Okay, yeah, I'm going to enjoy the hell out of these games. It sounds almost like a dream game of mine (Warren Spector's One City Block immersive sim idea). I love people-watching in open world games, so your description of the NPCs and the bustling city alone sounds absolutely amazing.
I'm getting the sense that the city is very lively and with a sense of lived-in history like Yakuza's hubs. Loved walking the alleys and sidestreets in 0
This is an HD Remaster. I think what you mean is a remake.Yeesh, I'm glad but I was expecting an HD Remaster not a straight port.
I actually tried to play through Shenmue 1 last year, I bought it way back at the DC release but just stopped for some reason and it went back on the shelf. But the same thing happened last year too so I'm not sure if it's the game or me that is the problem. Can't say that I dislike it, the progression is just too slow for me I guess. Maybe it's better if you use a guide. Pricing will determine if I give it another try with this release.I'm not sure these games are still great games by 2018 standards, even with a new control scheme.
But it's a nice "surprise", sure.
As someone who's loving a great story in games I also love beautiful graphics in games. Should I buy it or stay off?
I actually tried to play through Shenmue 1 last year, I bought it way back at the DC release but just stopped for some reason and it went back on the shelf. But the same thing happened last year too so I'm not sure if it's the game or me that is the problem. Can't say that I dislike it, the progression is just too slow for me I guess. Maybe it's better if you use a guide. Pricing will determine if I give it another try with this release.
This is an HD Remaster. I think what you mean is a remake.
I've noticed a lot of people here on ResetEra seem to have HD Remaster and Remakes confused with each other these days, you're not nearly the first person I've seen say this, and I don't just mean people in this thread either.
Some remasters will enhance the graphical visuals a bit, but in order to do that to a Dreamcast game they'd basically need to recreate all the 3D graphics for the game, which if they were to do that it'd essentially be the effort they'd want to put into a remake. But I don't think SEGA thinks a remake of shenmue will do super well in the market, and to be fair they're probably right.
A few screenshots from the Steam page:
It seems there will be both 16:9 and 4:3 options. Or are these just emulator shots?
This is looking like the lowest possible effort. Better than nothing I guess!
The story is, IMO, Shenmue's greatest strength.
There is nothing like it in gaming.
Gah that makes me sad to hear, I have Shenmue 2 also on the shelf from back in the days buy I never even inserted the disc since I just figured I had to complete Shenmue 1 first, which I still haven't managed to do as I explained :/Shenmue I is really slow. Really, really slow. It makes more sense when you realize that Shenmue I and II were likely one game on the saturn, as all the clips from the Saturn version show them together.
Shenmue I is 1 chapter out of 16 planned chapters for the story. It's the prolouge, essentially. Shenmue 2, by contrast, is chapters 3-5 (Chapter 2 is the boat ride from Japan to China that was cut, but eventually told in comic form). Despite Shenmue II covering 3 times as many chapters, both games are largely the same length for an average playthrough. So Shenmue I feels way, way slower, because there are much less story beats in general. Actually, much of Shenmue I, like maybe 60% of the plot, revolves around you working at a dock to make money. And that's pretty much it -- going into a daily routine until you earn $X to buy a plane ticket. And, in this section, there are really only 2 or 3 areas to explore. Even when it was new, I found that part of the game to be a drag.
Shenmue II never really has moments like that. It moves forward very briskly and is constantly taking you new places. Shenmue II is also full of combat and action sequences told in QTE. So yeah, Shenmue II is a much better game overall.
Shame most never played Shenmue II.
This is still technically a remaster. A remaster just means a rerelease of the original with some tweaks/improvements. What developers do for remasters varies, but having higher resolutions, dual audio, and a new control scheme is enough to call it a remaster. They don't necessarily have to redo textures or AA for it to be called a remaster.No, a remake would be entirely new assets and textures along with possible gameplay changes. A remaster is simply updated visuals, mainly improved texture quality, anti-aliasing, resolution, etc. Just look at the MGS Collection Remaster, God of War Remaster, Shadow of the Colossus Remaster, etc. Now, the information regarding this Shenmue port is a bit hazy right now for me but it does not sound like a typical remaster but rather a simple port. Though you can correct me if I'm wrong.
Gah that makes me sad to hear, I have Shenmue 2 also on the shelf from back in the days buy I never even inserted the disc since I just figured I had to complete Shenmue 1 first, which I still haven't managed to do as I explained :/