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[LelouchViBritannia]

To this day i haven't seen another game do something so daring. Disc 4 essentially has the main character walk through a forest, perform QTE's and to talk to a young girl for 3-5 hours. While on paper that sounds crazy, I personally found it to be one of the most magical moments in all of gaming.

I got the impression that prior to this chapter Ryo was dead set on revenge and didn't give a damn about anyone other than Lan Di. However, whilst talking to

Spoiler

Shenhua

, he seem to reflect a lot on his life and show compassion towards his friends and those that surrounded him in Hong Kong. It really showed a lot of character development.

Add to that the music of Disc 4 (Guilin) which was phenomenal, the beautiful environments, and the OMG ending, I found it to be a very enjoyable experience.

That's all my opinion though, I know some people that didn't like it at all. Im curious to see what you guys think?

P.S Always loved this scene ever since i was a kid

Ryo practicing Tai Chi on the mountain

 

[Wario64]

5 hours? I think you're exaggerating a bit there

 

[Dennis]

All of Shenmue 2 was magical. Including Disc 4.

 

[TRI Mike]

I remember this part. It was weird because it's pretty different to the rest of the game but I honestly enjoyed it a lot.

 

[VeryGooster]

WHEN ARE THEY GONNA GET TO THE FIREWORKS FACTORY??

I don't know how I'd feel about it now, but back then it was kind of a nice break after all the craziness in Kowloon.

 

[Aostia]

5 hours? I think you're exaggerating a bit there

I agree...from what I remember, it was long, but especially because of the srange pace it had. In any case, I loved it, even if I knew I was going to face the uncompleted end of the saga (still pending)

 

[SEGAvangelist]

It was a nice change of pace, but I don't remember it being 5 hours.

 

[LelouchViBritannia]

5 hours? I think you're exaggerating a bit there

Probably just my slow butt taking forever to walk through that forest

 

[scarybore]

Very different and the first time I played it I was a bit nonplussed, especially after the amazing heights of disc 3, but after subsequent playthroughs I fell in love with it.

 

[LelouchViBritannia]

Very different and the first time I played it I was a bit nonplussed, especially after the amazing heights of disc 3, but after subsequent playthroughs I fell in love with it.

Yh, Ive heard that same reaction from a good amount of ppl.

 

[Spaghetti]

a really interesting change of pace for a relatively lively game. the action completely ends at the end of disk 3. disk 4 is sort of like... a debriefing, or a 'cool down' after a workout.

quite a lot of things change, it sticks you on a linear path and becomes entirely dialogue based, even the audio cues for the QTEs change briefly to signify that you're not really in any actual danger during the running through the forest sequences. it's very much a character piece chapter, introducing shenhua and developing her relationship with ryo.

ryo himself is rather different in this part too. shenmue 2 in general does a good job of developing him by bringing his more negative character traits like impatience, recklessness, sexism, and aggressiveness to the surface, but the finale of disk three is all about him confronting these traits and overcoming them through martial arts discipline. in guilin ryo is much calmer than he has been in the rest of shenmue 2 and much more in touch with himself and his kung fu, hence the tai chi practice on the mountain.

 

[ComputerMKII]

It's short and mundane. It's an epilogue, if anything - or an interlude before a new chapter that never came.

 

[Lucent]

I found this part very odd. I was like "wow! The game is still going?! I get to do more?!" and then it just stops. The end. Go home! lol

Never would've thought we'd be left without a sequel back then. =/

 

[Rising_Hei]

It was 2 hours or even less.
All i remember is that it was magical and very well done, it was the calm we get before the storm (which we never got >_<)
It's been almost 13 years already... this is a pain

 

[openrob]

Have to mostly agree with most posts so far.

I feel that it bought back something from the first game in some way. Not quite sure what it was, but apart from the martial arts and the crazy action introduced in 2, but the first game was a window into Chinese culture which you were experiencing along side Ryo.

Scenes such as anything in Russia China shop, the exploration of the basement etcetera...

The disk 4 bought the game back to this for me.

However that last cave scene still baffles me.

Spoiler

sword of seven stars like what!

 

[Shion]

Felt different.

Kinda like a prologue for Shenmue III.

 

[Het_Nkik]

I thought it was the perfect way to unwind, decompress, and think about what Ryo had been through and what was still coming up.

It was super chill and I love it.

 

[bishopcruz]

It was glorious. I really felt like the saga was was finally starting, then it ended. Still amazing, though. Best part was this: Shenhua Sings

God that was amazing.

 

[IrishNinja]

still one of the most magical experiences ive had in gaming, absolutely unforgettable.

It was glorious. I really felt like the saga was was finally starting, then it ended. Still amazing, though. Best part was this: Shenhua Sings

God that was amazing.

also this, song is haunting.

 

[arglebargle]

I have loved this chapter since I first played it. Walking on those cliffs by the water was especially beautiful. I've always wanted a good pic of that as a background but never found a satisfactory one.

I'll never give up hope for getting Ryo out of that cave.

 

[I'm new be nice]

It felt like the game could go anywhere at that point, like all these game mechanics you had become familiar with no longer applied in this new land and everything would change.

 

[LelouchViBritannia]

 

[Fraxin]

I pretty much enjoyed it. The music and atmosphere became suddenly calm after the first 3 disks. I also enjoyed the environment, made me think of going to Guilin one day.