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[Strax]

Lunch lady is the daughter of the lady in Dobuita. They've got two locations and you never see Hikasa in Dobuita. At least, I haven't. By the same token, her mother never goes to the harbor. Ryo probably doesn't know about Hikasa working the harbor location or didn't think to ask about it.

I'm not sure why this is so confusing. It's been pretty clear that to regular citizens who don't work there, the harbor is just the harbor. To people who work there, obviously they give the warehouse areas a nickname in the warehouse district. At my job, we have nicknames for things regular citizens wouldn't know about either.

This makes a lot of sense and you're just nitpicking the game.

Clearly Hikasa lives or lived in Dobuita because Ryo knows her. Its been established he doesn't know about anything outside of his town (even that is being generous to him) . If you have a chain of shops and your daughter runs one of them and you've never even seen the place you are both a bad mother and a bad businessman.

Just because the Tom gag is funny he knew about the warehouse district. Its also been established that people in both towns call it the warehouse district. People do travel between the places otherwise the bus would not be 30 mins apart. Every shop owner should at least be aware of the warehouse district because they get shipments or pick it up themselves from there in some cases.

People may be bad/stupid about Geografy.

https://youtu.be/wYLfPajB7Mg

Just - Let - It - Go

Sure they can but not about something thats 2 min bus ride away.

also

Never!

 

[Phu]

Look at the time when they get on the bus and then again when they arrive at the beginning of the next episode. It's like a 2-3 minute ride. That's like a kilometer down the road.

 

[Jintor]

this episode is amazing

 

[Kiske]

Clearly Hikasa lives or lived in Dobuita because Ryo knows her. Its been established he doesn't know about anything outside of his town (even that is being generous to him) . If you have a chain of shops and your daughter runs one of them and you've never even seen the place you are both a bad mother and a bad businessman.

Just because the Tom gag is funny he knew about the warehouse district. Its also been established that people in both towns call it the warehouse district. People do travel between the places otherwise the bus would not be 30 mins apart. Every shop owner should at least be aware of the warehouse district because they get shipments or pick it up themselves from there in some cases.

People may be bad/stupid about Geografy.

https://youtu.be/wYLfPajB7Mg

Just - Let - It - Go

 

[a Master Ninja]

*game says the Old Warehouse District is in the Northwest*
Alex: "This would help if you had an actual compass."
*nobody notices the bottom right corner of the screen is a compass*
EDIT: Dan finally noticed it, thank God.

 

[Spaghetti]

Look at the time when they get on the bus and then again when they arrive at the beginning of the next episode. It's like a 2-3 minute ride. That's like a kilometer down the road.

That's an in-game contrivance so you're not losing drastic amounts of time riding a bus.

 

[a Master Ninja]

Is Tom supposed to be black, or is he just a Japanese man who fell in love with American hip-hop culture?

 

[Zafir]

Is Tom supposed to be black, or is he just a Japanese man who fell in love with American hip-hop culture?

He is meant to be black.

Late game spoiler for Shenmue -

Spoiler

He actually goes back to America by the end of the game.

 

[Sectorseven]

Although I do prefer Shenmue II over I, I really enjoyed the first chapter, despite the slow pacing and some flawed mechanics or limitations (like not being able to fast forward).
Probably because at the time and thanks to the mandatory "time-killing" design choice, I've absorbed at my own pace the "open world" of Yokosuka.

Watching the ER, it seems to me that the biggest issue Vinny is having with the game, are the controls.

From a technical view there's no question the sequel is the better game, but I prefer Shenmue I for it's atmosphere. You spend a lot of time in a small area and really get to know the characters. The game also has an almost palpable, somber tone that I don't think has been matched or even attempted to this day.

Is Tom supposed to be black, or is he just a Japanese man who fell in love with American hip-hop culture?

It's something lost in the translation, but Tom is supposed to be an American speaking very broken Japanese.

 

[Spaghetti]

Is Tom supposed to be black, or is he just a Japanese man who fell in love with American hip-hop culture?

He's black.

I guess I kind of understand the thought process in giving him a Jamaican accent in the English dub to make him sound more foreign (in the Japanese dub he's voiced by a Japanese guy doing faux-broken Japanese), but it's puzzling why they don't do the same for the American sailors.

Spoiler

I can't wait to call him up in Shenmue III and see what voice they gave him this time around.

 

[_StreetSonic_]

Good episode. They are finally starting to get a better idea of what zoom does. I'm so happy they went to the Harbor Tomato Store. They now know about the raffle at least at this store.

 

[Spaghetti]

Hope Vinny gets back on Excite QTE 2 and goes for the level beyond expert, SUPER EXPERT.

 

[Narpas Sword0]

This stealth section is incredible. The old man handing them the worthless blank map fucking killed me. I love this ER so much

 

[Phu]

That's an in-game contrivance so you're not losing drastic amounts of time riding a bus.

Everywhere Ryo's been has been in one area of Yokosuka. Even the irl analogue for this game has the locations petty close. It's not like it's across the country, it's partway across the city.

 

[FStop7]

Fuck off Dan you're the worst!

EPCOT rocks

that's just science stuff it's not cool normal wrestling guys

 

[adamsapple]

Fucking Tom ... I hope Vinny runs him over with the forklift

this endurance run has been nothing but gold so far, even the awful stealth section was entertaining.

 

[FStop7]

Honey's sweatshirt is pretty fucking forward-thinking considering the game's set in 1986.

 

[Grisby]

Tom broke Vinny.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Vinny getting mad at Tom almost made me spit out my drink

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

Everyone in this game sound like insane robots.
I've never heard dialogue deliver like this.

 

[orient]

Hope Vinny gets back on Excite QTE 2 and goes for the level beyond expert, SUPER EXPERT.

I don't - it's the crappiest game in the arcade and boring to watch

Can't believe how pedantic people are being about the warehouse stuff. It's really not a problem.

I'm really looking forward to them exploring the Hazuki residents. This ER has been awesome, and they're starting to get the hang of it now.

 

[Felix Lighter]

"Maybe I can name him like that cat" ha ha. The old man bit was pretty good.

 

[Spaghetti]

Everywhere Ryo's been has been in one area of Yokosuka. Even the irl analogue for this game has the locations petty close. It's not like it's across the country, it's partway across the city.

I live really close to a bread factory.

If someone asked me where loading bay #8 is, I wouldn't be able to give them an answer.

Fact is, I couldn't even direct them to the bread factory because I don't know if they even have loading bays there. I couldn't even point them in the general direction of the nearby industrial area for the same reason.

Why? Because I have no reason to go check out the industrial area and neither do the Dobuita residents to check out the harbour.

Where's Warehouse #8? = A contextless clue that only serves to direct you to a phone book if you didn't think of it already.

Where's Amihama? = A clue with context, equivalent to asking where the next town is.

The real grievance should be why Ryo didn't mention the phone number to more NPCs to direct him to the phone book. Although I suppose the answer is to wring a few more minutes out of Disk 1.

I think thats all I'm going to say on this now. It's going in circles and only really serves to shit up the thread between episodes.

 

[Jintor]

the real grievance is that ryo never asks follow up questions to anyone and is a video game protagonist written in the 90s

 

[Salarians]

the real grievance is that ryo never asks follow up questions to anyone and is a video game protagonist written in the 90s

I see.

 

[Phu]

.

I disagree but will leave you alone for this subject.

 

[Grisby]

I wonder how long this stealth bit took me as a teenager.

 

[Spaghetti]

the real grievance is that ryo never asks follow up questions to anyone and is a video game protagonist written in the 90s

They clear that kind of stuff up in II for the most part. Adding a dialogue tree of sorts helped immeasurably for non-linear quest design.

Plus, NPC answers are structured better in the sequel. Transient NPCs will tell you to "ask someone in this quarter", i.e, ask a static NPC at a shop, if you're looking for something locally. If you need directions static NPCs will help you out of the area by directing you towards the exit, and the transient ones will literally say "hey I'm going there now, follow me".

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Shenmue II is just so much better. Sigh. What a game.

They clear that kind of stuff up in II for the most part. Adding a dialogue tree of sorts helped immeasurably for non-linear quest design.

Plus, NPC answers are structured better in the sequel. Transient NPCs will tell you to "ask someone in this quarter", i.e, ask a static NPC at a shop, if you're looking for something locally. If you need directions static NPCs will help you out of the area by directing you towards the exit, and the transient ones will literally say "hey I'm going there now, follow me".

They also give out more specific directions.

In 1 everyone gives Ryo directions as if he already knows where they are because he's lived there his whole life and it's a way to immerse the player in locale. In II, Ryo is a fish out of water, so people give directions in an organic way. Like "see that man with the bird? Turn left past him" because you're basically a tourist. Always loved that attention to detail.

 

[Spaghetti]

They also give out more specific directions.

In 1 everyone gives Ryo directions as if he already knows where they are because he's lived there his whole life and it's a way to immerse the player in locale. In II, Ryo is a fish out of water, so people give directions in an organic way. Like "see that man with the bird? Turn left past him" because you're basically a tourist. Always loved that attention to detail.

For all the shit people give the original Shenmue (and contrary to the belief of some, we give it shit too, check the receipts), it was essential for figuring out where to improve for Shenmue II.

Shenmue was like the chimp the United States launched into space. Shenmue II? Apollo 11.

 

[Hasney]

I see.

Um...

 

[kiguel182]

Tom's betrayal was amazing. Hilarious moment. Same for Vinny failing repeatedly at the stealth section and Alex clearly being frustrated at his impatience.

Now that there's less time to kill and frustration they are able to focus more on the game and it has been great. I'm loving this whole ER really.

 

[Spaghetti]

New episode is live.

Scrubbed through, and they

Spoiler

didn't find the Phoenix Mirror today. Shame, I was kind of hoping they'd ace it, but maybe I was expecting a bit too much.

EDIT: Oh man they were SO FUCKING CLOSE to

Spoiler

acing the next step of the puzzle

.

 

[Kiske]

New episode is live.

Scrubbed through, and they

Spoiler

didn't find the Phoenix Mirror today. Shame, I was kind of hoping they'd ace it, but maybe I was expecting a bit too much.

EDIT: Oh man they were SO FUCKING CLOSE to

Spoiler

acing the next step of the puzzle

.

The video is cut off on Youtube :-s

 

[Spaghetti]

The video is cut off on Youtube :-s

I'm watching the download because I'm a premium member, har har.

 

[sechsterangriff]

Damn, youtube video cuts off at 9:16...

 

[derFeef]

Seeing more of this game... if I would have played it, I would have loved it back then. For sure.

 

[Spaghetti]

Alex is some kind of Shenmue savant, I swear. He keeps track of the plot threads and seems to understand the weird mix of video game and real world logic.

 

[Dead Man Typing]

Tom's betrayal was amazing. Hilarious moment. Same for Vinny failing repeatedly at the stealth section and Alex clearly being frustrated at his impatience.

Now that there's less time to kill and frustration they are able to focus more on the game and it has been great. I'm loving this whole ER really.

The funny thing is, I cleared this first time by being impatient. If you just run straight to the warehouse door, the guards routes time up nicely. I got lucky and have never had trouble with it since.

Strangely I think I failed the QTE before hand a few times. Sad that they missed a couple of optional cutscenes -

Spoiler

delivering the lunches to the security gate and maybe missing Hisaka's sister falling in with a bad crowd. Although that might still be possible to see, I've done playthroughs where you don't see it.

But really happy they met the old man and helped him. It would have sucked if they had given him the wrong drink for fun.

 

[Spaghetti]

Does the old man

Spoiler

not teach you his moves

if you don't give him coffee?

 

[N.A]

Vinny's complete lack of understanding how to examine things make this episode painful. How hard is it to push A when looking at something?

 

[Spaghetti]

They almost aced the puzzle THREE TIMES.

I can hear Austin's "VINNY" echoing in my head.

 

[Dead Man Typing]

Damn, youtube video cuts off at 9:16...

Can I watch on the website without logging in? I got to the video page and it keeps playing the youtube version in the window.

EDIT - Yes you can, just click the quality thing and select streaming instead of Youtube.

 

[Spaghetti]

Vinny's complete lack of understanding how to examine things make this episode painful. How hard is it to push A when looking at something?

In fairness, even though he knows that, the A button doesn't show up on the HUD with most items.

I guess that's another little improvement made to Shenmue II by having a constant HUD instead of a contextual one.

EDIT: It actually kills me how they didn't figure this out in one go. They came so close several times. I can't believe Vinny spent ages going through random drawers but

Spoiler

didn't bother to toss Iwao's desk drawer

.

 

[Curufinwe]

I thought this was going to be when they found out Ryo's mother was dead too.

 

[Spaghetti]

Again, in fairness, that's kind of a cultural thing that is going to be lost on them. I think they're just calling Ine-san "Mom" now even though they know that's not the case.

 

[Curufinwe]

Shenmue Savant Alex figured it out five minutes later.

 

[Spaghetti]

Shenmue Savant Alex figured it out five minutes later.

It's so weird. He was the most resistant to Shenmue, and yet... understands it the best.

 

[Dead Man Typing]

Another good episode, progress is being made and we've hit Christmas time.
They're forming relationships and getting to know the characters better.

I'm surprised that they're still having trouble with the layout of Dobuita. The layout isn't complicated and there are easy to recognise landmarks everywhere. Plus they're always looking at the map. But it's impossible for me to not recognise where they are at all times, so that adds to the frustration a little.

Burst out laughing at the line about the cat eating the kid.

 

[Spaghetti]

Another good episode, progress is being made and we've hit Christmas time.
They're forming relationships and getting to know the characters better.

I'm surprised that they're still having trouble with the layout of Dobuita. The layout isn't complicated and there are easy to recognise landmarks everywhere. Plus they're always looking at the map. But it's impossible for me to not recognise where they are at all times, so that adds to the frustration a little.

Burst out laughing at the line about the cat eating the kid.

The cat's gotta eat something, because they sure aint' feeding it.

But yeah, it's weird that there's still some confusion about Dobuita's layout. Dan wasn't there that long, was he? They've got to have recorded a few of these per week.