I've recently played Shadowrun: Hong Kong and I am currently replaying both it and Shadowrun: Dragonfall, so I think it is on me to create a general thread for the series.
Background info:
The Shadowrun franchise started life as a popular tabletop role playing game in 1989, being a science-fantasy take on your dungeon-master-guided party 'em ups like D&D. It has also served as the source material for a number of beloved video game adapations, which is what this thread is about.
The setting takes place in a cyberpunk 21st century which posits that fantasy magic is in fact real and works in cycles of about 5,000 years. Many cyberpunk settings have the feeling of the "new world" being built over the history "old world", and this is the case here as well with cybernetic augmentation, magecraft, and the rebirth of Tolkein races becoming the new normal for the nations and geography that we all know from the actual world.
Shadowrunners are a type of independent, for-hire criminal contractor. Assassinations, hacking, corporate espionage, or just your usual smash and grab. They live on the edges of society, but with a more glamorous life than a corp wageslave, and also with a more dangerous profession than a gang thug or lone star cop. Of course, shadowrunners are always the role the player steps into. The standard depiction of shadowrunners is that of a small, close-knit team of diverse specialists who work together and complement one another (obviously tracing directly to its tabletop roots).
Games:
I will only put small blurbs here for now. I think a lot of people visiting this thread know at least something about most of these games, so let's give a refresher for now and leave most of the meat for anyone to write about later. Until recently, pretty much all the games were very different beasts. They also possessed the uniform title "Shadowrun" so you have to refer to them by their system instead.
Shadowrun SNES (1993): An isometric game that is more of a plot based action-adventure first and foremost with a simplified RPG progression stacked on top. Very unique system of interaction using keywords to handle all conversations and a d-pad cursor to handle both enviroment interaction and combat (and the game has tons of both!). Colorful characters at each bar, club, and plot junction. Moody atmosphere and lots of run-ins with supernatural beasts. This game is the best <3 and I will probably have the longest write up for it later in this thread.
Shadowrun Genesis (1994): A completely separate game by a separate developer, not uncommon for this era of course. A top down game with a more heavily delineated class system, and skills that more closely reflect the tabletop game. The most "open" Shadowrun game. You'll spend a great deal of time in the middle game performing instanced runs to build up karma and gear. The initial area presents a miniature version of this gameplay loop using easy runs to build up your starting character, which is a very satisfying arc to reach "escape velocity" and become strong enough to feel like you have solid footing. I regret not giving this game enough chances in the 90s and had to make up for it almost two decades later.
The Shadowrun Returns series (PC platforms):
A Kickstarter revival brought Shadowrun back as a trio of tactical RPG games where you follow a cybperunk story intermixed with battles, light exploration, and flavorful text dialogue. The first game being just "Shadowrun Returns" with two much more expanded followups: the great Shadowrun: Dragonfall and the good-to-great Shadowrun: Hong Kong. Sometimes you'll see Shadowrun Returns referred to as "Dead Man's Switch" to give it a more unique moniker.
Lots of X-COM grade cover shooting goodness here. Outside of battle you'll spend plenty of skill-point karma to hone your main character's build. Then you'll outfit them by investing nuyen into different weapon and gear types. Dragonfall and Hong Kong have you leading a (mostly) plot-mandated team of shadowrunners from a small hometown of NPCs and shops. You choose which teammates to bring with you on each run and get to enjoy little bits of character advancing dialogue each time you return to your hometown and safe house.
Of all the Shadowrun games, the Returns series embodies what might be called the "western RPG dialogue choices" tradition the most. Sometimes these choices are gated by skillchecks, thus making those dialogue responses and mission approaches available only to specific builds. Sometimes it's just a matter of how you want to handle it (i.e., by being overly aggressive or being a wise cracker). All that said, I should keep your expectations in check because most dialogue options are flavor that will not deviate individual conversations very far from their predestined course.
...
...Finally, while perhaps less likely to attract discussion, there are a few more Shadowrun games that round out the franchise (none which I've played):
Shadowrun Mega CD (1996). A Japanese only visual novel with some turn based combat. Set in cyberpunk Japan with a 90s manga style that only a CD based format could deliver. Sounds cool + looks cool..... sooooo if it ever, ever gets translated it'll be a neat curio to experience (although unlikely to be a hidden masterpiece I gather).
Shadowrun Xbox 360 (2007). Microsoft's ownership of the franchise brough us a class-based, team deathmatch, FPS for the Xbox 360. Uh.. ok, you do you I guess. I think it died more quickly than people could say "why slap the Shadowrun IP on this game?". I recall it did not feel like it was marketed towards fans, but rather a general audience, but people who've played it usually have nice things to say about it at least.
History should record that Shadowrun made for a more elaborate backdrop than Team Fortress 2 or Counterstrike, and being able to pick races, tech, and abilities was very different for the era. However, there is more to making a popular shooter than being unique, and you could tell no one really cared that you should play this one because there were teleportation spells and shamans could revive a team member or whatever.
Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown (PC platforms, 2015) -- aka "The other shadowrun kickstarter" from mid last decade, originally having the moniker "Shadowrun Online". This game is *also* a tactical RPG, with perhaps confusing initial similarities to the Returns series, although they are quite separate games. I think the driving part of this game's conception was to create a co-op multiplayer video game that taps into the feeling of performing a shadowrun with other real people. The game is dead now because the servers went offline in 2018 and it was built as an online only experience even if you played solo with NPCs.
~~~
The thread rule is that you can discuss all plot and story events without marking things with spoiler text.
For one, I'd like to see these stories discussed and commented upon freely and casually. I also think most Shadowrun games are 1) old and 2) short, so it isn't a great burden for someone currently playing through one of these games to exercise caution for a little while. Or perhaps they can live-blog their first playthrough in a new thread (I'd love to see that!) where others can comment more judiciously.
Background info:
The Shadowrun franchise started life as a popular tabletop role playing game in 1989, being a science-fantasy take on your dungeon-master-guided party 'em ups like D&D. It has also served as the source material for a number of beloved video game adapations, which is what this thread is about.
The setting takes place in a cyberpunk 21st century which posits that fantasy magic is in fact real and works in cycles of about 5,000 years. Many cyberpunk settings have the feeling of the "new world" being built over the history "old world", and this is the case here as well with cybernetic augmentation, magecraft, and the rebirth of Tolkein races becoming the new normal for the nations and geography that we all know from the actual world.
Shadowrunners are a type of independent, for-hire criminal contractor. Assassinations, hacking, corporate espionage, or just your usual smash and grab. They live on the edges of society, but with a more glamorous life than a corp wageslave, and also with a more dangerous profession than a gang thug or lone star cop. Of course, shadowrunners are always the role the player steps into. The standard depiction of shadowrunners is that of a small, close-knit team of diverse specialists who work together and complement one another (obviously tracing directly to its tabletop roots).
Games:
I will only put small blurbs here for now. I think a lot of people visiting this thread know at least something about most of these games, so let's give a refresher for now and leave most of the meat for anyone to write about later. Until recently, pretty much all the games were very different beasts. They also possessed the uniform title "Shadowrun" so you have to refer to them by their system instead.
Shadowrun SNES (1993): An isometric game that is more of a plot based action-adventure first and foremost with a simplified RPG progression stacked on top. Very unique system of interaction using keywords to handle all conversations and a d-pad cursor to handle both enviroment interaction and combat (and the game has tons of both!). Colorful characters at each bar, club, and plot junction. Moody atmosphere and lots of run-ins with supernatural beasts. This game is the best <3 and I will probably have the longest write up for it later in this thread.
Shadowrun Genesis (1994): A completely separate game by a separate developer, not uncommon for this era of course. A top down game with a more heavily delineated class system, and skills that more closely reflect the tabletop game. The most "open" Shadowrun game. You'll spend a great deal of time in the middle game performing instanced runs to build up karma and gear. The initial area presents a miniature version of this gameplay loop using easy runs to build up your starting character, which is a very satisfying arc to reach "escape velocity" and become strong enough to feel like you have solid footing. I regret not giving this game enough chances in the 90s and had to make up for it almost two decades later.
The Shadowrun Returns series (PC platforms):
- Shadowrun Returns (2013)
- Shadowrun: Dragonfall (2014)
- Shadowrun: Hong Kong (2015)
A Kickstarter revival brought Shadowrun back as a trio of tactical RPG games where you follow a cybperunk story intermixed with battles, light exploration, and flavorful text dialogue. The first game being just "Shadowrun Returns" with two much more expanded followups: the great Shadowrun: Dragonfall and the good-to-great Shadowrun: Hong Kong. Sometimes you'll see Shadowrun Returns referred to as "Dead Man's Switch" to give it a more unique moniker.
Lots of X-COM grade cover shooting goodness here. Outside of battle you'll spend plenty of skill-point karma to hone your main character's build. Then you'll outfit them by investing nuyen into different weapon and gear types. Dragonfall and Hong Kong have you leading a (mostly) plot-mandated team of shadowrunners from a small hometown of NPCs and shops. You choose which teammates to bring with you on each run and get to enjoy little bits of character advancing dialogue each time you return to your hometown and safe house.
Of all the Shadowrun games, the Returns series embodies what might be called the "western RPG dialogue choices" tradition the most. Sometimes these choices are gated by skillchecks, thus making those dialogue responses and mission approaches available only to specific builds. Sometimes it's just a matter of how you want to handle it (i.e., by being overly aggressive or being a wise cracker). All that said, I should keep your expectations in check because most dialogue options are flavor that will not deviate individual conversations very far from their predestined course.
...
...Finally, while perhaps less likely to attract discussion, there are a few more Shadowrun games that round out the franchise (none which I've played):
Shadowrun Mega CD (1996). A Japanese only visual novel with some turn based combat. Set in cyberpunk Japan with a 90s manga style that only a CD based format could deliver. Sounds cool + looks cool..... sooooo if it ever, ever gets translated it'll be a neat curio to experience (although unlikely to be a hidden masterpiece I gather).
Shadowrun Xbox 360 (2007). Microsoft's ownership of the franchise brough us a class-based, team deathmatch, FPS for the Xbox 360. Uh.. ok, you do you I guess. I think it died more quickly than people could say "why slap the Shadowrun IP on this game?". I recall it did not feel like it was marketed towards fans, but rather a general audience, but people who've played it usually have nice things to say about it at least.
History should record that Shadowrun made for a more elaborate backdrop than Team Fortress 2 or Counterstrike, and being able to pick races, tech, and abilities was very different for the era. However, there is more to making a popular shooter than being unique, and you could tell no one really cared that you should play this one because there were teleportation spells and shamans could revive a team member or whatever.
Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown (PC platforms, 2015) -- aka "The other shadowrun kickstarter" from mid last decade, originally having the moniker "Shadowrun Online". This game is *also* a tactical RPG, with perhaps confusing initial similarities to the Returns series, although they are quite separate games. I think the driving part of this game's conception was to create a co-op multiplayer video game that taps into the feeling of performing a shadowrun with other real people. The game is dead now because the servers went offline in 2018 and it was built as an online only experience even if you played solo with NPCs.
~~~
The thread rule is that you can discuss all plot and story events without marking things with spoiler text.
For one, I'd like to see these stories discussed and commented upon freely and casually. I also think most Shadowrun games are 1) old and 2) short, so it isn't a great burden for someone currently playing through one of these games to exercise caution for a little while. Or perhaps they can live-blog their first playthrough in a new thread (I'd love to see that!) where others can comment more judiciously.
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