Shenmue
Reviewed by Jeremy Peeples
This review will cover the U. S. version of Shenmue. Shenmue
has been in development since the Dreamcast was announced.
It is produced and directed by Yu Suzuki, the creator the
Virtua Fighter series, Space Harrier, and the Hang-On series
of games. This is considered by many to be his gaming opus.
Shenmue was released in the U. S. in November of 2000.
Shenmue is the creation of a new genre in gaming, the
F. R. E. E. genre. F. R. E. E. stands for Fully Reactive Eyes
Entertainment. The voices in the game are dubbed. Shenmue is
set in Japan in 1986. Now then without further ado, here's the review.
Graphics-10/10- Everything in this game looks fantastic. The
game's characters have more details in them then I've ever
seen in a video game, their facial expressions are excellent
and their clothing is highly detailed, seeing as how there
are over 300 characters in this game, this is no minor
accolade. The game's buildings also feature this type of
detail, outside of them, you can see little, like their
titles and stores have their hours posted. The insides of
buildings are equally detailed, you can see everything in a
room clearly. The sky in the game looks amazing, it's color
changes throughout the day, in the afternoon, the blue sky
is vibrant, midway through the day it changes to a beautiful
and rich orange color, and at night, it changes to an
ominous black. The characters? bodies are amazing they all
feature unique outfits, their mouth movements are amazingly
realistic. The animation for the characters was motion
captured to insure fluidity, and it shows, every action is
perfect, from popping the top of a soda can, to punching an
opponent it's all amazing, the only downside to the
characters is the sharpness of their joints. The only
environmental problem is the trees, which look very blurry
and undefined, thankfully those are the only graphical
problems in the game.
Pros- The characters are highly detailed. The buildings
feature an unbelievable amount of detail, both inside and
outside. The sky's color changes fluidly. The animation is
some of the most fluid ever seen.
Cons- Joints are a little sharp. Trees look odd.
Sound-10/10- First things first, if you were worried about
the quality of the game's dub, don't be. Shenmue features
one of the most amazing dubs ever in a video game, every
last one of the game's 300+ characters features it's own
unique dub. The best part is 99% of the characters feature
spot-on dubs that fit the characters perfectly. Among them
are Ryo Hazuki, Lan Di (the man who killed Ryo's father),
Iwao Hazuki (Ryo's father), Tom (the owner of the hot dog
stand), and Nozomi (the owner of the flower shop.) A couple
of the dubs are a little off, among them, Fuku-san (Ryo's
sparring partner), and Ine-san (Ryo's caregiver.) The game's
sound effects are perfect, every last one them sounds like
they should, from opening a door, to popping open a soda
can, to kicking an opponent, everything sounds perfect. The
game's music is one of it's best features, the orchestra
music helps enhance the mood of the game and brings you
further and further into the story.
Pros- Excellent character dubs. Sound effects are spot-on.
The music helps enhance the game's mood.
Cons- Some of the dubs sound off.
Story-10/10- You arrive at your house and find an unusual
black car, Ryo hears a noise coming from inside the dojo and
he goes to investigate, when he arrives at the dojo his
sparring partner is thrown out of it, you enter to see Ryo's
father engaged in a conversation with Lan Di, Ryo is held
back by two of Lan Di goons, Lan Di asks Ryo's father about
the location of the Dragon Mirror, Iwao says he won't tell
Lan Di, after this a battle starts, your father is brutally
kicked and punched in the battle, taking him out of
commission, Lan Di then turns his attention to Ryo and
threatens his life if Iwao doesn't tell him where the mirror
is, Iwao tells him and Lan Di sends one of his goons to find
it, the goon returns with the mirror and Lan Di leaves. Ryo
then checks on his father, his father gives him words of
warning and then dies in Ryo's arms. Ryo screams in agony at
his father's death. Shenmue features one of the most
dramatic stories ever in a video game, you must experience
it for yourself to get the full effect of it.
Pros- One of the most dramatic stories ever in a video game.
Cons- None.
Gameplay-10/10- You assume the role of Ryo Hazuki. You live
a virtual life in this game, your goal is to find Lan Di.
During your journey you can do an amazing amount of things,
you can get a part-time job, you can kill time playing full
versions of Hang-On and Space Harrier in the You Arcade, you
can visit friends, you can get something to eat, you can
battle gangs in an alley, there really is no end to what you
can do in this game. The game features button-mashing
sections called Quick Time Events (or QTE's for short) these
section involve you pressing a button as the command is
given to you on-screen. These sections are used in certain
cinema's and fights. You can also fight in a Free Battle
system, this is where you control Ryo's movement, the
fighting engine is very advanced and is on par with some
fighting games in it's depth.
Pros- Tons of stuff to do. QTE's are surprisingly well-done.
The Free Battle system is amazingly deep.
Cone- None.
Control-10/10- The Directional Pad is used to move Ryo, this
does take some time to get used to, but once you learn it,
it will be second nature to you. The L trigger is used to
make Ryo run. The A button is used to open doors and to
initiate conversation, an on-screen command will show you
when to use this button. The analog stick is used to control
the game's camera. This control scheme works great with this
game, every task used by a button seems natural.
Pros- Control scheme works well.
Cons- Using the D-Pad to move Ryo will take some practice to master.
Challenge-3/10- This game is not too hard, it wasn't
designed to be. It was designed to be an experience with the
difficulty set to the everyday life of a teenager.
Replay Value-10/10- There's so much to do in this game that
you'll never get the most out of it if you only beat it
once, you probably need to play through it again to
appreciate how great this game is.
Presentation-10/10- Everything fits the game's setting
perfectly. The character design is excellent, it's some of
the most original ever seen in video games.
Buy or Rent?-Buy- This game deserves to be in every gamer's
collection. It is one of the most revolutionary games in
history. You will never regret buying this game.
Overall-10/10- This is one of the most stunning games in
history. It combines the best graphics ever in a video game,
the most detailed sound I've ever heard, and some of the
deepest gameplay I've ever experienced to make a game that I
will remember forever. Yu Suzuki has created one of the
finest video games in history. Shenmue will be remembered
alongside Super Mario Brothers as a game that truly
revolutionized gaming.
Final Thought- This game had the largest budget ever for a
game ($70 million) and it shows. Everything in this game is
of the highest quality, from the detailed animation of
everything in the game, no matter how minor (i. e. a phone
cord has perfect animation), to the beautiful and varied
music that is, in my opinion, some of the best ever in
gaming, to the overall atmosphere and mood of the game.
Everything that Yu Suzuki set out to accomplish with this
game has been done.
OR
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