A comparison between the footage from the Shenmue Saturn video and matching scenes from the actual Shenmue and Shenmue II. (Video edited together by BlueMue)
There was a reason why this never made it out on Saturn. This is a tightly contained tech demo running around 15fps. The backgrounds are flat, cut out sprites lacking geometry. I highly doubt it went much further beyond this before switching to next gen development.
If you watch the Saturn video again you'll see that Ren and the Heavens are already there. This means that they reached even Shenmue 2. So imagine how much far they were in its developement.
liveswired even if it only ran at 16 to 20 fps it still would have been amazing. ocorina of time ran at a crappy frame rate and yet people still loved it
The Saturn may not have been as successful in the USA but it had WAY more games than the N64 and most of its popularity came from it's large number of exclusive import games.
Dreamcast game still looks great. Obviously wouldn't pass for a modern game, but nothing about it looks bad. Some amazing detail, great textures, animations and models.
Whilst there is a generational differences both versions look amazing on their respective system. Though I think the Saturn version is more impressive considering the limitations and unfinishedness of it.
This game was pushing the Sega Saturn to it's limits. The internal Sega developers were some of the few developers in the industry who could master the Saturn's confusing as hell hardware design.
It's an amazing feat on Saturn. But this a tightly contained, non playable tech demo running at 15fps. If this section was playable I would say you would be looking at 5fps max. Glad it was swiftly moved to Dreamcast.
Saturn wasn't difficult to program for. Sega was lazy and didn't distribute the proper programming guides until a few years after it's release. Sega of Japan was the reason the Saturn failed. They rushed it's release, and didn't support devs. Plain and simple. Hardware has nothing to do with it.
CookiesfromHell Do you realize how many games released that generation that ran between 15 and 25 fps, but were still considered fun and playable? Trust me, that was considered running.
@@jameschristian7048 Those were cutscenes rendered in real time on the Saturn. They could easily smooth them out and run at a crisp framerate, given more time.
Even though it's extremely unlikely, I'd love to see the prototype of the Saturn version get dumped someday. Versions of Sonic Xtreme got dumped, so maybe this could be found too.
Remember being totally stunned when I first saw the Saturn footage on my Japanese Shenmue 2. I've also completed both parts 1 & 2 in original Japanese format DC :D Regards the unfinished Saturn version, while it did look great on video for Saturn, the transition to Dreamcast was the best thing Y.S. could have done :D - awesome games. I also got PAL versions of Shenmue for DC and the PAL Xbox version of Shenmue 2 - yeah I do like Shenmue a little :D
I've just bought the two games on Steam, there was a 75% discount, both games together only for 8,70 euro! I've never played Shenmue, once I'm finished with Azel Panzer Dragoon RPG (I need time because my Japanese knowledge is too poor, RU-vid Longplay is helping me) I will start Shenmue
Vyse Legendaire You gotta admit that it looked pretty damn good on the Saturn. It really shows you what it could do. I wish the Saturn version would appear on the internet somewhere so we could get to play it. Sonic Adventure too,
I really would’ve loved to play this on the Saturn as well. It looked impressive for being on the inferior machine. Yu Suzuki and Yuji Naka could always bring the best out of the Saturn.
The Saturn version looks like it's based off an anime, while the Dreamcast one is more realistic. Of course the Dreamcast is more detailed in almost every way, except Ryo himself. I always found him to be too "robotic" looking and unexpressive, although that's expected from someone who just lost his father. But watch from 2:34 to 2:45, Saturn Ryo is stunned through the whole scene while DC Ryo barely raises an eyebrow.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CmNRdum_5M0.html This is 1 year after Shenmue 2. You can play it on PC now too. It is very similar to Shenmue but different in a way. It's a story driven game, there's not too much action. Point is, don't be a fanboy. Those systems all had good games when the developer spent enough time and money to make them. Shenmue was only one of this kind on the DC, I was trying hard to find another. I liked Skies of Arcadia, but it's a whole another type of game. And then Final Fantasy 10 comes out with such realistic human characters. They were also on par with Shenmue, but I think moved a bit smoother. I get it though, people were kids, they could afford just 1 console. I worked by then, so I had the 3. MGS looks worse then Shadows of Destiny, or Shenmue yes. It was more for the shooting and sneaking.
I saw the footage from the Saturn version a few years ago and was impressed that it looked so good. The framerate is really bad sometimes though. I'm glad it eventually landed on Dreamcast, because the graphics blew me away when i first saw the game in action, especially the main characters cut-scene models, they were almost as good as the ones in FFX on ps2.
On Saturn this is a non playable tech demo struggling to maintain 15fps. How could you expect it to run if it was actually playable? The Saturn would crumble into single digits, perhaps 5fps without cuts.
liveswired All they had to do is adjust some heavier scenes to rail scroll/multi path instead of free moving, like Panzer Dragoon Zwei. Also Tomb Raider looked and played better on Saturn.
The problem with PDS was that they released limited quantities of it and they didn't do any TV adverts for it, so it never had a chance to save the Saturn, same with many of the great late releases.
What is most intriguing is the structure of the chapters during the development between platforms. It seems they weren't too concerned where the game splits were going to be. Seeing as Shenmue II stuff was already being made... yet no Shenmue 3 all these years later even though the story is written and fans would be fine playing a PC version with saturn/dreamcast specs.
"Alright, Yu, we can get your game running on the Saturn but we have to add fog and reduce character polygons. Is that okay?" "Fine, fine. And the jacket?" "Ooh, ouch, tough luck buddy. Even with all the optimization we're still short of enough for a jacket with its own polygons." "NO, FUCK YOU! UP THE HARDWARE! MAKE NEW HARDWARE!"
knowing these games like i or any fan does, knows that for the saturn this would have been a little TOO ambitious. without some MAJOR MAJOR cuts and corners, i cant imagine how the Saturn would have been capable of capturing it
@@BruhMoment93_ Sonic Mania, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Yakuza, Total War, Hatsune Miku, Valkyria Chronicles, Alien Isolation, Sega Ages, & the Sega Genesis Mini. Also Shenmue III isn't from Sega, it was a kickstarter.
There was nothing like this during the 32-64 bit era.Prooves that Saturn was ahead of its time.If only third party devs could utilize its power right.Sega made wonders out of it.
This is a joke right? The few actual real gameplay moments in the video are corridors with 1 or 2 characters with zero lighting or any kind of effects running at like 10 fps...it looks very mediocre to anyone not a blind Sega fanboy
Pretty nutzo that they had the idea back before dreamcast. Even though it was demo they were still able to push that system and build those world and characters. Then the dreamcast came out and, they went all in. I do still wonder what WOULD a Saturn version be like, would there be talking? Weather? Day/ nights? Even if the system couldn't handle it, I'm sure they would find a way. Thanks for the upload, it was nice to think back of my younger days of playing this game during winter
NGL I almost cried when I saw the Saturn version for the fist time. Thats how amazed I was. And at the same time, sad that it never came to reality. But it was for the better to bring it to the Dreamcast. Back then Sega was amazing.
it would've been more epic on Saturn imo for pushing the graphics like that, but sold less copies because less people had Saturn than Dreamcast. but it would have been the 1 saturn game everyone owned and probably the only one most people would ever know about if they never owned a Saturn
whats been done to the saturn footage, some form of smoothing filter? Kinda prefer the darker gritter look of saturn in overall style, though clearly miles behind in graphical prowess.
And they said the Saturn couldn't do 3D graphics......lol What a laugh, the Saturn could actually do 3D better than the PS1, it just was harder to program for, and developers didn't have the patience and half -hearted their releases on the Saturn. But we saw what the Saturn could do with games like Panzer Dragoon Saga when people really invested the time in the machine.
For Saturn it looks decent actually. Still, of course it won't hold up if you see it next to the dreamcast version, which indeed was a masterpiece back then 😏
If the Saturn could have staid in the fight it would have been cool to have both a Saturn version and a Dreamcast version released. I would happily play both
There's something I really love about this game. I can't really explain it. I stopped playing videogames these last few years and recently picked up a copy of shenmue HD 1 & 2 on the Xbox one. Shenmue 2 was my first RPG ever(ogXbox), never got to play the 1st. Immediately I fell in love with it despite the outdated controls and graphics. I just appreciate the sincerity, technical feat, compassion, and love this game exhibits at a superficial and deeper level. This is when games used to be works of art and not just a corporate soulless cash machine.
Olivia Wonka Saturn was a Sega Console that was Release to quick... and was considered a Market fail near the end of the 90's. Its also a Planet... lol You should Google Sega Saturn. :P
Olivia Wonka It was the reason why Sega couldn't support the Dreamcast for very long and had to go 3rd party. That god damn console was handled so poorly...
Saturn Shenmue looks amazing for its time, but I read the game was canceled cause the framerate was too low, it was very hard for the console to make a fluid gameplay, if they did released the game on saturn I can only imagine long loading times (which are also present on dreamcast) lots of slowdowns and pretty much a slow gameplay.
Many Saturn games did not even use the second CPU or VDP2. Most Saturn games did not use the SCU-DSP to its full potential. Shenmue, Panzer Dragoon Saga, and Sonic R are arguably the games best optimized for the Saturn, but it's unfortunate two of them came so late and Shenmue wasn't released at all. Compare them to the Saturn's rushed launch titles and they look a generation ahead of those games.
guys, it was only a tech demo and it was never released. Sega released many tech demo for the sega Saturn at that time, they released even a tech demo for Virtua Fighter 3 and one for Sega Rally 2 and they were saying that the games were almost ready for being released on Sega Saturn on the end of 1999, but none of those projects went really far, because making a tech demo is far away so far than release an entire title.
Man.. I LOVE this game series so much...Such an absolute shame it hasn't continued. I truly hope they try kickstarter to continue the series. I want to finish this story and have my revenge! I want to go back and re-play the original.. freaking drive around on my forklift again.. throw darts and shoot pool and whatnot.. Brilliant game.
***** Read the KS. It's not what you think. Sony lied when they claimed its exclusive. And its NOT coming to PS4, its PSN. www.kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3
Man, the difference is brutal, and the Saturn version was using all the potential of the console. It clearly shows how big the evolution from the fifth to the sixth generation was, especially considering that the Dreamcast was the weakest of its Gen. Now the difference between last gen and now is nowhere near this massive.
JF_paes15 You can actually argue that the Dreamcast was superior in some ways to the later console, like the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube. It was the first console to have internet capabilities, and was able to run on 480p, which was considered HD at the time. The competition wasn't able to achive HD til the 360 came out. It really was before its time, just like Shenmue.
Katsuya89 Well, yeah, there's that, but those features don't change the fact that in terms of raw power, the Dreamcast is placed last on that generation. Having superior or extra features doesn't make it the most powerful.
***** I'm not trying to say the Dramcast had shit hardware it was good and delivered some of the best looking games of that gen. What I wanted to say was that the jump from fifth to sixth gen was gigantic, and even with the weakest hardware of its gen, the Dreamcast was able to show how brutal the difference between the two generations were. The others just came jumping to the Dreamcast's defense like as if I was saying it was shit.
