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[Peltz]

Today, right after this post, I'll start playing Shenmue for the first time. I'm really excited after having put this off for well over a decade.

I acquired the EU version last summer after the Shenmue III announcement, but in truth, the series always looked cool to me and I've always wanted to dedicate some serious time to it.

I finally have the equipment to make this adventure count. And that's in part why I've always delayed starting this journey until now... I really wanted the best setup possible to enjoy the adventure. I already know it's going to have a special place in my heart based on footage I've seen and my respect the man who made it... I love all Yu Suzuki's games.

And today I will start on the first chapter of his epic magnum opus.

Here's how I'm doing it:

1. I'll be playing on real Dreamcast hardware.

2. During some parts of the adventure I will hook up via RGB SCART to my 20" PVM to play it in 480i at a distance similar that of an arcade monitor... basically the monitor will sit on a tray with wheels that will sit right in front of my couch during play sessions.

3. During other parts of the adventure, I will hook it up via Toro to the Framemeister and play it at 480p native res, upscaled to 1080p on a 60" HDTV.

4. During other parts of the adventure, I will play it in bed about 4-5" away on a 17" PVM, also at 480i (which I very rarely ever take out, but will being doing so for late night Shenmue sessions).

5. During all parts of the adventure, I will be using high quality headphones.

6. I will play at least 20 minutes each day until I complete the adventure, often times for much longer though.

Wish me luck. I'm diving in..... now.

 

[Get_craycray]

You'll need to get used to the clunky and a bit old gameplay but once it's done, you're gonna love it (I hope).

Good luck & enjoy!

 

[theWB27]

Enjoy that sweet sweet soundtrack.

 

[PositiveGamer]

Say hi to the sailors from me

 

[lobdale]

Best thing to do is keep in mind that at the time there had basically never been any sort of "virtual world" at all on par with the level of detail that you'll see even in just Ryo's house. The capsule games, the arcade... sharing darts scores OVER THE INTERNET on the 56K modem, feeding that cat. Was pretty unbelievable.

 

[hamchan]

Just as long as you keep it mind the first game hasn't aged super well and that there is a lot of downtime, it should be a fun exploration.

 

[Varjet]

I see.

 

[Kintor]

Don't worry if you feel you haven't made any progress in one of game's days. Sometimes you just need to wait before the time is right to accomplish the next stage of Ryo's journey.

Fortunately the You Arcade is always open!

 

[ajim]

Enjoy. And make sure you play shenmue 2 right after!

Ah wish I could experience shenmue again for the first time... You're lucky.

 

[Kowashitai]

Good thing you have those high quality headphones for that high quality soundtrack. Shenmue is great, it might take some getting used to but it is well worth playing.

 

[Fractology]

Don't rush. Take it in, take it slow. This whole game is about set and setting. Enjoy the pace of the game. To me, this was the perfect lazy afternoon game. I have very fond memories of playing this over the winter time whilst snowed in. It's like curling up with a good book.

 

[Moor-Angol]

enjoy every single second of it

 

[Spaghetti]

I'm going to be paying very close attention to this thread. I like hearing about first experiences with this series very much.

Good choice on getting the PAL version too, you can use your save data to continue onto Shenmue II if you like the series enough to play the sequel.

 

[boyshine]

You should play at least 2 hours the first time. From my experience with several first playthroughs together with different people, if you cut the first session short, you don't get the same feeling for the pacing, and you might lose interest. Something happens somewhere around the 1+ hour mark, where it shifts from "what the hell am I doing" to "this is great, I don't want to stop".

 

[MultiCore]

Shenmue is a great experience. The story is compelling, and the world is uniquely detailed.

Certain elements used in Shenmue have been beaten to death since its release, and so I fear you may not get the same experience as someone playing it when it was new.

Regardless, I'd love a high quality windows port of 1&2, even if they're not 'remasters'.


Enjoy the ride. Makes me want to play it myself, now that I think about it...

 

[super-famicom]

Enjoy the experience!!!

PS- you gotta find sailors

 

[Peltz]

My DC laser sounds like it's dying... I got up to the nightmare sequence and after that, it's been loading for a while ;_;

NO!

So far, it's insane how cinematic this is for a 1999 release. Can't believe this came only 1 year after Ocarina of Time. I'm going to restart my DC and hopefully it'll pull through this time.

 

[_Ryo_]

A few things without spoilers.

1. A lot of times this game is very calm.
2. The walking controls are a bit annoying but once you take in the atmosphere of the entire game it kind of becomes a non-problem.
3. The world of Shenmue has a lot of depth, so you should explore a lot.
4. There's a lot of very easily misable scenes and secrets, some still being discovered to this day. I think an unnoticed scene was discovered earlier this year even.
5. Shenmue II is much more action packed and is the better game in terms of game-play, and plot development, but in terms of atmosphere and world building Shenmue 1 takes the cake and is my favourite one.

Enjoy the game!

Also, subscribed!

 

[Acquiescence]

Hope you enjoy it. Game is a masterpiece, but it's not for everyone.

 

[_Ryo_]

Don't worry if you feel you haven't made any progress in one of game's days. Sometimes you just need to wait before the time is right to accomplish the next stage of Ryo's journey.

Fortunately the You Arcade is always open!

It's not though. :lol:

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Enjoy one of mankind's greatest achievement.

 

[KojiKnight]

I hope you like loud footsteps... and disappointment. I know I did on both counts.

 

[Peltz]

Damn... Looks like I need a new Dreamcast :*(

Load times are like insane right now. I'm so bummed this first time playing was cut so short. The opening sequence was pretty cool.

I'm off to eBay to buy a replacement DC.

 

[cchum]

Never played this either. Watched the DF retro last night, so I kinda want to join this party too. Anyone have more retro to recommend?

 

[Get_craycray]

Damn... Looks like I need a new Dreamcast :*(

Load times are like insane right now.

Nooooo

Sucks for you.

 

[ActWan]

Have fun, sounds like a cool setup!
I need to play it myself someday

 

[JetSetRadio]

These are the lucky bastard gamers.

 

[Maligna]

Don't forget to take in the fine details of the world. Take some time and notice the finer details of the architectural design, etc.

You can walk slowly (in a straight line) with the R trigger while looking around with the analogue stick.

 

[Kintor]

It's not though. :lol:

Eh, close enough as far as I'm concerned. Besides, wouldn't want to spoil the suprise...

 

[Kowashitai]

5. Shenmue II is much more action packed and is the better game in terms of game-play, and plot development, but in terms of atmosphere and world building Shenmue 1 takes the cake and is my favourite one.

I feel the same. Shenmue 2 has a lot more action, characters, and is completely packed with stuff but it lacks the same kind of charm that Shenmue 1 had. Shenmue 1 has a small town feel where everyone knows Ryo and you come to know them during your journey that is lost in Shenmue 2's big cities. Though the last section of Shenmue 2 really brought it all back for me.

 

[Xenoblade]

A damn shame you didn't play it when it was also considered to be a graphical powerhouse. Man, playing this game in 1999 was a truly revolutionary experience.

 

[openrob]

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Damn... Looks like I need a new Dreamcast :*(

Load times are like insane right now. I'm so bummed this first time playing was cut so short. The opening sequence was pretty cool.

I'm off to eBay to buy a replacement DC.

: (

 

[SOR5]

My thing with Shenmue is that its aged well in a very quirky way, if youre open minded its still a classic

 

[Kowashitai]

A damn shame you didn't play it when it was also considered to be a graphical powerhouse. Man, playing this game in 1999 was a truly revolutionary experience.

Shenmue still looks damn good. I played it for the first time last winter and was still impressed at the quality of Ryo's model.

Damn... Looks like I need a new Dreamcast :*(

Load times are like insane right now. I'm so bummed this first time playing was cut so short. The opening sequence was pretty cool.

I'm off to eBay to buy a replacement DC.

Man, that sucks. I hope you get a new one soon.

 

[Thrakier]

Wait for winter!!

 

[antitrop]

I hope you like loud footsteps... and disappointment. I know I did on both counts.

I hope OP likes driving forklifts.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Sucks you need a new Dreamcast. Enjoy Shenmue when you get one. My favourite series of all time.

 

[Kowashitai]

I hope OP likes driving forklifts.

Real talk, Disc 3 of Shenmue is my favorite part of Shenmue. I love driving the forklifts.

 

[Peltz]

Okay. I decided to go out and purchase another Dreamcast today at a local retro store for a disgusting premium. But damnit I want to play this thing today.

They tested two systems that had issue before we finally found a third one that works 0_0

Apparently, Dreamcasts are just dying left and right around me today. I'm in the cab on the way home now. Hopefully the one I bought pulls through.

I said I'm starting Shenmue today, and I really intend to make this happen.

Edit: Update.. the new Dreamcast works.... but now my Toro died on me!

When things break on me like this, it becomes really difficult to enjoy this hobby :-(

 

[Msyjsm]

Hehe, my roommate also started Shenmue for the first time recently, but unfortunately he's only played a few hours (in one session) so far. I think the problem with him is that he's played all the Yakuza games, which improve upon a lot (but certainly not everything) of what Shenmue did that was so novel at the time.

 

[boyshine]

Dreamcast RGB looks fine on an HDTV. Just play already, you don't need no Framemeister to enjoy this.

 

[SMG]

Best game of all time, but careful of the Continue system.
Saves made at a bed are ever green, when you are out and about and save you can only load that once and it disappears.
That has lost me dozens of hours of playtime through the years.


Also take the game slow, enjoy chatting to people and being part of a world.

 

[Gamezone]

People who are playing Shenmue for the first time today are still in for some revolutionary gameplay that can't be found in any other game.

 

[Alpha Phoenix]

I think both Shenmue titles have aged really well. That series is timeless. Have a blast, OP!

 

[Spaced Harrier]

People who are playing Shenmue for the first time today are still in for some revolutionary gameplay that can't be found in any other game.

Pretty much, I still can't think of any game like it. And no Yakuza is a different beast entirely.

Remember Shenmue is about context, its about life, the mundane and fantastical are equals here. Light and shade.

 

[BriGuy]

Wrong time of year. I know it sounds corny, but Shenmue is something you should probably play in late November or early December to get in the mood. Assuming you live in a temperate zone that is.

 

[Peltz]

Dreamcast RGB looks fine on an HDTV. Just play already, you don't need no Framemeister to enjoy this.

I'm not. But the Toro was my only RGB cable for the DC. I'll need to grab another because right now all I have is composite. And I'm not playing via composite.

 

[Breakage]

Shenmue was ahead of everything when it was released. I was lucky enough to be there when it dropped. The sense of immersion was incredible. I felt like I was in Japan.

 

[Crankshaft]

I have fond memories of driving forklifts. I never would have thought that having a "job" in a game would have been so fun.

Also, my tip would be to not rush the game. I was so worried about the in game clock I ended up rushing the game. I ended up missing the Christmas scene with Nozomi. Whoops.