Sega lose Shenmue trademark due to inactivity

[DANGEROUS-3]

Shenmue II was the most absorbing videogame experience I ever had.
It's not as great today, but it's still easily in my top 10 and one of the best games ever made.

Trust me, I wouldn't struggle to do it. Especially when you consider I own no MD or Saturn. Or 360.

What do you mean?
MD, Saturn & 360 had a wealth af great games.
And were imo the best system of each respective gen.

[Dogg Thang]

That's what he's saying! He reckons there are 1000 games better than Shenmue and I challenged him to name them. So he's saying there could be a whole bunch of MD, Saturn and 360 games on that list. But 1000...?

[nakamura]

I don't think it's very good at all. Yes the music and ideas are nice but I found it borderline unplayable at times and incredibly boring.

Shenmue 2 I haven't played and it sounds much better. Seems like it fixes quite a few of the issues.

I do appreciate Shenmue for what it was trying to do. I just think it's poorly executed.

[wakka]

I think Shenmue is a particularly divisive game. For some, the awkward controls and slow pace render it an unplayable mess. For those that love it, it's usually the intangibles that make it a great. I replayed Shenmue about 18 months ago and found it once again spellbinding. The sense of time and place and the feeling of being Ryo are, for me, awesome.

I also love the pace of the game. You spend an awful lot of time trundling around town slightly aimlessly talking to people, and just waiting around. It's like 'meet me at 3pm tomorrow', and you've got no way of advancing time to that point, so you just have to amuse yourself. That to me is oddly enthralling and greatly enhances my feeling of 'being there'. Some people absolutely hate it.

The tank controls are pretty naff, but it's not really a game that requires fast reactions except in a few short sections. I mostly tend to walk around quite slowly.

There's no right answer, but it is a game that tends to make people absolutely love it, or completely despise it.

[nakamura]

Like I said, I do appreciate what they tried to do and don't begrudge anyone loving it.

I would be very happy with a remake with a time changer, improved loading and proper dual analogue controls.

[DANGEROUS-3]

The sense of time and place and the feeling of being Ryo are, for me, awesome.

I also love the pace of the game. You spend an awful lot of time trundling around town slightly aimlessly talking to people, and just waiting around. It's like 'meet me at 3pm tomorrow', and you've got no way of advancing time to that point, so you just have to amuse yourself. That to me is oddly enthralling and greatly enhances my feeling of 'being there'. Some people absolutely hate it.

I Agree. Just the atmosphere around the docks, exploring a different culture, the sense of immersion because you can't timewarp, and the slow burning detective elements as you gradually uncover the mystery. Meeting that old guy in warehouse number 8... by that point you're hooked. And then there's the 70 man fight at the end- badass.

A big part of what made the game so enthralling at the time was the detail, interactivity and sense of freedom in a game world, the likes of which we had never seen before. But for me what lasts is the storytelling. I think it was one of the first great examples of the medium taking cues from cinema & literature to make something that rivals (and often surpasses) them to leave a lasting impression.

Fingers crossed for the HD ports to be announced on weds at GDC.

[DeathAdder]

There wasn't a lot of Theft or Auto in Yakuza. So, nothing like them at all then.

I thought of this post when I got to the first driving bit, not very far into Yakuza 5. Hoping there will be lots more of them.

[Guts]

There weren't any driving scenes in Yakuza 1-4 so Naka's post still is pretty much true.

Yakuza is nothing like GTA, they both feature criminals, but that's it.

[DeathAdder]

Yes, I'm not contradicting him, and I agree with him, just remarking. In fact, he is so correct that I was surprised when I had to drive.

[nakamura]

Such a pity Yakuza 5 is JP only. It really looks amazing.

[yesteryeargames]

The gdc was interesting , sadly all we got in the Q+A regarding shenmue 3 was I don't want to answer that say . . .
Also they failed to ask if hd remakes would be out .
I think it's all over I wish he would just put us out of our misery.