Patrick's Web Site- Shenmue for Dreamcast

Shenmue is a somewhat unique game. It can be classified as an RPG because you gradually develop your martial arts skills. It can be classified as an adventure game because it has that type of gameplay. It can even be called a fighter because the fights are so realistic. Personally, I call it an RPG/adventure because it demonstrates qualities of both genres. But Yu Suzuki, creator, producer, and director of Shenmue calls the genre Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment or FREE. Must have lost something in the translation.

When asked to describe Shenume, I didn't know where to begin. Someone at the Sega newsgroup called it "a really good demonstration of a really bad kung fu movie". Or something like that. But that is basically what it is. The game starts off with Ryo, the main character, running to his house. He notices a black car and slows at the enterence. He goes to the dojo and brushes past the two "black suits." He sees his father facing off against Lan Di who keeps asking about a mysterious mirror. Ryo witnesses his father's death after Lan Di forces Iwao (Ryo's father) to tell him where the mirror is. The game starts a few days later. Your quest is to extract vengeance and find out what the mirror is.

Everthing about Shenmue screams detail. The city and neighborhood are real, and there were many models for the people, buildings, and everthing else, including animals. The graphics prove what the Dreamcast is capable of makes the PS2 look almost as bad as an N64 by comparison. Though it appears as if there is little room for improvement, except for the pop-up and slowdown, Yu Suzuki has promised a huge difference in terms of graphics. The cinemas look even better at times, which is incredible. And the voices are also great, especially the sheer amount of dialogue. If there were no dialouge, the three disk Shenmue would merely be one disk.

The fighting, which is roughly 10-20% of the game, is spectacular. The QTEs are fights in which you press a button and watch Ryo block or work an attack to his advantage...or not, depending on how dexterious you are. What's really cool is that the final attack is replayed a few times with great camera skill. The free battle fights are ususally Ryo versus a bunch of punks that can't take a few puches. The Virtua Fighter engine combined with the power of the Dreamcast make the fights fun to watch. The Shenmue Passport adds great replay value. You can hear explanations from characters, get hints from Nozomi, listen to all the music you've heard so far, or watch some of the cinemas you've seen before. There are even some promotional videos included. In spite of the fact that the story does not end here and it's more of a detective game than an RPG, from one point of view. In short, Shenmue is one of the greatest games of all time in every facet.

Graphics: 9.9 Slight pop-up and slowdown is balanced out by incredible attention to detail.

Gameplay: 9 Detective story, RPG, and fighter all in one incredible game.

Replay Value: 10 I played it three times in a row, then used that Shenmue Passport over and over. Add in the arcade and other mini-games and you've got nearly 70 hours of sheer gaming bliss for a mere $50.

Music/Sound: 10 Original classical music combined with incredibly realistic sounds that are rarely heard.

Average: 9.8 Slight room for improvement in terms of graphics and number of fights.