Highly anticipated game

Shenmue has been in development for five years. When it finally came out, the expectations were huge. Yu Suzuki had said for many times that Shenmue is unlike any game you’ve ever seen before, and the only game that has tried to simulate life in some way.
When the release date came closer and closer, more details and screenshots were made public. People could only imagine what would the game be like. As the development process lasted, many were skeptical about Suzuki’s project, but when the game’s trailer was released, it blew away the criticism. Is Shenmue really something you’ve never seen before? A game which surpasses other games with creativity and originality? The best game ever?

Ryu does his own stunts

The answer is… yes…and no. While Shenmue is truly an unique game, it is not perfect and has flaws. It’s a bit hard to make opinions as this is just the first chapter of the saga. Shenmue consists of many chapters and shouldn’t be reviewed chapter by chapter, as that’s not truly a fair approach to the game.

Because of the reasons mentioned above, the story in Shenmue leaves many questions unanswered and this first chapter leaves you with an ending that raises new questions rather than answers any of the old ones.
The main character of the game is a young Japanese boy named Ryu Hazuki. At the beginning of the game, Ryu sees his father murdered by a mysterious man. The game begins as Ryu sets out to find out why his father was killed.

If we take a close look at the game, it’s easy to see that the designers have thought of almost everything. The graphics are remarkable and put most of other games in shame (Yes, even PS2 ones) and has amazing details in it, such as corporate logos in items and advertisements in the buildings’ walls.
Quality shines from Shenmue and it has so many features that are worth mentioning: e.g. the characters in the game have their own daily routines that resemble ones of our own. Weather changes dynamically based on weather charts form 1986′s Japan (the year the story happens on), lighting effects and sound effects are realistic, just to name few.

Learning the moves

Nothing’s perfect

No game is without flaws. While Shenmue doesn’t fail in any category, it’s controls would’ve needed more tuning. While I’ve seen many games with worse controls, Shenmue sometimes makes easy tasks more challenging than they should be. Turning can be annoying sometimes as Ryu often turns too much and it takes time turning to the right direction. Shenmue also shares one flaw with many 3D games: the camera angles. Usually they’re all right but there are times when you’d like to say a few chosen words to the cameramen.

Music is composed by Yuzo Koshiro. He’s done soundtracks for various Sega games, including Streets of Rage series, for example. Shenmue’s soundtrack is equally impressive to the game. Mostly the themes just stay on background, adding atmosphere to the game, but on various occasions the themes really shine.

Shenmue is not all about adventuring. Probably people who developed Virtua Fighter series were involved in making Shenmue, action is also a crucial part of the game. When an action event happens, the game switches to fighting mode where you can use combo attacks and throws, just like in VF series. In those scenes you just have to beat up every opponent that comes in your way. After that, the game continues, usually with a story event.
You can practice the moves for action events at certain places, like the dojo at Ryu’s house, for example. By practicing, the moves become more powerful and it is easier to settle your disputes with the evil ones.

Visiting the arcade

There are also quick time events (QTE for short), where you’ll have to push certain buttons fast enough to execute a certain move. (Like avoiding a knife stab, for example). In those a button symbol appears on the screen. If you managed to press the corresponding button on your control pad fast enough, Ryu succeeds in the move. If you fail, so does Ryu. Fortunately the game is very forgiving, and gives you another chance in most of the events in case you didn’t succeed.

Despite of the minor problems with content, controls and camera, Shenmue is clearly an exceptional game. It manages to fulfill most of the promises the designers made while still being a real game, instead of just an virtual tour in a Japanese city.
Shenmue has divided opinions among the critics, and has received ratings ranging from topnotch to below average. Therefore the best way to find out, if Shenmue is a good game or not, is by playing it. Each player experiences Shenmue differently, other may say it’s the greatest game ever while others say it’s an average game. Either way, Shenmue is a game that every Dreamcast owner should try out.

The story continued in Shenmue 2, where Ryu has tracked his fathers killer to Hong Kong. Shenmue 2 was released for Dreamcast only in Japan and Europe. XBox version of the game was released in all three major markets.The future of the series is still fairly uncertain, Sega hasn’t mentioned anything about the next parts of the saga and which consoles they’ll appear on.

Truck racing

• Publisher: Sega
• Players: 1
• Released: 2000
• Buy from Amazon: US version