@artisanbreads: Nope, there's tons of substantial events & side-quests that you easily miss if you don't explore. Nozomi getting attacked in the park, Delinquent girls at the lunch stand, Fight by the construction yard, etc.
The criticisms that they aren't exploring enough are completely valid. Especially after the last episode where they did nothing for nearly an hour.
@gregalor: I'd argue in some cases reading a quick breakdown of mechanics is preferable to a laborious tutorial sequence or ten. This rigid notion that if a game requires you to do anything outside the game itself the shit is automatically trash doesn't resonate with me at all.
I would have written off so many otherwise great experiences if that were the case.
@convox: I just disagree entirely. There's plenty of great older games where you have to read the manual to really grasp the mechanics. Despite that the entire 2nd half of my response was saying even if you didn't read the manual (like I didn't) there's still enough indication to look at more besides that same stretch of road in Dobuita.
There's every indication of this if you're paying attention. The game did set up Ryo caring for Chibi, they just haven't done it. They did encounter one of the flashbacks at the compound. They just never explored & found others. The distinction between talking to prominent NPCs like Nozomi, Noriko or Tom (the only one they consistently talk to) and repeatedly getting the same dialog out of the dude who squats at the end of the road isn't hard to grasp either. Though, being fair, it isn't explicitly telegraphed in the same way as my other examples.
In any case the game has clearly suggested there's more fruitful interaction with the world & its systems beyond standing still waiting for time to pass. I disagree with you that it hasn't.
@convox:Poor job of encouraging interaction? Despite the fact that there's gameplay mechanics they should have read about in the manual of their freshly sealed copy; also in that manual is a small passage. It basically lays out that Shenmue is all about taking your time to go everywhere & mess around seeing what you can do and what will happen.
You might say it's weak sauce to gleam that kind of insight from the manual but this is typical of 90's gaming and the crew has to know that.
But even forgiving that; because I didn't read the whole manual when I played this game two years ago & again recently. It only requires the slightest amount of curiosity to do more than just run up & down the same stretch of road or stand still entirely.
"Oh the game took the time to set up this weird stray cat as an obvious parallel to Ryo recently losing his father. I wonder whats up with that?" Well, if you feed it and take care of it. It triggers unique interactions and events.
"Hmm there's this big list of moves I wonder if there's anything going on there" Well, you can actually take the time to try & learn new combos in the park. As well as buy move scrolls & level up your moves every night.
"Look there's an entire compound here that the developers took the time to design." Yeah, there's shit in it. Some useful items for later in the game. Some dialog that fleshes out character relations. Sparring in the dojo & exploring certain areas triggers flashbacks into Ryo's past.
I wont go on to exhaustively list every single thing. But for all of these examples only the slightest bit of curiosity -- while playing a game that's clearly all about exploration -- is needed.
Whether or not this makes the difference between hating Shenmue & being immersed in it's experience is a legitimate contention. I can't speak for the GB crew and some of them clearly had their minds made up going in. I certainly liked the game more for having experienced these things. Regardless, it's obviously ten times more interesting than just doing nothing at all.
@efesell: If you're now saying that it's pointless to voice that opinion then fine. I don't think anyone's comments here mean all that much of anything. But initially your comparison seemed to suggest the criticism was off base in some way. It's definitely not.
They literally stood still and guessed words.
If you don't get how that will necessarily inspire some amount negative response I don't know what would convince you. Now that I know this entire ED is entirely pre-recorded I get there's not much point in trying to offer suggestions or advice. I'm still entirely fine with myself & others voicing their complaints. If for no other reason than; why not? This is the video I saw, this is the reaction I had.
Also to set the record straight for anyone watching who's new to Shenmue. There IS more to do than just stand there despite what this video suggests.
@efesell: Think maybe that actually applies when they're literally just standing still guessing words for an hour? Or the criticism is just never valid, then? If I did an LP of Mario and just ran into the first goomba repeatedly would it be unfair for people to suggest It might not be entirely the fault of the game?
Read the comments on every video. There's plenty of stuff to discover that they just haven't because they're refusing to do it. Standing still and doing nothing or running up and down the same stretch of the game.
@dovah: I wonder if they'll ever call characters on the phone.
Wonder if they'll ever realize they could do all this stuff instead of standing still for an eternity. Seriously, talk to Fukuhara and spare or something. Pray & that alter or find some of those cool flashbacks. There's actually plenty to check out when you're waiting like this. It's a game about exploration and they haven't even looked around their house.
@pandashake: You really wouldn't have thought to explore the rooms in your house at least once in several hours of play? Make a phone call when you're given numbers just to see whats up? Or feed the cat after the intro with Megumi sets him up as a clear analog to Ryo (both just lost their parents)?
The entire game is about exploration so of course people are going to possibly be annoyed when they don't check out everything the game has to offer & instead run up and down the street multiple times and do absolutely nothing for long stretches.
They didn't even look in the desk/closets of Ryo's room. The first room every day. Now maybe they wouldn't find the items you get, flashbacks & event scenes you trigger from exploring all that interesting. That's fine, everyone's got their own taste. But it's at the very least infinitely more interesting than running up & down the street a billion times complaining that there's nothing to do.
@zeik: Reading the Manual before/ while playing a game was standard practice for 90's gaming. Come on, man. They must know this, they've been gaming for years & have taken the time to understand the mechanics of much more impenetrable games like crazy flight sims & the souls series.
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