What does the actual gameplay consist of?

[nonce basher]

I have always been intrigued by the Shenmue games, even back when I was a child with a PS1. I guess the Steam page kinda sums it up, but i'm hoping a Shenmue "vet" could help shed a little light on this situation.

How's the combat? How's the story? How's the combat/story ratio?

edit: I some how forgot to add my final question. Is the port decent and actually worth it? Or just a cash grab?

[True Coverage]

shenmue is a game of mystery and adventure. You basically act as a detective and hunt for clues to solve your fathers murder and track down the culprit.

The combat consists of i would say 60% QTE and 40% tekken style fighting. Thats all wrapped up in a deep intriguing story.

its definately worth the buy, i played it on dreamcast and xbox and will be picking this up too.

shenmue 3 is also in the works so this is perfect for getting up to date with the story or just as a refresh for old players

[KenW77]

Most of the game is exploring the world and talking to people, piecing together the story and looking for clues. Combat is a smaller part of the game, especially in Shenmue 1 (Shenmue 2 has more fighting). The combat is similar to a 3d fighting game like Virtua Fighter or Tekken.

[FajitaMosaic]

QTE events, playing classic SEGA games, and trying to hook up with male sailors. It was the first 3D adventure RPG with QTEs to go full on Yaoi. Dude spends the whole game searching for a senior citizen sugar daddy. Also, 6.8. In the second game, he hangs out with a teenage girl that's basically his beard.

[-__-]

Originally posted by nonce basher:

I have always been intrigued by the Shenmue games, even back when I was a child with a PS1. I guess the Steam page kinda sums it up, but i'm hoping a Shenmue "vet" could help shed a little light on this situation.

How's the combat? How's the story? How's the combat/story ratio?

edit: I some how forgot to add my final question. Is the port decent and actually worth it? Or just a cash grab?

R.E: is the port worth it?

Yes, because despite a lot of complaining threads on here from DRM whiners and the frame rate police, this collection is way, way better than the alternatives which was a.) an emulated wrapper version that SEGA didn't even want to release last gen despite a working prototype or b.) no re-release of these games at all.

These are ports from the source code, include dual language VO, a new control scheme, a revised save system in the original game, plus optional new post processing effects. It's not a comprehensive wishlist of features people wanted exactly, but there are understandably limits of what can be done with a 20 year old game, alongside the fact SEGA are not going to throw infinite amounts of money at the project they still heavily consider "risky".

As for the games themselves, Shenmue defies description in a lot of ways because it's such a mishmash of genres combined with a lot of new ideas for the time. In short (yes, this is the short version) they're a semi-open world, story based game, with action/adventure detective gameplay, side activities and mini-games (arcade games, gambling, and more), with QTE sequences*, and a real time combat system based vaguely on Virtua Fighter.

*they're still one of the best examples of this mechanic, especially in Shenmue II where it is woven into the gameplay and the story in very smart ways with subversion and evolution of a pretty simple idea.

The combat is fun, fairly easy to button mash your way through, but contains a lot of depth if you want to explore combos, complex moves, and the counter system. The original Shenmue is sparse on fights early on, but once you reach the third act of the game they're frequent and end with some pretty big battles with single, or multiple opponents. Fights in Shenmue II are more frequent, and there are quite a few optional ones hidden in story branches, secret events, and a notable side-quest involving ducks.

The story starts very strongly from the first cutscene of the original, but it's a slow burn from there as you start to unpick the mystery behind what occurs in that cutscene. It speeds up towards the end, but the original Shenmue is effectively a prologue to the true story; which is Shenmue II. In my view it is one of the best video game stories of the era it came out in, and today I think still holds up as a solid martial arts adventure with a lot of heart and soul. Just play II with Japanese VO, though.

[Citizen Cook]

Shenmue is unlike any other game.
It truly is an original experience.
You need it in your life.

[WinterzShadow]

Not to spoil too much, but you're on a quest to figure out the whereabouts of a man who shatterd your family.

[battl3hamm3r]

The Yakuza games are a good example of a game inspired by Shenmue

[-$ilver-]

I posted this in another thread so I shall again here-

[The story is very good. It is hard not to give spoilers, but you are on a quest to find the man responsible for all your troubles. The characters, your friends at least, react to you as if they know you, because it is as if you are put into Ryo's shoes. Also the story develops and the interactions change quite frequently. It is not the same one or two sentences from the same exact person all of the time.

You also have to understand that "time" has meaning in the game. Shops open and close to a set beat, although you can cheat it by distracting the owners as it would be in real life. Shops do not even open on certain days as well and quite possibly holidays, but do not quote me on that last part.

There are actual people of varying ages and genders all through out the game, from little children all the way to the elderly and they sound, act and move their own ages. The people have their own daily lives and routines and you can literally see them doing it all through out the day. You can actually trail them and generally see them leave their homes in the morning to go to work, have lunch at a ramen place, then back to work or to the pub and then as evening approaches follow them back home IF you chose too.

And the best part to me is, it all takes place in Japan! (The first game anyway.) So if you always wanted to go, this is a good way to experience it virtually. I have been to Japan recently, which was years later after the game had come out and mind you the game is set even earlier than that, but there are places I swear still looks and feels the same. Even those phones look the same, although I can not remember if they are rotary still or not, but the basic shape is the same. They were at the train stations anyway. ^_^ And when I say it looks and feels like Japan I am not saying a few houses or streets, but everything!]

There is also fighting, training your moves/skills and finding/learning new ones which could be purchased with money or learned through various ways, usually your accomplices. There are also hundreds (?) of toy capsules to collect and an actual arcade with previous SEGA/Yu Suzuki classics in it.

[WinterzShadow]

Some very good detailed post up above explain it greatly. To be as concise as possible with your questions.

1. Story - is very good, with it being the main focus of the game at the most critical points, think detective/investigate but done so so well.

2. Combat - has it's own charm, think of Teken but with more of an unforgiving mechanic, you need to master it diligently and know when to hit those buttons (real quick) at the right time. You can train/spar which ultimately affects the move you train, whether it be a Hand,Leg,Throw or all around. After enough training of a certain move, that specific move "evolves" sorta speak complete with a new animation (most of them) for better or for worse. Very thorough, great attention to detail. I don't want to go further to ruin it.

3. Story/Combat - As stated, main focus is Story with a decent amount of fights that are timed perfectly as to not clunk it down and make it solely a fighting game. That is what training is for, to be prepared for the unexpected fights which occur again and again, at key points.

4. Is it a cashgrab? Now dont be offended any "vets" out there, I am a seasoned vet just as well, but from experience and seeing how business works, I would have to say 89% is indeed a cashgrab, with the remaining 11% being a way to spread the word about the game, marketing if you will, to endorse the game in a subtle way. C'mon though, what video-game isn't a cash grab, especially Tripla AAA's...anyone want to counter this, I insist that you please do so.

Don't let #4 sway you though, it's a game that deserves to be recognized, truely a work of art, I would even dare to say a masterpiece, a flawed one, but a masterpiece nonetheless which has battled the test of time, being that it was released 1999 around Christmas time, ahhh what a joy that holiday was for me, at first me being a youngster, it was hard to figure out where to go and how to proceed to the next plot device. However, it leaves one with such a curiosity that you simply must find out whats next. I need to shut up now because I can go all day with this one. I'll leave it as this

Shenmue is unlike any other game out there, the MUSIC (best) combined with the atmosphere/environment (Amazing) taking the role as Straight-Edge Ryo, (School Boy ^.^)exploring a mini town which would feel absoutely AMAZING to walk around in in real-life. Just gotta pay attention and do your best to tune out of everyday struggles one encounters in the real world, play it with a fresh/open mind, super focused, and you won't be disappointed, I gurantee it. This is coming from a seasoned vet (nerd fanboy) who simply just loves this game. Ok, again, time for me to take it down a notch :) Hope that helps without helping too much. Concise went out the window after #2. Peace

[-$ilver-]

I wonder if it will start with the Yu Suzuki brand in the beginning or simply replaced with "SEGA". <_<

[Ǵ̶͓̂͑lí̴̤̀̄́tcĥ̸]

The story, while a simple revenge plot at its core, is very engaging and the relationship between the two individuals that are the cause of your/Ryo's troubles and what they were guarding/after is mysterious enough to keep you wondering the entire time. A lot of it revolves around East Asian mysticism without going full supernatural, staying almost entirely grounded in realism, with a pretty big emphasis on martial arts and a few big macguffins. There's also a nice host of well written side characters. Anything beyond that would be spoilerish but I do have to be fair and warn you that S2 ends in a massive cliff hanger. S3 is coming and will continue the story.

Aside from pioneering QTEs (and they're actually good in this game, though frequent), the best way to describe the combat is a Beat'Em'Up (Final Fight, Streets of Rage, etc.) with Fighting game mechanics similar to Virtua Fighter or a bit of Tekken Light (but a lot more moves all packed into one player/character). These scenarios mostly happen in instances that flow in and out of the usual story nice and organically, and aside from groups of enemies that can usually be taken out in 2-4 combos or moves each, there are also a few pretty cool more strategic 1v1s throughout.

The rest of the game plays out like a third person life sim (can have a paying job with a schedule, NPCs are on schedules, there is a time mechanic and cycle, time-killers like arcades, side-quests here and there, etc.) with minor investigative mechanics mostly in the form of clues derived from conversation, but also bits of espionage and gathering minor macguffins and clues. All in a series of nicely contained, lively, well crafted open sandboxes in 1980s Japan and Hong Kong, and a bit beyond. Good music as well.

Combat / Story&Cutscenes / Free Time&Investigation ratios are about (out of 10):
3.8 / 2.2 / 4 I guess. Hard to figure a way to divide/categorize them.

But those numbers are mostly if you just rush through the game as linearly as possible. You can spend a lot of time doing the Free Time & Investigation stuff before proceeding with the story if you want (you usually have said free time during investigations, and finishing investigations proceeds with the story) due to side content or whatever. Some of which involves optional combat scenarios as well which can increase the combat ratio. In other words much of the game lets you set your own pace, and altogether there is a good balance.

[-$ilver-]

If you want to learn Japanese kanji, you can easily get an app on your phone or use a dictionary and find the corresponding kanji with in the game. However some names like apartments, since they can be funky just like in real life, have odd names and thus it will throw you off. But regular "business" names, store names and signs should be pretty accurate.

Also the names of people and the cities/districts are good. YAMANOSE (山の瀬) for instance, the YAMA is made with the mountain kanji that looks like a W with the far left and right being shorter than the middle strokes. NO is actually hiragana (and looks like an "e" but 1/4 turned clockwise and spun around), while the SE is a kanji I can not describe here. Even the broken sign in the beginning has real meaning in it. There is a lot to be learned by just studying the game.

I hope they allow for both the Japanese spoken and reading and we also have the option to have it half and half with English for listening and or reading and the Japanese opposite. But do not be put off if you do not want to learn Japanese. By looking/zooming, you usually get a translation instantly.