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[Dead Man Typing]

Fun episode. I went to the arcade at 3pm just to be safe first time too. They did great with the password and found the China shop easily even if it was by accident.

I feel like they should know the town layout better by now, but I'm still enjoying their take on the game.

 

[Spaghetti]

VINNY FIGURED OUT X = NOTEBOOK

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

 

[sechsterangriff]

VINNY FIGURED OUT X = NOTEBOOK

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

Not only that, but they were forced to use the zoom to interact with the phone book. Hopefully the game will go smother from here.

Now they just need to figure out how to save anywhere and how to use items.

 

[Zafir]

Not only that, but they were forced to use the zoom to interact with the phone book. Hopefully the game will go smother from here.

Now they just need to figure out how to save anywhere and how to use items.

The save anywhere is pretty limited in the first game though.

It's basically only used as a continue if you want to quit quickly since I'm pretty sure it forces you back to the main menu.

 

[Spaghetti]

The save anywhere is pretty limited in the first game though.

It's basically only used as a continue if you want to quit quickly since I'm pretty sure it forces you back to the main menu.

Ehhhh, it'll be preferable to them running back to the house in certain situations.

Either way, fun episode. They didn't get much done in terms of game progress, but they've kind of stopped fighting the game on finding ways to fill downtime.

 

[Dead Man Typing]

The save anywhere is pretty limited in the first game though.

It's basically only used as a continue if you want to quit quickly since I'm pretty sure it forces you back to the main menu.

It's a single load save point. It's really risky to rely on it. If you load the file and then just turn off the console you lose that save. Shenmue 2 has proper save anywhere and the save files are smaller.

 

[Spaghetti]

It's a single load save point. It's really risky to rely on it. If you load the file and then just turn off the console you lose that save. Shenmue 2 has proper save anywhere and the save files are smaller.

It seems that might be helpful for them if they want to end an episode in the middle of the day without heading home. I think we'll have at least one instance of this happening once they reach

Spoiler

the harbour

.

But I think I'd prefer them just running home to losing progress because they didn't realise the resume save is a temporary save system.

 

[Zafir]

It's a single load save point. It's really risky to rely on it. If you load the file and then just turn off the console you lose that save. Shenmue 2 has proper save anywhere and the save files are smaller.

Yeah.

The system in Shenmue 2 was much better for saving.

 

[VeryGooster]

Three of them fumbling around trying to understand this bus schedule lol

 

[Curufinwe]

Do you guys ever find yourself playing a game thinking, if someone was watching me play this they would have gone mad with frustration by now?

I was stuck for almost an hour on the short DLC mission you get with Deus EX MK because I did not see the button to deploy the ladder. So I spent way too long trying to collect boxes and stack/throw them to get up to the next floor.

 

[Spaghetti]

Do you guys ever find yourself playing a game thinking, if someone was watching me play this they would have gone mad with frustration by now?

I was stuck for almost an hour on the short DLC mission you get with Deus EX MK because I did not see the button to deploy the ladder. So I spent way too long trying to collect boxes and stack/throw them to get up to the next floor.

Early on in the very same game I had a habit of suddenly forgetting how to get out of crouching when I get spotted, and end up filled with bullets before I can crouch-walk my way to cover.

I can't remember the last game I got really stuck in. I got wrecked a good couple times by the Toad boss in the first Witcher 3 expansion though.

 

[Minamu]

Site is blocked at work, is this on youtube as well?

 

[Strax]

No matter how impressive Shenmue was at the time there is no excuse for Ryo and the people in the city/town not knowing anything about the city/town

Site is blocked at work, is this on youtube as well?

Yes

 

[MassiveNights]

They did it! Disc 1 is done!

 

[Zafir]

No matter how impressive Shenmue was at the time there is no excuse for Ryo and the people in the city/town not knowing anything about the city/town

Come on, half the questions are pretty obtuse, and often he doesn't really have much to go on so he can't ask specific questions.

Warehouse No 8 is kind of vague. Where Sailors hang out probably isn't something most people would know unless they know someone. The Tattoo parlour is hidden in an apartment building, and it's considered a bit taboo in Japan, so no wonder people didn't know that.

The questions which are easier do tend to get answered by everyone, like everyone saying the Chinese restaurant, and saying where the pay phone is.

 

[Spaghetti]

In fairness to the NPCs, Warehouse Number 8 is in another district that nearly none of them would have professional/personal reasons to go to.

Well, except

Spoiler

Tom

, but he'll tell you how to get to Amihama at least.

No matter how impressive Shenmue was at the time there is no excuse for Ryo and the people in the city/town not knowing anything about the city/town.

Again, the next area is actually out of town with largely no in-world real reason for Dobuita inhabitants to visit, so it's not totally out of the question for the NPCs to be a bit clueless when asked about a specific warehouse.

 

[Strax]

Come on, half the questions are pretty obtuse, and often he doesn't really have much to go on so he can't ask specific questions.

Warehouse No 8 is kind of vague. Where Sailors hang out probably isn't something most people would know unless they know someone. The Tattoo parlour is hidden in an apartment building, and it's considered a bit taboo in Japan, so no wonder people didn't know that.

The questions which are easier do tend to get answered by everyone, like everyone saying the Chinese restaurant, and saying where the pay phone is.

I'll give you the tattoo parlour but we find out that there is a warehouse district and only one person seem to know that but still doesn't know where its at, that just beyond stupid, especially for owners of shops.

In fairness to the NPCs, Warehouse Number 8 is in another district that nearly none of them would have professional/personal reasons to go to.

Well, except

Spoiler

Tom

, but he'll tell you how to get to Amihama at least.

What? Its another district, not another country.

Again, the next area is actually out of town with largely no in-world real reason for Dobuita inhabitants to visit, so it's not totally out of the question for the NPCs to be a bit clueless when asked about a specific warehouse.

No but surely they would know of a warehouse district and say "Maybe you should go there"

 

[Spaghetti]

What? Its another district, not another country.

It's an

Spoiler

industrial harbour

. Like, what purpose would most of the static Dobuita NPCs have to go somewhere like that?

No but surely they would know of a warehouse district and say "Maybe you should go there"

Uh, not necessarily. Why would you know about that stuff if you've never been? Also, who's to say there's just one area locally with warehouses? That's why the in-world logic dictates that Ryo finds out specifically the area Warehouse Number 8 is at by checking the area code in the phone book.

 

[Zafir]

I'll give you the tattoo parlour but we find out that there is a warehouse district and only one person seem to know that but still doesn't know where its at, that just beyond stupid, especially for owners of shops.



What? Its another district, not another country.

Thing is, when you learn it's in Amihama, most people do actually tell you where it is. So people obviously do know the harbour. Warehouse No 8 is such a vague thing to ask about though, they might not be aware that there's a warehouse number 8 there...

 

[orient]

Once you realise that the "filler" NPCs walking round town -- the ones that don't work at a shop or hang out in a specific place -- don't want to talk to you (justification: because you're a rando asking weird questions in the street), then you can save a lot of time by not asking them.

Most games would simply not let you talk to minor NPCs but I think they wanted to deliver a level of consistency throughout. It's the same reason you can knock on every door even though it's pointless.

 

[Spaghetti]

Anecdotal, but:

I live in an industrial area, but if someone asked me where a specific business was I'd have no clue based on name alone. If you asked me where the industrial area is, I could point you towards it, though. Ryo lacks that information for context in his questioning though, kind of like Zafir said. They know Amihama, but not a warehouse with a number.

 

[stump sock]

(justification: because you're a rando asking weird questions in the street),

it's amazing anybody humors him at all really

 

[Brat-Sampson]

I think people are being a little harsh on their lack of zooming in. They've been using the feature on and off for ages, even if just to look at shop signs, so clearly knew about it. They just haven't made a habit of zooming into *everything* to see if it's worthwhile, because generally they just haven't needed to.

If they'd been stuck for an episode because they didn't know how to read the phone book, then fine, but considering just recently they were tormenting the house by turning off the lights... i think they get it, they just choose not to use it.

Overall this has been a really fun playthrough to watch/listen to, and I do feel like they're beginning to more and more, if not actually *love* the game, at least play along with it's weirdness.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

I'll give you the tattoo parlour but we find out that there is a warehouse district and only one person seem to know that but still doesn't know where its at, that just beyond stupid, especially for owners of shops.



What? Its another district, not another country.



No but surely they would know of a warehouse district and say "Maybe you should go there"

So do you know where Warehouse 8 is in your city?

 

[Incandenza]

On the next episode of the Shenmue Endurance Run:

"Hey Vinny how does lava shoot out of a volcano?"
"What is a 401(k), exactly?"
"Could you give me, like, a 2 minute summary of the Rodney King incident?"
"What's the deal with the whole Isreal and Palestine thing? Which one is the heel?"

 

[Phu]

So do you know where Warehouse 8 is in your city?

No, but I could tell you where warehouses are.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

I think people are being a little harsh on their lack of zooming in. They've been using the feature on and off for ages, even if just to look at shop signs, so clearly knew about it. They just haven't made a habit of zooming into *everything* to see if it's worthwhile, because generally they just haven't needed to.

If they'd been stuck for an episode because they didn't know how to read the phone book, then fine, but considering just recently they were tormenting the house by turning off the lights... i think they get it, they just choose not to use it.

Overall this has been a really fun playthrough to watch/listen to, and I do feel like they're beginning to more and more, if not actually *love* the game, at least play along with it's weirdness.

I think by game end they may love it. As said before, Shenmue is a game that grips you slowly. Anyone who thinks every Shenmue fan liked Shenmue at the outset is a fool. I found it confusing, weird, plodding, with bad dialogue, and weird controls after my first session. But something about it drew me in and kept coming back. There's something about it. By the end of the game, you will have two camps: either you love it or you hate it. I loved it. To the point where I replayed literally immediately after beating it. Knowing how everything worked made such a smoother and more fun experience. Not only that, but I immediately imported its sequel from the UK on Dreamcast. With Shenmue there is rarely an in between. Very few people just LIKE Shenmue. It's a slow burn, and the first disc is the worst part of the entire saga. Guarantee it'll be better from here.

Disc 2 owns. It contains my favorite room in the series.

Spoiler

the basement

that mysterious storytelling and putting together pieces. Lawd.

No, but I could tell you where warehouses are.

I honestly couldn't.

Anecdotal, but:

I live in an industrial area, but if someone asked me where a specific business was I'd have no clue based on name alone. If you asked me where the industrial area is, I could point you towards it, though. Ryo lacks that information for context in his questioning though, kind of like Zafir said. They know Amihama, but not a warehouse with a number.

People also tell Ryo how he can get to the harbor when he has that information and even make fun of him for not knowing it. They're like,"come on Ryo, really? The fucking bus stop." *eyeroll* Especially Miki. Miki is the best.

 

[Spaghetti]

On the next episode of the Shenmue Endurance Run:

"Hey Vinny how does lava shoot out of a volcano?"
"What is a 401(k), exactly?"
"Could you give me, like, a 2 minute summary of the Rodney King incident?"
"What's the deal with the whole Isreal and Palestine thing? Which one is the heel?"

I swear the lava thing already happened on a podcast, but probably not with Dan.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

The harbor is great for realizing the vision of the game. As Zafir said, those randos who have nothing to say actually have lives. And you get to see them live out their lives while at the harbor. So you've got the lady who sketches the landscape everyday. The office ladies who gossip everyday in the lunch room, the tired businessmen...and usually when you bug them on disc 1 it's at the end of their work day. So when you come home from the harbor maybe you'll see Kurita walking home to his apartment complex and you'll realize every character actually has a place to live.

 

[Spaghetti]

Disc 2 owns. It contains my favorite room in the series.

Spoiler

the basement

that mysterious storytelling and putting together pieces. Lawd.

Spoiler

The basement

is the gift that keeps on giving in terms of wider context of the series, especially now we're actually getting Shenmue III.

I don't think GBEast will appreciate it in the same way fans will, but it's certainly the room in the game with the most concentrated collection of inventory and story items.

 

[Jintor]

"What's the deal with the whole Isreal and Palestine thing? Which one is the heel?"

no... please god no

 

[BRocknRolla]

On the next episode of the Shenmue Endurance Run:

"Hey Vinny how does lava shoot out of a volcano?"
"What is a 401(k), exactly?"
"Could you give me, like, a 2 minute summary of the Rodney King incident?"
"What's the deal with the whole Isreal and Palestine thing? Which one is the heel?"

Fantastic. Honestly, it's what keeps these entertaining.

 

[Strax]

So do you know where Warehouse 8 is in your city?

No, but I could tell you where warehouses are.

Indeed.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Spoiler

The basement

is the gift that keeps on giving in terms of wider context of the series, especially now we're actually getting Shenmue III.

I don't think GBEast will appreciate it in the same way fans will, but it's certainly the room in the game with the most concentrated collection of inventory and story items.

Great thing about

Spoiler

the basement

is we have so many items in there that carry to II and we still don't know they're about. We can only assume. Actually getting a III confirmation makes the place that much sweeter.

 

[Spaghetti]

Great thing about

Spoiler

the basement

is we have so many items in there that carry to II and we still don't know they're about. We can only assume. Actually getting a III confirmation makes the place that much sweeter.

Not exactly in the

Spoiler

basement

, but I'm crossing my fingers the Mysterious Scroll becomes of use, but who knows.

It might just get left out because it was a novelty item that would have been of use if the entire series came out on Dreamcast and you'd carried your save over from the first game to the end.

Someone mentioned it to Yu during the Twitter Q&A last year though, so maybe it'll see an inclusion for the sake of nostalgia.

 

[KillerDark]

No, but I could tell you where warehouses are.

This. It really feels like the vast majority of NPC's conveniently forget/don't know anything. NES RPG's were better at directing you than Shenmue has been so far. The chinese letter was the worst part, not being able to ask the kid that Ryo literally just found out is (part?) chinese if he can read the letter is ridiculous.

Really enjoying the ER though, it has been pretty entertaining so far.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

This. It really feels like the vast majority of NPC's conveniently forget/don't know anything. NES RPG's were better at directing you than Shenmue has been so far. The chinese letter was the worst part, not being able to ask the kid that Ryo literally just found out is (part?) chinese if he can read the letter is ridiculous.

Really enjoying the ER though, it has been pretty entertaining so far.

?

When you ask Gaowen about it he directs you to his grandmother. He can't read it because it's backwards. He says "the letters are all weird."

You can probably pinpoint someone to warehouses but which warehouses? Seems pretty arbitrary to complain about. I honestly don't know where industrial warehouses are located in my city. If you mean something like Uhaul warehouses, sure. If someone walked up to me and asked where warehouse 8 was, I'd stare them blankly in the face. I mean, which warehouse 8? It's extremely vague.

 

[KillerDark]

?

When you ask Gaowen about it he directs you to his grandmother. He can't read it because it's backwards. He says "the letters are all weird."

You can probably pinpoint someone to warehouses but which warehouses? Seems pretty arbitrary to complain about. I honestly don't know where industrial warehouses are located in my city. If you mean something like Uhaul warehouses, sure. If someone walked up to me and asked where warehouse 8 was, I'd stare them blankly in the face. I mean, which warehouse 8? It's extremely vague.

He didn't initially though, they had to go talk to him again haha. Oh well, was entertaining at least.

I agree that warehouse 8 is vague but why would it be unrealistic for some people to know that "I don't know where warehouse 8 is but there are warehouses in _______"?

 

[Strax]

You can probably pinpoint someone to warehouses but which warehouses? Seems pretty arbitrary to complain about. I honestly don't know where industrial warehouses are located in my city. If you mean something like Uhaul warehouses, sure. If someone walked up to me and asked where warehouse 8 was, I'd stare them blankly in the face. I mean, which warehouse 8? It's extremely vague.

Not all people know, sure. But if I lived in a city or just outside of it with a district called THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT I'd at least know about it. Ryo and at least more then one person in the district he lives in should know about.

The moment he knew he had to go to something called Warehouse 8 he should have said to himself "That must be in the Warehouse district" and went there.

The only defense for these broken NPCs is its kinda funny how stupid they are, and also Ryo.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

I agree that warehouse 8 is vague but why would it be unrealistic for some people to know that "I don't know where warehouse 8 is but there are warehouses in _______"?

Most of them don't know there are warehouses at the harbor probably or if they did, didn't think about it. The harbor is mostly where the US is stationed and where you'll find working class jobs but they may not go there often, and remember that most of Ryo's friends are high schoolers. It's also pretty far away. The only reason they generally go to the harbor is for a job, and the people in Dobuita - with the exception of Tom and Honey, maybe the Navy base workers, maybe the lady at Hoku Hoku Lunchboxes - don't go there to work because they already have jobs in Dobuita. There are only a few people who may know what Ryo is referring to as Warehouse number 8 and even then, how do they know if he's talking about the harbor Warehouse No 8? Could be another warehouse for civilians.

Seems like a weird thing to nitpick about but that's just me I guess. Plus, nobody knowing where it is ties into needing to search the phone book, which forces you to interact with the game world.

Not all people know, sure. But if I lived in a city or just outside of it with a district called THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT I'd at least know about it. Ryo and at least more then one person in the district he lives in should know about.

The moment he knew he had to go to something called Warehouse 8 he should have said to himself "That must be in the Warehouse district" and went there.

The only defense for these broken NPCs is its kinda funny how stupid they are, and also Ryo.

Eh. You'll see why it's not common knowledge in the next episode. That district is not exactly for civilians. Reminder that this is where Ryo lives: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokosuka,_Kanagawa

 

[Spaghetti]

I agree that warehouse 8 is vague but why would it be unrealistic for some people to know that "I don't know where warehouse 8 is but there are warehouses in _______"?

Again, because a very limited number of Dobuita NPCs will have an in-world reason for knowing where the warehouses are. You'll notice in the next episode the new area has a distinct new set of NPCs and that there's no reason that the vast majority of Dobuita NPCs would know where it is or what it contains.

Not all people know, sure. But if I lived in a city or just outside of it with a district called THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT I'd at least know about it. Ryo and at least more then one person in the district he lives in should know about.

The moment he knew he had to go to something called Warehouse 8 he should have said to himself "That must be in the Warehouse district" and went there.

It's not called the Warehouse District though, so I have no idea why you're playing this false equivalency up.

 

[Strax]

It's not called the Warehouse District though, so I have no idea why you're playing this false equivalency up.

Something being named and called/known as is not the same thing, nice try tho.

I always thought Jeff was joking about Shenmue fans but I guess not. This thread has been eye-opening.

 

[Spaghetti]

Something being named and called/known as is not the same thing, nice try tho.

It's not even known as the warehouse district though, so again, what are you even talking about?

EDIT: And yes, I know the jacket guy drops the phrase "warehouse district" once , as "a warehouse district?" not "THE warehouse district". One guy going "oh, maybe there's one?" is not "OMG EVERY NPC SHOULD KNOW THIS".

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

I always thought Jeff was joking about Shenmue fans but I guess not. This thread has been eye-opening.

 

[MassiveNights]

I'm a Shenmue fan and this thread is making me hate Shenmue.

 

[Spaghetti]

I cannot believe a relatively minor step in an investigation chain has caused this much debate.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

I cannot believe a relatively minor step in an investigation chain has caused this much debate.

Despite Jeff's wishes, Shenmue fans and Giant Bomb fans are made for each other.

 

[ScaryShark]

On the next episode of the Shenmue Endurance Run:

"Hey Vinny how does lava shoot out of a volcano?"
"What is a 401(k), exactly?"
"Could you give me, like, a 2 minute summary of the Rodney King incident?"
"What's the deal with the whole Isreal and Palestine thing? Which one is the heel?"

Good.

 

[Spaghetti]

Despite Jeff's wishes, Shenmue fans and Giant Bomb fans are made for each other.

It's not like there isn't crossover somewhere, but this thread is a garbage fire of inflammatory comments from all-comers.

Like, shit dude.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

It's not like there isn't crossover somewhere, but this thread is a garbage fire of inflammatory comments from all-comers.

Like, shit dude.

Can we be at peace with each other by the end of the ER??

Will love blossom on this battlefield??