Which of the games do you prefer and why?

Favourite game

  • Shenmue

  • Shenmue II

Results are only viewable after voting.
Sean9014

Sean9014

Joined
Aug 4, 2018
I think I prefer the first game. It's more familiar, I have played it many more times.

I really liked how the world in Shenmue II felt alienating just as it would have for Ryo. The scope of it, new characters after growing so close to the ones in the first game. Shenmue II has an edge for me for the amount of combat. I wanted more of it than I got in the first game, though I think the balance in the first game was right, wouldn't make sense for it to be crammed with action.

My main gripe with II was that they took away the ability to practice and improve your moves/technique. I really hope to see that implemented back into 3.
 
Almost like choosing between air and food, but I usually slightly edges out II for me, solely based on atmosphere. Though both are my favorite games ever, and often can switch places.
 
24Nathan said:
Almost like choosing between air and food, but I usually slightly edges out II for me, solely based on atmosphere. Though both are my favorite games ever, and often can switch places.
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Yeah I know what you mean. I think I have played the first game a dozen times but I have only played the second game twice, last time being many years ago. So, I'm looking forward to getting lost all over again, knowing it will still feel somewhat new is nice!
 
I lost count on how many times I've gone through each game. I'd estimate somewhere around 12-14 times on Shenmue I and maybe 8-10 on Shenmue II.
 
The first one for me just has this slightly intangible quality about it and was a discovery that I guess it's always going to have a special place in my heart. I think the pure fact that I've played the second one so much has most likely numbed me to some of its charms. I think I preferred the setting of Japan over China as well because it had that novelty of 1980s nostalgia, and even though things were in the past something still felt modern enough about it. Not to mention that it had all of the characters as well. I always loved Guizhang and Master Chen, the part where you're running around the different warehouses fighting the mad angels with Guizhang was always such a highlight.

Also, it had the sound of the snow. The mean schoolgirls down the back alley, and towards Christmas that Santa Claus. Not to mention that I had a cat to feed. I don't know, I've always been a beginning fan anyway. Fellowship, A New Hope. I like the start of the journey, finding out just how big something is going to be, and the first Shenmue really captured that for me.
 
While the first one had a closer more homely feel i always preferred Shenmue 2.

For me you saw more development in Ryo as character, his naivety, his realisation that actually he's more to learn than he thinks & there's more to this than just revenge (there's hints at it).

Also for me it has the best scene in gaming as far as I'm concerned in the rooftop stare down with Ryo an Lan Di. You can feel the emotion in that scene and that lives long in my memory. Guilin is a careful and considered change of pace and is welcomed as well.
 
It is hard to decide and I really think of them as one big game, but I slightly prefer Shenmue 2. The story gets more interesting in 2, I love the Kowloon setting and the rooftop battle is just amazing.
 
Shenmue II is without any doubt the better game and I think we can all just agree on that.
But that is not even the main focus of the series, it is all about the experience!

Even though they can both be seen as one, they each have their unique feeling to them and that is what sets them apart and the true reason why people prefer one or the other. To me Shenmue II just does it more, as there is simply more weight and importance in what it does and where it goes in terms of the story and characters.

If anyone is interested in what exactly are the pros and cons of each one on a gamey level, I can bring over that extensive list from the old Dojo.
 
Shenmue. It has a ton more detail than the second, with every NPC being unique and having their own daily routines, every shop having its own opening and closing time, cassettes you can listen to, people you can call, most characters having a unique response to most lines of questioning, and training that actually matters. It makes it feel much more like a place you can live rather than a world that exists for Ryo's adventures, whereas Shenmue II definitely falls further into "game world" territory (understandably - increasing scope almost necessarily means decreasing detail). Plus it has forklift racing, and the awesome 70 Man Battle.

On the other hand, I don't swear as much trying to make Ryo go where I want to in Shenmue II, and it has duck racing and Fangmei's sidequests and Lucky Hit.
 
IMO, Shen2 is the objectively better game but Shen1 is much more of an intimate experience which makes it my favorite of the two games...
 
It would have to be the 1st for me. The 2nd game was bigger and more to explore, but the 1st game just felt more intimate and personal. I liked how everyone in the neighborhood knew Ryo. I never felt 'as close' to the 2nd game, but I hope to when I replay it on 8-21 .
 
I find this thread strange. If I remember right, the previous forum overwhelming voted that Shenmue 2 is the better game. The opposite is true here so far. Having said that, I prefer Shenmue 1 because of its setting and detail.
 
staplepuffs27 said:
I find this thread strange. If I remember right, the previous forum overwhelming voted that Shenmue 2 is the better game. The opposite is true here so far. Having said that, I prefer Shenmue 1 because of its setting and detail.
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This thread isn't asking which game is better, just which you prefer... I think that's where the disconnect comes from. IMO 2 really is the better game with all of it's streamlining and content, but I still prefer playing 1...
 
For me, the first one has a slight advantage simply due to how personal it is in dealing with 'family life' and a daily routine.

That and the music. As funny as it sounds, out of all the great tracks on the album the one that does it for me to this day is "Christmas on Dobuita Street".
 
2 for me but only just.

Disc 3 was just awesome and I really liked the shift in tone for the final couple hours
 
Most of my experience playing Shenmue was in Japanese and I like how you could carry over your saves from the first game to the second which is why I consider it to be one game IMHO.

I liked the 70 man free battle in the first game as well as the forklifts. I’ll admit I have more of a bias for Japan.

In the second game, I do enjoy the QTEs a lot more as well as the interactions with Shen Hua
 
Shenmue 2.

Obviously music plays a part in the atmosphere, that goes without saying. With a soundtrack like this:
along with epic moments like this:
7hGBprW.jpg

you have an absolute masterpiece. You'd have to be insane to think the first one is better. Honestly I think Shenmue 2 set the bar too high.
 
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You do still improve your moves in Jianmin spars if you focus on one or two moves all day--the skill bar will raise. Simply isn't as much of importance as the first game. Mastered moves from Shenmue are half full after transferring the save file, then they increase with Jianmin. Stinks he is only available for two discs, though; Kowloon street fighters aren't as easy to battle so frequently, and I'm unsure if they improve skill afterwards. Should check right now, I'm about to get into Yellow Head right now on Dreamcast.

Anyway, I pefer 2 simply for the Baihu fight, Yellow Head dungeon crawling and Guilin visual and audio beauty.
 
xatruio said:
Kowloon street fighters aren't as easy to battle so frequently, and I'm unsure if they improve skill afterwards. Should check right now, I'm about to get into Yellow Head right now on Dreamcast.
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They do improve, as I've always done it in my playthroughs of the game. Also, you can also use the arena fight in Beverly Hills Wharf to improve Ryo's skills as well (though not as easy), not just Jianmin in the pre-Kowloon phase.
 
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