After a second playthrough I'm really so impressed with how they have exceeded expectations. Some things that caught my attention:
- The world is beautiful and rewards exploration. I walked down the side of a river and found nice little fishing spot hidden away behind some rocks.
- NPC's have quite a bit of depth and have some great personalities. It's fun repeating conversations to see what different things they say.
- Ryo also feels more emotive than previous games. Whilst it's still the same dry responses, the way he responds definitely makes for some funny and great conversations. Sometimes he'll even give sly looks and things like that. You can tell when he's uncomfortable or making sarcastic comments. It's great.
- You can still look through cupboards, draws and things on shelves or placed in the environment. Definitely helps create some immersion and learn about the places you're visiting.
- The voice acting is decent and has all he charm of the originals. For better lip synch use Japanese voices but I love the English too and it reminds me of the previous games.
- The music is amazing. So many reminiscent music tracks and some brand new ones. The way they transition works a lot better than I expected and works well. The music really makes the world come to life.
- I'm not a fan of the crosshair on first-person view but hopefully this can be toggled in the final build. I've read it will be.
- Collecting herbs may start to feel a bit tedious. I get wanting to encourage exploration but that's something I'd do without this. I think the red circles flashing over them and other items is the reason why, if this wasn't flashing over the herbs it would feel a lot more natural picking them up. Maybe I'll get used to it but I'd like the option to toggle that off too.
- Some NPC's have cycles where they go about their day. You see people walking home, going in their houses and doing all sorts of stuff from the limited portion we have here. I'm really happy they have the transition to night cutscene from previous games too.
Overall it's a true Shenmue sequel that we never thought we'd get. If you're a fan of the first 2 games this feels like coming home and seamlessly transitions you back in to the world like you never left. It's insane how they have managed to not only create a sequel that feels and looks this good but that it actually feels like a pure continuation that exceeds any expectations I had when backing it.
Shout out to sausage flip lady.