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Shenmue I & II Remaster Now Available On Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Ryo Hazuki returns to home consoles in his own title for the first time in 17 years with today’s physical release of Shenmue I + II on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This remastered port is also available on Windows PC as well as a digital only release through Steam. 

Before Grand Theft Auto III, Saints Row and open world pioneers Shenmue attempted to create a semi open version of 1980s Japan and China respectively. With shops that have their own unique business hours, NPCs that have their own schedule for tasks and movements, part time jobs for Ryo, collectable capsule toys and real time weather there really was nothing quite like Shenmue when it dropped on the Dreamcast back in 2000. It is not surprising that Sonic Creator, Yu Suzuki’s magnum opus third installment still in development for the PlayStation 4. 

John Clark, a VP at SEGA Europe had this to say about today’s re-release: 

“SEGA Europe has wanted to re-release the Shenmue series for such a long time and thanks to tireless work behind the scenes, it is our pleasure to bring these games back, laden with accolades as one of the greatest gaming series of all time, for gamers of all generations,” 

Shenmue I + II HD features a number of new features that the Dreamcast originals simply was not capable of. PC users have complete control over the game’s resolution and neither the PS4 / Xbox One or PC versions will have the slowdown featured in the original DC release. Enhancements from the 2001 Xbox (original) re-release such as improved water textures, shadows and world textures are also present in today’s release. 

Digital Foundry did an exhuastive breakdown of all of the technical changes, improvements and differences between these 3 sets of Shenmue ports. 

Have you ever played Shenmue or its sequel? I played Shenmue I back on the Dreamcast back in the day but never finished. I also picked up Shenmue II on the original Xbox and actually got to finish that one. If you’re interested in a piece of gaming history that helped shape one of the most modern genres, this double feature is a definite recommendation. 

[Header Image via Youtube.com]

[News Source: SEGA America Public Relations]

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Shenmue I & II Port Release Date Confirmed For August 21st for PS4, Xbox One and PC

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

SEGA will take us back to mid 1980s Hong Kong and Japan with the re-release of Shenmue I & II on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on August 21st. The publisher confirmed the price, release date, discount and various technical details surrounding this dual port in an F.A.Q posted on the official SEGA website.

Shenmue I & II will be priced at $39.99 CDN and includes the full version of the 1999 Dreamcast title and its 2002 Sequel. In their F.A.Q SEGA confirmed that the codebase for this port comes from the Xbox Version of both games which was originally released back in 2003 in North America.  Working from the XBOX version ensures that features like photo mode, filters and better overall anti-aliasing are supported from the start. Gameplay segments will support 16:9 HD resolutions but cut-scenes will be preserved in their original 4:3 presentation. A “modern control scheme” has also been implemented that maps Ryu’s movement to the analog sticks rather than the D-Pad, as originally intended.

A number of other small additions have also been added to the Shenmue I & II port including both Japanese / English dialogue, configurable controls on PC, Achievements and the ability to save anywhere.

As well as the herculean effort of porting the code to the new platforms, there is a huge number of things we have added:

  • Choice of Japanese or English speech in both games
  • Saves can be carried over from Shenmue into Shenmue II on all platforms
  • Saving anywhere in both games
  • HD resolution rendering
  • Updated UI
  • New post processing effects for both games
  • Full controller support and configurable mouse and keyboard for PC users
  • Full Achievement support for both games on all platforms

Above: A Trailer From 2000 Official Dreamcast Magazine.

Shenmue I was heralded back in 1999 for its pseudo open world approach to game design – allowing players to explore a fully realized slice of Japan in full 3D with a working internal clock, the ability to rent motel rooms, visit pachinko parlors and even work a part time job. Players take on the role of Ryo Hazuki who witnesses the murder of his father – which launches a multinational adventure that spans multiple games as players help Ryo with his quest for vengeance.

On PC Shenmue I & II‘s minimum specs are quite relaxed:

Minimum:

    • OS: Windows 7 64Bit
    • Processor: Intel i3-560 / AMD FX-4300
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti (1GB Vram) / AMD Radeon 6990
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Storage: 30 GB available space

    [Source]

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Three of The Biggest Disappoints From Sony’s E3 Press Conference

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Sitting in the massive crowd at Sony’s E3 press conference was surreal, when the event wrapped up my hands were shaking and my heart pounding but in the back of my mind it felt like there was something left unsaid. In the world of games journalism you have to take every leak, slip of the tongue and rumor with a dump truck of salt and even then that isn’t enough skepticism. Here is a quick run-down of three of things that the internet told me I should have expected to be announced.

#3 – More Details About The Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII remake

Square Enix and Sony shocked the world with a remake that fans have been requesting for nearly two decades last year. This year? Everything was oddly silent, not a word was mentioned about Squeenix’s trilogy of titles that will spin the tale of Cloud, Aerith and Barret in a new direction. Instead we got a generic zombie shooter that used the same two enemy models over and over that could have passed for any of the countless Day-Z ripoffs on Steam.

#2 – An Update On Shenmue III

lpshen_38_01

After not one but two successful crowdfunding drives for Yu Suzuki’s next chapter in this long running franchise and we didn’t hear anything this evening,, not even a glimpse in a one of the brief sizzle reels. Sony answered the prayers of Dreamcast fans fourteen years after the console exited the market with a hail marry announcement no-one could have expected. As one of the announcements that “won” E3 for Sony last year it was odd that Sony’s executives were so silent on this one.

#1 – Read Dead Redemption 3

red-dead-redemption-2
A lot of people expected this one given the fact that the game’s “Map” leaked a weeks back. Hell, even some have joked that they’ve seen horses and cowboys walk out of Rockstar’s offices. Once again Rockstar has proven that they can still skip one of gaming’s biggest events simply because we will all be listening whenever they have something to say.

What do you think of my list of disappointments? Let me know in the comment and be sure to keep checking Broken Joysticks for more E3 coverage.

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New Shenmue III Screenshots Revealed

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Kenny Keelan

 

[youtube id=”gY6GzhjPXaE”]

From a bygone era that nearly broke Sega, Shenmue III rose from the ashes to breathe life into a franchise that had one of the more dedicated followings among gaming communities online: once developer Ys Net and creator Yu Suzuki presented the unveiling of the Kickstarter project at E3, it sent ripples felt all over the gaming world. This was, to me, one of the larger announcements of the entire conference and, as such, was the center of a lot of controversy.

Now in it’s third month of development, Suzuki revealed on Shenmue III‘s Kickstarter page that most of the planning for the game has come into its final stages and it’s finally time to start making things real. He opened up about how planning for stages were going and how development for some of the core placeholders for the game were coming along but the big thing that everyone’s been salivating for are these screenshots:

2958231-1 2958232-2 2958233-3 2958234-4

Considering this is all very early work it’s hard to not get excited if you have played any of the previous Shenmue titles at all: they were perhaps the first foray into a truly open and alive world that lived and breathed much the same way the real world does. Of course, back then, this was a very expensive undertaking and if that was them going all out back then I can only imagine, thanks to these small tastes of what’s to come, what this could mean for this day and age.

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