This is it folks! my all time favourite game series. I'm going to talk about them both in one fell swoop right now because it's one big plot arc which has unfortunately remained unfinished to this day. That shouldn't stop any of you from playing these games however, and here's why...
The Shenmue series is the brainchild of Yu Suzuki; who brought the world such legendary arcade games as Out Run, After Burner & Virtua Fighter as well as many others. It was originally conceived in 1997 as an RPG addition to the Virtua fighter series that would appear on the Sega Saturn starring a young Akira. But as development progressed, the story & characters moved away from from its Virtua Fighter origins and was eventually scrapped & restarted for the Sega Dreamcast. It was to be an epic sixteen chapter Action RPG with unparalelled attention to detail, actively changing weather & day/night cycles, countless products to buy & collect, full recorded speech & interact with everyone in its multiple full 3d cities, it was to be a flagship title for Sega's console. Because of these it ended up costing aproximately $70 000 000.00 to produce, so even though it sold relatively well, it could never recoup the amount of money that was put into its development & when Sega left the console business behind, so too did it leave Shenmue in its fourth chapter at the end of Shenmue II.
So what is Shenmue about? Well, it's martial arts revenge epic which spans across asia during the 1980s. The game begins with high School Senior Ryo Hazuki returning home one evening to find his father in a confrontation with a mysterious man demanding an ancient Chinese artifact. Ryo's father gives him the location of the artifact in exchange for his son's life only to be then killed by that mysterious man who then departs. Thus begins Ryo's quest to unravel the mystery of his father's death & learn the identity of the mysterious man so that he can exact his revenge.
The game progresses through Ryo travelling within his hometown town, talking to people & piecing together the things he wants to know. There are plenty of distractions however, he can stop to play real 1980s Sega games at the arcade, buy capsule toys, audio cassettes, food, new martial arts technique scrolls & much much more. He'll need to improve his fighting ability, which uses a Virtua fighter system, because frequently he'll get into violent confrontations while in search of his answers. Aside from buying moves scrolls, he'll also learn new moves from various people he meets & can increase their strength by practicing them in fights, select open areas or his father's dojo. Certain confrontations can also be won by successfully passing Quick Time Events. Yes that's right, the idea & name for the now hated QTE comes from this game but it can be forgiven since it was a new idea then & when used appropriately (such as in these games) they can add alot of tension to action scenes.
Throughout the game, you'll really get a sense that this is a living breathing world. As well as the weasther & day/night cycles. Everyone & everything with react to these changes by being at specific places at specific times, wearing appropriate clothing when it rains or snows & give relevant responses to whatever you need to know at the moment. You can also explore the interiors of most buildings, pick up items and examine them in your hand etc. You'll really start to believe that the people you talk to are real & care about their subplots as you get to know them. And as the game progresses the areas which Ryo can explore & meet new people expands further & further until by the end of Chapter 1, Ryo will leave his home town altogether in an effort to chase his father's killer back to China.
The second game begins with Ryo docking in Hong Kong. Since there weren't really any ATMs in the 1980s, he has to take a variet of jobs to make money but there are still many things to buy. The second game streamlines many aspects of the first as well as expanding upon ideas in the first. Aside from taking jobs for money (which you could also do in chapter 1) Ryo can gamble in a number of games pawn things he's bought or even take part in underground street fights. The second game is bigger, deeper & more gorgeous than ever because it has Ryo move from Hong Kong to Kowloon Bay & then eventually further inland to Guilin. It is incredible the amount of detail & variety in all the locations. There is different music for every street which changes from day to night, loads more moves to learn, & even more games to play at the arcades.
Unfortunately, this is where Ryo's adventures end. there is a real cliffhanger ending which i won't spoil for any of you who may be interested in playing it but I had to import the european version of Shenmue II because they didn't even release THAT here & I've been waiting almost a decade for Sega to just release the last game which apparently has been finished for years but they just don't want to release it because they don't feel anyone would buy it. There have been many petitions and outcries from fans but so far there's been no luck. And although these games still look gorgeous to this day because of all the detail and love you can see dripping from every frame, the longer that time passes since the release of Shenmue II, the more resigned I become that I may never learn its conclusion.That shouldn't stop anyone from playing the first two however. It is a triumphant blend of brawling, adventure & RPG elements. They're the real birth of fully realized 3D contemporary worlds years before Grand Theft Auto III. If you like any of those things, classic martial arts films, classic Sega or 80s nostalgia then go pick these up - you won't regret it.
