I liked that in the second game an NPC might actually answer the door when you knocked on a random one in an apartment complex.
I also really liked how much homework went into studying the martial arts aspect of the game. One of the move scroll store owners in the Thousand White building asks Ryo if Ryo has practiced martial arts. Ryo replies that he has and asks the store owner how he could tell. The store owner says he could tell by the way Ryo shifts his balance when he walks.
A couple of years ago when I was switching martial art schools one of the teachers asked if I had taken martial arts before on my first day there. I said "yeah, how did you know?" The teacher said he knew by the way I shifted my balance when I walked.