http://youtu.be/ihC52HOx7zA Surprised an XB1 version is in the cards, considering 3 isn't coming there. If reasonably-priced, I'll want to see what the hype is all about.
There was also something about a new Sakura Wars game announced? Kind of a megaton for those fans, from the little bit I've read about the series on TV Tropes, the last game was back in the mid-2000s. Overall I thought it was a bit neat; namely in regards to Sega going back to their older stuff.
Sort of surprised it's not an HD remake. Looks the same as just using an emulator. Anyway, can Sega please now get to letting people have a go at the Saturn version?
Updated controls with option to go back to classic controls, English+Japanese audio and subtitle support, new UI, runs in 1080p, XB1 and PS4 physical editions. This guy is a huge fan of the Dreamcast (he claims to own every game for it) as well as Shenmue, so it's really cool that they flew him out to Japan to film some things regarding the real-life locations of the game. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z04hUT23RiQ&feature=em-uploademail&ab_channel=AdamKoralik
Yeah I'm unimpressed. Other games get legitimate HD remakes (Crash, Spyro, Shadow of the Colossus, etc) but it seems Sega never wants to put forth any effort to make good remakes of their old titles. It's always emulation unless someone else literally remakes the game for them (Taxman remakes).
Yeah I do agree here to some extent. Though Shenmue HD makes me happy - you only need to take a look at Yakuza which saw a modern prequel game released, full-on remakes of Yakuza 1 and 2, a 6th game in the series being produced on a bleeding edge engine and thus the difference here is night and day. Imagine if Sega actually put the money in to remaking Shenmue 1 and 2 as with the Yakuza remakes. I'd be jumping for joy. There is precedent and it is possible - it's just that Sega don't want to make the investment despite having the resources and capability. Shenmue HD is great news, but this is a minimal port of the Dreamcast games with only surface-level improvements whilst Yakuza was treated with far more dedication and love. So the announcement is a tad disappointing. Overall I thought Sega's presser was just okay. Worth the watch but ultimately didn't live up to the hype. For example they played "Super Sonic Racing" before the countdown but didn't show the Sonic Racing game. They showed footage of Jet Set Radio high-up on their most wanted list but didn't announce anything JSR-related. I was happy to see Shenmue HD showing that they at least give a damn but expected more. Probably shouldn't have got so hyped beforehand. . One more thing. On ResetERA they're saying the initial report about the Sega Megadrive "Mini" might actually be correct and this is just a re-shelled version of the AtGames console that's being imported to Japan - so don't get too hyped just yet. We may still have been correct when we abandoned my previous thread about it. We're waiting for more details and for Sega to confirm.
That whole "HD" moniker from rumors that started years ago tricked me into thinking the Shenmue games would be completely remade/overhauled like Crash and Spyro, so in this sense I was a bit disappointed. I'm also willing to bet the ports will suffer from technical issues - probably not as much as the Sonic ports did, but those being Dreamcast games at least a couple problematic areas are guaranteed, unless they originally designed the games with future ports in mind, which likely isn't the case. Overall this is still really good news. The Shenmue games have some of the most dedicated fan communities I've ever seen, so I'm sure they will fix those ports no matter how broken they are on release. And looking at the trailer, there's even a chance the ports might turn out okay.
This isn't an emulated port, it's a proper port with updates like widescreen, dual audio, and updated controls and UI. And you really, really shouldn't be expecting remakes like Crash and Spyro as the standard for re-releases like this. Those take a ridiculous amount of time and resources to make. Like, the Crash and Spyro remakes were/are full projects that took a couple of years to make by Vicarious Visions and Toys for Bob. Speaking of emulated ports though: those SEGA AGES ports for Nintendo Switch that were announced actually sound pretty promising. They're being handled by M2, who handled the 3D Classics ports for 3DS. I imagine these will have similar features those versions had. Also, I guess the new Sakura Wars was the main huge announcement Sega Japan was teasing all along. That franchise was pretty big in Japan and it does count as a huge revival over there.
Pretty sure they're still just trying to break even on the development cost of these games. Pouring money into redevelopment for a franchise that was never a success to begin with is really just a bad idea.
Glad to hear that the first two Shenmue games are getting a re-release. Though now I'm wondering if I should attempt to finish the DC version or just wait for the ports. Then again, I don't have an XB1 or a PS4, and my graphics card is a bit old... hmm... New Sakura Wars is pretty cool, too. Wonder how that will turn out.
Yeah, it was like "You want more Jet Set Radio? We know you do! Here's some Sakura Wars!". Regarding the Shenmue rereleases, can't say I'm mad that they're not changing much since the Dreamcast games looked fine already. I mean, it's not like they didn't accomplish the look they were aiming for, like happened with many PSX games which had in-game models that looked vastly different to the official artwork.
I was also disappointed to see the original graphics without any obvious improvements outside of resolution, but at the same time I'm glad they didn't. I also wanted the re-releases, but at the same time didn't. I realized the best remasters that I would want would not be possible without delaying Shenmue 3, and I don't think that would have been the ideal solution. My ideal situation for that would be for them to rebuild the first two games in the same engine that they built for Shenmue 3, so they could share some of the same assets between all 3 games. This is basically how those Yakuza remasters that you mention happened - Sega had already built the newer engine and many of the assets for the subsequent games so it was just a matter of recreating the pieces that didn't exist. But Shenmue 3 isn't finished yet, and given the fact that Suzuki is working on it separately and funding was allocated specifically for 3, they can't and shouldn't delay that to recreate 1 and 2. They can't repurpose any of the new models into the old engine either, the whole character workflow for modern UE is completely different from what they did 18 years ago. The only option that gives them the option to finish 1 & 2 first would be starting from those originals. I think some texture updates and select model updates are feasible, although the early screenshots so far only indicate that the HUD has been redone in HD. Some people will avoid the games just because of the graphics, but for those who don't mind it I think they'll be fine as long as the other changes improve the flow of the first game. I think the features from 2 getting added back to 1 would solve the biggest complaints I saw / had. I still would love it if they decide to touch up a few things though, but only where it's needed.
Glad my post generated some discussion. I was incorrect to imply it's emulation, but it's still a pretty bare bones port. I don't expect Crash/Spyro level remakes often, but I've just grown tired of Sega's ports over the years. They're usually riddled with issues. But at least they are some small improvements and at least they care enough to re-release it (and make money). As for Jet Set Radio ... Am I going to die before they re-release Jet Set Radio Future?? What are they waiting for?
Apparently the Mega-Play version of Sonic 1 is going to be included with the SEGA Ages Switch version. Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Gain Ground have also been announced for SEGA Ages.
Kind of related, which I didn't notice until someone did a side-by-side comparison yesterday - the Shenmue 2 port is based on the Xbox version (obviously, given the camera button in the HUD) but the Shenmue 1 port has some of the same changes that were made to Shenmue 2. The most obvious one at this point is that there is bloom lighting in the trailer during the sequence at the end from Shenhua in Shenmue 1's intro. I'm hoping it's not overkill like it was for daytime scenes in the Xbox port of 2, but night stuff should look nicer than the original if they do it right. In short, there's evidence of graphical changes so I hope there's more to come on that front that they haven't revealed yet.
The only thing im really scared with the HD ports now is that people are already saying and making lots of noise that the games are outdated ect ect, while these things usually don't bother me as peoples opinions are people's opinions i am a little scared how people are going to react to the games in this day of age. To me i think its a little unfair to judge really any game from many years ago. Its kinda like films, its not really fair to judge a film from the 30's or the 60's and compare it to the special effects to today's films. However if one puts the mindset of the time's on, they can find some amazing experiences, at any rate they will always be some of my favorite games and its great that they are involving members of the Shenmue community in these ports
