An unorthodox RPG set in during the eighties in Yokosuka, Japan which has one basic theme, Revenge. A concept which the japanese simply revel in and one which is overall known quite well worldwide, Revenge is the one and only thing driving Ryo... Well, that and a sense of Justice. When Ryo watches his father die at the hands of a mysterious Chinese martial Artist over a strange artifact, he dives into the underworld of his own hometown to uncover the story behind his father's murder. Through a detective style form of investigation, Ryo interrogates his neighbors, friends and strangers. Not everyone is helpful, not everyone wants Ryo to learn the truth and some people just like violence. Fortunately, Ryo is a great Martial artist and using a fighting system which is a LOT like Streets of Rage gone 3D you can wail on them with an arsenal of fighting techniques. Then there's all the fun little things like caring for the orphaned kitten, playing games in the arcade, training like an animal, driving a forklift in the harbor, etc.
Basically, you'd better have the time to lose yourself because this is probably the richest, deepest game you'll see until the second chapter of this 4-part saga. That's right... 4 PARTS. About an hour into the game you'll realize just HOW big a deal this is.
Why it sucks: Ryo is like cardboard. The mysterious Shua sha(sp?) who foretells Ryo's destined quest and has no other role in the game gives him more flavor and personality than Ryo can really dish up. The stone faced reactions he has to Nozomi's confession of love are just horrifying! And considering all the other cuties out for some Ryo lovin', you'd think he could find a little time to have some maxin' relaxin' as opposed to spending all his free time feeding a kitten, spending god knows how much money on crappy Sega capsule toys, playing Hang-On and all the other crap he does. The faulty romance between them makes no sense >_< He'll save her from like 80 friggin' thugs, but he won't tell her even a tiny bit of his feelings? Basically he tells her he'll sleep on it, and continues his 27 hours a day avenging. My problem is mainly that they could have made something REALLY romantic with little effort and that would have added a LOT of flavor to the game, but apparently racing forklifts was what they were looking for in a game. Oh and it's not only the whole Romance aspect that pisses me off about Ryo, watch his face, he almost NEVER has any other expressions besides his really pissed look and his indifferent expression. The game guide tries to justify his behavior as a quirk from childhood after being mocked when he admitted to having a crush on a girl. He naturally whupped the kid who poked fun at him, but he made and effort ever since to shy away from girls... I'm almost scared where this is supposed to lead ^_^; Anyway, As much as I'd like the little reference to Ryo's past to excuse everything, it doesn't change jack-diddly if it doesn't actually show up in the game dammit!!!
Besides Ryo, there's that little problem of street fights going out of control! Near the end of the game, you must take on the Mad Angels... ALL of the Mad Angels!!! There's like 80 frickin' fighters out there and the VMU counts them down. There's like two mini bosses and one HUGE boss who takes forever to frickin' die. This is where everything pays off or goes straight into the toilet, and if you've been stupidly doing this whole thing without a guide or any hint as to what you're about to get into it may very well catch you off guard. Fortunately, you can do it again... and again... and AGAIN... until you take out all of them. It wasn't until I got to this point in the game that I got creepy Bouncer vibes and noticed a major problem with the free fight engine... I suck!!! I was so shocked by the sheer number of enemies that I eventually resorted to button mashing and stopped just before I hit carpal tunnel... again.
Other than the twitchy Race to the harbor (yeah, I can't drive in Video games either) Nothing comes to mind that really bugs me about Shenmue except that there's SO MUCH to the game that if you get distracted or build bad habits, it could take forever to finish the game! I got through it in a weekend (cuz' I'm just THAT cool), but the last time I borrowed Shenmue I got lost in the ecstacy that was Yokosuka and never thought I'd beat the game after the weeks of playing it and getting lost. It's that rich! So many people to talk to, so many things to do... It's just... just too much game for some people!!!
Why it rules: Where to start... It's unlike any gaming experience you can think of. Time and weather actually exist here so you get to see snow falling, gentle and harsh rains as well as clear sunny days! A refreshing change indeed! Then there's the fact that EVERYTHING people says is audible! EVERYTHING! No matter how trite, useless or important their speech may be, you WILL hear it (unless of course you skip it...). The fighting is a nice break from simple beat-em up action, your reflexes are tested with the QTE system and you engage in wild one-on-five street fights! The QTE is a challenging system which tests your reflexes making you press in directions or buttons in order to react to what's going on in front of you. The fights are just insane! Spending time training Ryo in different and specific techniques pays off big when you take it to the streets and whup on the sailors, street gangs and punks of yokosuka. While the camera work isn't perfect, it's still a rare gem of street fighting glory. And there's just SO FREAKING MUCH STUFF TO DO!!!!!!! At one point Ryo takes his investigation to Yokosuka Harbor where he gets a job as a forklift driver and while driving a forklift can't really seem that cool... it is :) Besides the absurd Forklift racing, there's a lot of fun to be had when working. You not only get to make mad yen while working there, it's incredibly fun steering the Fork lift around like speed racer weaving in between other drivers, pedestrians and stuff. It rocks! The exploration/investigation process which takes up roughly %80 of the game is awesome! Unlike Resident Evil it doesn't feel like running errands! ^_^ The interaction with Ryo's closely knit community is just awesome! Nothing like this has even been imagined before. A game where you can simply exist among a populous and stroll around town at your leisure. Or on the other hand you can search the town and grill everyone you find, eventually finding trouble and using someone's head as a basketball. Unlike Grand Theft Auto 3, your choices are quite limited, but unlike GTA3 you have a much more concrete story and a much more involved sense of gameplay, it's like the game swallows you whole! I can't even begin to stress just how incredible this game is!!! It's THAT good! THe moment I beat it I was ready for Shenmue 2, I'm jonesin' for it and have been ever since! It's a good reason to own a X-box, but it would have been nice if they freaking released it on the Dreamcast to give the poor thing a decent swan song so it would not go gently into that good night. Or something.
Overall: Wow. I mean... Just... Wow! It's hard to compare this game to any other, it bends and twists the current image of your average RPG to the point of lunacy! It's incredible! While GTA3 was leading the loveless life of a thug, Shenmue is the deep, involving story of revenge, love and family. A beautiful game that naturally takes a little getting used to, but blows most games out of the water with its concept alone. A must have game that more than justifies its worth and goes to show what a marvel the dreamcast was... Sega just doesn't have any luck when it comes to managing systems >_<