Shenmue I & II Rerelease Announced For PS4, XBOX ONE, And PC

To address concerns about what Sega provided D3T for these new versions, they have access to the original source code for both games, plus AM2's original high resolution assets for textures and audio files (which someone wisely chose to have archived for just such a purpose - if only they'd also thought to keep the corresponding data for Daytona USA or Virtua Fighter 2 as safe).

 

It'll be coming out after Yakuza Kiwami 2 so it'll at least fill the void until Shin Yakuza and Fist of the North Star make their way west.

Personally the Yakuza games ruined Shenmue for me, but maybe with the option for Japanese voices it'll be a bit better this go around.

 

Hey! That was almost unexpected at this point... Glad about it!

It'll be nice if it renders natively at HD resolutions and has some kind of AA and texture filters. A A proper remake in a modern engine would be nice, but a port is still better than nothing!

 

We're definitely getting a resolution upgrade to 1080p, but I've heard no mention yet of the frame rate being improved, which doesn't surprise me when you consider that all of the animations were supposedly tied to an underlying 30fps system, including the battle scenes (these were supposedly based on a heavily simplified variation of the Virtua Fighter 3 engine). Since it's been claimed that AM2's original high quality assets are being used along with the source code, I'm curious to know if PS4 Pro or Xbox One X owners can expect further improvements, such as native 4K output...

 

LUCKY HIT HD!

We can only hope. Plus this means we'll get some sweet arcade games.

 

I don't they're going to go all the way with 4K, remastered audio, improved framerate, etc. This is Sega we're talking about, they either don't give enough of a shit or they're too stupid to see what they should be doing with a project; I'll be extremely surprised if they treat this the right way.

 

Considering it's based on the source code, I'm sure the PC version will support any resolution. If it doesn't, I probably won't buy it. Why wouldn't it? If it's based on the source code, allowing for higher resolutions should take virtually no effort. Consoles are another thing.

It does look like Shenmue II will have the improvements from the Xbox version.

 

Uhh, because it's Sega? Sega is like the Microsoft of Japan when it comes to dropping the ball harder than an XBL squeaker's at 16.

 

They have the source code. If it was programmed in a remotely sane way, supporting new resolutions should be a matter of changing a few variables. Saying they won't support resolutions over 480p is like saying they'd only support the DC controller and saves on VMU.

 

Not quite. There's room for fucking up, which means they'll likely do exactly that.

 

EDIT: I've read multiple sources that say it has "fully scalable screen resolution", and apparently that's from a press release from Sega. So, they haven't fucked it up - not that part, at least.

 

For all the talk of improved resolution along with using the original uncompressed files (textures, sound, etc.) and source code, there's been an alarming lack of information regarding a possible upgrade to 60fps. I wouldn't be surprised if the budget and deadline for this project simply doesn't allow D3T to rework the underlying engine's animation, collision or camera systems to operate at a higher frame rate. At the very least, we can expect a consistent refresh rate on all platforms, which is more than can be said of Shenmue II on the Dreamcast especially - I remember quite a few areas that felt more like the console being stress tested a little too hard, such as when you approach the Golden Shopping Mall or run around the most open sections of Guilin.

 

Meh, Shenmue is more of a cinematic experience anyway, I don't think 30fps will ruin it whatsoever

 

I have to agree, though a consistent 30fps will at least make Shenmue II more pleasant, as the slowdown was occasionally quite jarring - especially since AM2 was always known up until that point for its solid frame rates (with perhaps the exception of Fighters Megamix, though I never really noticed the problems that others have mentioned in this game). Saying that, I can imagine the QTE and fighting sections benefiting from the additional responsiveness that a 60fps refresh rate would provide.

 

Personally I think this will turn out just fine. I've been wrong before but I have a feeling they won't do a whole lot of tampering or tinkering since they know what the fan base is like.

 

Consistent 30FPS? If it doesn't come out at 60FPS across the board (except for cutscenes, those are fine as they are imo) then I'll be pissed. There's no reason why it can't.

EDIT: It may seem like I'm being unnecessarily cynical/a bit of a debbie downer, but there really isn't any excuse for them to mess this up. They've got the source code, they have the resources, they have guaranteed interest from all of the Shenmue fans out there - and if the Crash Bandicoot remastered trilogy is anything to go by, they have at least some assurance that this remake double feature will sell well enough. So if it releases as anything but an absolutely perfect port with uncompressed audio, upscaled textures, and a solid 60FPS framerate, I ain't buyin'.

 

I hope they have a toggle actually.. I mean, to me it's kind of like the movie thing, where they had those high frame rate movies (I can't be assed to look up the framerate, I think it was 48fps or something). Movies just shouldn't be more then 24 or 30 fps tops, otherwise it just looks..I dunno like a soap opera or something. Cinematic games tend to have the same effect on me..
However, uncompressed audio/upscaled textures would be a very welcome addition.

 

48FPS movies look terrible to me, I saw The Hobbit in theatres and had a horrible time because of it. Games on the other hand; I have no idea how I played games during the PS2 era, most of them run like trash (sub 24FPS) and I borderline throw up in my mouth when I try to go back to them. Cutscenes are fine because it's just like a movie, but gameplay-wise this remake has to be 60FPS or I can't play it. I was excited for the new Kirby game but thought my eyes were going to fall out when I was playing the demo, so I decided to skip it in favour of Tropical Freeze.

 

Dude, I used to play hl1 in 1600x1200 @ 20 fps on a 20" CRT. It was glorious back then; it'd be torture today.

Low fps was much less noticeable on blurry-in-the-time-and-space-domains 20-something inches interlaced screens. The PS2 in particular lacks any decent form of antialiasing so it's much more ugly on sharp LCD screens than it was on CRTs.

A steady fps beats one with a big variance though, I'd take a steady 40 fps over 60 fps with occasional dips to 40 anytime.

 

On PC, if they smartly release it as a DX9 game and you happen to have an Nvidia card. You can guarantee you will be able to force good AA.
If it's a DX11 release then you are SOL unless they bother to implement AA in game. Then your only other option is to inject SMAA/FXAA and downsample on top. (And that's if the UI doesn't get tiny at high resolutions).

That's fine and that's your choice. People should have the *Choice* to play at the framerate they want. I used to think 30FPS looked just fine and cinematic and all, but after years of playing stuff at 60+hz, I can't bring myself to play at 30FPS anymore if I don't have to. It just looks awful in motion. In movies the camera control is fixed and only directed where it wants you to go and often slowly to minimize judder. (Panning shots are ugly in film)Games' don't have that benefit. And so the judder is significantly more apparent.

I'll gladly play a game at 30FPS if that's all it offers, but I would greatly prefer to have the choice.