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Shenmue's Much-Hated Forklifts Feel Revolutionary Today

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Re: Shenmue's Much-Hated Forklifts Feel Revolutionary Today

#21

Post by overthemoon »

gcbw2 wrote: post #11

I bet game "journalists" have an inside competition where they have to pick the most annoying (or overplayed) filler put in games as an after thought to bump the game play hours metric, and write the most romanticized elegy full of pseudo philosophy and grandeur. I've seen this for everything in shenmue, for the endless grind in FF, even for the coding bugs(!) and reused art in Mother.

This kind of knee jerk anti journalist gamer bile is getting old. Respond to the points the article actually made. There's nothing inherently wrong with this kind of criticism.

Re: Shenmue's Much-Hated Forklifts Feel Revolutionary Today

#22

Post by [deleted] »

gcbw2 wrote: post #11

I bet game "journalists" have an inside competition where they have to pick the most annoying (or overplayed) filler put in games as an after thought to bump the game play hours metric, and write the most romanticized elegy full of pseudo philosophy and grandeur. I've seen this for everything in shenmue, for the endless grind in FF, even for the coding bugs(!) and reused art in Mother.

[deleted]

Re: Shenmue's Much-Hated Forklifts Feel Revolutionary Today

#23

Post by codesushi42 »

corysama wrote: post #13
ekianjo wrote: post #4

Never hated the forklift. A claim without basis, common on clickbaity Kotaku.

A lot of people hated the forklift segment. “Why am I coming home from my job to relax by doing another job?” was a common refrain. The article is a stretch, but is is downright mundane compared to the explanations of game designs I’ve heard straight from the mouth of Japan’s rockstar designers who made them. They enjoy wearing sunglasses and black leather jackets and getting extremely abstract about game design.

That was the problem. The game's lead, Yu Suzuki, was not primarily a game designer. He was known to push ahead games with revolutionary graphics, see Space Harrier and Virtua Fighter. But he was nowhere near as good at game design as Miyamoto or Naka.

I loved Shenmue for the immersive experience which was unchallenged at the time. It was the first of its kind, and for a long time no other open world game paid as much attention to detail. But its traditional gameplay mechanics were weak.

Re: Shenmue's Much-Hated Forklifts Feel Revolutionary Today

#24

Post by dwighttk »

whywhywhywhy wrote: post #7

Loved the virtual flaneur aspect of this game, just wandering around the neighborhood, checking out shops, buying things, talking to people, heading home in the evening were so enjoyable. My Summer Car is the only modern game that comes to mind that captures the same kind of experience for me, if anyone has any other suggestions I'd love to hear them.

I hate the story with a passion, but Red Dead Redemption 2 has a great rural world to run around in. Talking to people does get pretty repetitive after a while.

Re: Shenmue's Much-Hated Forklifts Feel Revolutionary Today

#25

Post by Merem »

awill wrote: post #8

One of my favourite games growing up. I was disappointed when the sequel became an Xbox exclusive in the west. I imported the Japanese copy of Shenmue II and played it on my Dreamcast. Fortunately there were English subtitles. I of course picked up the Shenmue 1+2 remaster on PS4, and have backed the kickstarter for the third (coming out this August!). You can bet the third will have forklifts! 1+2 don't really hold…

What do you mean? Shenmue II was released in Europe with Japanese audio and subtitles even (which is the best kind of release, in my opinion).

I also think that both games hold up very well today. Played them for the first time around seven years ago and was blown away. Personally, I prefer the first one because it has a more concentrated setting as well as a nostalgic atmosphere. Despite being rather familiar with games in general, I haven't encountered anything comparable.

Re: Shenmue's Much-Hated Forklifts Feel Revolutionary Today

#27

Post by billfruit »

whywhywhywhy wrote: post #7

Loved the virtual flaneur aspect of this game, just wandering around the neighborhood, checking out shops, buying things, talking to people, heading home in the evening were so enjoyable. My Summer Car is the only modern game that comes to mind that captures the same kind of experience for me, if anyone has any other suggestions I'd love to hear them.

To my eye, Fallout New Vegas, had some of the most immersive open world experience. Walking alone through the streats, or even in the scrub lands late in the night, it almost feels if you are really there.

Sometimes, rarely, you can get a similar vibe from Witcher 3 as well, but that game is a chore to play.

Re: Shenmue's Much-Hated Forklifts Feel Revolutionary Today

#29

Post by jmkd »

Forklifts were a highlight for me.

When you took Ryu to the arcade to play Space Harrier etc there's a well-established if indirect teasing of the fourth wall. After spending in-game money to beat your in-game (in-game) high score, you begin to ask yourself what on earth you are doing.

When Ryu gets the job as the forklift driver this same question leads directly to a beautifully uncomfortable awareness of your self, and of your quest, and of Ryu's.

I don't like the way this writer put it, but the forklifts were at least evolutionary.

They follow a path set by some early 80s job-simulator games[1], but perhaps most memorably by 1995's unreleased Desert Bus by Penn & Teller for the 3DO [2].

[1] https://www.digitiser2000.com/main-page/10-mundane-jobs-that... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller%27s_Smoke_and_...

Re: Shenmue's Much-Hated Forklifts Feel Revolutionary Today

#30

Post by 83457 »

Merem wrote: post #25
awill wrote: post #8

One of my favourite games growing up. I was disappointed when the sequel became an Xbox exclusive in the west. I imported the Japanese copy of Shenmue II and played it on my Dreamcast. Fortunately there were English subtitles. I of course picked up the Shenmue 1+2 remaster on PS4, and have backed the kickstarter for the third (coming out this August!). You can bet the third will have forklifts! 1+2 don't really hold…

What do you mean? Shenmue II was released in Europe with Japanese audio and subtitles even (which is the best kind of release, in my opinion). I also think that both games hold up very well today. Played them for the first time around seven years ago and was blown away. Personally, I prefer the first one because it has a more concentrated setting as well as a nostalgic atmosphere. Despite being rather familiar with g…

It wasn't released in the US. I believe Microsoft bought the rights to make it an Xbox exclusive here.
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