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Its like playing an Epic Movie

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is VERY slow paced at first. I was so not into it, it felt clumsy and boring. But it REALLY pays to play those first few boring hours because it really picks up once you start getting more into the plot, and the coolness of being able to be free, play games, and just checking out the awesome scenery. Disc's 2 and 3 are really great and the fighitng engine is superb and very reminiscent of Virtua Fighter. Having a day job, working 9 to 5 in Disc 3 is more fun then you'd imagine. And the story line is good enough to keep you going. Like I mentioned above it really feels like you're playing an Epic movie like Lord of the Rings or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. It has an ending that leaves you really wanting to continue, and frustrated that PART 2 will never see the light of day on DC. This is the last game I bought for my DC. and what a way to go....

I am so addicted to Shenmue!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Please remember if you buy this chapter of Shenmue to continue the game you will have to find the europe version (try a local gameing store or online) or you can play the second edition on the Xbox this fall... Overall this is the best game I have ever played, I compair it to a movie that you are acting in. parts of the game will play and then you will have to act out certain parts. It's very lifelike so you will have to run through towns, work at a job, go shopping, but it's really fun. Kind of like The Sims by EA. The best part of the game is that it is easy to play. I hate games where if you fail at a certain point , the character dies and that's the end of it for you. Not with shenmue. You can play the scene over and over again till you get it right. And most fighting scenes are QTE which means a flash of a button will come on the screen and you have to press the correct one on your controller very quickly and the character will perform the action. No need to practice certain fighting moves for most of the game. There are fighting scenes but they are relatively easy!. At first the game may seem kinda stupid but you get addicted....Fast!

Innovative, immersive, and very impressive

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When I first stuck this game into my Dreamcast almost 4 years ago, I was completely blown away by it. I was staying with a friend for the weekend, and we got through the game in two days, taking around 20 to 30 hours in that time. I played through it twice after that, then set it aside for a while. Recently, I discovered my save file was lost, and I had no problem with starting a new game file... and it blew me away all over again.

The graphics are amazing. By today's standards, the polygon count is rather weak, but the animation and level of detail are still rarely matched in any one game. You may see jagged edges and low-resolution textures, but get past that and you'll be amazed by the other aspects of the game.

Gameplay is where most of the dispute over this game takes place. The game is a completely different style from anything else available. Even now, the only other game that is like it is its sequel. There is a clock and calender in the game. You start in December during the 1980s, and depending on how quickly you progress, you could be done by January the next year, or March. Take too long, though, and you'll come to an unfavorable end. Each day has 15 game hours of playable time, which progress at a steady rate of a few real life minutes per game hour. During that time, you are pretty much free to do what you want (unless you have some important event coming up or something). Wander around your house and property (which is quite large by gaming standards), the city, or even a local harbor. You can completely examine rooms, from the light switches and lamps to the pictures, drawers, and laundry baskets. There are mini-games to play, toy capsules to collect, kittens to feed, and the storyline to advance. The action sequences consist of two types: free battles and QTEs. Free battles are a beat-em-up style encounter with a few enemies. QTEs are sequences in which button icons will flash on the screen, and you must press the appropriate button to perform some action, which vary depending on the situation. Some of these sequences are amazingly cool because of the awesome animations (including a bar fight and a motorcycle chase).

And the story... well, a lot of people hate the way is so involved with its story, and how it starts out so slowly. In response to those people, I can only ask, why do people find drama movies entertaining? Because there's a story, supposedly an entertaining one. Plain and simple. And this game series has an excellent one.

It starts off with our protagonist, Ryo Hazuki, coming to his home in Yokosuka, Japan. He finds his father in a hostile meeting with someone named Lan Di. Cutting it short, the man takes what he came for, an item called the Phoenix Mirror, and kills Ryo's father. Ryo is driven for revenge, and also to find out why this Phoenix Mirror was so important that it got his dad killed.

At the beginning of the game you have to ask dozens of people to find the slightest bit of information, which many gamers find trying. Eventually, though, you'll learn that most of the random people wandering around aren't helpful to your quest, and you'll find reliable friends and other sources of information.

Digging around gets Ryo involved with the local gangs and eventually he works his way up to finding the man who escourted Lan Di into Japan... a local gang leader that operates out of the nearby harbor. The story behind the mirror is revealed throughout the game, and sub-plots, such as Ryo's romance with a childhood friend, and various sidequests come up, keeping the game extremely interesting.

The English dubbing is decent, but some of the secondary characters have very sub-par voice actors. However, it's not something that detracts from the game experience.

All in all, this game is unparalleled in magnitude, scope, and ambition. And it's executed near-perfectly. The only people to whom I cannot recommend this game are those hyperactive gamers who need a game with action every thirty seconds.

A note to parents or anybody buying this game for younger kids: This game is rated Teen (Ages 13+), and it's for language, violence (realistic violence, not cartoon violence like Amazon says), and drug and alcohol use. This is a grim, realistic game.

The greatest game no one played.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is my favorite game of all time. Virtua fighter mixed with an rpg! The most detailed and realistic environments I have ever seen. I played this back when it was originally released, and still have not played a game that can blend fighting, action and story together. It's like playing a Martial arts movie. Way ahead of its time. Yu Suzuki has made some of the most important games of our time. Along with Shigeiru Miyamoto they are in a class of their own.

The Perfect Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The Shenmue series along with GunGrave are my favorite video games ever. This is the perfect game with action, suspense, strategy,fast-paced action,slow-paced action. Shenmue doesn't take 2-3 hrs to beat more like 20-30. I beat this game 5 different times because there is always something in it that you didn't see/do before. This game is for anyone at all ages, it's easy to understand but at the same time offers enough challenge where it's no walk-over but not impossible either. Don't cheat yourself out on the greatest gaming experience of your life, get this game. If you don't own a dreamcast, get one you have to play this game.

WORDS CANNOT TELL YOU. JUST FEEL IT!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Well... 4 years ago.. and I remember playing myself this game for the first (and VERY antecipated) time on Dreamcast... and how WONDERFUL it was... This game is one of those very few who can make you cry.. the more you play the game the more you'll be emotionaly linked to it. As some reviewers have said... the only one game that could be comparable to this.. is the first Zelda game for the N64 console... the soundtrack is amazingly immersive.. you REALLY make part of the real-beautiful-life of Ryo and his daily search for revenge... The graphics.. they're SOO amazing that it's hard to tell you... mindblowing freedom and aewsome interaction with almost everything you can imagine about (and with what you can't too). Prepare yourself to get into the REAL and really pure addiction world of Shemnue. The BEST and most innovate interactive game EVER. I really needed to write this review.. just to make justice to this masterpeace of sensitive programing. You REALLY need to fell the gamer emotion just in order to do such a rich emotional experience like this...
!!!This game was like a therapy for me.. it makes me fell really good... REALLY GOOD. thanx Yu Suzuky and crew, for making such an inspirational piece of art.

The main reason I will never sell my Dreamcast

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Yes that's right, I will always hold on to my Dreamcast, there are a number of classic games I own for it but Shenmue perhaps tops them all. Now I hear a lot of people saying that Shenmue is boring, and you spend a lot of time doing nothing, but I couldn't disagree more. I'm the kind of person who loves to explore in games, i play a lot of RPG's and I like to make sure I find all the secrets in a game (if it's any good). That is the beauty of Shenmue, as well as advanvcing the plot (which is great) I can also spend free time down at the arcade, or play pool etc... it is as close as you will get to real life in a game.

Both this and Shenmue II are classics, but I can never forgive Sega for not releasing the rest of the series. I know it was an expensive game to make, but i'm sure there is a huge demand for Shenmue III, I only hope they get their act together and get Yu Suzuki back to working on it again. Back to Shenmue itslelf, the plot is superb, I even enjoyed working at the docks as a forklift driver, while trying to get info on the mad angels. The fighting is superb, both regular battles and the QTE fights (which you see in all sorts of games now), in fact the moves are taken straight out of Virtua Fighter. It also had a great replay value, I completed it numerous times, trying to collect capsule toys and better my scores at the mini games like darts. The best mini game of all though was right at the end, The 70 man free battle time attack.

The 70 man battle involved fighting your way through 70 Mad Angels members, including 3 bosses along the way, and was the highlight of the game. Once you had completed the game you could do it again and try to set a best time for it, as with all the mini games you could then enter it on the world rankings. I can't remember my time, but it was at one stage in the top 50 in the world, and I must of tried to beat it at least 100 times. I haven't even mentioned the classic Sega Games you could play at the arcade, Space Harrier (which is impossible), Super Hang On etc.. were all available to set top scores on, there is just so much to see and do.

If you still own a Dreamcast and not this, then you are mad, pick it up now, before it vanishes off the face of the earth, classic.

Revolutionary? Yes .... Perfect? No

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Shenmue is simply a test of patience ....meaning that if you give it some time you will adjust and start to love it ...but if you don't then you will miss out on a great game... but it ain't pefect.

Shenmue's graphics are the best I've seen on any console ..nuff said.

The control is a little frustrating at first but you will get used to it.

The sound is good/bad. The music and sound effects are top notch but the voice acting is horrible (most of the time).

The gameplay consists of walking, running, talking, fighting, quick time events, finding stuff, etc. etc. The gameplay has a slow pace ...and can be frustrating at times finding this person ...finding this store ...finding that store, etc. But like I said, if you just give the game some time you will like it a lot.

So overall, I liked the game a lot. It has it's bad parts and it's got it's good parts. This is the most realistic game ever made, period. And it is definently revolutionary. So what are you waiting for, go out and get the game.

Graphics: 10/10 Control: 8/10 Sound 7/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Replay Value: 9/10 Frustration: Medium Fun Factor: 9/10

Turn that Darn Movie Off

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 20
Date: April 26, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Where can i begin with Shen Mue its like a movie- There are SO MANY areas to explore in like the local arcade, Game You or you can go to your job on the fork lift and move boxes around there is so much to do I recodmend for anyone 13 and over its on 4 cds 3 for the game and a Shen Mue PAssport disk A+

Am2 at their all time Best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: July 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

What can be said about the most expensive game ever made except it has to be considered a masterpiece! The detail in this game is so real it's scary, the only way you know your playing a game is by the loading times without them you actually feel as if your in the game! If you own a Dreamcast you need to get this game and be a part of video game history!

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