Shenmue and The Fall of Sega

[@CaptainJacksIsland]

I remember playing Shenmue as a teenager. Made it half way through the game before I realized I could run. The whole time, I was like, "Damn this game's realistic! This guy just walks...... everywhere!"

[@Charleito]

Pirate Bear LMAO

[@frz1148]

Damn i could only imagine playing through the game without running

[@williamstorck1542]

Lmao. Made laugh hard!

[@xeraliZe]

Comment of the year. You win.

[@IH8Sprinkles]

Lol

[@gabrielle6071]

Wolf has a way of making me care about stuff I never cared about before

[@ThiagoCRocha-fh6lg]

every damn time

[@boner_pillz]

SO TRUE

[@mcpics4448]

Gabrielle fact

[@jakefoley9539]

It's like his superpower

[@greyborg3846]

Same here.

[@chrisoconnor7894]

"Shenmue 3 is a terrible game and I've wasted my life." Its depressing coming to this video after seeing what Shenmue 3 ended up being.

[@aturchomicz821]

The Waiting Room for Shenmue 4 alright🥴

[@Shenaldrac]

As someone who never thought Shenmue was any good, it's wonderful to feel so vindicated.

[@ahabduennschitz7670]

They are all pretty bad but Shenmue 3 takes the Cake

[@Incubusnut]

I absolutely loved Shenmue and Shenmue II. With that said, Shenmue III was horrible.

[@four-en-tee]

@@Shenaldrac As someone who never played Shenmue, i'm glad i didn't waste my time on it. If for whatever reason there's a Shenmue IV, it'd need to be on par with the Yakuza games to garner any sort of traction. Though at that point, i may as well just play Yakuza.

[@TotalJusticeGaming]

Without Shenmue we wouldn't have Yakuza, which is arguably the full realization of Shenmue in just about every way.

[@johnbuscher]

Including Sega's favorite tradition of being able to include previous works over and over. Also, Yakuza works because while there's some large scale character shifts, it's not leaving anyone on a cliffhanger for the events of your current game. Wow, I can't believe it took me this long to realize Yakuza is the modern take on "episodic games". Each game is just an episode in the life of Kiryu and some other characters in Kamurocho.

[@HajimeNoJMo]

I can’t really call Yakuza, or Ryu Ga Gotoku, a full realization of Shenmue. There are certain qualities that Yakuza has that I wish Shenmue had, and the reverse, etc. I feel that no installment of Yakuza captures Suzuki’s vision of FREE that he had for Shenmue. I don’t see that as a bad or good thing, I respect both games as their own things, but if I had to choose between the two franchises, it would have to be Shenmue. In Shenmue, I like how you can interact with EVERY NPC, and explore the environments in detail and view every object, which is something that disappointed me with Yakuza the first time I played it. Yakuza is full of scenes that could be great QTEs and it’s not fully exploited when it should be, when Shenmue knows when to do it. Yakuza does a great job of portraying many of its environments (Kabukicho, Dotonboori, Onomichi, Sakaecho, etc.) in the same way Shenmue portrays Yokosuka, Hong Kong, and Guilin. Other than Hong Kong and Guilin, I have been to all the places portrayed in all Yakuza games and Shenmue 1, and the game does a great job of getting them down. However, it’s ironic that I don’t like how it has TOO MANY fights, which is why people didn’t like Shenmue 1, not enough fighting. Shenmue knows how to approach it with a quality vs quantity kind of thing (and the PS2 release of Yakuza 1 had ridiculous load times for the fights, and the angles and aiming were AWFUL). I have been to Kabukicho and Yokosuka (I presently live in Yokohama,) many times (and I have been to Sakaecho in Nagoya three times, Dotonboori in Osaka four times, only once I have been to Nakasu in Fukuoka, Onomichi in Hiroshima, and Susukino in Sapporo), and you don’t get into fights every five minutes LOL. Japan is one of the safest countries in the world and I have been living here for the past 10 years (and I’ve lived in 8 prefectures within that 10 years). I just found it weird there have always been too many fights in Yakuza. I personally preferred the Virtua Fighter engine in Shenmue as a long time Virtua Fighter fan, but Yakuza’s system is of course more for casual gamers and has its own fun hardcore qualities. I love how the moves are presented in Shenmue with how martial artists teach Ryo moves and you have to “translate” those instructions into your controller. Yakuza has its own unique novelty, but as a life long martial artist, I appreciate the detail put into Shenmue in that respect, and I see that Shenmue III will continue that tradition. I also love Yakuza’s spin-offs such as Dead Souls, and its historic takes through Kenzan and Ishin. Really unique games. Their Fist of the North Star spin-off kicks ass and as a fan of the original manga, I enjoyed its interpretation and Takaya Kuroda, who voices Kiryu, perfectly captures Kenshiro. I already have the Japanese version of Judgment, and it excellently retrofits Yakuza’s qualities to suit that Yagami, the main character of that game, is a lawyer turned private eye without having any prior familiarity to Yakuza (though some qualities of Yakuza are referenced). Yakuza has a lot of unique qualities and it is over the top, and I understand why people compare it with Shenmue. In the end, I feel Shenmue is still one of the best open world games because it still emphasizes on substance over style, and so many open world games seem to be style over substance. As for Yakuza, I just see it as 50% style, 50% substance, and I don’t mean that as a bad thing, but Shenmue is more my cup of tea. In the end, there’s room for both.

[@TrueProphit]

Except kung fu 🥋, you miss the whole point.

[@mondocool5670]

People seem to compare Yakuza and Sleeping Dogs to Shenmue but honestly those games are just open world brawlers, their combat system doesn't have nearly as much depth as Shenmue does, so even in that sense they really aren't similar. They also lack a majority of features present in Shenmue's gameplay. I do agree however that without Shenmue, many franchises from Sega wouldn't exist.

[@johnbuscher]

@@HajimeNoJMo I wasn't expecting someone actually living in Japan to comment on the accuracy of Yakuza, lol. As far as the freedom to talk to everyone goes, it's true that Shenmue has a more inclusive reach for every NPC while in Yakuza, Kiryu only talks to the NPCs that Kiryu would talk to (something I think Wolf mentions in his Yakuza overview) so it's definitely not total freedom unlike what you can make Ryo do in Shenmue. The combat is silly and the fact that you get into fights every two seconds is just to fuel the silly train. I mean, when was the last time you saw some mobster shrug off several bullets to the chest and then punch the consciousness out of the guy who shot him? Or survived multiple sword attacks and suplex a dude afterwards? So I suspend my disbelief that it's any "real" place but internally, for the game, it's fairly consistent. I do wish the combat felt a little better but Kiwami is good enough, imo. The virtua fighter system (also used in Virtua Quest) would be awesome but tge way they have it now does seem to fit with the style of the games as they are now. I personally felt like Shenmue took too long to do anything and wondered "why would I keep playing this?" when I have a bunch of other games that move quicker. But then, I don't also have the value in stuff that you mentioned, like the more interesting abstraction of martial arts or the fact that every NPC is interactable even if they don't offer you anything. It's not because Shenmue's a particularly bad game or anything, i just couldn't get into it the same way I don't really care for the Sims or something else that doesn't immediately grab my attention or offer high amounts of interaction (through use of my controller, rather than just spending yen on a gacha). But people like the Sims, people like Shenmue and I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with that. It did something no one else was doing at the time, and that in itself is pretty cool.

[@nowheredan27]

Normal people: a trilogy Yu Suzuki, an intellectual: *SIXTEEN CHAPTERS*

[@doggerlander]

My biggest wish is to someday see the 16th chapter of Shenmue. I need it to happen, no matter what.

[@tempestfennac9687]

@Jos I really don't know why he didn't just wrap things up in part 3 to be honest. 3 parts really seems like enough for the story (from what I've heard most of SM3's plot is just padding too).

[@matabishippuden6965]

@@tempestfennac9687 because if he did he wouldn't have done the series justice because of the minimal funding they had sure it was one of the biggest Kickstarters ever but is that really enough to give shenmue what it deserves?

[@tempestfennac9687]

@@matabishippuden6965 If nothing is actually happening plotwise, then yes. According to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenmue_III#Plot there's 2 bits in the game where Ryo loses fights to people and has to learn a new move to beat them. Having that happen once and having the only fight against Lan Di happening at the very end of the game while using a quest that was intended for later on probably would have worked out better.

[@Myth_or_Mystery76]

I would be happy to make one hit game.

[@SasukeJR]

9:22 killing me that Ryo had to write down "murdered Dad" as if he'd forget that detail

[@billvolk4236]

Ryo is an idiot. He asks random people where to find sailors, and it never occurs to him until a few cutscenes later that maybe they'd be near the docks.

[@Johnnycpublic]

@@billvolk4236 you never know sailors could be in space haha

[@brazencoronet17]

@@billvolk4236 *Has lived in Yokosuka for 17 years* Ryo: "Where is [blank]?"

[@thanatoskw8285]

That's kinda realistic though. Ever buy a used textbook that someone took notes in? Some of the dumbest shit you'll ever read. First sentence of the first chapter can be "The most important thing you will ever need to know about [subject] is [information]. Never forget this as you continue to learn about [subject]!" And someone will have highlighted that and written "KEY INFO!!!!" in the margin next to it. Like holy fuck, no shit dude. If you need visual markers to find the first sentence of the entire book, maybe learning isn't your thing. So I just imagine that every used textbook I've ever owned used to belong to Ryo.

[@regulator062]

That text was probably more for the player to not forget than Ryo to be fair. The notebook is never part of the story, it's a player mechanic only.

[@ryanschramm5804]

I don't know why, but I watched SEW's new video before this. Seeing his hope for Shenmue 3 knowing in his Shenmue 3 video I legitimately think the game broke him is genuinely heartbreaking.

[@CulixIII]

Same boat over here. Those last few minutes were hard to watch. :(

[@Incubusnut]

Shenmue III somehow took a couple steps back as far as gameplay mechanics. I was highly disappointed.

[@gonzalot.605]

Yu Suzuki has proven to be completely unable of taking care of this franchise. SEGA should simply reboot the series and don't look back.

[@SammEater]

@@gonzalot.605 Hell, the spiritual successor to Shenmue already exists with the Yakuza series anyway. I am glad to end my Shenmue experience with the cliffhanger for Shenmue2.

[@LeadMe2TheBliss]

@@SammEater Yakuza is different from Shenmue though and not nearly as good. Yakuza may be inspired by Shenmue but they are 2 different games.

[@drkirchoff]

"It's like watching a classic kung-fu action movie starring Hank HIll" I didn't know I needed that in my life until now.

[@leejk3926]

Now Bobby, I don't condone violence, but these punks need to be taught a lesson.

[@mr.dccomics9018]

Why buy squirrel girl. Also, when you choose not to support good writer's in comics that will create a chain reaction for the worst. Because the good creators will see that there hard work does not pay and they will move on. Thus, the future of your entertainment will be far from quality value. Bad creators will be the normal and entertainment will be completely tarnished. What's worst sad is that the majority of people won't even notice because they will never know good storytelling looks like.

[@brayanargandonaflorentino548]

Dang it Lan Di! You killed my father, I'm going to kick your ass I tell you hwat. I sell revenge and Revenge accesories

[@pirajacinto4]

This one freakin sentence did it. YES

[@Madhattersinjeans]

Damn it bobby, you gotta embrace the power of propane in your fighting stance.

[@mega20able]

I'm from the future Shenmue 3 destroyed Wolf's hopes for the future

[@Shuyin781]

And now, everyone can finally be honest and admit that shenmue aged horribly. Shenmue 3 proved it

[@AlmaHeartfire]

@@Shuyin781 Nah shemue 3 is only bad cause changed combat that stupid hunger mechanic and even more interest in boring mini games the past 2 were pretty good 3 is just bad in all direction.

[@Shuyin781]

@@AlmaHeartfire allow me to develop then. compared to today's more creative open world games, shenmue aged horribly

[@AlmaHeartfire]

@@Shuyin781 Of course I'm not denying that it's extremely dated and boring at times or awkward but there's good stuff in it for sure or else it wouldn't have a cult following.

[@Shuyin781]

@@AlmaHeartfire Even if there's a cult of followers to this game, it doesn't makes it better. These game cult are often composed of people who enjoy greatly the game they workship in their childhood, and hope to recapture that experience (and it's fine in itself). But the problem with shenmue is that, even if these games were groundbreaking in 1999, they aged so poorly it's extremely difficult to return to these games without the pink-tinted glasses of childhood nostalgia. The mother series is another series that has a cult. And the games aged, both in term of gameplay or atmospher (the humor of these game just screams the 90's). But it's a series that aged better and that ones could easily go back to compared the shenmue

[@WarMomPT]

Apparently Shenmue 3 is only going to take us to 40% of the story. Hope you're ready to finally confront Lan Di in 80 years time

[@Avengedtenfold]

I can't believe Yu Suzuki is still sticking to his story vision after now three games that have failed financially while accepting money from multiple sources. I have both respect for him as a visionary and a bit of disgust over his lack of awareness.

[@calamaria9221]

Yah, you'd think he'd want to take a route that will most likely let him complete the story but nah still going at a snail's pace.

[@princeali7871]

hopefully the games come out more regularly, but even if they did I'd say we have a whole decade until Yu Suzuki finally finishes up the story

[@THEGREATMAX]

I miss when Ryo got a magic sword at the end of 2... I was hoping 3 was going to evolve into an entirely different, supernatural direction

[@thunderlightningbolt6597]

@WarMom wow, I can't wait for the climatic Ryo vs Lan Di fight in 2100.

[@bleachedink]

It still staggers me how amazing Shenmue looks, it really did blow anything at the time out of the water, even now I find myself looking at the texture work when doing my own 3D work, it's just so well realized.

[@shocksword6847]

aaaaand Shenmue 3 was a massive disappointment and nobody talks about it anymore. What a bummer.

[@michaelyearwood6422]

@Shaman Xeed lol no it was not, game was panned and might have finished off the series for good

[@Melphisto_]

@Shaman Xeed I think it's fair to say that the game didn't move nearly as many units as one would think after the kickstarter hype, in all fairness.

[@user-ok8yq6nc6x]

@@Melphisto_ Because of the bone headed move to make it an epic games timed exclusive. I'm waiting until November to play it on steam.

[@chromso]

@Shaman Xeed it would be an alright game if it didnt have all the hype lul

[@Slouworker]

@Shaman Xeed have you played that trash fire of game? Shemue's fucking dead

[@NelsonStJames]

Dude, the way you tell a story is phenomenal. I don't care what it's about, I'm going to be invested..

[@revolverocelot8106]

Dude is talented

[@rossenator101]

I know you don’t care but screw it, the game is basically about a teen called Ryo Hazuki finding the man who killed his father, Lan Di

[@keijijohnson9754]

I find it annoying honestly. He just sounds way too overly dramatic.

[@LunamrathP]

@@keijijohnson9754 He tends to talk about things he's really passionate about. I can see you thinking that if you're a new listener though for sure.

[@Necromagenvi0n]

All in all, Shenmue 3 turned out to be the phrase of "be careful what you wish for" incarnate.

[@FerrickAnima]

well it really did end up like a monkey's paw, but instead of the fingers curling up, it just uncurled it's middle finger at you

[@LeadMe2TheBliss]

I wish I could disagree with you. However, I also didn't complete the game because I lost the patience and this is coming from someone who beat the first 2 games more than once and got TOTALLY sucked into the Shenmue 3 hype! I think I need to play the 3rd game again though and complete it before I give my final opinion.

[@futer1987]

oh god going back to this vid after watching the new one hurts so much :[

[@mufeezist]

Your channel is 👍🏻 Quality > quantity

[@RyogaEchizen]

nice opinion.

[@sblower9410]

I've noticed

[@Freefork]

Quality> quantitty > quantity

[@turtleanton6539]

För sure

[@Madhattersinjeans]

I like the defensive idea group myself. That reduced land attrition saves so many lost men.

[@smactork]

I like how over heavy you get when you say certain things "The S E G A .... D R E A M C A S T..........."

[@pickle5666]

......S H E N M U E.....

[@ADCFproductions]

i can't watch the video because of this, i made it to 3 minutes and can't take it anymore :C

[@TheAaronGerenShow]

S S H H E E N N M U U U U U U U U U

[@ADCFproductions]

@@TheAaronGerenShow the E at the end is missing. XD

[@quinnmarchese6313]

I just said it in Cartmans voice along with it, i didn't want to feel the feels

[@KIDHYPHEN]

"He so honest and trusting that he's constantly being manipulated. It hard not to feel sorry for Ryo as he makes his way through a world that is infinitely more complicated and cruel than he is"

[@mega20able]

Is that John's godamn commentary on plague dogs from the distirbing horror films video

[@asioca1992]

Shenmue 2: A new entry in a series that under performed in the past, that was released as an exclusive on a new platform that caused fans to feel betrayed by the developers. Shenmue 3: A new entry in a series that under performed in the past, that was released as an exclusive on a new platform that caused fans to feel betrayed by the developers. Man, history sure does love to repeat itself it seems.

[@TheHunter-it2ib]

Actually, Shenmue 2 was released for Dreamcast but in Japan and Europe

[@weregretohio7728]

So they only fucked over NA fans back then... they're making progress.

[@Masterge77]

Well at least Shenmue 2 was an exclusive on a _decent_ platform, while Shenmue 3 is just another helpless victim of the overly reviled Epic Store.

[@Blue__Oni]

Well 3rd game is the fault of publisher and creator being greedy and intentionally picking EGS for that sweet Fortnite bucks

[@SenatorBanana]

almost a good shitpost

[@csidesummit]

I remember I worked at Toys R Us in the game section when I learned the Dreamcast had been cancelled. Still hits me as one of the saddest days in gaming history.

[@hassansaeed9790]

Seeing how Shenmue 3 came out this video is uh, a lot more tragic in hindsight..

[@raymondstanford]

Wrestling, Junji Ito, and now Shenmue? I think we were separated at birth or something my dude, because these some of my favorite things in this world.

[@KarasawaL30]

I feel the same way. It's a little eerie

[@CourtCjbLand]

All he has to do now is a Godzilla video and he goes in the S tier of channels for me

[@FrenchToast663]

everyone loves Junji Ito tho

[@Hoptimistendk]

@@FrenchToast663 I feel like a lot of people discovered Ito's work via Patchboi. I sure did :^)

[@funkyweapon1981]

@@Hoptimistendk Uzumaki was my exposure to Ito.

[@andregon4366]

It's still impressive today. Few modern games have NPCs with full daily schedule.

[@knucklesechidna2124]

Majora's Mask did that to an extent. But Shenmue is way more in depth.

[@brazencoronet17]

That and weather, different events occuring on different days, and intelligence

[@brogoram]

there are many events that we did not trigger due to time,day or path. Try playing it again each time with different path that we play before. We will get surprised.

[@brazencoronet17]

@@brogoram Yeah, yesterday I got screwed by some drunk on the streets. Gameplay.

[@knucklesechidna2124]

The fighter for hire is right. :) ^

[@asneakylawngnome5792]

R.I.P to the people who died waiting to finally defeat Lan Di.

[@MetaMetro3]

At this point we’re all going to die waiting to defeat Lan Di 😂

[@asneakylawngnome5792]

@@MetaMetro3 Sadly :(

[@micahfoley9572]

you mean all of us lol

[@PassionataDance]

Yu Suzuki was aiming for a STE instead of a QTE. Slow time event.

[@songsonlee]

This Shenmue documentary was beautifully done. I can feel the passion that you put into this video.

[@mr.dccomics9018]

This was my era as a kid. The 90s and early 2000s. Great memories. Shenmue was ahead of its time.

[@retrogamelover2012]

I was definitely more early 2000s than 90s. I was barely around for the 90s, which didn't really have much of an impact on me, compared to the 2000s (for better or worse).

[@mr.dccomics9018]

@@retrogamelover2012 well the early 2000s was a continuation of the late 90s. After 2007 it was all down hill.

[@Tetsu9701]

@@retrogamelover2012 The best generations in my opinion started with the Genesis|SNES, then continued with the PS1|N64, and ended with the PS2/GCN/DC/XB.

[@trav_terrell]

Everything you said is straight facts

[@pizzahut1640]

@@mr.dccomics9018 the early 2010's are lit

[@whatdamath]

I have a very distinct memory of playing through and finishing Shenmue 2 on Dreamcast and in English. I think there was an English EU release that many people including myself got their hands on and were able to hack through to make it work.

[@AllHailDiskordia]

Same here, I live in Germany but I had the english language version of 1 and 2, didn´t require any hacks though.

[@HexFire03lmao]

It was released in Europe in english

[@worldwideweb9431]

Anton hey galaxy guy here 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Aztr_artz]

I didn't expect to see you here Anton! Love your content!

[@Jabranalibabry]

Wonderful person is on Dreamcast!

[@chadcinema4604]

Ending of Shenmue 3: He gets away again, this time on a jet

[@Emuraman]

Shenmue 4 - Land Di leaves to Space-China on a rocket

[@rinnnnnnnnnnrinRinOnishi]

@@Emuraman space China gets destroyed by moon cheese radiation and land di moves onto the core of the earth

[@THEGREATMAX]

@Jos There aren't supposed to be 16 sequels, just 16 chapters... and I want to know the full story. Apparently shenmue 3 covers up to about chapter 7

[@THEGREATMAX]

@Jos It doesn't cover 7 chapters. It's one chapter, but it's the 7th one. The first game is the first 2 chapters. Shenmue 2 is chapters 3-6.

[@THEGREATMAX]

@Jos How is having fewer sequels worse when you were complaining about 16 of them?

[@rollfizzlebeef532]

"Do you know where I can find Sailors?"

[@Tiptuuup]

is this the place where sailors hang around?

[@gazda9272]

"You say sailors...but you don't mean just any sailor do you?"

[@tempestfennac9687]

I heard they drink in bars but I don't know which ones. Maybe you could just go to the harbour that's down the road being as you'll probably need to go there later anyway? :P

[@Myth_or_Mystery76]

“No I haven’t.”

[@dannywholuv]

Did you happen to see a black car drive by?

[@charliecoke7396]

Me: I really like this thing Supereyepatchwolf: Here's how that thing caused almost everyone involved to have their dreams crushed and their psyches permanently damaged. No criticism though, love your stuff man.

[@rinnnnnnnnnnrinRinOnishi]

S.e.w.- of you play this game then everyone you know will die of aids Oh...well then

[@JefferyEpsteinOfficial]

@Shaman Xeed rip

[@Житинеможливо]

Damn, Sony executives have been flexin at E3 since the 90s

[@marthlink5015]

*quietly approached the microphone*........ " 299" Everyone else " *screaming* "

[@greenllama2856]

Till 2017.

[@sans_bear]

e3 died in 2018. its useless now

[@ansarullah2005]

lmao fr

[@GokaikillerTobi]

@@sans_bear in 2020 it did.

[@MrHousecup]

There’s always a crushing melancholy in your voice.

[@unknownninja1]

MrHousecup it is a part of his charm and appeal .

[@DAHIESTABUNNE]

Listen to his podcast, he has so much chaotic energy that he doesn’t share in his videos.

[@AgentMorgan2010]

I find it obnoxious, hammy, and disingenuous.

[@TheSoulHarvester]

That's just what Scottish people sound like. They live on a wet island under British imperial rule; you'd be crushed by melancholy too. Jokes about the very real shittiness of England aside, I agree with the asshole above. I find basically everything about his delivery incredibly obnoxious & hammy. It's grating as hell & I wish he'd just talk in whatever his normal cadence is, because there's no way it's worse than this. Eyepatch if you read this, please forget you read it, I'm here for the information & I'll still support you even if you record the shit under a layer of fresh concrete with a damp sock in your mouth. You do you, even if it does sound like a high school radio production of War of the Worlds sometimes.

[@Madhattersinjeans]

@@TheSoulHarvester It's an irish accent fyi. And The Scots have their own parliament at holyrood, admittedly they are limited in a number of respects by Westminster though. Long story.

[@sheldoncooper8199]

I remember seeing the Shenmue Intro for the first Time. I couldnt believe it was Ingame graphics and not a CGI Cutscene

[@mewmew4179]

good work John, keep it up and be good to yourself big man !!!!!!!

[@beastbro125]

Welp, time to shut the door, put everything away, turn down the lights and grab the popcorn 😁 always love a new upload from the wolf

[@distantsails]

It's Giorno, horrey shiiit!

[@TheoDGoodman]

I remember buying Shenmue in about 2000, and right up until getting on the boat I was convinced Lan Di would show up at any moment, to end the story

[@stampede274]

Is it weird that I really loved the forklift part? It was my favorite part of the game. I practiced it to the point I could consistently get all the boxes.

[@FraggyTheFrag]

I think it's kinda weird... 😏 But is it weird that I learn the English language with that game? 😅

[@Artybruh]

Dude I fucking loved that forklift part. I played Shenmue 2 as a kid, and only got to play Shenmue 1 at age 27, AND I FUCKING LOVED IT!

[@ogtriple6483]

same. i exceeded quota. take that mark!!!!

[@cius2112]

@@ogtriple6483 same, i was a beast a forklift lol playing it on the hd remaster after not touching it for years and i was still a beast lol

[@tempestfennac9687]

I didn't find it boring (apart from the time I played it and triggered a glitch which stops a fight with The Sailors happening because I was going around the wrong way; it would have been handy if having tons of money was useful for people who aren't willing to spend ages collecting figures to sell after arriving in Hong Kong, and even then you don't need much money).

[@FrankProvo]

22 minutes in: The irony is my original draft review was a 6.5. And you know what significant feature I overlooked? That Sega's marketing department was in the sams building as GameSpot at the time.

[@Tetsu9701]

I remember getting this as an 11 year old kid. This game furthered cemented my love for RPGs & all things Japanese. The Dreamcast was absolutely mind blowing at the time.

[@yaeven4943]

The tragic history of Shenmue 3’s Kickstarter backers getting backstabbed

[@astern.7425]

Elaborate, I live under a rock

[@1903JPG]

They made the game an epic games store exclusive when they promised it would be on Steam to those who funded the game on Kickstarter.

[@yaeven4943]

aster n. [Short version] Fans help fund Shenmue 3 on Kickstarter. Fans are promised Steam keys. Deep Silver (publisher) signs a (timed) exclusivity deal with the controversial Epic Games Store instead. Steam users are left in the dust. [Shorter version] Deep Silver: *teleports behind you* nothing personnel kids

[@Zazzaro703]

Not to mention did the Kickstarter, got a few million and then the main guy said that wasn’t even close to enough money to make the game they wanted so they partnered with Sony I believe 😂.

[@Worthless1010]

@@1903JPG That's really not too bad. At least the game was released.

[@SakuraStardust]

I just realized Ryo looks like Yusuke Uramashi mixed with Kiryu

[@nedmaster1000]

Well Yakuza is the spiritual successor to Shenmue so it might have been deliberate that Ryu and Kiryu look similar

[@Real1Gaming]

Ryo*

[@brayanargandonaflorentino548]

According to the early concepts of shenmue, Ryo character model was actually supposed to be the younger version of Akira Yuki from Virtua Fighter, and supposed to be a spin off to the Virtua Fighter franchise in each individual characters back story

[@FreshlyRoasted]

@@brayanargandonaflorentino548 that's actually really cool

[@teamspirits732]

@Brayan Argandona Florentino That should had been a much better game than what Shenmue turn out to be. On the Game Gear there's a fighting game called Virtua Fighter Animation which had a story mode that follows the same events as the Virtua Fighter anime. A Virtua Fighter RPG based on that anime would had been awesome since the story to that anime also never conclude as it ends on a cliffhanger. Instead the closest thing we got to a Virtua Fighter RPG is this Shenmue game series or that crappy Virtua Quest game on the PS2 and GameCube.

[@nightravels4028]

Aw man, there's just something about your content that's so beautifully endearing. The way you can make a video about a game I have had no prior experience with but still have me gripped and experiencing a plethora of emotions. Nobody does this better than you. You can tell you put your heart and soul into these videos and it really shines through. So thank you very much man. I really mean that.

[@smolpun8413]

There he goes again, making me feel nostalgic for a game I've never played!

[@FreyOdyssey]

rewatching this AFTER your Shenmue 3 video is quite a ride lol

[@Tilearian]

I watched this for 8 minutes without looking at the creator of the video, the it hit me, I know for a fact I'm subscribed to this voice because he puts so much effort into his videos. You always make bangers when it comes to your content.

[@LtDansLegsGone]

I was like 13 years old playing this game with no guide book or internet clues..took me like 6 months and I'll never forget it. This game was amazing

[@drewmorgan4080]

Wolf now: "OH NO IT'S BAD OH NO!"

[@ooslingg]

I still love the zeness of Shenmue and how the story slowly moves forward giving the feel that there's a long journey ahead. No other game does this.

[@UsernameCosplayer]

Wait, "race ducks" as in making ducks race or racing against ducks? I actually don't need an answer. Either way, I'm in.

[@mondocool5670]

That's actually a pretty well hidden part of the game, most people beat the game without ever even knowing about the duck race side quest xD

[@olivias364]

..... the whole time i thought he said ”raise” ducks......

[@windexman2280]

You race a penguin against ducks

[@hicknopunk]

Didn't you wonder why there were ducks in the game?

[@yourmum997]

You place bets on ducks racing against each other after going through a weird hidden side quest involving beating up a girl who works at the local supermarket. Then, if you go through another hidden side activity you can get your own duck and train him and race against the other ducks. Also, on rainy days you can occasionally race against a penguin who is OP. Also sometimes you have to race against a mother duck and her ducklings. It’s awesome.

[@Naeem_El]

I played this game for hours on the Dreamcast in middle school.

[@Beunibster]

And accomplished nothing :D

[@Naeem_El]

Beunibster aww now I’m depressed again 😞

[@GMOTP5738]

@@Beunibster And you? :D

[@bellringer53]

Here to mourn the loss of of Eyepatch's undying love for this franchise. May we move forward into the terrifying unknown instead of staying in the past we so cling

[@chrisossu2070]

For better or worse, Shenmue 3 looks as though the series never left. It's similar to Deadly Premonition in that it feels like a game that was clearly made for a different era that was rescued from development hell and released as is with just a few tweaks to the visuals.

[@adr.k8676]

It looks straight up bad

[@chrisossu2070]

It's what Shenmue 3 would've looked like if it released just two or so years after the second game. The problem is that it's coming out more than a decade later after games have already evolved past what Shenmue established.

[@facundogerez7570]

Kind of ironic that GTA III beat Shenmue by the same reasons that Sega beat Nintendo the first time One appears as the wild version of another

[@TheSoulHarvester]

Turns out corporate edginess was fake all along & it's a contest as to who could fake it the best. My childhood self turning his nose up at Mario because Sonic was "cool" really looking like a dickhead yet again.

[@kiaelinkx]

Sega did what

[@NowRacattackForce]

If we went back to the past to warn young Super Eyepatch Wolf of how Shenmue 3 would turn out, would he believe us?

[@ventriloquistmagician4735]

this is the question

[@KittyKatty999]

He would be in denial, and insist we were just trying to ruin his life's work(of waiting). They all do.

[@varsoonhks3211]

This is karmic retribution for consistently ragging on BLEACH.

[@Spikey16ify]

Can you stop making me cry about topics I've never been interested in for once (wrestling first and now THIS)

[@aliastheabnormal]

Kickstarter makes children of the 90's cry like an anime fan on prom night.

[@mondocool5670]

I remember how sad I was as a child when I found out Sega was going bankrupt and would cease to make consoles. The Dreamcast really was my favorite and Sega CONSTANTLY pioneered things that were completely new and unique at the time.

[@aliastheabnormal]

@@melaniel.4269 And the fact that you don't shows that you're a soulless millennial with no real connection or understanding of gaming. Now get the fuck out of here SJW! Go back to Disney! I don't care about Shenmue but even I would never insult the game.

[@ADCFproductions]

@@aliastheabnormal you don't care about shenmue?? How can you not care about shenmue??? That right there is an insult to the game! don't forget to buy it when it comes out in November!

[@aliastheabnormal]

@@ADCFproductions Because I never played the games or owned an Xbox to begin with. By the time I owned an Xbox 360 exclusives were dead and Rare died which was the reason I bought it to begin with and then the Xbox One fiasco came around made sure that I would not own another Microsoft console. And no I don't plan to I never finished Saints Row let alone will I bother with Shenmue. Especially after the failures of Mighty No.9 and Yooka-Laylee two games of franchises that I was actually passionate about.

[@ninjacreeper48]

Yakuza is a spiritual successor to Shenmue

[@decusq]

Considering the similarities that could be technically true. The lead characters share a unique Wooden and Good guy character traits, there are tons of things to do and the battles are both quick time and real time.

[@gmkgoat]

Which makes sense since SEGA is run by the Yakuza.

[@MagiofAsura]

Yakuza is the level at which shenmue 3 needs to compete at because anything less will fail.

[@teflondon58]

Yakuza deserves cancer

[@grahamsmith2022]

Shenmue was incredibly special,a taste of Japanese culture with beautiful scenery,a work of genius.

[@marcvsahlal-khatwa5460]

Fun facts: > original Eiffel Tower cost - just shy of $40 million US > shenmue on dreamcast cost - just north of $45 million US

[@battlinjoe2592]

... before or after being adjusted for inflation, tho?

[@marcvsahlal-khatwa5460]

TSGR after, ofc. after all transmutations and adjustments thats the price you end up with

[@mastermaniac1911]

One was the next step in interactive fiction, and the other was yet another hunk of metal representing governments' phallic size obsession.

[@anown315]

@@mastermaniac1911one become history, while one become tourist spot.

[@guidofedeli851]

And then Shenmue 3 goes Epic Store exclusive, LAWL.

[@jeffrielly]

Timed exclusive for 1 year

[@ccaad5]

So get it on the Epic Store then. Turns out it's the exact same game there, too.

[@akirajkr]

@@ccaad5 Nah, most people are either switching to PS4, waiting or asking for refunds.

[@ccaad5]

AkiraJkr it's cute you think it's more than just a few. Just like when Metro was going to fail but outsold every previous game in the series right?

[@GtheMVP]

@@ccaad5 Yeah, let's support terrible consumer practices from Deep Silver and Epic... I'll wait a year, and maybe buy it then.

[@jerri7417]

>I hate this game, its a tedious plodding mess >Almost 7/10

[@KeyBladeMaster-Dan]

This is why I always feel like scores are stupid and the actual review should just speak for itself

[@niallreid7664]

@Erik Lerström I agree with him. If you were to explain to an alien that we commonly boil very complex critical analysis and opinions down into numerical scores I could imagine that alien being very confused. Because its a dumb idea.

[@Myth_or_Mystery76]

"This game killed my family." 10/10

[@yourmum997]

It was one of the lowest scores the game received, so for Shenmue it was actually low. Compare that with IGN who gave it a 9.7. It’s kind of like someone reviewing the new Rockstar game as a 6.8 when everyone is giving it 9s and 10s.

[@vikasdhand2536]

I really appreciate the amount of hardwork and research you put into your videos. Its not just some random recently hot stuff like mothers basement... But something you would like the world to know in a more clear picture. I highly appreciate your efforts🙏

[@ultimaT]

Coming back here for the last video he made is heartbreaking.

[@silvapop9666]

According to the Let's Fight a Boss Podcast, there will probably be a follow up to this vid about Shenmue 3. Spoiler alert, it is Super Eyepatch Wolfs, and I quote, "least favorite game of all time"

[@tchitchouan]

Father ? Dead Sailors ? Found Nozomi ? Abandoned Xenhua ? Cliffhanger Hotel ? Trivago Yup it's epic gamer time

[@Masterge77]

It's easy to say that Shenmue was a game that was far ahead of it's time when it was released. Unfortunately, it's failure was the result of bad timing, along with Sega continuing to make dumb decisions. Even then, it WAS the very first in it's genre, so they weren't going to get everything right on the first try. It was, however, very ambitious, given how the series was going to be 16 games long, and given how Sega has neglected the franchise in favor of a certain blue hedgehog, the creator will probably be long dead before it ever reaches that amount of installments... if it ever does that is. It just comes to show you how badly Sega is managed as a company, and where their priorities fall. I know we could say the same about Sonic '06, but that's a different topic.

[@paperluigi6132]

Sega really needs new management.

[@Masterge77]

@@paperluigi6132 Pretty much EVERY company needs new management, regardless of industry.

[@gavrielshemesh7825]

Daily schedules was something even cyberpunk couldn't handle

[@quantumcadence142]

Epic Games aside, the E3 footage of the game looks...off...to me. I know the budget is a lot smaller, but unless it was an alpha or they’re going for a nostalgic look, I just feel like it’s gonna put people off if it stays looking that way.

[@TK_GX]

>Shenmue 2 was only available on Xbox Shenmue 3 only available on PC platform via Epic Game Store the cycle repeats.

[@brazencoronet17]

Me: "Yes! Shenmue II's on Xbox! I can play it and no one else can!" Also me: "WHY IS SHENMUE III AN EPIC GAMES STORE EXCLUSIVE? THAt'S NOT FAIR!"

[@Twistedb-]

Its on ps4 too bud

[@brazencoronet17]

@@Twistedb- Yes

[@retrogamelord3763]

Timed exclusive*

[@CommentEnthusiast]

Brazencoronet17 the difference is shenmue 2 didn’t lie to its fans, and the Xbox port was criticized

[@GeaForce]

One of the greatest mysteries of gaming will always be the location of the warehouse 8

[@Incubusnut]

That was the single most annoying aspect in Shenmue. The “find Warehouse #8” section was so damn dark. Getting enough money to fight the three karate masters and getting to the top of the Yellowhead Building were the most annoying things in Shenmue II. Still, what a great series. Can’t wait for Shenmue III.

[@tempestfennac9687]

@@Incubusnut If you've played SM3 by now, what do you think of it?

[@Incubusnut]

Tempest Fennac. They certainly nailed the look and feel of the series. I wasn’t a fan of the eating to regain stamina mechanic (or losing energy by walking in general). I can appreciate what they did with the fighting system (though I prefer the old way). Training actually helps in this game which is a good thing. Overall, I thought it was a solid game, but not up to the level of Shenmue or Shenmue II. I look forward to Shenmue IV. Oh, and Lan Di’s new English voiceover was absolutely AWFUL.

[@tempestfennac9687]

@@Incubusnut I see thanks (I'll admit not needing to eat or being able to change clothes always bothered me when the first 2 games came out :P). I liked that training in 1 and 2 upgraded moves but I could never get remotely complex moves to work in fights.

[@Incubusnut]

Tempest Fennac. Even though you can change clothes in Shenmue III, I refused to do it. LOL.

[@boo5860]

Bro you talk about stuff I've never even heard of and you're such a good storyteller that I sit here and listen enraptured for half an hour

[@MoogleBread]

Bryan and Niamh roll their eyes at this video, but they're just wrong, you're valid.

[@pureblackfire511]

Shenmue won me over. I loved the dreamcast, one my favorite consoles.

[@TheTundraTerror]

And now we find out that the Kickfunded third game is going to be a timed exclusive for Epic Game Store. The ride never ends.

[@jeffrielly]

It's a one tear exclusive on Epic, it is coming to steam.

[@TheTundraTerror]

@@jeffrielly after it was paid for by fans and promised steam keys.

[@MagiofAsura]

@@TheTundraTerror you are foolish if you think that kickstarter money fully funded shenmue 3.

[@TheTundraTerror]

@@MagiofAsura And you're a fucking shill. A promise was made and now it's being broken. This is fucking fraud. Also, the game comes out in August. Do you think they're developing it with the money EGS gave them?

[@HappyConsoleGamer]

Great video!!

[@garrettoliva5154]

Shenmue 2: You need 500 dollars to talk to Ren! There's a skill based mini game to earn money right outside of the scrap heap, and we even reward the player for going back to the crate lifting job by teaching them a new move! Shenmue 3: 2k to talk to the old man, catch 30 chickens and learn a move you'll only use in QTE's like twice.

[@eggsburst789]

I played through Shenmue 2 on Xbox, and my time was magical - I was so immersed and invested that I played through it straight - but the moment I finished it, I immediately told myself I would never EVER play it ever again. So very quaint and tedious when you know what happens.

[@samcherry4741]

It's nice to hear someone describe Sonic and Sega's appeal as something more descriptive than vague "Cool."

[@datdamnmegabusta5604]

This. A thousand times, this.

[@saintmerakbeta]

But that's what it was, plain and simple.

[@duffman18]

@@saintmerakbeta It was a lot more than that though. In the UK and other similar regions where the mega drive outsold the SNES, we loved it because we'd already loved the Master System (which outsold the NES in some of these places too) and it was close in hardware to the beloved Amiga computer, meaning it was so much easier to port games to the mega drive from it. I don't ever once remember someone claiming it was "cool" and that that's why it did so well, and we didn't get the anti-Nintendo marketing campaign here. If anything where I was, you were the cool kid if you had the SNES, because it cost more and was rarer. I dunno, but yeah with Sega already beating Nintendo for a few generations there was no need for the aggressive marketing like in the US about it being all "cool" and whatnot, and yet it still sold more than the SNES. It was just, here's loads of great games, here's the price. SNES is the one who got Rik Mayall to do marketing and all that cool stuff. I'd say the exception was handhelds, in the UK. Everyone had gameboys, so when you had that one friend who had a Game Gear it was mindblowing to see it in action, colour back-lit screen!? Sonic on the go!? And those sonic games don't forget were full console games ported to it, the master system sonic Games were hugely popular in Europe because it took a while for some families to upgrade from the master system so a lot of us remember sonic as a master system game first and foremost before later playing the earlier mega drive ones

[@saintmerakbeta]

@@duffman18 The context here is 100% american sega, dude. You didn't had to write paragraphs trying to explain whatever. Of course i know Sega was way bigger in other regions.

[@duffman18]

@@saintmerakbeta How is the context American? The channel is an Irish one. Bloomin hell, Americans try and make everything about them

[@deadlegs187]

I completed this in a week with no memory card (finger guns)

[@Johnnycpublic]

You win internet points

[@bobv6519]

hats off to you for that board bridge part in kowloon i saved ever time i crossed one

[@valcliffb8558]

Yu Suzuki: Yo dawg, we heard you like waiting, so we put our game in the Epic, so you can rage while you wait.

[@Johjibebop]

Ive been hearing about this a lot from pc players but does this affect consoles?

[@neo1711]

@@Johjibebop nope,it actually encourages people to buy it on consoles

[@Don4ce]

Wasn't Yu's decision. Shut up.

[@dragonandavatarfan8865]

@@Don4ce The fucker did sellout to Epic store money, that greedy bastard.

[@CommentEnthusiast]

Dragon and Avatar Fan wasn’t that deep silver

[@TheOGLunaClipper]

So one of the biggest flags for Legendary things going into a hiatus for some long years is going into a ship? It totally doesn't feel like a deja vu with Berserk :) The context in which this game came out and how well it was made for that time is beyond amazing.

[@Shiraishi07]

that includes hunter X hunter manga as well.

[@RagnarokMic]

I just wish it had been on Playstation 2 instead of Dreamcast, could have had a chance at finding its audience, and went on to evolve like the Yakuza games did. At the very least, I wish they'd ported 1 to the OG XBox, only having part 2 of such a story heavy game, pretty much made it only appeal to the XBox owners who had owned a Dreamcast as well.

[@Real1Gaming]

One of my favorite creators talking about my favorite game series? YES PLEASE

[@jamtex2]

21:04 Oh my god, that's a cover of neo plus, a polish gaming magazine. That's brilliant! Cheers from Poland!

[@salj.5459]

Jesus you eastern europeans always have to point out when something is from Poland or Ukraine or other east European countries

[@jamtex2]

@@salj.5459 Really? All eastern europeans point out the things from from PL or UA?

[@Kamil_Jumpen]

Siema

[@segat-800]

You perfectly encapsulated the Shenmue experience in this one, fantastic video. I have to admit there were times when I felt a wave of sadness come over me.

[@duut3177]

Just the fact that you made this video is funny if you're a Bosscast listener

[@Kidynamo123]

Yeah, the others in the group were having quite a hard time getting used to Shenmue

[@bruno17289]

I am, that bosscast lets play of Shenmue is legit one of the funniest lets play I have ever watch

[@jayterra2585]

@@bruno17289 couldnt agree more but I do wish they would have continued it, ideally with the other people involved but I still would have loved it if it was by himself.

[@mohammedsarker5756]

i'd like but ur at 69

[@aeugchad]

I legitimately laughed out loud when I saw this in my feed.

[@darksh1ne1]

You forgot to include the most tragic part of the whole story. That the creators betrayed kickstarter backers by making it an epic games store exclusive... what will potentially ruin kickstarter as a concept for every future developer. Well done, Shenmue 3. Well done.

[@ScorpionX321]

He didn't forgot. The news came two days ago. So he couldn't include it becauce of rendering.

[@wasiolka1121]

If only Steam has review section for publisher/ developer

[@assgoblin3981]

>game releases on a different store >”bEtrAyEl !,!!!!11!!!11!!!!”

[@darksh1ne1]

@@assgoblin3981 A different one from the one promised - that's kinda big deal.

[@quinnmarchese6313]

@@darksh1ne1 you gotta just get with the times, the kickstarter launched years ago, and in between that time, the publisher/developer relations have changed, the developer/consumer relations have changes, and the general curtain of workplace ethics has been lifted. If it means the people who make the games i love get better pay, benefits, and maybe an overall boost the pool of money Shenmue 3 has, i will gladly switch to Epic. Shenmue 3 could very easily benefit from the exclusivity, and maybe, if its a cliffhanger end, we won't have to wait another 20 fucking years

[@marche800]

Shout out to Edge for their foresight, they were 100% correct.

[@beneaththemask5054]

A great alternative to the legendary shenmue is yakuza games

[@crocussativus4671]

Nope.

[@yourmum997]

Yakuza is great but it’s very different. People always compare it, but Shenmue is more of a life sim; almost feels like a Harvest Moon or Persona game to play. I love both series and recommend people try them, but Shenmue is definitely more niche because of its slow pace.

[@Sanodi21]

Then it went Epic exclusive in the month where we're getting a new good Star Wars game, a new DOOM game, a new Pokemon game, and the first new Kojima game. The tragedy continues

[@MagiofAsura]

Then get it on console.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

agreed.

[@dodesskiy1]

@@MagiofAsura Or ignore the biases and install a free launcher...

[@dodesskiy1]

To Shenmue fans none of the mentioned games should matter. None but the Shenmue fans will buy it anyway. Very very few new players will, and those thanks to Shenmue 1&2 remakes. It being on this or that launcher won't help the new generation like it more. They spat on it on every trailer on KZbin before Epic...

[@coreyhall5065]

The technical aspects of Shenmue are what get me the most. Even decades later we still really haven't seen anything else like it, except for maybe pokemon Gold and Silver compression techniques. The game came out on the dreamcast yet it looks like it could be an og Xbox or early 360 title. And the amount of intricate systems that are also being handled, combined with the graphics, and remembering the hardware limitations they were working with at the time. It's simply mind blowing!

[@Volpeon]

Wait, what are you talking about? "1999 was a dark time"? Don't you try to fool us, everyone knows that "1999 BIZARRE SUMMER MEGURU YUUKI DE IKIRU MACHI".

[@Gooong]

They sure were GREAT DAYS!

[@bigray-sd2kv]

John Smith jojo diamond

[@bigray-sd2kv]

Filippo Botteon 1999 bizarre summer great days

[@Garland41]

Missed opportunity. When you said the main character was like Hank Hill, you could have used his one off Japanese brother... but I'm not sure how good for representation that would be.

[@A.T.-89]

21:03 - wow, did not expect a cover of Neo Plus, a Polish gaming magazine! February 2000 - I have this issue to this day :D Ah, the nostalgia! Greetings from Poland.

[@alanhansen3230]

I haven't read all the comments to see if someone has already wrote this, but Shenmue 2 did get a release on the Dreamcast... I had it. But it was only in Japanese, no English voice. So I bought it on the Xbox too.

[@Rakka5]

What a timing to release the video. When Shenmue 3 is finally seeing light, but is completely overshadowed by some of the greediest, money-hungry business decisions I've ever seen in the video game industry. Sad.

[@MagiofAsura]

It's not money hungry to want to break even and hopefully make some money. They have ZERO idea how well/bad shenmue 3 will do. That epic exclusive money guarantees a baseline at least and saves jobs. Dont like it? Get it on console.

[@astroboy3002]

Shenmue 2 was in dreamcast in Australia. Still have both today. They get way to much flack. These games are awesome and inspired me to actually travel to locations in the game in Japan in real life. Thank you Yu. ❤🎉

[@MMaRsu]

The most tragic history is Yu Suzuki stabbing his backers/fanbase in the back with his bullshit EGS move. Dunno about sailors but Shenmue III will make me find some pirates

[@allrightmeow1]

my guy as a US sailor who lived in Yokosuka for 3 years you haven't even BEGUN to get lost in there (also its "yoko-ska")

[@anthonyellis3507]

I was just there! It took me 2 days to realize how pronounce it properly lol.

[@digits001]

I bought this on release in Japan. What the reviewer doesn't touch on is that for us Japanese, there was a very strong sense of cultural nostalgia woven in the game. Later games like the GTA series ran with that concept but you gotta remember this was released in 99 and it was absolutely mind blowing at the time.

[@alecsst.7808]

U can not convince me mr eyepatchwolf, i listened to the podcast.