The Game That Beat Cyberpunk | Shadowrun (SNES)

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  • Опубліковано 10 лис 2024
  • Pre-pledge 1 dollar to Grim Hollow to access the playtest and get free high quality dice!
    ghostfiregamin...
    Despite it's recent high profile as a video game and anime, the OG tabletop that Cyberpunk was based on has spent the last 30 years under the boot of a much more successful tabletop system utilizing the cyberpunk genre.
    Shadowrun is cyberpunk - but with magic, and elves.
    Today we'll cover the Shadowrun timeline, as well as the first video game -Shadowrun for the SNES.
    Support the channel on Patreon: / williamsrd
    Join the Discord: / discord
    Follow me on my least favorite website: / willsysrefdoc
    Introducing my guest editor for the busy fall season: / doomedsheridan

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1 тис.

  • @WilliamSRD
    @WilliamSRD  2 місяці тому +36

    Pre-pledge 1 dollar to Grim Hollow to access the playtest and get free high quality dice!
    ghostfiregaming.com/WSRD_GHRF_2024_9_003

    • @maxgehtdnixan4913
      @maxgehtdnixan4913 Місяць тому +1

      Lore bit from the great ghost dance that is often overlooked because it's from the novels:
      Every dance, a dancer dies.
      Howling Coyote had limited ammunition to fight his war.

  • @ShinoSarna
    @ShinoSarna 2 місяці тому +96

    29:20 To be entirely fair to these morgue workers, undead are very much a real thing in this universe - some corpses might be possessed be evil spirits called shedim. So this was a pretty rational response.

    • @VladamireD
      @VladamireD 2 місяці тому +21

      Shedim came from a later edition than this game though. However Ghouls and Vampires are very much a thing (although not dead, but infected by a strain of HMHVV, they can appear very much so), as is Vodou in the South and Caribbean League.

    • @Quasimodo-mq8tw
      @Quasimodo-mq8tw 2 місяці тому +5

      ​@@VladamireDyeah, in this world, best be one the Safe Side of panic.

    • @imperialus1
      @imperialus1 2 місяці тому +5

      @@VladamireD IIRC though Shadowrun for SNES came out after the... incident... in Chicago so even if Shedim weren't canon yet, you couldn't blame the morgue workers for thinking that it was entirely possible.

    • @VladamireD
      @VladamireD 2 місяці тому +4

      @@imperialus1 Shadowrun SNES is in 2050 iirc, the "Chicago Incident" was August 22/23, 2055. But yeah, plenty of stuff it could have been making a corpse walk. Heck, given how crapsack the world is, I sure as frag wouldn't be taking any chances.

    • @yaldabaoth2
      @yaldabaoth2 Місяць тому +2

      Should always have a magical person on staff to observe any incoming "corpses" for aura residues anyway.

  • @ShinoSarna
    @ShinoSarna 2 місяці тому +111

    16:53 Some people do become goblins, actually - Hobgoblin is a regional variant of Orc in Asia. This is distinct from just 'goblins', which are basically dwarf vampires.

  • @Hardworlder
    @Hardworlder 2 місяці тому +116

    You're damn right we want more Shadowrun. Cover all the games!

    • @ashwinnmyburgh9364
      @ashwinnmyburgh9364 2 місяці тому +6

      Exactly. I actually knew very little of the Shadowrun setting prior to watching this video, but now that I've learned what I have...I just want to learn more!

    • @JimCarr
      @JimCarr 2 місяці тому +5

      Yup! This video was excellent, looking forward to more.

  • @willmistretta
    @willmistretta 2 місяці тому +69

    FYI, Bremerton is a port town west of Seattle, which is presumably where the nameless ship in the game is docked. There's a naval base there.
    The entire Shadowrun series is hilarious if you actually live in Seattle.

    • @tipulsar85
      @tipulsar85 2 місяці тому +7

      Like how the map in the Genesis/Mega Drive is 90 degrees clockwise from how it actually is with the exception of Redmond, which is somehow in Gerogetown's spot. The good news is the map has improved from Catalyst and Harebrained being local game studios in recent editions. The sad part is see early comment about the mechanics of 5th and 6th editions in the vid.

    • @DFloyd84
      @DFloyd84 Місяць тому +3

      In one of the books, the character Sounder expresses his displeasure that a simsense retelling of the Chinese novel "Water Margin" set in Seattle messed up the geography.

    • @arknark
      @arknark Місяць тому +1

      I work in Bremerton and spent about 7 years in Seattle. It's what got me into this game originally, hehe

    • @GentleGiantAudio
      @GentleGiantAudio 13 днів тому +1

      I went to a tourist trap area in Bremerton after taking a ferry to it. Young me was disappointed that it was nothing like the image I had in my head of Shadowrun lol

  • @ThePhloop
    @ThePhloop 2 місяці тому +262

    Please don't forget the _Harebrained Schemes_ *Shadowrun* Trilogy!

    • @blshouse
      @blshouse 2 місяці тому +17

      The first one of those is the continuation of Jake's story he mentions near the end of the video.

    • @BX-advocate
      @BX-advocate 2 місяці тому +7

      Okay those games are alright if not a bit story heavy, I wish I had more combat or something more freeform.

    • @cptncutleg
      @cptncutleg 2 місяці тому +12

      ​@@BX-advocateI really wish the whole game was a little more Sim-Sandbox to be fair

    • @BX-advocate
      @BX-advocate 2 місяці тому +3

      @@cptncutleg I see what you're saying maybe have it be optional how you play the game in the sandbox.

    • @Selnathorn
      @Selnathorn 2 місяці тому +5

      I wish the trilogy was better programmed though. All of them got incredibly buggy towards the end.

  • @andrewnewell1142
    @andrewnewell1142 2 місяці тому +203

    Still wild that a dragon runs for president in Shadowrun, and wins
    E: and he gets instantly Kennedy’d

    • @Jack-pm9wd
      @Jack-pm9wd 2 місяці тому

      Runs? Dunkelzahn wins. He just gets killed before he can take office.

    • @RakkothX
      @RakkothX 2 місяці тому

      Runs for president, wins, and is assassinated on the day of his inauguration with literal tons of explosive! Tho' he might have planned it that way.

    • @nilus2k
      @nilus2k 2 місяці тому +60

      One of the fondest memories of my table top hobby was the year FASA ran the presidential election in Shadowrun. You could vote by mail, they out out an awesome collection of adventures tied into the candidates and they announced Dunklzhan the Dragon won on the first day Gencon that year and then the adventures ran that night were tied into the aftermath and assassination. Leading up to them doing an in universe press conference in the floor of Gencon announcing his death and reading his wil(which was a supplemental adventure book that they put out as a surprise at the con). It was so cool

    • @Snyperwolf91
      @Snyperwolf91 2 місяці тому +10

      ​@@nilus2kMan . Fasa was the King when its about their TTRPGs and events .
      We dont get these kind of cool events .

    • @RakkothX
      @RakkothX 2 місяці тому +2

      @@nilus2k Yo, that sounds ridiculously cool. :O Doubt anything that neat would be done nowadays, dang.

  • @PropaneWP
    @PropaneWP 2 місяці тому +67

    Steve Jackson Games also released the GURPS Cyberpunk RPG in 1990. As an aside, the Secret Service raided the SJG headquarters and confiscated the manuscript for this game, claiming it was a "handbook for computer crime".

    • @WilliamSRD
      @WilliamSRD  2 місяці тому +30

      I made an entire video about it a few years ago!

    • @PropaneWP
      @PropaneWP 2 місяці тому +5

      @@WilliamSRD Cool. I'm gonna watch it

    • @radwolf76
      @radwolf76 2 місяці тому +4

      And that incident was what sparked the creation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

    • @PropaneWP
      @PropaneWP 2 місяці тому +4

      @@radwolf76 Yeah, I was surprised to see that. The EFF is a great organization.

    • @gamingforever9121
      @gamingforever9121 Місяць тому

      @@WilliamSRDcan we get a link to that video please ?

  • @ryanpolenz7741
    @ryanpolenz7741 Місяць тому +16

    I have been a UA-cam watcher since it's inception. I literally hit subscribe on anyone who I feel has passion for what they do, quality be damned. Well,I just found the the "like" button for the first time...I'm old. I will be going back to all your older videos that I've already enjoyed and will be liking and commenting on them as well. You do amazing work every time I watch sir. Being unemployed makes it nigh impossible for me to support you financially directly,but I hope this helps. Thanks for all the great work and hours of edutainment.

    • @drewgoin8849
      @drewgoin8849 5 днів тому

      Duuuude. 😂
      I learned recently that there is a cap on the number of videos you can "Like" (5,000). After about two weeks without liking any videos, I suddenly was able to do it again. However, my UA-cam app no longer keeps tabs on which videos I previously have liked.

  • @Jack-pm9wd
    @Jack-pm9wd 2 місяці тому +23

    Shadowrun is a wild lore dive that this just barely touches the edge of. Would love to see more videos. I was always surprised there weren't more Shadowrun games out there.

  • @-digitama-
    @-digitama- 2 місяці тому +28

    Shadowrun is a premise that at first glance seems like it really shouldn't work so well, but it does and it's so unique for it. Had some of the most compelling stories playing in this setting, it's got the capacity for a lot of humour but also really gritty moments. Would recommend the Shadowrun Returns game series to anyone that hasn't played it yet - first one is a bit rough around the edges but they're really fun and a great tour of the setting.

  • @ronh4658
    @ronh4658 2 місяці тому +23

    Another commenter alluded to this: if you bring hirelings along with you on the final mission, they all die in the final shootout - EXCEPT Kitsune, who makes it out with you in the helicopter. So Jake's got that going for him at least.
    Also, there's a spot in the crypt where, if you have the best armor in the game, you can stand with all of your hirelings behind you. The ghouls can't get to them, and they can't get through you, and you can just leave the game running to grind.

  • @diamondhamster4320
    @diamondhamster4320 2 місяці тому +71

    Well, true, Shadowrun Hong Kong is one of the modern CRPG hidden gems.

    • @Ograr
      @Ograr 2 місяці тому +17

      Both Dragonfall and Hong Kong were so much better than I expected. Both are incredible stories with fun NPC's and excellent writing, that I've replayed many times. Shadowrun Returns is fine, but clearly a prototype for what came after.

    • @diamondhamster4320
      @diamondhamster4320 2 місяці тому +1

      @@Ograr True, true.

    • @melfice999
      @melfice999 Місяць тому +3

      For a fan of the Shadowrun HK and DF do play the Artumbra Saga! that is a great mod saga. And well worth the time, even if the earlier releases suffer a bit from modder wonk.

    • @arknark
      @arknark Місяць тому

      @@Ograr Seriously great stories, they were!

  • @therealdoomsage
    @therealdoomsage 2 місяці тому +75

    @10:00 You can tell the dwarven babies apart from the human babies by the spelling on their birth certificate. (which we all know comes from the womb at the time of birth, like a placenta receipt... a Placeipt.)
    If it's a dwarf it'll say 'miner' instead of 'minor'.

  • @nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115
    @nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115 2 місяці тому +227

    The king of England becoming a goblin/orc/troll would surprise to no one with a pinch of knowledge in hidden history.

    • @powerist209
      @powerist209 2 місяці тому +5

      Explain?

    • @adcon00
      @adcon00 2 місяці тому +9

      "hidden history"?

    • @i.f.5566
      @i.f.5566 2 місяці тому +24

      @@adcon00bro dropped some potentially interesting lore and just dipped 😂

    • @tassadarc8069
      @tassadarc8069 2 місяці тому +11

      @@i.f.5566 As one does when the corpos find out.

    • @fugitiveunknown7806
      @fugitiveunknown7806 2 місяці тому +29

      Ok... so. I think this is what they are getting at.
      Shadowrun is actually set in the same universe as FASA's OTHER big but not nearly as popular RPG, Earthdawn.
      This is not some weird fan theory, there's numerous characters who are literally Earthdawn NPC's who are still around in SR, dropping lore nuggets in some of the books and getting the PC's caught up in their plots.
      I know very little about Earthdawn but I believe this is related to that.

  • @tilervonbiscuitbrown4393
    @tilervonbiscuitbrown4393 2 місяці тому +8

    I would give anything for the success of BG3 to inspire another crpg style Shadowrun game like Dragonfall. That one is one of my favorite games of all time. Hong Kong is a close second.

  • @peaceofcrap
    @peaceofcrap 2 місяці тому +14

    William System Reboot Decker is my new favorite version of William SRD

    • @DarrylCross
      @DarrylCross Місяць тому

      I liked it too. Though I couldn't help but think that the Troll Decker going by the moniker L1m3r1ck -- who fancies himself a bit of a poet -- wouldn't try to rhyme it with Drekker.

  • @RoboJay-jq3cu
    @RoboJay-jq3cu 2 місяці тому +26

    30:12 You know, I hear vTubers in many places these days, but I was not expecting Momosuzu Nenechi's voice to show up in my TTRPG videogame video.
    I'm not complaining though. Just a bit of a Nene jumpscare. Good video.

  • @zacharythomasfreeman
    @zacharythomasfreeman 2 місяці тому +22

    So, the deal with Kitsune is that there are two versions of the SNES game. The original release gives you a narrative clue that you should interact with her because she is Jake's ex-girlfriend and has a sexually suggestive dialog option which were cut out of the later version. Also, if you keep her alive, she is one of the few NPCs that appears in the end game cutscenes.
    Shadowrun is my favorite setting and RPG franchise, so I hope you get to cover the rest of the games!

  • @Agent789_0
    @Agent789_0 2 місяці тому +28

    Shadowrun is one of the greatest settings of all time. I really hope we get more games set in it one day.

  • @Glazius7
    @Glazius7 2 місяці тому +22

    Jake's story feels like something you'd write if you got a vague idea of Shadowrun lore and then just ran with it, and honestly that's both good and bad. The spirits and dragons and metas and megacorporate schemes all come together in a very paperback adventure kind of way, but they're more playing those paperback adventure roles than they are anything specific to Shadowrun.

    • @vxicepickxv
      @vxicepickxv 2 місяці тому +6

      The source of Shadowrun for the SNES was the novel Never Deal With a Dragon. The executives at FASA didn't like the preview to the system they saw, so they paid for the Genesis version to be made.

    • @fugitiveunknown7806
      @fugitiveunknown7806 2 місяці тому +8

      Yeah, the SNES/GENESIS games approach the game from very different directions.
      The SNES game is, IMO, far superior at introducing people to the world given the tabula rasa start and the fact you explore everything. It's also way more playable as a video game, IMO.
      The GENESIS game is far superior at creating something that feels more like the RPG and copies the rules. I can see how it would appeal more to the RPG fans.
      Personally, I prefer the SNES game as the story is more approachable (and the music absolutely killer) except in one aspect: the genesis version's netrunning is so superior to the SNES it's not even funny. I'd honestly remove the entire matrix from the SNES game if I could, it's AWFUL.

    • @Anomaly188
      @Anomaly188 2 місяці тому +4

      @@fugitiveunknown7806 SNES matrix is just minesweeper, and the Matrix on Genesis was praised at the time for having some of the best graphics and effects the Genesis could pump out. It uses a pseudo Mode 7 effect.

    • @MCArt25
      @MCArt25 2 місяці тому +1

      A lot of Shadowrun's lore is very surface level and bird's eye view, plus it went through dozens of people all adding their takes on it. There isn't a lot of the game that ties directly to the Tabletop lore (in that it doesn't namedrop famous NPCs or something to that effect), but I don't see anything that really contradicts it either.

    • @Anomaly188
      @Anomaly188 2 місяці тому +1

      @@MCArt25 Besides having a shaman MC who can still use magic after installing invasive cyberware like dermal plating and wired reflexes. Cyberware eats away at your essence and kills your ability to efficiently use magic, which is a big detriment in a game like Shadowrun which almost requires minmaxxing and specialization.

  • @IronChitlinSA
    @IronChitlinSA 2 місяці тому +6

    You have a serious gift for explaining tabletop settings to ignorant people like me who only play video games. If your videos were just about the backstory, they would still be great. I started playing the first Harebrained Shadowrun RPG a while back and I might have been more into it had I known about the absolute bonkers background lore.

  • @hakanyucel7422
    @hakanyucel7422 Місяць тому +2

    Please don’t stop this series of videos about shadow run games. I love it. You’ve done a great job here.

  • @qwellen7521
    @qwellen7521 2 місяці тому +24

    To think one of the most successful TTRPG’s in the world has a lore moment of “and then some of us went goblin mode”

  • @jeremiahs9518
    @jeremiahs9518 2 місяці тому +5

    I always thought the concept of Shadowrun was really interesting, but the execution hasn't always been that great. My introduction to the series was the multiplayer only counterstrike clone shooter that didn't really seem to last. I enjoyed the CRPGs though they had a lot of jank. Glad to see your covering this series.

  • @ElSpiko
    @ElSpiko 2 місяці тому +14

    SNES SR was great, but Sega Genesis Shadowrun is still one of the best open world RPGs ever made!

    • @JaymeSplendid
      @JaymeSplendid 2 місяці тому +3

      This.
      100% this.
      People who say that the SNES version is better, never played the Sega version. To this day, there are three games I always go back to:
      Phantasy Star Series(count that as one!)
      Dungeons &Dragons Warriors Of The Eternal Sun (Best D&D console port ever)
      And Shadowrun.

    • @NefariousKoel
      @NefariousKoel Місяць тому +1

      The Genesis version was a great sandbox. Something quite rare for consoles at that time, and quite an accomplishment. I usually hate mini-games but the decking mini-game in the Genesis version was damn addictive.

  • @ThePhantomSquee
    @ThePhantomSquee Місяць тому +1

    I always watch these thinking "Well, I'm not super interested in this setting, but I'll watch just to support the channel," and every time I come away from it actually interested in the setting history after all. You've got a real knack for talking through these in a way that hypes them up! I *reckon* I'll enjoy that Halloween video just as much.

    • @ecbrown6151
      @ecbrown6151 29 днів тому

      Steam has three Shadowrun games that are super inexpensive, the consensus is that Shadowrun: Hong Kong and Dragonfall are excellent. I just started Dragonfall and Im definitely enjoying it.

  • @punchsnonsense2336
    @punchsnonsense2336 2 місяці тому +5

    Shadowrun is a setting I’ll always have a soft spot for. The supplements FASA released were a lot of fun, as a lot of the info would be written as if the book was their equivalent of a Wikipedia article that had lots of users commenting on it.

    • @Anomaly188
      @Anomaly188 2 місяці тому +2

      They still do that. Look up the Gun Heaven supplements sometime and you'll see Slamm-O! spitballing an idea of selling hometooled Sig P226s for cheap to wannabe razorboys needing a piece. Or Kane calling a particular LMG a piece of crap because it kept jamming when he got ambushed on a beach while on vacation.

    • @punchsnonsense2336
      @punchsnonsense2336 2 місяці тому

      @@Anomaly188 nice! I always loved that as an aesthetic choice. Made the material feel unique.

  • @Pendragon667
    @Pendragon667 2 місяці тому +8

    I remember finding the SNES game on a flea market when i was... 12ish.
    I had no idea what Shadowrun was but really like the artworks and overall design on and of the box and the description on the back.
    That was my introduction to not only Shadowrun but tabletop in general (although i had no idea that something like this exists, what tabletop is and that there are many other systems like DnD, DSA, Warhammer 40k etc.
    But i do know that it was love at first sight.
    Oh: and if you happen to make a review of the 3 Steam games, would you consider taking another dive into the lore, especially the Dragons?
    The section about Dragons in the official Wiki is huge and they play such an important role in the Shadowrun lore.

  • @ScotRotum
    @ScotRotum 2 місяці тому +8

    I had a great time with the hairbrained schemes games. The characters of Dragonfall (the second game) had me feeling personally invested in their stories. The third game is set in a somehow more dystopian version of Kowloon walled city ruled by a knockoff version of Sigil's lady of pain. The setting was oppressive and hostile in just the right way.
    One side mission (forget for which game) has you doing feng shui terrorism to ruin one company on behalf of another; funny stuff.

    • @VladamireD
      @VladamireD 2 місяці тому +2

      That would be Hong Kong, the 3rd game.

  • @yaldabaoth2
    @yaldabaoth2 Місяць тому +5

    14:13 It's not specifically spelled out but in the Dragonheart trilogy of novels it is said that the Ghost Dance created a massive manaspike that a) alerted the horrors to our world far too early in the cycle and b) increased mana levels in the world at an alarming pace directly leading to the massive upheavals in the following 30 years (goblinizations, hmmvv, insect spirit outbreaks etc). If the native americans became aware of what they were doing there (and that they got duped by whoever taught them this gigantic blood magic ritual *cough* Aztlan *cough*), they might have stopped voluntarily and got the best treaty they could. Nothing is ever what it seems in Shadowrun.

  • @tirirana
    @tirirana 2 місяці тому +7

    also nice touch of using the pathologic soundtrack for the VITAS pandemic

  • @Crocogator
    @Crocogator 2 місяці тому +8

    Shadowrun is such a wild setting, and all the games have a special place in my heart. Even the team based shooter game for the 360. I remember my friends thinking it was going to be a gears of war or halo killer, especially with the cross play.

    • @chucklebutt4470
      @chucklebutt4470 2 місяці тому

      I just found out that the 2007 Shadowrun FPS still has players, apparently 😮

    • @SamuraiHonor
      @SamuraiHonor 2 місяці тому +2

      There's still a dedicated group running the game.
      Got a discord with some of the og creators in there.
      Wild to see names in there that I used to run the game with 10+ years ago

  • @stevanmarkovski4956
    @stevanmarkovski4956 2 місяці тому +8

    My favorite cyberpunk stuff as a kid was this Italian comic book series which was translated to Croatian, called Nathan Never. I loved it to bits. 20 years later, I found some of them and realized that they had stolen ideas from just about any scifi or cyberpunk movie, book, stories, you name it, that you could think of. And, the comic was a Lot cheesier than I remember. Still, that was my first foray into the genre.

    • @chrip8614
      @chrip8614 2 місяці тому +1

      It is still running and getting new issues BTW, even got a bunch of spin-offs back in the early 2000

  • @MovieMan1710
    @MovieMan1710 2 місяці тому +59

    Shadowrun is one of those games where I really love the setting and lore (Urban Fantasy is a personal favorite of mine) but it definitely comes off as a franchise that works way better as a video game than a tabletop game.
    With how successful Cyberpunk became, hoping some studio takes a crack at a Shadowrun game on a similar scale

    • @ShinoSarna
      @ShinoSarna 2 місяці тому +12

      In case you're curious, there are three modern cRPG games in Shadowrun universe. The first, Shadowrun Returns is just okay, but the latter 2 (Dragonfall and Hong Kong) are amazing. They are more of the classic isometric 2D type, though.

    • @Snyperwolf91
      @Snyperwolf91 2 місяці тому +4

      The TTRPG is actually great when its rules are homebrewed and streamlined.
      While i can complain about 6e till day and night passes through , i still homebrewed it into a playable system and i love it.
      The TTRPGs arent bad but it takes a while to get into the groove and changes to smoothing out the groove even more.

    • @chucklebutt4470
      @chucklebutt4470 2 місяці тому

      @@ShinoSarna There was also a multiplayer FPS from 2007 that was really cool! I just looked and it's still fully playable and has a dedicated fan base, whoaaaa

    • @Jourdan0311
      @Jourdan0311 2 місяці тому

      Elex is pretty similar

    • @CanadianWolverine
      @CanadianWolverine 2 місяці тому +2

      @@Snyperwolf91I played about 43 sessions of Shadowrun 6e and it was a Pink Mohawk blast, way more fun than 4e. Maybe you had a bad GM or just haven’t played it?

  • @Hellion47
    @Hellion47 2 місяці тому +6

    Thank you so much for covering Shadowrun, will you be covering the Sega Genesis version of SR or the the SR Trilogy on current consoles?

  • @SollowP
    @SollowP 2 місяці тому +11

    I played some SR 5E a few years ago and my impression was that I LOVED the system and mechanics of the game.
    Just getting a +1 to your roll because you were better at it than the other player seemed a bit boring to me, so getting an additional die to roll always seemed more impactful. One player got 4d6 to their check while another player got a 6d6 instead to the same roll. There was some real clutch rolls for those who only had a 1d6.
    What I did hate though was the actual rule book since just about every single action and rule was broken up between 3 different pages in the book.
    "Ohh you want to look up how to make a jump? Movement is on page 162, but movement in combat is on 231 and specific actions is on page 412. Have fun!"

    • @Stirbreich
      @Stirbreich 2 місяці тому +2

      Hahaha That's how Shadowrun is, cool mechanics, great lore, no layout 😁

    • @hellbreakfast1590
      @hellbreakfast1590 2 місяці тому +4

      The game wouldn't come off as so overcomplicated if it weren't for the way the books are laid out. I played for quite a while just struggling until digging up the fucking quickstart guide and I then I was like "Wait, that's it?" The writers are so much more interested in writing microfiction than actually creating a book that makes any sense to a player.
      I say this as a man with a massive, screaming hardon for the lore.

    • @Snyperwolf91
      @Snyperwolf91 2 місяці тому +5

      ​@@hellbreakfast1590Yeah . Even 6e screams to be homebrewed and houseruled to clarify this systems shortcomings .
      The TTRPGs are awesome after you made it playable .
      And dont get me started about the supplements . After more than 3+4 years we got a beastiary .
      Shadowrun 1e-3e had from the start creatures and enemy stats in the rulesbook alone .
      CGL is absolute horrendous about SR but SR isnt still a total loss .

    • @Anomaly188
      @Anomaly188 2 місяці тому +1

      Catalyst is infamously shit at formatting their books. They straight up just don't know how to organize anything. Unfortunately I've never been able to get my hands on the old FASA or WizKids books so I don't know if they're any better.

    • @Stirbreich
      @Stirbreich 2 місяці тому +1

      @@hellbreakfast1590 Yeah, it would be easier to find rules if there was a clearer distinction in the text between lore/fluff and mechanics.
      But to be fair Shadowrun is a pretty complicated game.

  • @konstantingenchev1633
    @konstantingenchev1633 2 місяці тому +30

    The Shadowrun games were my first contact with the universe and I love them to death. I could never get into the tabletop due to it's, in my opinion, overcomplexity, however I would love it if you could keep covering the rest of the games. The world is facinating and the games while relatively simple are very fun as well.

    • @sickjoe9174
      @sickjoe9174 2 місяці тому

      yeah havin like 7 steps to go through just to apply damage to a character is beyond brutal, DnD combat is slow enough as is and doesn't have half that shit :D

    • @wadejohnston4305
      @wadejohnston4305 2 місяці тому +1

      There's a decent amount of fiction books that are out there with TONS of lore in them. Jussss sayin

    • @konstantingenchev1633
      @konstantingenchev1633 2 місяці тому

      @@wadejohnston4305 Really? Never heard of them, and honestly never considered looking. I'll look into it, thanks! Any recommendations?

    • @L1vv4n
      @L1vv4n 2 місяці тому +1

      Yes.
      I keep planing to do a TT hacked version of the system from the harebrained games.
      I love myself some complicated TT math (like I even have idea of emulating effects of bullet drop and energy loss in consideration to aiming difficulty and armor piercing), but what I've seen of shadowrun editions they are over-complicated for no real reason of emulation/simulation of real interaction just a lot of math which can be reduced without actually affecting result.

    • @yaldabaoth2
      @yaldabaoth2 Місяць тому

      You could read the dozens of novels.

  • @RonaldoLuizPedroso
    @RonaldoLuizPedroso 2 місяці тому +3

    Finally some Shadowrun love, chummer

  • @galacticironmike4516
    @galacticironmike4516 2 місяці тому +3

    Yes! More shadowrun please! I am actually in the midst of playing the 1st of the more modern games!

  • @evrfreez
    @evrfreez Місяць тому +1

    Yess bring more Shadowrun. This game was a classic from my childhood. I still remember how powerful I felt when I was able to get Wired Reflexes (I think it was) put in, and suddenly Jake was shooting twice as fast.
    Kitsune is also a bit of a core memory, for other reasons...
    Looking forward to the rest of the series! I know nothing of the other two old ones!

  • @melfice999
    @melfice999 2 місяці тому +3

    Great video, and you've earned a subscription from me.
    One part on the Lore section that you miss is, that the rioters in New York, were targeting a corpo Truck full of chemical waste and easily spreading disease samples, and part of the reason why the Government saw the corporation be justified with the use of force, was the fact that if the Truck would had been seized or destroyed, it would had been a biochemical nightmare in the heart of New York.

  • @be-noble3393
    @be-noble3393 Місяць тому +2

    I definitely want more Shadowrun. As I always found mixed settings (A genre and genre together) more interesting.

  • @gamerguy232
    @gamerguy232 2 місяці тому +29

    Shadow run is the kind of system where you need an outside program to make character building work.

    • @cavalcojj
      @cavalcojj 2 місяці тому +6

      Uh. I must be doing it wrong cause I'm made a ton of characters with just paging through books and writing stuff down.

    • @Snyperwolf91
      @Snyperwolf91 2 місяці тому +3

      And sometimes that program just glitches out too . But its still a great help .

    • @JaymeSplendid
      @JaymeSplendid 2 місяці тому

      Glitches out?
      Dude, are you still talking about the OG 80s tabletop system?

    • @Anomaly188
      @Anomaly188 2 місяці тому +1

      @@JaymeSplendid He's talking about Chummer, a fanmade character builder. It's got some really bad bugs.

    • @Alex-cq1zr
      @Alex-cq1zr 2 місяці тому

      Ehhh??? I remember using a form-fillable pdf first time i've played Shadowrun 5e - we were being introduced to the system and thus our game master guided us through stuff

  • @Dekkard5
    @Dekkard5 2 місяці тому +2

    I loved the atmosphere and soundtrack of the SNES Shadowrun

  • @Jordan83709
    @Jordan83709 2 місяці тому +4

    Never played the table top version of ShadowRun, I would love to! But have played the Snes and Genesis versions of ShadowRun. I LOVE the Genesis version more.

  • @jessamynpratt5068
    @jessamynpratt5068 2 місяці тому +2

    Shadowrun rules. You should definitely cover more of the games.

  • @r4z0rv1n3
    @r4z0rv1n3 2 місяці тому +6

    I love you telling us all the world lore, We need to find a way for you to play Rifts: Promise of Power just so you can dump the Rifts RPG lore on us.

    • @WilliamSRD
      @WilliamSRD  2 місяці тому +2

      It's on the list! I will find a way!

    • @benh6452
      @benh6452 27 днів тому

      They made a rifts video game?

  • @gothyoutubeviewer
    @gothyoutubeviewer Місяць тому +1

    Aww man, I'm supposed to be joining a Shadowrun 6e campaign very soon, and I was SO delighted to see this video by you in my feed. It was super funny and informative as per usual. 💚

  • @arellajardin8188
    @arellajardin8188 2 місяці тому +4

    I've never run a game of Shadowrun, but I've been fascinated with the setting for a long time. I kinda wish it had gotten the Cyberpunk 2077 treatment instead. From what I hear of the game system, it's in need of a new edition, maybe a soft reboot to modernize some of the tech concepts.

    • @CT_Phipps
      @CT_Phipps Місяць тому +1

      Part of the problem is that a lot of the gameworld is built around assumptions that modern tech destroy. Deckers have to be on site to hack things for example.

  • @DevKerrigan
    @DevKerrigan Місяць тому

    Thanks for puttin' this together, shadowrun really does have a fantastically elaborate setting, I hope it gets some momentum again.

  • @edwardsimongray4877
    @edwardsimongray4877 2 місяці тому +3

    I'd love to see more Shadowrun! It's the RPG I grew up with and over here in Germany, Shadowrun was so big that we'd get our own revised editions of 4E that had more content than the original releases.

    • @vxicepickxv
      @vxicepickxv 2 місяці тому +1

      There's like 16 books that never got translated into English.

    • @MCArt25
      @MCArt25 2 місяці тому +1

      Yea, I know a lot of people here who got started with RPGs via Shadowrun.
      I don't think it's a coincidence that the 2nd part of the modern videogame trilogy takes place in Berlin.

    • @calamity916
      @calamity916 2 місяці тому

      @@MCArt25 We actually got to vote what setting the second game would take place in and Berlin won by a country mile.

  • @garfunkel6975
    @garfunkel6975 Місяць тому

    The true challenge of SNES Shadowrun is to keep Kitsune alive all the way to the end. As another commenter mentioned, the developers intended this to be the hard mode because she joins Jake on the escape helicopter at the very end unlike every other Runner. It is one of my finest gaming achievements! You need well developed magic for this to be successful because there are spots where you have to spend almost all your mana on just healing her between taking potshots at the enemy, plus you have to the advantage of level geometry as much as possible. While you can give her armour, her weak stamina means she can only wear the basic armour from beginning, so don't sell it - hand it over to her, every little thing helps! It was little sad that while Jake returned in the Harebrained Studios new Shadowrun game, there was no mention of Kitsune. The romantic in me wanted the canon ending to be that Jake and Kitsune lived happily ever after as a Shadowrunning Super-Couple!

  • @AdrienMorley-ck4eb
    @AdrienMorley-ck4eb 2 місяці тому +3

    The books were well above average role-playing based novels in terms of storytelling. The Dog Shaman guy's "trilogy" was real fire. I created in the 2nd edition of Sadowrun a Ryu-like martial artist from the gutters and it worked, as well as the spoiled rich corpo black-pilled teen gun-fanatic with super expensive tech going in his rebelious age, now that I think about it, he was Bruce Wayne in cyberpunk. Plus the SNES game and Johnny Mnemonic with Keanu Reeves ans Rudger Hower...I was bathing in the shit all the time. Man I miss the 90's...

  • @1senhart
    @1senhart 2 місяці тому +1

    Excited for a Hunter video, I never knew Armitage was the old video game character I thought he was a PC of the devs of shadowrun returns

  • @Skycroft1000
    @Skycroft1000 Місяць тому +3

    It always amused me that for years basically the only game in town if you wanted a cyberpunk ttrpg game... was the one with magic and elves. 'Pure' cyberpunk games were pretty much crowded out of the market entirely.

  • @Stackenblocken
    @Stackenblocken Місяць тому

    The condensed history of the Shadowrun Universe at the start of the video was great! Really solid work, very helpful for someone only casually acquainted with Shadowrun. Great work!

  • @jamesstricklerii5384
    @jamesstricklerii5384 2 місяці тому +3

    I can honestly say, after having played both of these as a kid, that the Sega game was the better of the 2. The SNES one had a good story, but the Sega game felt more like an actual RPG with its open world structure being much less linear.

    • @octonautmusic8381
      @octonautmusic8381 Місяць тому

      It’s nice that the two differ so much. I love the sega matrix.

  • @squeethemog213
    @squeethemog213 Місяць тому

    I absolutely love the lore section every time you cover a new series. It's so well done and fun. Thanks for making this vid 🙏😃

  • @silvermknight
    @silvermknight 2 місяці тому +17

    Love me some Shadowrun on the SNES, but the Genesis version is superior.

    • @marianounzue2016
      @marianounzue2016 2 місяці тому +5

      Amen to that! One really overlooked gem!

  • @andreidiatlov2427
    @andreidiatlov2427 Місяць тому

    Ah, Shadowrun!
    Played the tabletop for literally decades and loved the video games as well.
    A great summary of the Shadowrun timeline in the beginning, by the way, thank you.
    Would love to see you covering more of it.

  • @VladamireD
    @VladamireD 2 місяці тому +5

    30:49 it's not just a random guy! If you follow the punk who witnessed the hit squad take you down, it's actually him who got geeked there, suggesting that whoever tried to kill you is tying up loose ends.

  • @alextalker5979
    @alextalker5979 21 день тому +1

    9:40 Noticing Pathologic OST there, there's a tabletop game in that setting also, might be worth cheking it out 😅

  • @Interference22
    @Interference22 2 місяці тому +11

    Cyberpunk certainly has the edge over Shadowrun in terms of the clarity of vision. Shadowrun's backstory just sounds like 600 things being thrown at the wall all at once. Nuclear native Americans! Magic! Aztec resurgence! Megacorporations! Several cessations! A global pandemic! Twice!

    • @sewerentropy5217
      @sewerentropy5217 2 місяці тому +1

      oh definitely. Shadowrun has way too many cooks in the kitchen but the stories that Shadowrun is able to tell always end up far more interesting and compelling than anything i've seen with Cyberpunk.

  • @Aikolon
    @Aikolon 2 місяці тому +1

    Love this videos you do.
    This long way around to get the big picture, is sooooo fun

  • @martincann5052
    @martincann5052 2 місяці тому +7

    Personally, I'd love it if King Charles was an orc, it'd be hilarious.
    And a great way to keep the likes of Boris Johnson in check, too.

    • @fugitiveunknown7806
      @fugitiveunknown7806 2 місяці тому

      Someone needs to take that ridiculous red portrait and goblinafy it lol.

  • @skywolfbat
    @skywolfbat Місяць тому

    Shadowrun for the SNES was probably one of my earliest introductions to the franchise. Would love to see more of you covering it, chummer.

  • @JohnWilliams-cr2sz
    @JohnWilliams-cr2sz 2 місяці тому +2

    Ahh, many pleasant memories of Shadowrun. Played in campaign with friends as a Troll physical adept. I punched an Aztec blood spirit to death in a single blow. It was glorious.

  • @garblechunk
    @garblechunk 2 місяці тому +1

    Definitely interested to see more cyberpunk games on the channel. Curious if you might look at Cyberpunk 2020 and its spinoffs. V3 is a wild ride!

  • @EncontheCrow
    @EncontheCrow 2 місяці тому

    I have always wanted to be in a TT game of either Shadowrun or Cyberpunk. I've seen almost no openings or games posted online though I am looking solely on Roll20. I do love how thorough you are with the lore section and this video has so much packed into 47 mins it's kinda insane.
    Cheers to ya Sir William of Research and Development!

  • @puddel9079
    @puddel9079 Місяць тому

    First time viewer here, I'm looking forward to seeing more of this series!
    The best parts of Shadowrun has to be the Shadowlands BBS forum bantering and the relatively recent history being discussed by characters inside the setting.
    I'm disappointed that Jake Armitage didn't get his own *official* segment in the Returns series, but we have mods for that.

  • @yellowjacket8416
    @yellowjacket8416 2 місяці тому

    I was always curious about shadowrun, this video is such a great introduction to the lore thank you

  • @nakenmil
    @nakenmil 2 місяці тому +1

    God damn, I love your narrative style, it just hits right. Now I am wondering how to get you to play King of Dragon Pass or Six Ages in order to talk about Glorantha without completely tanking your algorithm, lol.

  • @mold_wizard
    @mold_wizard Місяць тому +1

    Shadowrun is one of the most underrated franchises, please cover more

  • @TheStratovarian
    @TheStratovarian 2 місяці тому

    Its nice to see you covering this so thoroughly. Always appreciate anyone that does the homework.

  • @thedragonguru2332
    @thedragonguru2332 Місяць тому

    What an interesting setting! Very exciting to hear about
    I appreciate you researching the topics so well and making them digestible. AND for playing all these old, tough games

  • @TheWratts
    @TheWratts Місяць тому

    I love Shadowrun and I'm excited to see more videos of yours on it! It's such a fun setting and the games *Shadowrun: Dragonfall* and *Shadowrun: Hong Kong* are among my favorite CRPGs of all times.

  • @samuellingtonboneyard
    @samuellingtonboneyard 2 місяці тому

    I used to play this game all the time as a kid. I loved it. It is a hidden gem. And the 2013 sequels are a masterpiece on their own. Thanks for covering this game. Not many youtubers do.🎉

  • @robertdeelen6685
    @robertdeelen6685 2 місяці тому +2

    as far as i remember, the stated goal of the Great Ghost Dance was to be a magical WMD. and one reason for them to turn down their demands might be the fact, that most people who paritcipated in the Dance actually died, killing a lot of very powerful magic users (and also making the first great act of magic an act of blood magic, tainting the mana of the 6th world)

  • @cameronscott3111
    @cameronscott3111 2 місяці тому

    I love how you give such good explanations. I have to admit that your Wraith video finally got me to start hunting down the old World of Darkness books. So I just want to say thank you for all the work, passion, and dedication you put into your videos.

  • @BEHEMONAUT
    @BEHEMONAUT 2 місяці тому +1

    This game was really good for the era. RPGs were still very niche in north america when this was released, and even though the menu based interaction was cumbersome, it made it unlikely that the player wouldn't "figure it out" if they gave enough time and attention. It's a different kind of "grind" than finding a meta and battling for an hour to get stats up. I finished this as a rental. It's always been a rarer title to see in the wild or find people who played it back then.

  • @elg2931
    @elg2931 Місяць тому

    your summary of the setting is great as always but the visual gags make it perfection ✨

  • @Drakon0Blade
    @Drakon0Blade 2 місяці тому

    Most certainly need you to cover the rest of the Shadowrun games, I never had the patience so I live vicariously through UA-camrs like you with greater patience.

  • @eddokter
    @eddokter 2 місяці тому +1

    Long time Shadowrun GM and contributor: first, great video, loved it. Second, dwarf babies were identified in two ways. They tend to have odd proportions for a human, closer to a chimpanzee. Long arms and very short legs. Second they tended to shrug off a lot of medications completely, especially painkillers and anesthetics to a degree unexpected in an infant.

    • @eddokter
      @eddokter 2 місяці тому

      Edit: I do not remember where I read that. It's been a few years and I don't remember the source, sorry.

  • @knicknac95
    @knicknac95 Місяць тому +1

    And to add another layer to the setting, during the FASA era of the game it was revealed that their fantasy rpg Earthdawn was in fact the fantasy past of the SR world, with links between characters made in both settings (this was later dropped when SR was re-released by fans pro).

  • @sweterollo8951
    @sweterollo8951 2 місяці тому

    Really enjoyed the video!
    As much as I love older games, the linearity is grating at times. If there is one thing I enjoy about more modern games, it is the branching paths, the variety of ways to explore and tackle challenges in your own way/time.

  • @skullribcage6803
    @skullribcage6803 2 місяці тому

    this was a great video about shadowrun. better than some channels devoted to it. shadowrun is my favorite game setting. I hope you at least do one more of these, for the genesis game. I was there, 3000 years ago. that game was the absolute coolest thing. well, that and rock n roll racing.

  • @Bluehairedgirl89
    @Bluehairedgirl89 2 місяці тому

    Thank you very much for all the time and effort you put into making this video! It’s deeply appreciated and I enjoyed it so much! Shadowrun is genuinely one of my favorite rpg settings and it’s so awesome seeing you make videos on it! I can’t wait for more!!

  • @JakalairVG
    @JakalairVG 2 місяці тому

    I am old, but I seem to remember there was a split between my gaming group and some people loved Shadowrun, others loved Torg. We ended up playing both through the years, and Shadowrun makes so much sense for a video game! Torg would be a disaster of a video game, but I love the Drama deck mechanic.
    Great video.

  • @williamlazenby314
    @williamlazenby314 2 місяці тому

    Genesis Shadowrun was my favorite game growing up. Can't wait to see you play it!

  • @andrewbexell154
    @andrewbexell154 Місяць тому

    Great video man! Happy to see Shadowrun get some love.

  • @jlaw131985
    @jlaw131985 2 місяці тому +2

    Woohoo, Shadowrun! 🥳"Aztechnology builds a pyramid in Seattle, which is neat." >.>

  • @manuelchaparro4073
    @manuelchaparro4073 2 місяці тому

    I love the long intro. Really gets me hyped to know more about the verse

  • @happyxerox
    @happyxerox 2 місяці тому

    I'm glad to see you're covering Shadowrun, it was one of the first rpgs I ever looked at but I'd never gotten to play any of the video games.

  • @1polvomagico
    @1polvomagico 2 місяці тому +1

    MAAAAAN i'm a big fan of shadowrun, I also started with the SNES game, the new games are also pretty good. You should maybe do a short story on the creator of SR this guy is a legend, he keeps creating companies and selling them, he created battlemech, he founded Wizkid, I think he also had a hand on Heroclix, his gaming studio is responsible for the latest games in the SR saga

  • @emilyentropie
    @emilyentropie 2 місяці тому

    Very excited for the next review! I was pretty impressed how open worldly this SNES game looked! But man the day I will get the entire Shadowrun lore is the day when I will read the 5th edition core rules cover to cover.

  • @shanesullivan460
    @shanesullivan460 2 місяці тому +2

    32:16 See, that's smart, because it's a well-known fact that zombies don't wear sunglasses.

  • @JackRisken
    @JackRisken Місяць тому

    Thanks for making this video! I’ve always loved the world of Shadowrun. Looking forward to the other games in the franchise!

  • @Dilettante15
    @Dilettante15 2 місяці тому

    I looove Shadowrun. Never played it of course, who PLAYS Shadowrun, but pored over the books and loved the video games. Definitely keep going!

  • @twistedwell9568
    @twistedwell9568 Місяць тому

    Fantastic!!! God, I don't think I can make it through games like this so I love when some random guy does it for me. SUBSCRIBED!