Endurance Run: Shenmue - Part 15

@gregalor: Unfortunately, nothing in the game has indicated that they need to learn new moves.

@psyghamn: They haven't even been taught a new one by a character yet, which is both interesting and frustrating (if you can't figure out what it wants you to input). You have to translate verbal instructions into key presses.

I wonder if it's possible to somehow avoid that entirely.

This is a bad videogame

@squirrelnacho: I posted below that the next episode is basically a wash because of how they got to the place too late so they'll just have to blow through the day. I'm curious what they'll do as their previous efforts to waste time have just resulted in running around not actually doing anything at all. It's too bad that these have been so short compared to a typical ER or even Metal Gear Scanlon where episodes were typically well over an hour.

If this is supposed to be so realistic you'd be able to ask Tom for 200,000¥. I see you selling those spicy dogs bro.

Dan did one of the longest endurance runs already. Metal Gear Solid.

Santa sold out to Big Flower smh.

LOVE the bullshit with the fortune teller and the travel agent. Unbelievable.

@kingpk: It's too bad they went to the fortune teller at literally the only time in the game when spending money is prohibited, because they'll probably never go back now.

And somehow they think they need a "fortune teller ticket?" No, he was talking about the boat ticket.

I love the Tom hate when it was Ryo who decided he wasn't worth asking in the first place. Like he came to the conclusion Tom was useless before even they did.

Within the context of what was being said it definitely sounded like a fortune teller ticket to me. The game never once clarifies that they are talking about a boat ticket.

@zeik: The current objective that they were on was to get a boat ticket. If they had tried to buy anything at all, even capsule toys, Ryo would have said the same exact line. It's just bad luck that they happened to be in a place they had never gone in before, creating confusion.

It's strange that the game prohibits you from spending money in this spot at all, though. Next week, when they really are spending days and days to save up money, the game has no problems with you spending as much as you want. So why not here, also? Especially when you might genuinely be in need of a hint.

@psyghamn: There's a move list that they've only glanced and they've also found more of them. That shows that there's some kind of ability to learn new moves. Even if it's not required, the reward is giving more gameplay options.

@gregalor: You're not wrong, but given the situation they found themselves in it was completely understandable they thought they were talking about a fortune teller ticket. Even if the developers assumed that situation would never come up for the average person, the dialogue there still wasn't very well written or informative. Just a few extra words in there and that situation could be avoided entirely.

@zeik: Unfortunately, the translation and English recording sessions were pretty much a whirlwind. I'm not sure if it's made more clear in the Japanese version.

Ryo Hazuki is one of the dumbest protagonists I've seen in a game and I love it.

@onkel: Yeah but somehow Fuku-san makes him look not so bad.

@stanek1: You're a bad videogame.

@stanek1: It was very impressive for its time.

I'm glad that I haven't played this game in so long. It's fun to remember things as they happen for you guys. It's really rare for me to forget the specific beats of a video game, even for games older than Shenmue. For some reason the only things I actually remember about this game are the bad parts. Maybe that makes it a bad video game. Thanks again for this website.

@squirrelnacho: @bolognarock: It's not worth replying to the forum equivalent of walking into a crowded room, farting, and leaving.

I want to thank all the Shenmue-haters who actually cite reasons, because at least that's stimulating.

@squirrelnacho: It was interesting for its time. I wouldn't say impressive, given the budget and time went into it.

They've also had no indication that they need to learn any more moves than they already have to succeed in combat.

@rakune: There was hardly anything else that did anything like it at the time. It was generally considered very impressive, even if not everyone like it.

Shenmue is an amazing game in that it can be tedious and sometimes not fun looking, but then you have moments like Ryo getting scammed out of 69,000 Yen and the game goes from average at best to absolutely brilliant and stupid.

It's not about "need", it's to give them more options during the gameplay, because some people finding expanding it interesting. Some don't. The game does show that it's something they can do because they start with it in their inventory.

I very nearly spit water all over my PC at the end.

@gregalor: No, nobody in Dobuita will try to translate the scrolls. This is one of those situations where you're supposed to apply a little real world logic (like looking for the phone book to get the Amihama address). Both of those scrolls are martial arts techniques, so even if you could ask the lady at Russiya to translate them, she wouldn't be able to help you anyway. The only people you know who are both Chinese AND know martial arts are the Chens.

Everyone's talking about Tom, but what about that old guy in green who called Lan Di and the men in black "bastards" or whatever? He was cool. He gave useful information and cared about Ryo.

That's kinda silly. The last time they had a scroll and asked the barber to translate, he said he couldn't. Later, they found out that not only were the characters a very old style, they were backwards, so retroactively it made sense why the Chinese guy couldn't understand Chinese.

They should have had a cutscene where the Russiya lady says something like that, especially since she's essentially been your go-to translator so far.

@dudelongcouch: I'm not sold on that. You don't need to know martial arts to read a scroll about martial arts. And we don't even know that it is about martial arts.

I agree that it would be helpful if there was a scene where the lady tried to translate the scrolls and couldn't, and it sucks that it's not there, but I'm just explaining why you can't do that in the first place. As a martial artist, that may be Ryo's thought process as well. And one of the scrolls is very obviously a technique scroll, and the other is heavily inferred because of the art on it and where you found it.

@vicious17 said:

You don't like Tom? Aww, that's too bad for you.

@fake_empire: 3am PT is 6am ET.

@dudelongcouch: It's not that she wouldn't be able to translate it. She totally could. Not understanding the meaning of something doesn't mean you can't translate it. Hell, she already translated something that she didn't understand, so why not the scroll? It's not even written backwards this time.

Ryo is an idiot

Well, actually... it's written in a "poetry style" that only the master who wrote the scroll can fully translate. Gui Zhang explains this when you bring it to him. So, he can't really fully translate it either. It's a plot line that hasn't even been resolved in Shenmue II yet.

@dudelongcouch: That's not a translation issue, it's an interpretation issue. He is able to tell you exactly what it says, as would anyone who can read Chinese. What it MEANS is what's yet to be determined. It's in code, no different than the "Father's Heaven" jibberish.

Yeah, but the point is Russiya China Lady likely wouldn't even know what she was reading. She wouldn't be able to instruct him to search out the master. Again, not defending why they can't have a cutscene explaining that, but that's why they don't even let you try in the first place.

@dudelongcouch: It definitely is why, but it's still a bad decision from Suzuki. "Chen can tell you the most about this, so we'll make Chen the only person you can ask. And the only way to ask is to think to call for an appointment." You should be able to ask the Russiya lady and get a translation along with an "I don't get it," and still have the opportunity to get further details from Chen if you think of it.

Watching these (and replaying it myself in my spare time) makes me realize that there are a ton of things modern games have that we all take for granted, that simply didn't exist back then. I hope the team behind Shenmue III takes the time to play through this and part II again and update the rougher elements to make them more palatable for a modern audience, as well as adding a greater degree of interactivity.

Back when this launched the number of things you could touch/interact with (even if it was limited) was super impressive, at least until people played MGS2's Tanker level.

haha, I'm still curious about that phone book stuff. That's not how any phone book (white or yellow pages) ever worked that I used in America. It would probably take days to try and match a phone number with an address since they were listed alphabetically or by trade. Did reverse lookup phone books exist in other places?

@gregalor: I must admit I was confused when Ryo said that, and only later connected it to the game stopping you spending money until the boat ticket is purchased. I can't blame the guys if they conclude the fortune teller's not worth revisiting.

I did like that they revisited the china shop a few times to trigger new scenes, though I could've sworn the shop owner could translate some of the Chinese scrolls for you. Guess only Chen can? Shame the game didn't convey that if so.

What are you even referring to....?

@vinny: He doesn't really get the address of the warehouse, though. He uses the area code to find out where it is, in general. That is something that you could do with a phone book. I remember my phone books having a regional map in the front with the area codes on it.

I think a lot of the NPCs do tell you, "Why don't you get the address from the phone book?" and that's a bit misleading. At least you do get pointed towards a phone book quickly enough if you just ask around.

"So I have to buy a ticket first" is about the worst way to translate whatever the line was in Japanese.

The hit-and-run, one-sentence "This is a bad game," "I hate this game," etc. Empty fluff.

I enjoy how Dan growls at Vinny now to use the X button for getting into the journal.

Eat that ticket!

Also, yeah, "So I have to buy a ticket first" is the worst way they could have translated that line (within reason. Obviously you could find an objectively worse translation).

I mean, keep in mind that he didn't look up the exact address, he just used the area code (in this case, 61) to look up the district that it matched with (Amihama). From there, he went to the harbor and then started drilling down into the exact location. I think if were you looking for a place outside of your town and all you had a was a phone number with area code, then referencing it in the phone book is exactly what you would have done in 1986, right?