Decided to fire up the old Dreamcast and play some Shenmue since there's nothing really to do in FFXIV until Heavensward.
Those tank controls.
They take getting used to for sure, but they're pretty manageable, much better tank controls than other franchises at the time like Resident Evil.
Tips:
- Shenmue should be relaxing. Don't fight the controls.
- Try playing one handed for optimal relaxation mode.
- Inside interiors do not run unless you're going down a straight path, such as Hazuki house in the hallway that has Iwao's office/the family alter/ bath room. You don't run around corners in interiors because you will get caught sides. Use d-pad inside interiors for the most part only. If you're going to run, just pump the run button for a few seconds, don't hold it.
- Outside, there's really no reason to use d-pad beyond steering and adjusting Ryo. Running is all you kinda need to do. Generally, you hold run button and then hold left or right depending on the direction you want to go.
- Try this: in Yamanose/Sakuragaoka, try holding the run button at all times while pressing d-pad for steering. This will give you good practice at steering. Try this one handed.
- When trying to examine, zoom with right trigger and move the analog stick to the top most object, then cycle through objects with d-pad.
When you have the controls down, it's pretty much the most relaxing game ever. Y2Kev and I used to talk about this a lot in relation to the controls and how you can play one handed.
I made this video on how to control Ryo in Shenmue II a long time ago. Of course, Shenmue II has analog non-tank controls which I also show later in the video, so it's not really necessary to use in relation to Shenmue II, but definitely helpful for people who want to play 1 and are having a rough go of it. Notice I do everything I told you to do in this video.
Don't fight the controls. Like the games themselves, just let it flow, friend. Don't fight it or put expectations on top of it. I am absolutely sorry for tapping to the music in this video, it is habitual.