I Loved Shenmue. I beat Shenmue II in a single weekend playing it non stop. I kept playing the beatem up mini game after beating Shenmue. I waited for years to see what happened in the cave...... Then Yakuza happened. I played the first game and hated the voice acting, since Sega dubbed it, I never bothered with the sequel and now it's insanely expensive. I got Dead Souls and wasn't nuts about it. But then PS+ gave Yakuza 5 away and I kept playing....and playing and playing and by the 2nd of January I completed that cluster fuck of a story. But I wanted more and Yakuza 0 wasn't out yet.... So I bought 3 and 4. the Seller I bought 3 from never shipped it so I played 4. I got about half way through before I took a Tomb Raider break to play definitive and most of Rise of. Then I got Yakuza 0 and I was up until 3 am last night doing shit with Majima. It's not even a gameplay thing, Shenmue gameplay wise is still solid. It's that Shenmue next to Yakuza has the personality of a sponge. The English voice acting had zero personality and that was all we had in the west. Lan Di isn't a dick like Kuze in Yakuza 0 is. None of the "bad guys" in Shenmue scream 'HEY I'M A DICK YOU NEED TO DEFEAT ME." And the NPCs in Shenmue are just annoying. So I'm not sure if I can go back to Shenmue or if Shenmue III will be any good. Unless Ryo and Shenhua suddenly get personalities in that cave. Am I alone in this?
I still like Shenmue, but then again I never played Yakuza. Guess I should stay away, I don't want to kill my excitement for Shenmue 3!
Shenmue III having an option for Japanese voices is make or break. The voice acting was so horrendous in Shenmue 1 and 2 on the English side. Sega tried that with Yakuza 1 and that shit didn't fly. They learned their lesson with Japanese voices only in 2 on ward. I really just don't find Ryo that likeable. He treats Nozmi like shit, his father's body is damn near still warm and he's already seeking to fuck his killer up and Lan Di doesn't really seem like that THAT terrible a person since we learn right way that he's killing Ryo's dad to avenge another death. Like some revenge Samsara wheel. OH and the Kids in Shenmue are SO ANNOYING. Not that the plot in some of the Yakuza games make as much sense. Yakuza 5 was a cluster fuck but it was a damn entertaining one. What Yakuza does that Shenmue doesn't is rapidly switch between batshit crazy for the substories, to dead on serious at a rapid pace.
Shenmue 2 was Japanese, at least on the dreamcast. I agree, the Japanese voice acting trumps the english one hands down.
Yeah, it's hard to go back. Shenmue is really a bloated vanity project that Sega should've reigned in before it became the video-game version of Heaven's Gate. Yakuza games are more fun and keep a much better handle on their storylines and side attractions.
I kinda like the campy voice acting in shenmue, gives it an 80's badly dubbed Asian movie feel. I think now i prefer the Yakuza series. People like Kiryu, Akiyama, Majima and even Date have so much character and some of the heat moves are so ridiculous it's impossible not to love it Still love Shenmue to bits though
Majima is my favorite character. So I'm spending as much time as I can with him in 0. After Him it's Akiyama and Saejima. What surprised me about Yakuza is that much of it's staff once worked on Jet Set Radio. So them went from a game about fighting THE MAN to a game about being THE MAN. Now I'll still get Shenmue III I invested enough time that I at least want to see where this story goes and if Ryo and Shenhua are related ans what not. maybe Ryo will have more personality after 15 years in that cave. Plus I can't deny that without Shenmue there would not have been a GTA 3 and openworld games as we know them would not exist.
Friend is sending me this game since his PS4 died. I played a demo of 6. I can while I would enjoy this game it would not ruin Shenmue since the biggest reason I loved Shenmue was the atmosphere of a small Japanese town. It was not huge but was VERY detailed and gave off a feeling of a place I would like to live.
Lan Di is getting the mirrors that bring about the end of the world. HOW IS THAT NOT TERRIBLE? Also I always found the voice acting to be part of the charm. Plus back in the early 2000s having all the characters voiced was SOOO COOL. Even if I heard Ryo ask about sailors way too much.
To answer the question, no it didn't ruined it for me. I love both games. One series got too many sequels and the other too few.
I hear alot of people are disappointed with Yakuza 6. I downloaded the Demo and had fuckall idea what to do since I'm Japanese illiterate. I just wanted to know if Kiryu survived 6's ending since so many think he's dying. Yakuza 6 might be the finale and then maybe prequels after that. I'd be down to play as Majima for a few games. Maybe have a game about Majima gunning for Daigo's spot. Since Daigo is such a clueless douche.
