Shenmue 2 is AWFUL!!!

[j4ck_fl4sh_3k]

There is a reason that this game franchise failed and that is that it just wasn't very good, Shenmue 1 is a classic, but I feel most of my love for that game was the promise of carrying over all your progress from game to game... however there really is not point in training because the only moves that are worth using are the basic kicks and punches, I mean you'll only be in 11 fights anyway. (and about 100 QTE's... hooray!)

And the entire Guilin walking sections... WTF was they thinking? What are the fan base thinking? This is not a good game.

[AC Denton]

Shenmue 2 is a lot better than 1. 1 has nostalgia too it but 2 is better in pretty much every way.
As for it failing, both Shenmue 1 and 2 didn't turn a profit. It's as simple as that not many people played the games. Not that it was entirely their fault, the games are great; they just released at a really bad time for Sega, as the Dreamcast sales dropped alongside the Playstation 2's release and a swift exit from the hardware market by Sega.

[j4ck_fl4sh_3k]

Shenmue 2 adds nothing and takes lots away... Yeah the DC flopped but thats no reasons for the game flopping as 2 was release on the Xbox... and it still bombed, I'm not surprised. I played both 1 and 2 on the dreamcast and felt the same, 1 was great... 2 was not, its okay.

[Chunkarock]

Yeah, the 2 games really showed their ages. I still like them because of the nostalgia, but if I had to play them now, I'd get bored immediately.

[Nebgama]

Yep dreamcast was a dicey platform to begin with it had a bad launch timing. Not to mention it did not make anywhere as much in sales compared to the competitors.

They nearly pulled the system completely and it was supposed to be their saving grace in the console market.

[Nebgama]

I agree shenmue 2 is still good it has a bit more polish to it and is like the original still.

If any of them are bad then 3 looks the worst have not played it and never will.

[YellowJello]

The last 90 to 120 minutes of Shenmue 2 are rough, I'll agree to that. It should have been the beginning of the third game, and only about 15 minutes at that instead of over an hour. Still, though, I think I like Shenmue 2 just as much as the first game. It's a fascinating trek into pre-GTA 3 open world games and the attention to detail is still something you don't see often even in modern titles.

As for why they failed, it's not because the games were bad, it's because it would have been impossible to turn a profit off of them. Between the two games there was about $80 million in production costs and, as far as I'm aware, it's not reported how much went into publicity, but it's safe to say that was probably another $10-20 million. In order to turn a profit they would have had to sell a copy of both games to every Dreamcast owner twice.

Bad planning, but not bad games.

[Dust]

Honestly, it's my opinion too. Kinda ashamed of that since everyone and their mother seem to think that Shenmue 2 is the holy grail or something, but I thought it had downgraded the combat so hard that spamming punch was the best option at any time and you could come out of any 1v1 without losing any health, the new characters were annoying at best, the maps just lacked the readability and the NPCs' personalities and complexity of the first game's, the animations were sped up way beyond what was required making them feel cheap to me, the list goes on.

Ironically, the hike was by far my favorite section of the game. Of the franchise, even. I just loved walking across China and seeing Ryo making friends with Shenhua.

[YellowJello]

Originally posted by Dust:

Honestly, it's my opinion too. Kinda ashamed of that since everyone and their mother seem to think that SHenmue 2 is the holy grail or something, but I thought it had downgraded the combat so har that spamming punch was the best option at any time, the characters were awful, the maps just lacked the readability and the NPCs of the first game's, the animations were sped up way beyond what was required making them feel cheap to me, the list goes on.

Ironically, the hike was by far my favorite section of the game. Of the franchise, even. I just loved walking across China and seeing Ryo making friends with Shenhua.

You take that back! Delin is the crown jewel of video game characters!

..Next to Tom, of course.

[Dust]

Originally posted by YellowJello:

You take that back! Delin is the crown jewel of video game characters

MIGI
YOISHO
MIGI MIGI
HIDARI HIDARI HIDARI
MIGI MIGI MIGI

Neeeever wanna see another crate in my life.

[Silavahammas]

Originally posted by j4ck_fl4sh_3k:

Shenmue 2 adds nothing and takes lots away... Yeah the DC flopped but thats no reasons for the game flopping as 2 was release on the Xbox... and it still bombed, I'm not surprised. I played both 1 and 2 on the dreamcast and felt the same, 1 was great... 2 was not, its okay.

Releasing a sequel to different console without first game probably wasn't the smartest move, but it was the only one at that time, imagine if both Shenmue I & II had Ps2 versions.
Instead Shenmue 3 Sega wasted millions on Shenmue online, which was never finished.
The series is cursed, but I still love Shenmue 2 to pieces, art, music, places you visit. And dialogue system has so much depth I still find new things every playthrough. That final 1,5 trek through Guilin mountains was such a ballsy move I wish more games would dare to take their time. (personal opinion of course)

[solidap]

Neither game failed and the series was profitable. Shenmue 1 was the best selling game on Dreamcast, IIRC.

Yu Suzuki himself said all the estimated Shenmue budgets are way off the mark. It wasn't nearly as expensive as people claim it was.

[YellowJello]

Originally posted by solidap:

Neither game failed and the series was profitable. Shenmue 1 was the best selling game on Dreamcast, IIRC.

Yu Suzuki himself said all the estimated Shenmue budgets are way off the mark. It wasn't nearly as expensive as people claim it was.

The budget for both the first games together was around $80 million not including marketing. It was impossible for them to turn a profit. The budget is well known and documented, it's even on record with the Guinness book of world records. It's been surpassed (obviously), but it held the record for the highest budget game of all time for a while.

If the series was profitable we would have gotten part 3 20 years ago.

[Nebgama]

^ Yeah and part three would of been better than the part 3 we got now because it would of been on the same timeline IRL as the other games.

Would most likely have similar assets/art style/graphics to its predecessors instead we got this new age garbage that has the audacity to even call itself a Shenmue game.

[YellowJello]

Originally posted by Nebgama:

^ Yeah and part three would of been better than the part 3 we got now because it would of been on the same timeline IRL as the other games.

Would most likely have similar assets/art style/graphics to its predecessors instead we got this new age garbage that has the audacity to even call itself a Shenmue game.

Oh don't be such a boo hoo. The graphics are much, much better than they were before. The first two games were stylized, I don't see any reason that the third wouldn't be. It had like a third of the budget and they took it way further than anyone thought they could.

[Nebgama]

meh i have a right to my opinion just as much as you do. Why do i feel this way? Because i prefer the graphics styling for the first two games.

Don't fkn tell me how i should think either or that i am being a party pooper you fkn took it there.