User Reviews (11 - 21 of 74)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Wow...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I purchased an Xbox solely for this game. At first, I thought Shenmue (on DC) was a pointless until I actually took the time to sit down and play the game. I found that it's highly addictive, and while it was very tedious, I actually enjoyed the fact that it wasn't just about fighting. I was anxious for the sequel to come out, but after reading the rather lukewarm review of the game in Xbox mag, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Once I got my hands on a copy, Shenmue II proved to be a praiseworthy sequel. There are still some of those tedious tasks that people don't like, but there's also more for you to do. Working is now an option rather than a necessity. (Thank Goodness!) The gameplay is definitely longer than the first Shenmue, providing you with three new cities to explore and a whole new cast of characters to interact with. The people on Shenmue II aren't as clueless as the people in the last one (if you know what I mean). There's more fighting. You can even make your money solely through fighting (or gambling). Personally, I think the graphics in the game are beautiful and definitely makes for an even more enjoyable experience. All in all, I think this game is the perfect combination of fighting and investigative work. The storyline is enthralling. I give it 5 stars!

Genius = Yu Suzuki

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 17
Date: August 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I already own Shenmue 1 + 2 on the DC, and yet I still plan to buy Shenmue 2 in the fall. Shenmue is one of the best series I have ever had the pleasure of playing. Yu Suzuki the man who wrote the Shenmue story planned for the game to have 14 chapters and Shenmue 1 + 2 make up the first 4 chapters in Ryo Hazuki' journey.
If you never played the original that is ok because when you purchase Shenmue 2 you'll also get 'Shenmue the movie' which depicts all the events from the first game. So you'll be caught up in the story in no time!

Hopefully Shenmue 3 won't be that far behind 2

A Very Slight Step Down From Part I

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I can't really explain why I fell so deeply in love with Yu Suzuki's first console release, the Dreamcast's original Shenmue. Perhaps it was the sense of complete freedom, which allowed players to spend their income however they saw fit, completely disregarding the story in favor of video games and little toy capsules. Maybe it had more to do with the utterly enveloping environment, which went further toward becoming a totally immersive scenario than any other game in history. Who knows, maybe it was the game's setting in mid-80s Japan, two cultures I've always found fascinating (80s pop culture and traditional Japanese culture). One thing's for certain, it wasn't the emotionless, deer-in-the-headlights expression constantly sported by the story's hero, Ryo Hazuki. Regardless, I was hooked on this story of revenge, reality, and the kind of awkward relationships characteristic of our teenage years.

Though the Dreamcast sequel never arrived in America, Sega revamped the title, added a few new features and finally released it on Microsoft's Xbox. Alongside Halo, it was my first purchase for the enormous black and green machine.

Bar none, the coolest thing about the Shenmue series is its outrageous attention to detail. There exist hundreds of storefronts, people, objects, games and environments that don't have any impact whatsoever on the story itself. They could've just as easily been left out, yet their inclusion broadens the game's scope substantially. Almost every doorway can be opened, every object, from the fliers hanging in a popular street corner to the televisions hidden away in the corner of a pawn shop, can be examined in detail. Sega even carried on the tradition of including emulated versions of Suzuki's arcade hits, this time packing in Afterburner II, Out Run, Hang On and Space Harrier.

There's no such thing as a cut scene in Shenmue II, everything you see is live rendered. And, while that was a real feat for the Dreamcast (producing graphics on the fly that rivaled those of the Psone and N64's pre-renders), it's not as impressive on the Xbox. Though it gives it the old college try, Shenmue isn't as visually impressive as Rygar: The Legendary Adventure on the PS2, Metroid Prime on the Gamecube or even Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee on the Box itself. Honestly, though the visuals are improved slightly, this still looks, feels and functions much like a Dreamcast game. The water effects, especially, pale in comparison to what we've already seen the Xbox can do. The game looks above average at best. Not great, but still good. As I mentioned earlier, the real strength of Ryo's world is the tremendous variety in the storefronts, environments and various items, and this is something that helps set it apart from the pack.

Occasionally, Ryo will be drawn into a fight scene, which functions like a strange blend of Final Fight and Tekken. Visually, the transition between "wander and talk mode" and "fight bunch of guys mode" is almost seamless. Very rarely are these fights one-on-one affairs, and you're usually called upon to take down upwards of a half dozen guys at one time. You've got an impressive list of moves at your disposal, with more available as the game progresses, but really only utilize about ten or eleven on a regular basis.

The musical score to Shenmue II follows in the footsteps of the original; it's epic. Every one of the arrangements in the game serves to broaden the scope of this already impressive, expansive title. It truly feels like you're playing a character in a major motion picture, and it invokes your emotions at just the right moments. Near the game's conclusion, when Ryo stands atop the roof of the tallest building in town, staring into the sunset, you really feel as though you're coming of age along with him. When he first rides into port aboard an enormous ocean liner in the game's opening scene, the music further emphasizes that this is the beginning of a tremendous journey. It really is that solid.

Pity I can't say the same about the voice acting. Every one of the characters is just as wooden and emotionless as Ryo himself, which is one of the dark clouds that seems to have followed this series throughout its existence. Though everyone in town has a distinct voice, they all share similar traits; nobody gets excited about ANYTHING, and they all place intonations on the wrong words with frightening regularity. Ryo himself is one of the least appealing characters I've ever played, and nearly everyone in the world seems to share this disposition. It's hard to get excited about the revelations involving Lan Di and his relationship to Ryo's father, when those making the revelations are themselves completely disinterested in the proceedings.

Included with the Xbox version is a DVD containing the majority of the cutscenes from the original Shenmue for Dreamcast. I found this to be a great, somewhat quick, refresher course before diving into the new events. It'd been years since I last ventured into this world, and I was reminded of several small threads I'd have otherwise forgotten. On that same hand, I can imagine how much the inclusion of this disc would have aided players with absolutely no experience with the Dreamcast. A great idea, and something I wish more gaming dynasties would consider.

Overall, I found myself enjoying the first Shenmue more than I did the sequel. This is still a series I'd be interested in seeing pursued, but no matter what you may have heard... it HAS taken a small step down with this release. While the first game focused much more on Ryo's inability to relate to his peers, his awkward social life and his pure intention to avenge his father's murder, the sequel delves more into the spiritual and political ramifications of his actions. It wasn't quite as much fun as the original, though the overall feel was very similar.

PLEASE RELEASE SHENMUE 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm starting this review with a plea to Sega, you have to release Shenmue 3, how can they leave the series dead after the ending of this game. The Shenmue series are among my favourite games of all time, I finished Shenmue II and immediately wanted to play the next episode in the saga. Sadly it seems at the moment this isn't going to happen, which is a crying shame, but I can only hope Sega change their mind.

As for my review of Shenmue II, it like it's predecessor is a classic, in fact I think they even outdid the original with this. It is a much bigger game, taking place over 3 large areas, including Kowloon in Hong Kong. The scope of the game is massive, there is so much to see and do, and in Kowloon there are 40ft scyscrapers to explore amongst other things. The only drawback from the original is that the online features are gone, in other words you can no longer set high scores for the mini games and put them on the world ranknings. This is only a minor compaint however, the fighting is as slick as the previous Shenmue game, with numerous moves (taken from the virtua fighter engine) to master. There are now more arcade games, with classics like Outrun added, and more slot machines and even more toys to collect. If you wanted to you could waste days on this game, there is just so much to see and do.

As with Shenmue I, it's a classic, I only hope Sega get it together and Ryu Hazuki's adventure ends properly.

Shenmue 2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Long wait. Then here it came, SHENMUE 2!! I remember getting this game for christmas, then I played it for a week straight all day everyday. It left off EXACTLY where Shenmue 1 ended, so it took you right into the next chapter of the story!! This Shenmue has way moer of a free world than Shenmue 1 did, which is a little better. This game is awesome graphics, ALOT more people and alot more things you can do! It just blows my mind that this game didn't sell more copies than it did! This game has an awesome storyline to it, and it also has alot more fighting in it which is a good thing, since Shenmue 1 didn't have THAT much fighting. If you have an Xbox, I HIGHLY recommend this game, and if you have a Dreamcast, I highly recommend the "Shenmue" on that system. This game is great, its also a longer game than the first Shenmue which is a plus!!!

I hope SHENMUE 3 hits stores!!!!!!

One of the best gaming experiences i have ever had

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

At first i was unsure about this, but after playing the first game on the Sega Dreamcast i was hooked. The game is simply huge, there is so much to do and see and the story is very engrossing. Of course you don't have to follow the story. The game gives you the chance to explore the vast city and indulge in such past times as darts and even gives you the chance to play some of Sega's classic arcade titles. This game won't be to everyones taste however, it can take up alot of your time and moves at quite a slow pace. So anyone looking for fast paced action look elsewhere this game requires alot of patients. This being a convesion of the original Dreamcast game, the graphics do look slightly dated and the voice acting is terrible. Still if like me these things don't bother you that much and your after somthing with an epic feel then i highly recommend this game, but if shooting things and big bangs are your thing then i think you would be much better off sticking with the Grand Theft Auto games. But if your willing to open your mind, you might find yourself hooked just like i was.

Whether you have the import or not, listen up.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

When Shenmue II originally came out for Dreamcast, AM2 had attempted to improve upon perfection. They succeded. And it looks like they're set to do it again with this enhanced port on the Xbox. Besides the pre-requisite Xbox extras such as better graphics and surround sound, AM2 added english dubbing anda snapshot mode. The snapshot mode is like Metal Gear Solid 2's in the sense that itit isn't needed to progress through the game, but here, if you take photos of the right people, you can unlock comics caleed Shenmue Side Stories and they really answer a lot of questions and bring up new ones, and in your spare time you can add filters to the pictures to make them look different. As far as voices go, they're excellent except Wong sounds like Chuckie from Rugrats holding his nose. It is clear that Yu-san and his team are not out to pull an "Acclaim-Crazy-Taxi-style" [...] on us. You will own this game. Wait, scratch that. This game will own you.

Grat game, overall.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: December 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Never played the first Shenmue. Bought this game because i finally beat Morrowind. This game is great. Many things to do, many interations, and a lot of freedom. The only negatives I found in this game were the vastly inferior graphics, and the lack of any sort of actual ending. Otherwise it's fun game.

For hardcore gamers only; interactive novel; not that great

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 26
Date: October 31, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First of, yes, Yu Suzuki is a genius and I admire what he's attempted to do here. Very valiant effort on this series that may just be ahead of its time.

I just got this the other day and have been trying to MAKE myself play it. That should tell you something right there.
EGM and Gamespot's reviews of this game are dead-on: It definitely feels and looks like a DC port.
Read both of those reviews.

This almost can't even be called a game, and if you go into this thinking you have another Morrowind type game on your hands, than you will be very disappointed.
Morrowind blows this thing away for epic scope, freedom, and variety. It's false advertising if anyone tries to sell this to you under that pretense.

The game is mostly you talking people and getting from point to point. It's a detective novel that you kind of interact with, for all intents and purposes.
Yes, you can sight see, buy knick knacks, find the Sega arcade games, and other side jaunts, but GTA:VC and Morrowind both FAR AND AWAY have a much greater sense of freedom and variety of gameplay than this does. It's not fair to compare such different genres, but that's what some people have been doing, and I am setting the record straight.

I think this is a niche title that fans of the first game should chew up.
For people like me, who didn't play the first one, you might be asking yourself, "Yeah, so?"

I think that this game needed more time on the shelf.
MAKE it Xbox worthy on all levels. As it stands, it reeks of Dreamcast port all the way.
The controls leave something to be desired. They almost go down to Resident Evil level, which is disgraceful. The controls are tolerable, but that's about it.

The game does boast a nice music score, and the transition between the game modes is pretty seamless.

This is a very slow paced experience. VERY SLOW. I recommend that you proceed with caution; consider a rental first. I view this game as an interactive book.

Microsoft is EVIL but it's still a cool game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 17
Date: August 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game, you should buy it but since Microsoft is evil and Bill Gates ran off with one of the dead or alive girls its not a good idea to get this for X-Box. Insted you should import it from europe for the Dreamcast which is a MUCH more powerful system and uh... it looks better too. Beware of puple cows and Brian (if you don't know who Brian is, you are extremly lucky)

PS: I am an insane, drunken fool so you had better pay close attention to this reveiw.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next 

Actions