Great to see the Shenmue love in the house of EZA!

They are leaps and bounds my favourite games of all time. I have Shenmue tattooed on my left arm and I had the pleasure of meeing Suzuki-san 3 times last year.

I have taken a step back from the Shenmue community as of late (I stream and am a staff member of the Shenmue Dojo fansite), due to it getting all a little too much. The series was dormant for a long time, with a great community being formed, and friendships made. Not its went mainstream these past couple of years, there has been a big influx across the board of participation. Before I could blink, it was 2 years later and I had put so much of my own time and effort into it I needed to take a break and chill out.

But the monthly updates for Shenmue 3 always pull me right back in, and when the game itself hits, as well as Shenmue HD...... man I am nervous to even see Huber when that happens. 15 years. Its a very long time to wait on something we now know is coming.

I was shocked my question got selected for Love & Respect!! So much love!!!!

Unfortunately for some people, the only attention they get is through stirring things up on the internet. Whenever I think of each and every member of EZA, and everyone in chat, Twitter, forum etc. I think positivity and joy. I'm surprised there has been a negative aspect that crept in.

Was there ever any negativity back when they were at GT? I cant remember a single instance. It was the case also, where you could disappear for weeks on end, and once you returned, people would remember you. Ask how you were doing etc. A lot even met IRL. Even today I seen Heistboots was in Ireland with a few others she met through this great bunch of people. That's the power of the internet being used in a positive way, and for what EZA stands for. Love and Respect.

As sad as it sounds I loved Life is Strange. But I played it with my girlfriend at the time who loved it more than I did, but since then, we have split up and no longer speak. So seeing the Before the Storm news just brought back sad memories. I hate it when things have an association with someone like that.

It was supposed to be broad. That's how the post reads. that's all, there was no singling out of anyone or any deeper meaning. Of course you cant smile on a message board, I just meant smiling and being happy in general. No reading something and instantly feeling the urge to debate, just for the sake of debate.

So, as my username suggests, its no surprise that of course the Shenmue franchise is my favorite videogame franchise of all time. I know opinions are always divided on it, which I respect, but the timing and what it achieved at that point in video games as a whole was an amazing feat. I first heard of Huber and the guys whilst they were at GT back at the beginning of 2015 when they were doing playthroughs of Shenmue 2 and was just so over the moon to hear people like Huber speaking so fondly about Yu Suzukis grand saga.

So, of course I had to ask, is there any Shenmue fans on the forums? Is there anyone who has not played them yet? Looking forward to Shenmue 3? (I did a search for any existing threads and couldn't see any, so sorry mods, please direct and lock if necessary! :D )

Even if it is a case of "ooohh but its MS doing this for this reason", and "well, Sony is not doing this for this reason", the only losers are the gamers.

Personally, I am not a huge online player, BUT I do understand the disappointment of wanting to have an online game with someone but not owning the same hardware. It could be a younger generation thing which we are going to see a lot more of with the passage of time, but multiplayer to me will always be running round to my friends house with a controller and a game in hand, to hook it up to the one console. These days, we all know MP takes on a whole new meaning, so once that first instance of cross plat was opened up, then the expectations, requests and demands from gamers were only ever going to grow and grow.

I have been a staff member on another forum for quite some time now, and not only is it essentially a thankless job, but its also one where theres no real win. You have to watch the "bad apples" say their things, which come so close to the line but don't cross it, so you cant take any action. Especially when someone is openly being negative, or criticizing something which the very forum stands for.

I think it just boils down the modern day world, where there are SO many negative people who think they are owed everything and anything for absolutely nothing. Whatever happened to smiling, being happy, greeting fellow humans with love and respect, kindness, being considerate, open to new ideas, and ways of thinking, seeking a sense of enlightenment. The world changed over the past 10/15 years that's for sure.

I wasn't aware (nor could I even think!) that EZA would have people who follow, that are that "cut of the cloth" so to speak. But then, I've been out of the loop since the GT days and few names I recognize. Even in chat (but that was to be expected).

Massive thanks for putting all of this together! This is my entire weekend viewing schedule sorted!! :D :D

Chim is now official lore of EZA. In 5 years time, there will be a bit, based around Chim.