 AM   #34
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The Kickstarter has been releasing video interviews with various staff members over the past few weeks. One of my favorites came out a few days ago: an interview with Takimoto Manabu, a bonafide architect who worked on Shenmue 1 and has returned to work on Shenmue 3. Just listen to his credentials at the start of the video and be amazed! Suzuki-sensei has been releasing on Twitter some of Mr. Takimoto's blueprints for various buildings planned for Shenmue 3 -- and they are really cool!



Here's the first floor of an inn in Choubu Village. Here's the second floor and here's a closer look at the interior of one of the rooms. It's really neat to think that each building in the game, or at least each major building, is being constructed as though it were a real building to be built in the real world, with actual floor plans and everything. I'm not sure how many game studios do things like this for their video games but I have to imagine it's few and far between.

Find an interview you like and watch it, but I definitely recommend the one with the architect since it clearly comes across that he is interested in carrying on the legacy of Shenmue, i.e. he wants to make the rooms in these games feel as real and used/lived in as possible.
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Old 07-11-2015, 04:47 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
One person asks:


With all due respect, OH GOD, I HOPE NOT! I hope that Yu treats Shenmue 3 just like he treated Shenmue 2 in this regard. Shenmue is an epic, not a weekly serial. You don't write The Two Towers in such a way that it makes perfect sense to people who skipped over The Fellowship of the Ring. You don't write Deathly Hallows in such a way that it makes perfect sense to someone who's never read a Harry Potter book in their life. So you don't write Shenmue 3 in such a constrained, impotent manner as to make it "newb-friendly"! You don't do that! If you want Shenmue 3 to make sense to you, you have lots of options, lady. Ruining Shenmue 3's presentation is not one of them. You can play the old games, watch someone else do it on Twitch or YouTube, or read a plot synopsis on Wikipedia.

I am a-okay with Yu including a 10-minute cinematic synopsis of Shenmue 1 (just like he did at the start of Shenmue 2) and another 10-minute cinematic synopsis of Shenmue 2 right before Shenmue 3's first chapter begins. I am also fine with him including longer versions as stand-alone videos to be watched, as he did with Shenmue 2x (the North American release on XBox).
Man I seriously hope they don't do that :c
That would be the worst thing, though I'm kind of afraid they might considering the last game was released fifteenish years ago and therefore might not appeal to the current populace otherwise.

Like I'd still totally buy it because I played the first two but I'm unsure of what the opinions would be of those who didn't play the original two.
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Old 07-11-2015, 07:05 PM   #36
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As someone who hasn't played any of the Shenmue games (yet still excited for the third installment because fantasy project), I'd say a good way to deal with this is to make the first two games available for purchase again on PSN/Steam/Etc. I mean yeah, you could say to just watch Let's Plays or Longplays, or whatever. But wouldn't Talon agree that Shenmue is an experience? Something that needs to be played to truly enjoy?

Although, doesn't SEGA still have the rights to the first two? I'm hoping Yu and SEGA can work something out to rerelease the games. Otherwise, Talon's suggestions on making cinematics for the first two inside Shenmue III is fine.
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Old 07-11-2015, 08:14 PM   #37
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Originally Posted by DarkLucarioADV View Post
But wouldn't Talon agree that Shenmue is an experience? Something that needs to be played to truly enjoy?
Personal experience: Shenmue II was my first game. That may be, and probably is, a large contributing factor to why I enjoy II so much more than I. (But there are many other factors as well.) So while on the one hand I feel qualified to weigh in that it's better to play Shenmue than to watch somebody else play it, on the other hand I feel equally qualified to weigh in and say that it's okay for your first exposure to Shenmue to be watching someone else play it.

Me, I played II and watched 1 played courtesy of the Shenmue: the Movie bonus disc included with all copies of Shenmue II for XBox in North America. (You can watch that same video right here on YouTube.) It wasn't until many years later that I watched someone play the full game -- and not owning a Dreamcast nor a computer powerful enough to emulate Dreamcast games, I still have yet to play Shenmue 1 myself! But I have seen several different people play it several different times and I have enjoyed it every time.

My sister, she both watched Shenmue: the Movie and then proceeded to watch me play Shenmue II. So she's never played either game, but she's familiar with both the core plot events of Shenmue 1 as well as the full details of Shenmue 2. She hadn't seen Shenmue II in years -- probably not since that fateful Christmas of 2002, in fact -- and when I was talking to her the other day about the Kickstarter and me re-watching somebody else play Shenmue II, she vaguely recalled each of the things I shared with her and delighted in rediscovering a few of them.

I would encourage anyone to play Shenmue 1 and to play Shenmue 2 for themselves if at all possible. Absolutely. I would never say as a matter of first resort, "Watch someone else play them instead." But it would be pretty strange for me of all people to insist that "you're not allowed to watch someone else play Shenmue for you" when a) it's what to this day I've done with the first game ^^; and b) it's what my beloved sister did with me and our shared Shenmue II experience twelve Christmases ago.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkLucarioADV View Post
Although, doesn't SEGA still have the rights to the first two? I'm hoping Yu and SEGA can work something out to rerelease the games. Otherwise, Talon's suggestions on making cinematics for the first two inside Shenmue III is fine.
Sega does still retain the rights to the first two games, yes. There's been talk amongst the Shenmue faithful that:
  1. there are secret Kickstarter goals in between $5 million and $6 million because the background artwork conspicuously breaks right around that point and because it's questionable that they chose to leave a $900,000 gulf in between the previous stretch goal and the next knowing full well that that could annihilate final-day donations beyond $5 million.
  2. that Shenmue 1 & 2 HD remakes would be great Kickstarter stretch goals to incentivize further donations from both the older fans and newcomers alike
  3. that a recent tweet by Shibuya Productions' president and CEO, Cedric Biscay, indicates that a Shenmue 1 & 2 HD remake Kickstarter stretch goal (phew! long noun phrase! ) is forthcoming
Whether that will prove true or not remains to be seen, but I think that it would be pretty fortunate for the Shenmue III Kickstarter if they could staple onto it the 1 & 2 HD remakes as stretch goals.

Thing is, I doubt this will happen. Reason being, who's footing the bill of the remakes? Certainly not the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter. Not for only a few hundred thousand dollars! (Which is all that it could be if you were going to squeeze it in between $5 million and $6 million without severely impacting the intended budget allocation for the $6 million stretch goal.) And if it's to be Sega who's funding it, well then why should they hitch their horse to Shenmue 3's wagon anyway at this point? Like, I could understand the wagon hitching if this were before the KS had even launched. But it has launched! And raised over $4 million! Why would Sega need to see now ... yeah, I'm babbling. The point is, I don't think the HD remakes will be stretch goals.

However! It would behoove Sega to make a Shenmue 1 & 2 HD if:
  1. they're still getting money from somewhere
  2. they'd like to turn their eye to any of their non-Sonic IPs for a change
Sonic Boom's shown us that Sega still can't fix Sonic and/or still can't satisfy the Sonic fandom. So why keep trying? You've done nothing but pump out Sonic game after Sonic game after Sonic game for the better part of the past ten years, guys. Maybe it's time to look back at Virtua Fighter (last core installment was 2006; last update was 2012), Shenmue, and some of the other games Yu Suzuki made that helped you guys to become a powerhouse in the early 1990s. Like, where the fuck is our 21st-century Hang-On for the Oculus Rift? This should be a no brainer: you make arcade cabinets with a secured motorcyclist helmet; the "helmet" is actually a decorated Oculus Rift (or other VR headset); the player sits down on the replica motorcycle in the arcade cabinet; they put on the "helmet"; and voilŕ -- they see before them the world of the video game as though they were really riding the motorcycle.

But I digress.
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Old 07-11-2015, 09:03 PM   #38
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Well I wasn't implying that you must absolutely play Shenmue I or II for yourself in order to enjoy it. But yeah I totally agree with you, you don't need to play a game to enjoy it really. I mean, I like Xenoblade yet I don't have it because there aren't many copies of the Wii version still around. But, making the past Shenmue games more accessible is still a good idea. It allows more people to actually play the game besides emulation or having to buy a Dreamcast, Xbox, and the two Shenmue games. I mean, I guess you can say Xenoblade got more accessible due to being rereleased on the New 3DS, for an example.

So, how would this remake be like? Just a more polished version of the game in terms of graphics without any changes to story, characters, music, etc? On another note, how'd you classify the HD versions of Sonic Adventure and it's sequel? Aside from a few online features and slightly changed graphics, there aren't many major differences. I was thinking SEGA could do something like that, it shouldn't be that expensive to copy that approach, after all. But I know nothing of game design, so.

An actual remake of the first two Shenmue titles would be pretty cool though, but I'd like to see them finish Shenmue III first.
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Old 07-12-2015, 10:33 PM   #39
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So while this doesn't have any real relevance to Shenmue 3, I've got a slight question.

So I recently found a Dreamcast disc in my basement called Shenmue: Passport, which, after a bit of googling, was apparently for something online related to the first game. Seeing how the whole DC online experience is pretty much nonexistent now, does this have any real use?

Also should I attempt to find the disc for the first game
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Old 07-12-2015, 11:02 PM   #40
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So, how would this remake be like? Just a more polished version of the game in terms of graphics without any changes to story, characters, music, etc? On another note, how'd you classify the HD versions of Sonic Adventure and it's sequel? Aside from a few online features and slightly changed graphics, there aren't many major differences. I was thinking SEGA could do something like that, it shouldn't be that expensive to copy that approach, after all. But I know nothing of game design, so.
I'm not qualified to answer how easy or difficult it would be to make this, DLADV. Sorry! ^^; I've read some fans' posts in which they suggest it would be super easy, and I've read other fans' posts in which they suggest it would be quite difficult and time consuming. If you want my unqualified opinion, I lean far towards the latter camp. While I think things like buildings and other C+P texture-able surfaces could be handled somewhat more easily, I think it'd be pretty difficult to account for all of the unique facial textures and object textures. You see, every face in Shenmue is unique and is (afaik) manually designed to ensure it looks as much like an authentic real person as possible. That is to say, they're not RNGed, they're not generated in real time by a face-generating engine or algorithm. They're pre-rendered textures. So like, that's a problem right there. Then you have all of the unique books, magazines, photographs, etc. It's a lot of textures. A lot a lot of textures. But hey! If it's easy to do, then cool. It would mean our chances for an HD remake of Shenmue 1 & 2 are that much higher.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Crys View Post
So while this doesn't have any real relevance to Shenmue 3, I've got a slight question.

So I recently found a Dreamcast disc in my basement called Shenmue: Passport, which, after a bit of googling, was apparently for something online related to the first game. Seeing how the whole DC online experience is pretty much nonexistent now, does this have any real use?

Also should I attempt to find the disc for the first game
If you already own it, then yes, you should definitely attempt to find your game disc for Shenmue 1. Not only because it's a great game but because its current value ranges from $60 used on up to ludicrous prices for unopened copies. $60 may not sound like much but for a 16-year old game that's pretty valuable. (Disclaimer: current price is caused by a Shenmue III excitement bubble. Likely to crash back down in a few months' time, but I don't think it'll drop quite as low as it was before the Shenmue III announcement.)

As for what the Passport is ...
Quote:
The passport disc contains 4 elements. Instructions from the various characters on game-play elements, movie clips you have unlocked during game-play, themes and soundtracks you have unlocked during game-play and your "passport" to Shenmue Online.
"Shenmue Online" should not be confused with the MMORPG of the same name that came into being years later. This older Shenmue Online was an encyclopedia of sorts that contained biographies and other information on just about every NPC in the first game. Like ... people who you might only get four lines out of during normal gameplay, you'd learn their life story via the Passport.

I can't answer your questions very well since I have never played Shenmue 1 myself, but from what I can find it sounds like the Passport's offline components should all still work.
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Old 07-13-2015, 07:47 AM   #41
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I was one of the 270 who voted for Xiuying. I was honestly hoping she'd win and expecting she'd at least place in the top two. Really, really surprised that she ranked the lowest out of all eligible protagonists. *sigh*



Even though I hardly ever played it, I voted for duck racing since a) it's one of the most famous 'n' popular and b) I feel it is the minigame which allows for the most player control / the least random chance while still being fun. (Sorry, QTE mini-games, but you're only fun for like ten minutes tops and then you make me hate you as I either have to forfeit my winning streak just so I can go and do something else or else I have to keep on QTE'ing and being stuck there. :\ I'd like QTE mini-games a lot more if they had a natural expiration point, either based on a high score or on time played.) Of course, fandom favorite Lucky Hit wins ... even though I don't recall that many people within the fandom actually liking Lucky Hit as a way to make money or win capsules! ^^; Ah well. No reasoning with nostalgia.

Funny though how the two games in last place are the two games that the longplayer used to make big moolah in as short a time as possible. Does this mean it'll be harder to get rich quickly in Shenmue 3? ^^; We'll have to see!
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Old 07-14-2015, 03:55 PM   #42
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The Kickstarter ends on July 17. We're just three days away from the end of the funding window. While there will hopefully be future avenues to fund Shenmue III, we can't be certain of that. So whether you're a long-time fan or someone just starting out, I'd recommend that you don't miss out on what could possibly be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make Shenmue III a glorious reality.

There have been a number of fan tribute videos over the past few days. Several have moved me to tears, but unfortunately these all contain spoilers for Shenmue and Shenmue 2. (One I'll be sharing shortly goes so far as to spoil the very very end of Shenmue 2! ^^; ) It makes them difficult to share with newcomers contemplating donating to the Kickstarter since I don't want to spoil anyone's Shenmue experience, but they are such great videos that it would also be wrong not to share them.

So without further ado, two of the best tribute videos I've seen this week. Recommended for those who already know the story of Shenmue 1 & 2 and for those who are curious but sitting on the fence. If you already plan to play the games (or watch someone else play them) in the next few years? Go ahead and give these a pass for now. *sigh* :')

Spoiler: show
BORKED

First up is this fan tribute to Yu Suzuki put together by Mathew Rimmer. Hundreds of fans sent in pictures of themselves either holding up three fingers to signify Shenmue III or else holding up a sign that reads "THANK YU," a play-on words, obviously, of you and Yu. Set to one of my favorite tracks from the Shenmue series, this video overwhelmed me the first time I saw it and had my eyes bathing in saltwater. You probably won't be so overwhelmed. ^^; But it's a great video that shows just how much love and respect the Shenmue community has for Yu Suzuki.

Unfortunately, this video spoils part of the epic cliffhanger of Shenmue 2's. ^^; The spoiler goes from 3m43s to 4m01s. So I would say, look away from your screen around the 3m30s mark just to be safe and don't look back until it's been about 40 seconds. Alternatively? Complete Shenmue 2 on your own before watching this video. ^^; 'Cause yeah ... while it's a great video for existing fans, it's cruelly spoilerific for newcomers. While there are other spoilers as well, I don't think they'll be as obvious to someone unfamiliar with the games as this one spoiler is.

BORKED

Second is this video by ShenP1. It's put together using almost nothing but video and audio straight from the games. The audio can be tough to hear at times, even tougher to make out if you don't already know what to listen for, but the audio and video samples selected are both great and together they make for a powerful video. It's chock full of spoilers for Shenmue 2, unfortunately, but if you don't think you're ever going to play Shenmue anyway, then it shouldn't hurt to watch. Might even make you change your mind! None of these spoilers come from Chapter 6 (the final chapter of Shenmue 2), not do they show enough to make much spoilery sense to newcomers unfamiliar with the games.

The dialogue from this video is as follows:
Xiuying: You must not fall into an evil path. Martial arts are used to keep people alive. Don't forget that.

Ryo: I must avenge my father's murder.

Xiuying: You still don't understand. Martial arts are used to protect people's lives!

Ryo: Suppose your father was murdered! What would you do?

Xiuying: Right now, all you have on your mind is revenge. You will walk on the path of evil too!

Ryo: Look, I don't need your help.

Fuku: I know how you feel, but ... but ... it's too dangerous!

Ryo: I've made up my mind.

Fuku: What if something happens to you? I'd ... feel responsible.

Ine: I hate to say it, but ... I feel like I'm letting your father down.

Ryo: My mind is made up. I must go.

Ryo: Nozomi, are you alright?

Nozomi: It's not that, I just ... I don't want to be away from you.

Ryo: It's okay. It's all my fault.

Guizhang: Lan Di ... you're ... going after him?

Ryo: Well I just can't give up!

Chen: Your father would not have wanted you to throw your life away so senselessly.

Ryo: I don't really have a family anymore.

Ryo: I don't want to lie to you. I'm planning to find the man who killed my father.

Xiuying: My brother ... was like you. He sought revenge. And ... he was lost to the evil path. You must not succumb to the evil path!

Ryo: I will not forgive Lan Di!

Zhangyu: Be brave ... and stay calm ... to make the right decision.

Ryo: Be brave ... stay calm, in order to judge correctly.

Zhoushan: Judge yourself without conceit, and ... do not show moves thoughtlessly.

Jianmin: Every day, without neglect, keep training.

Guixiang: Without hesitation ... to do what is right!

Ryo: To act without hesitation ... to do the right thing.

Ryo: Even if I have to break the rule ...

Chen: You should not waste your life on revenge.

Ryo: Believe me: I know! But I'm prepared to take the risk.
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Old 07-15-2015, 03:56 PM   #43
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I woke up this morning an my electric was still on so... yay! I can safely put $60 towards this. It may be the only money I spend on entertainment this year (barring the internet!) an I may not get any entertainment outta it until the year 20XX but this is a thing I simply have ta do!
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Old 07-16-2015, 10:03 AM   #44
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I woke up this morning an my electric was still on so... yay! I can safely put $60 towards this. It may be the only money I spend on entertainment this year (barring the internet!) an I may not get any entertainment outta it until the year 20XX but this is a thing I simply have ta do!
Great! High five!

And I hear ya. :\ When every dollar counts, you don't go to the movies, you don't buy video games, you don't buy figurines, you don't buy books, you don't buy anything aside from groceries and paying the bills. It's a lot of YsNet to ask you to commit your one video game purchase for 2015 to this title. But I think you'll agree: we believe it'll be worth it. Definitely worth it to not miss out on this historical occasion for Shenmue fans everywhere.

I've contemplated upping my bid (hasn't everyone?) but I think I'll stay put where I am. The money that would go towards increasing my bid is better put towards purchasing a brand-new copy of Fatal Frame V to loudly dollar-vote to Nintendo and to Tecmo that we in the West love Fatal Frame and want them to resume bringing the games over here. I've already bid enough imo on the Shenmue Kickstarter. I have no regrets as far as "Are you sure you did your part to help out? " goes.
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Old 07-16-2015, 06:17 PM   #45
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Only twenty-six hours remain before the donation window for the Shenmue III Kickstarter closes! If you were planning to donate to the Kickstarter, it's gotta be now or never! Don't wait until the last second: if the KS site is hit by a ton of traffic tomorrow and goes offline again, it's unlikely that Kickstarter will re-open the donations window for YsNet for an additional day. If you have any friends or family who might be interested in Shenmue III, be sure to spread the word.

Currently it's sitting at $5.3 million. This is a lot, lot less than many fans were imagining. I told you: we'll break $5 million, maybe we'll break $6 million, but I see breaking $6 million as the likeliest million we're going to break at this point. A lot of fans pointed to other kickstarters' sigmoidal patterns with donations (lots on Days 1-3, lots on Days 28-30, and little on Days 4-27), but the thing with Shenmue III was, we had massive first-day exposure courtesy of E3. Yooka-Laylee, Bloodstained, etc. did not have that same benefit. Also, Shenmue fans tend to be somewhat more ... devoted than most fans I've met. ^^; Putting the two together, it's not going to be a surprise if 95%+ of the donations already arrived and we're only going to get the final 5% or so in these final hours. But who knows! :o We'll see, we'll see. :)
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Old 07-16-2015, 09:45 PM   #46
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Hooray for 60,000+ backers! Course some crazy peeps have multiple accounts ta get multiple loots @_@ but thats an extreme minority.

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Also, Shenmue fans tend to be somewhat more ... devoted than most fans I've met. ^^; Putting the two together, it's not going to be a surprise if 95%+ of the donations already arrived and we're only going to get the final 5% or so in these final hours. But who knows! :o We'll see, we'll see. :)
A buncha peoples are planning on upping their pledges on this last day/final hours so that'll be something. Enough ta get at least 1 battle system upgrade? Hope so!
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Old 07-17-2015, 05:15 PM   #47
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$6 million!!

And beyond?! The final 3-4 hours are here!
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Old 07-17-2015, 07:59 PM   #48
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I increased my pledge to the next tier. Kinda paranoid that it may fuck things up >.>; but I hope not! ^^;

Yu Suzuki is currently live streaming on Twitch in the final minutes of the Kickstarter. Things I've seen so far:
  • he's watched many testimonials and other journal videos on YouTube from fans, including many of the reaction videos filmed by YouTubers who were recording their reactions in real time to the E3 announcement
  • he's seen the Shenmue HD fan videos made by Korean fan noconkid using UE4 ... and hasn't just seen them, but has visited Korea to talk with noconkid in person through an interpreter! Seems like Suzuki is in serious talks with SEGA to get noconkid hired to help out with a Shenmue 1 & 2 HD port, but he falls short of confirming anything of this. Still. Hard to believe he'd fly all the way out to Korea just to say "hi"!
54 minutes to go!
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Old 07-17-2015, 08:40 PM   #49
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In an earlier video, Suzuki-sensei revealed that he had a Three Kingdoms-inspired plan for Baisha Village. Something about the village being divided into three competing factions and how you the player would choose a side.

Well, in the Twitch stream just now, Suzuki elaborated on the $5 million stretch goal which reads, "Baisha Village Expanded; Character Perspective System." He explained that the C.P.S. refers to the ability by the player to choose whether to play as Ryo, Ren, or Shenhua! Depending on who you choose to play as, you will experience the same overall timeline events in a different way. I'm speculating that this might tie in to why Baisha Village is Three Kingdoms flavored: the idea might be that Ryo is with Faction 1, Shenhua is with Faction 2, and Ren is with Faction 3 and your choice on who to play as will in turn determine which faction's POV you see the events unfold from.

But wow: confirming that the player can assume control of Ren or Shenhua ...! On the one hand, it's very exciting! On the other, I don't think I like it! ^^; I like the idea of Shenmue being 100% "the story of Ryo Hazuki as played by the player" where characters like Shenhua and Ren are anchored NPCs that cannot be influenced by the player. Getting to play as Shenhua ... I dunno! It just feels like it might de-mystify her somewhat! But who knows, who knows. And besides: if this is restricted to Baisha Village (which it may or may not be; no idea), then even if I don't like it it's not like I have to worry about it impacting the game's climax. But I dunno! It's exciting too! Playing as Shenhua or Ren ... I never even imagined such a thing!

14 minutes to go! The Kickstarter just passed $6.3 million. Can we reach $6.5 million in only fourteen minutes? Time to find out!
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Old 07-17-2015, 08:56 PM   #50
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$6,333,295 pledged of $2,000,000 goal
0 seconds to go

Its over... I'll always be wondering what the ????????? goal would've been @_@
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