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Shenmue Review (continued)
More User Submitted Shenmue Reviews
Date: 2004-01-11
Innovative, immersive, and very impressive
When I first stuck this game into my Dreamcast almost 4 years ago, I was completely blown away by it. I was staying with a friend for the weekend, and we got through the game in two days, taking around 20 to 30 hours in that time. I played through it twice after that, then set it aside for a while. Recently, I discovered my save file was lost, and I had no problem with starting a new game file... and it blew me away all over again.The graphics are amazing. By today's standards, the polygon count is rather weak, but the animation and level of detail are still rarely matched in any one game. You may see jagged edges and low-resolution textures, but get past that and you'll be amazed by the other aspects of the game. Gameplay is where most of the dispute over this game takes place. The game is a completely different style from anything else available. Even now, the only other game that is like it is its sequel. There is a clock and calender in the game. You start in December during the 1980s, and depending on how quickly you progress, you could be done by January the next year, or March. Take too long, though, and you'll come to an unfavorable end. Each day has 15 game hours of playable time, which progress at a steady rate of a few real life minutes per game hour. During that time, you are pretty much free to do what you want (unless you have some important event coming up or something). Wander around your house and property (which is quite large by gaming standards), the city, or even a local harbor. You can completely examine rooms, from the light switches and lamps to the pictures, drawers, and laundry baskets. There are mini-games to play, toy capsules to collect, kittens to feed, and the storyline to advance. The action sequences consist of two types: free battles and QTEs. Free battles are a beat-em-up style encounter with a few enemies. QTEs are sequences in which button icons will flash on the screen, and you must press the appropriate button to perform some action, which vary depending on the situation. Some of these sequences are amazingly cool because of the awesome animations (including a bar fight and a motorcycle chase). And the story... well, a lot of people hate the way is so involved with its story, and how it starts out so slowly. In response to those people, I can only ask, why do people find drama movies entertaining? Because there's a story, supposedly an entertaining one. Plain and simple. And this game series has an excellent one. It starts off with our protagonist, Ryo Hazuki, coming to his home in Yokosuka, Japan. He finds his father in a hostile meeting with someone named Lan Di. Cutting it short, the man takes what he came for, an item called the Phoenix Mirror, and kills Ryo's father. Ryo is driven for revenge, and also to find out why this Phoenix Mirror was so important that it got his dad killed. At the beginning of the game you have to ask dozens of people to find the slightest bit of information, which many gamers find trying. Eventually, though, you'll learn that most of the random people wandering around aren't helpful to your quest, and you'll find reliable friends and other sources of information. Digging around gets Ryo involved with the local gangs and eventually he works his way up to finding the man who escourted Lan Di into Japan... a local gang leader that operates out of the nearby harbor. The story behind the mirror is revealed throughout the game, and sub-plots, such as Ryo's romance with a childhood friend, and various sidequests come up, keeping the game extremely interesting. The English dubbing is decent, but some of the secondary characters have very sub-par voice actors. However, it's not something that detracts from the game experience. All in all, this game is unparalleled in magnitude, scope, and ambition. And it's executed near-perfectly. The only people to whom I cannot recommend this game are those hyperactive gamers who need a game with action every thirty seconds. A note to parents or anybody buying this game for younger kids: This game is rated Teen (Ages 13+), and it's for language, violence (realistic violence, not cartoon violence like Amazon says), and drug and alcohol use. This is a grim, realistic game.
Date: 2004-01-06
SLOW AND EXTREMELY REPETATIVE
The one word to best describe Shenmue is not "groundbreaking" its repetative. Talk to 50 persons to find the one with the clue to carry the game forward and when you get that, repeat! Action is sparse and senseless wandering is essential to the game. I HATE talking to EVERYBODY to discover that I have to go to meet someone the next night! To make things worse youu can't skip time so you really have to wait and wait and wait. The "Quick time events" are cool but too far apart to save this snooze fest. Shenmue got old after Disc 1 and went downhill from there.
The graphics are awesome and the idea behind the game is cool but not well done. This game can put you to sleep faster than sleeping pills. The worst part of this game is working in the harbour for 5 days and having to do that stupid forklift race each day, yawn and tedious to the MAX. I have no desire to finish the game as you never face the bad guy, not even in part 2 you just keep walking and talking, walking and talkin, walking and talking (get the point of this game). If you like wasting precious life that could be used to live then this is for you...otherwise get a more fulfilling gaming experience elsewhere. Two stars for graphics and innovative concept.
Date: 2003-11-30
Shenmue - Sega at its best
There is no question; Shenmue is one of the best RPG's ever made. From the beginning, where the protagonist hugs his lifeless father's body, to the brief but lingering moments when you come face to face with the evil villain. How did Dreamcast fail with a game like this? This was the first game that brought me to tears. I was a little skeptical at first, hearing that there wasn't that much to explore, but boy there was! The buildings are amazingly detailed, as is the rest of the city. The characters all follow the same patterns. There are drunks on the street, prostitutes outside bars, and just regular people going to the drug store.
The main charcters are amazing. They develop so well and so much, that I swear I was in a movie. You actually can feel their emotions, and you feel emotions for them. Following the life of Ryo Hazuki, the story starts off after a strange man, Lan Di, comes into your residence and kills your father. Hmmm, not very nice. The villain, as evil and mysterious as villains should be, Lan Di, nows a very ancient form of martial arts. A couple of punches, and your father, a sensei, is dead. Lan Di takes the "Phoenix Mirror", which is who-knows-what, and sets off.
Meanwhile, Ryo Hazuki needs to solve this mystery. Whats is the Phoenix mirror? Who is Lan Di? Where is he from? etc. So he sets off on the journey. The battle system works out great. There are 2 battle systems; regular kung-fu and GTE. GTE is pressing one button do dodge a punch, punch someone, break something, etc, and regular kung-fu is what it sounds like. You can practice your moves in parking lots and vacant playgrounds and master the combos. There are many different combos. The graphics and detail are stunning. You would think you're playing ps2, and this came out more than 2 years before ps2 came out. Overall, this is a great buy. I got it for 10 bucks and played it about 2 times more than I play games that are 50 bucks. What are you waiting for? BUY IT!
Date: 2003-11-21
Does Mr. Yakamoto Live Here?
This game is one of the most time-consuming and frivolous games out there for the Dreamcast. The missions are dull with hardly any decent action. The one quest that stands out in my mind the most is one where you have to find Mr. Yakamoto. You are given no idea as to where he lives and go door to door trying to find him. It always happens that his house is the last you look at. Another problem is the fact that many of the quests are given to you at one time and you have to wait 24 hours before you can actually do them. There is no way to make time go forward so about 35 of the 40 hours needed to complete this game will be on waiting around for the place you need to go to open.
This game is very disappointing and if you are somewhat interested in it, borrow it from a friend. If you don't have any friends, then only dish out the $6 to rent only if you think you might like it.
Date: 2003-10-17
Best Game I've ever played
I've never been so addicted to any other game. This is a masterpiece. Getting a Dreamcast is worth it just for this game alone. I even got an Xbox just because of Shenmue II (ok, ok, and MotoGP 2).
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