I've written my own semi-long review of Shenmue. I gave it a 7.6 out of 10. Ground-breaking game, but limited in playability.
I don't have it posted anywhere, so here it is for those who care..
Review: Shenmue for Dreamcast
Ahhh.. 1986. A year I remember somewhat fondly. Who could forget movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, or Howard the Duck? Then there were the games of the time –Elevator Action for Nintendo, Space Harrier and Hang On in the arcade, and don’t forget that Dreamcast game Shenmue. What? Dreamcast and Shenmue in 1986?
Well, sort-of. Sega’s wanna-be uber-epic that could, Shenmue, does take place in 1986 – in the game’s world. For awhile, the player also believes they are in Japan, circa 1986 – almost. This overly ambitious game, years in the making and millions of dollars worth of production, delivers graphically, but fails to impress in all other areas.
The story revolves around Ryo Hazuki, a young man who witnesses the murder of his father Iawo, a prominent martial-arts dojo master, before his very eyes. It seems that a mysterious man named Lan-Di was after some strange foreign artifact that Iawo owned, and murdered him to obtain it. Following this heinous crime, Ryo sets out on his own quest to find out what Lan-Di’s true motives for murdering his father are and to seek revenge on Lan-Di. Along the way, Ryo meets many characters, both eccentric and mundane, rides forklifts and motorcycles, gets into many dangerous fights, and even gets a little time to collect toy capsules and play an arcade game or two.
Graphically, this game is a showstopper. Ornate details like hair fibers, lighting, earwax, and even teeth are rendered impeccably. The game’s world comes alive with snow that seems to be falling out of the screen and toward the player, not to mention translucent streams and falling rain. Even the jeans Ryo has shows some wear and tear, with sprinkled white fade marks to add to the realism.
Animation, however, is one of the many places where this game falls flat. Motions by characters, whether during normal movement, or during Virtual-Fighter style battles, is often jerky and unconvincing, especially when characters talk. Although the characters’ lips synch well with their speech, they often seem robotic, never blinking their eyes. Animation during mini-games like forklift driving and motorcycle riding is also well suited and consistent with the rest of the game – very sloppy.
Sound, surprisingly enough, works well in this game. One big bonus throughout the game is that ALL characters speak. From the key characters to the most mundane citizens in the game’s world, they all have a voice of their own and all interact with the main protagonist, Ryo. Music is well suited to the game, ranging from atmospheric sound effects like the trickling water of a pond to the creepy horror-inspired theme of one of the game’s more freakish antagonist, Choi.
Gameplay is where this game is a mixed bag. The best way to describe the gameplay of Shenmue is that it attempts to be a jack of all trades, and ends up being a master of none. In their attempt to bring this game to the masses and add something new to the gaming scene, they came up with a new genre suited to the game called F.R.E.E. which stands for Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment. The intent of this is to engross the player with multiple types of gameplay and full exploration of the game’s world through character interaction, clue gathering, and exploring. Add to this multiple action sequences spread out though the game, and the goal is to immerse the player in the game entirely, tricking their mind into believing that the game they are playing is in the realm of virtual reality. Ambitious? Yes, too bad the execution of the F.R.E.E. environment is as sloppy some of the other parts of the game. In the beginning, the player truly does buy into the F.R.E.E. environment. Character interaction seems revolutionary, with every character having a spoken line to say. The player is free to roam about doing anything they want, from buying candy in a store, to playing emulated games in the arcade, to knocking on 100’s of neighborhood doors to see if anyone is home. After a while though, the mundane reality of the game starts to set in. The player quickly learns that Shenmue tries TOO HARD to copy reality. Pretty soon, players start to notice that interactions with the game’s robotic characters become run-of-the-mill. Not only do characters in the game move and look like robots, they start sounding like robots, using repeated phrases. Buying things also gets tiring in Shenmue. There is no real reason to buy toy capsules, candy, or anything else in the game other than to collect it. If this wasn’t enough, the boring nature of Shenmue rears its ugly head during clue-finding and game progression. One feature of Shenmue is that time passes almost like in real-life, and that appointment have to be kept by the player. To advance the plot, Ryo sometimes has to meet characters in the game at a certain time, or catch buses. This leaves the player having to find ways to pass time in the game. Early on, this can be done in the arcade, but even that option wears thin after awhile. As a consequence, many impatient players may turn the game off and never return to it again.
Another component to Shenmue are “QTEs” and “Free Battles.” These are spread throughout the game to break up the monotony and provide some action elements. These, too, end up being a mixed bag that save the game from being average. QTEs are action-reaction, hit-the-button-the-second-you-see-it-on-the-screen, points in the game. Think Dragon’s Lair, only tuned to a kung-fu movie atmosphere. Free Battles can best be described as Virtual-Fighter style fests. These parts of the game have you tackling multiple enemies at once with some of the moves you practice in the dojo. While some people argue that these two components of the game weren’t spread out enough, I disagree. As the game intensifies and switches from light-hearted to intense in story, so do the frequency of Free Battles and QTEs. This, I feel, complements the story well and puts the player in the thick of the action. The only problem with this is that there is too much of it toward the end. This hurts the game considerably.
While not for everyone, Shenmue is a game that is best played and enjoyed by people that like a good story, and who have a lot of patience. Though the story starts out slow, it quickly becomes engrossing toward the end, just begging the player to finish it and see what happens next. Shenmue is a good glimpse of what is to come for games of the future. While it attempts to be a jack of all trades, it ends up being a master of none. While it is only slightly above average, I have high expectations for the sequel. This game is but a mere prelude for the volume of sequels, which are destined to come. This game has great potential to become a videogame epic classic. Too bad the first game starts it out on the wrong foot.
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 7/10
Uniqueness: 9/10
Replay: 4/10
Overall: 7.6/10
Pros: Gorgeous graphics/Great Concept/Gripping Story
Cons: Bad Execution/Game Drags On/Only replay is in the emulated versions of Hang-On and Space Harrier
Appeals to: People who like to play a game for its great storytelling/Die Hard gamers who have to know about the latest and greatest.
Sorry about the long post. This stuff belongs in unrelated.. Sorry Shawn..
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Phantasy Star Online 2001.30.01
A simple formula
Phantasy Star + Sonic Team + Online = No life and no regrets.
DigiPunk - Part time Evil SNK, Full time hardcore gamer.
