Shenmue II's first disc isn't short as fuck. It's actually about the same length as Shenmue I's first disc, if only a little shorter. I can get to the point where you talk to Tony and the guys about Charlie in a day. After that you wait another day, talk to the tattoo guy, and wait another day. After that, you can get off the first disc. In II, it's impossible to get all the Wude in a day, and if you save transferred from 1, you need to speed up time via the barbershop any ways. Disc 1 can be beaten in two or three days in game time, but disc 1 in I isn't that much longer. Especially when you consider that most of it is padding. For example, when you come to the tattoo parlor you have to wait a day to wake up Charlie and then wait ANOTHER day for him and his guys to jump you, when only one encounter at the parlor was ever necessary. Shenmue I disc 1 is padded to hell and and back yet barely anything of note happens. Beyond the intro and some story information, it's easily the weakest disc in the series.
Henry Spencer wrote: Shenmue's intro (Iwao's death which sets off the entire path of of vengeance) and most of the locations/characters are introduced on Disc 1 of Shenmue 1, so, I'd say it was kinda important.
I'll agree with that.
I still like disc 1 of II more.
Waiting for Charlie sucks. WUDE, however, is far more pivotal and important towards Ryo's development than waiting two days to get to Charlie. Are you arguing that Wide, something that Xiuying clearly tells Ryo that he lacks, and hints at his potential downfall, is NOT important for Ryo in his general character development?
Shenmue I has the opening cutscene, but most of the meat and potatoes of Shenmue I's story are disc 2 and 3. Disc 1 is about getting to the harbor. There's practically nothing substantial in the way of the story telling on disc 1 besides the intro cutscenes, the flashbacks, and Ryo telling Fuku he's going to try to kill Lan Di.
The rest: asking about men in black suits, asking about three blades, asking about sailors, Charlie, have nothing compared to Shenmie II's character and plot development: Wude, Ryo's lacking in his martial art, his lack of discipline, his now wavering respect for people (interrupting Jianmin when he's trying to teach Ryo, Ryo interrupting Xiuying and screaming at her), his potential future and potential death, and the general ocean he has thrust upon himself.
I take it waiting for Charlie for three days is more important than all of that? In I, Ryo's character is pretty static. In Disc 1 of II he's starting to become arrogant and disrespectful, and completely lacking in patience. Disc 1 of II contains the main story fabric of II and the entire stories: which is essentially whether Ryo will destroy himself in his revenge and whether or not he is capable of being a martial arts master.
For all of these reasons, Shenmue II disc 1 is among the most important discs in the franchise. It's not as important as I disc 2 or II disc 2 or II disc 3 or even 4, but in the grand scheme of Ryo's character development this is when the blocks start tumbling over for sure.
You've already said you don't rate Wan Chai too highly on Shenmue locales. I personally prefer it to Kowloon. So it's not surprising you wouldn't like disc 1 of II. But brass to tacks, in order of a story importance, II's second disc is far more important in the grand scheme of evolving the storyline than the majority of I put together. I'll chalk it up as people preferring environment and locale and using locale as an objective argument as to why something is better or weaker.