The Shenmue Saga (Parts I & II)
By Keith "JC" Hayward
System: Dreamcast, X-Box
Developer: Sega

Introduction

Shenmue is by far my greatest video game experience of all time. I’ve fought alongside Link against the forces of Gannon in The Legend of Zelda, barrel rolled across the stars battling the Confederacy in Starlancer, fought monsters side by side with my friends in Phantasy Star Online, and am now deep in the heart of Egypt learning the mystery of the Sands of Time in Prince of Persia and still none have totally immersed me in a living, breathing, organic world the way that the Shenmue Saga has. Part detective game, part living simulator and part fighter, this samurai like tale of wandering on a quest for revenge had me rushing home from work and powering up my beloved Dreamcast the moment I stepped through the door. My journeys in Shenmue took me from the streets of Japan all the way to the exotic land of China itself and brought to me my most cherished and enthralling video game memories.

Owning a Dreamcast is cool. I know it’s hip to have yourself a Playstation 2 and all, but what’s more cool is having a awesome system that nobody else has and experiencing adventures that nobody else can. Sure your friend down the block can play Final Fantasy 1 Billion, but so can absolutely everyone else. If you’re a Japan Hero fan, you already know that being different is also cool and that you can find greatness in places nobody else would look. You can find Dreamcasts on the cheap now, that along with a quick search on Ebay will snag you Shenmue I & II and after you do… after it comes in the mail and you hit the power button to see the magic orange light fire up, get ready for a video game experience like absolutely none other, and believe me, it’s worth it.

The Story

"He shall appear from a Far Eastern land across the sea. A young man who has yet to know his potential. This potential is a power that could either destroy him or realize his will. His courage shall determine his fate. The path he must traverse fraught with adversity. I await whilst praying for this destiny predetermined since ancient times. Awaiting in anticipation. A dragon arises from the earth, as ominous clouds fill the sky. A phoenix descends from the heavens trailing purple wind from its wings. The pitch black night unfolds with the morning star its only light. And thus the saga.... begins."
--Shenhua Ling

It's these prophetic words that mark your entrance into the Shenmue Saga.

One dark night, rain fell and lightening split the sky... and that is the night you and Ryo Hazuki witness his father's death at the hands of a mysterious Kung Fu Master in dragon silk robes. A man later revealed to be... Lan Di.

Ryo's father fought hard and bravely, but was no match for the mysterious man's unknown fighting style. After finishing Ryo's father he dispatches Ryo himself and disappears into the night.

Swearing revenge, you guide Ryo into through his local streets of Japan all the way to China, searching for clues, fighting through thugs, yakuza, and martial artists, to find the mysterious Lan Di and make him pay!

Review

Shenmue is a gaming experience like none other, and believe me, I’ve tried to find another that could match the full living experience you get from this unique living world that master game producer, Yu Suzuki made with production studio AM2. From it’s exotic locals rendered in startling detail, to quite possibly one of the most beautifully told stories in video game history, to engaging martial arts, to the ground breaking QTE events that keep you in the game even during cinema sequences, the Shenmue Saga is a masterpiece in the truest sense of the word.

Shenmue I

The first video game installment starts you off in Japan soon after the death of Ryo Hazuki’s father. With only a handful of clues you and Ryo must venture forth to unravel the mystery of the Phoenix Mirror.

This first installment was a masterpiece and an experience to be beheld, but it wasn't perfect. First off was the pacing as has been commented on in various reviews. In the first two disks almost nothing really happens! You run into few fights here and there, but they're very scattered, and not really anything that advances the plot so we can get on the trail of that jerk, Lan Di! For all of the awe-inspiring speech you get at the beginning of the game with the promise of destiny, dragons, and phoenixes... I did a whole lot more chillin' at the arcade, feeding my stray cat, and buying SEGA toys than realizing any of my mystic potential.

There's also the fact that this game actually pays attention to time and days. Time rolls by about four times as fast as it does in regular time. So if you stand in one place and look at your watch you'll notice about an hour goes by every ten minutes or so of real time. So, say some guy with a hot tip wants to meet you in 4 hours... you in fact have to find something to do for 40 minutes real time!!! Now that's a long time to be doing nothing. In between this and that if I had to wait, I’d sometimes give a friend a call or head downtown with Ryo to Dobuita for some arcade games or practice our moves in the parking lot nearby. I remember one time I met a guy at 9:00 a.m. game time, and he tells me to meet him the next day. Thus for a full video game day’s time I have to either find something to do, or just leave my Dreamcast on and let it sit for about... an hour to a half hour!

Thankfully this glaring drawback has been fixed fixed in Shenmue II. In the event something like this happens, there’s an "Elapse Time" feature you can activate that will speed up time ‘til your next real event and/or meeting.

That pretty much wraps up any bad this game might have, and even then, having to wait around, kill time, and meet new people in the interim I found to be a kind of unique fun experience. It was like actually living in the game. Sometimes things don’t happen right away, so you have to exhibit patience and make due with the time you have. It’s in these “flaws” that you find yourself sucked into the simulation of life that the game puts forth. Because remember, if you’re one of the few and the proud that battled through this game to the very end, even at its most boring and doing nothing but waiting… you still did it because the experience of this world is something you could no more let go of than you could your real life. If a game can have you sit and do nothing and still keep you sucked into its world, that’s an accomplishment in and of itself.

Still, in the end, after you've had the experience of Shenmue, you don't care how long you had to wait for the bus to come pick you up, or that you had a meeting with someone the next day. It's some of these irritations that we take for granted that make this game so completely and utterly groundbreaking! This is the first game I've ever played where days go by and you get to experience time!

Another thing that's really easy to take for granted is that the whole game is actually alive around you. This isn't like your typical RPG where sprites wander about aimlessly, or stand in one place. Each person you walk past in the game... has... a... life!!! Sure, there are a couple familiar faces you'll see in the same spot, but that's because they work there. If you wait long enough, you will get the see them close or open up shop and if you wanted to and had the time... you could probably follow them on their way home!

I know it doesn't sound like much, but once you're surrounded by it and you realize the level of detail that went into this game it's awe inspiring. You really feel like a part of a living world! I noticed this first, when I received a tip that I could get info at this one bar. I ran there, but unfortunately the sun was still up, so the bar was closed. In real life I had nothing better to do, so both Ryo and I just waited. My eyes flashed when I saw some guy come up the street, turn toward the bar and actually unlock the door to open it up! No fade action where slowly the bar just comes to life or anything the owner actually came up the street to open up shop!

All right, enough of that, I hope you get the idea.

The other good is the action. Action is carried out in two ways: “Quick Time Events” and straight up brawlin' Double Dragon style. Quick Time Events occur in the middle of a scene where the thug you're questioning will suddenly throw a fist at you. The screen with signal you to hit 'A', and if you hit it in time you can throw the thug off his feet and show him the error of his ways. Makes cinema sequences more fun to watch when you get to interact with them. Other than that, if you're familiar with fight engines of Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibur or DOA you shouldn't have a problem mastering the combos and moves from the Hazuki School of Anything Goes Ass Kicking. For all you martial art fans out there who’re fans of good fight choreography, Shenmue does not disappoint in the slightest. QTE events are executed with your help and hand, but when you see the move Ryo pulls off, you’ll find yourself shouting out loud and cheering as if you were watching a Jet Li flick! I can’t count how many times I actually shouted out, “Waaaaaaah!” after executing an awesome combo or having pulled off a successful Quick Time Event. ^_^

The good of this game's hard to put into words. After the game is said and done, there's this sense of having been a part of a much grander scheme and story. The characters you meet and get to know... the job you eventually get... making you get home before dark so as not to upset the old lady you're staying with... stopping by the convenience store to pick up some milk for your stray cat... seeing up Nozomi's skirt... and just waiting for the bus to come pick you up after work... the game really sucks you in. You’ll find yourself wanting to make sure your stray cat stays healthy and happy, that you stop by Tom’s hot dog stand just to see how he’s doing and that makes the fight for life and revenge all the more real when some insane Gollum-like ninja leaps out of no where and steals your girl.

This game isn't for everyone. It takes patience and time and real love for the subtle glories that one finds in video games. It definitely has pacing problems, but after the over all experience it's hard to remember or even care about them, because you helped out a stray cat, kicked copious amounts of thug ass, and have taken your first step into a grand new video game world that you'll do anything to see through to the end. And this.... was only Chapter One.

Shenmue II

Boats float in and about the bay, and a giant jumbo jet takes flight from behind the sprawling city skyline… the sun blazes bright in the morning sky. The music roars its epic score as if blaring, “Welcome back young traveler… welcome to CHINA!!!” A young man steps off the incoming cruise liner and the camera pans up to see… IT’S RYO!!!

The presentation ups the previous installment right off the bat as if to congratulate you for making it this far in the tale to another land. Right away you’re immersed in the scenery of the new world in a way that no other game has made me feel.

I don’t even take two steps off the boat before and old Chinese minstrel and his wife dressed in beautifully detailed and traditional robes ask me to stop and listen to their music. A little boy runs up to me and tells me the song is a wish of good luck to travelers. With a smile, Ryo and I drop some extra cash into the old couple’s basket and that’s how this immersive eastern adventure opens up.

Shenmue I took place in what felt like a small town, with a main street with lots of stores, a local harbor and the residential area. Shenmue II on the other hand thrusts you forth into large city locals, with winding streets, alleys, large market places, multi-level housing and businesses. There are four cities in all and each of those split into several small Quarters, each with its own design and personality. The city of Dobuita in the first Shenmue had basically two streets that resembled a figure 8, while the city of Wan Chai alone bares a closer resemblance to a intricate maze of streets, alleyways and stairs that go up into and out of buildings.

And stuff just keeps happening too! There’s not many dull moments in Shenmue II, making up for the slack pace in the first installment. I loved the first game, I truly did and with all my heart, but there were so man loooooong stretches of time where nothing happened. The second game on the other hand kicks you into high gear within the first 2 hours! Within that time of playing I’d gotten two< part-time jobs, chased a little thief through the streets, fought thugs, got into an arm wrestling match where the locals cheered me on as the “SAMURAI BOY!!!!”, met some old man in a park who takes time out of his routine to teach me Tai Chi, wandered into a martial arts monestary, and got hit on repeatedly by the hot crotch rocket riding chicka, known as Joy. And like I said, that’s just in the first 2 hours of gameplay and exploration.

Throughout the game and while on the trail of Lan Di you come across more enigmatic characters who you’ll never forget, like the gang leader/tough guy, Ren and the breathtakingly beautiful kung fu master, Xiuying Hong. Through these people you meet you’ll learn patience, compassion, and even some genuine Taoism. And I don’t mean cheap fortune cookie philosophy either. No, “never give up and you’ll always succeed” here. You get throught provoking poetry while you set out to fulfill tasks put upon you by the kung fu masters of China.

The gameplay’s the same. After a extended period of time or walk to the right place at the right time and the only eastern philosophy your assailants will understand is a good ol’ fashioned ass whuppin’! Something I didn’t mention above is that while you have moves at your disposal you can learn more. You can purchase scrolls in certain shops, or learn them from masters that can be found throughout the landscape you’ll explore. When learning from a master they’ll ask you to accomplish a given test and once you do and get your timing down perfect the satisfaction you get as the screen suddenly freezes and is pounded by the Japanese characters that spell out the new move you’ve learned is beyond explanation. You just have to experience it for yourself. You also still have QTE events, but where all you had to worry about is just one button usually in the first game, you’ll be called on to pull off combos and perfectly timed to win in this game. Left, Left, A, B. or something to dodge a swinging chain saw, or to block an attack from the shadows and kick the other guy coming from behind. You’re mind and reflexes are put to the test and you find yourself smack in the middle with Ryo pulling off combo, after combo and exploding into action in a whirlwind of outstanding fight choreography.

The time issue, like I also said above, is addressed and fixed. If you have to meet somebody the next day, the option to fast forward to that time is always available to you, which takes away from the real life affect (and inconvenience) of the previous game, but when you choose to do it is completely up to you. So if you do choose you can go to the local bar for a game of darks or go practice your newly learned kung fu with the old master in the park.

The soundtrack is nothing short of phenomenal and beautiful. I lack the vocabulary and musical know-how to say specifically this or how the orchestra brings across the feel of the orient so well. Listening to the sounds and background music are like adding the perfect gentle breeze on an already perfect summer day.

Eventually, after you reach the jump-out-of-your-seat-and-cheer-and-swing-your-arms-around-in- the-air-as-you-fight-right-next-to-Ryo climax, you will have to leave. And after all the people you met and survive countless challenges with you’ll actually be kinda sad. You’re allowed to run about and say goodbye to all your new friends, which will make the corner of your mouth turn up in a smirk as you find that you actually <I>want</I> to say goodbye to the old man who taught you kung fu in his spare time, the brat who stole your bag, the hot chick by the pier who had nothing to do with the plot what-so-ever, and I saved my personal favorite for last… Xiuying Hong. Heh, talking about all this is making me miss China already. ^_^

Conclusion

Shenmue is a video game experience like none other and that is extremely unfortunate. This was the acclaimed Yu Suzuki’s masterpiece and pet project that cost an insane amount to produce and didn’t make nearly enough of the money back that it MORE than deserved. This game should have been the future of video games and RPG’s. No more would you walk static environments, talk to random sprites who wait in place for you to find him/her/it, nor would you sit idly by while the cinema events took place in front of you, but instead you would be apart of them. Never does the game go for super hero cheap thrills or come off hokey or trite. There’s a culturally rich eastern experience within and one that has yet to be matched by any other game to date.

You can find Shenmue II on the Xbox, and you can also play both on the Dreamcast by purchasing the first, then importing the second from overseas. If you get the European Import you can use a DC-X boot disc to load it onto your Dreamcast and play it in much recommended Japanese, with English subtitles.

If you’re looking for a new video game experience and have the cash you’ll not be disappointed. If you love the Japanese culture like many of us do here at Japan Hero, this is the game for you. Take up the controller and step forth into your destiny and let’s all hope that Shenmue III does come, so that we can exact our revenge for the death of Ryo’s father and bring that no good bastard Lan Di to justice.

Start the journey… and let your Shenmue Saga, begin.

More Info + Media

Shenmue.Com
ShenmueDojo
ShenmueLegend.CJB.Net
ShenmueCentre.TK
TechTV’s X-Play Covers the Saga in a “What You Haven’t Played This Yet?!” Segment, View ‘Video Highlights’
Shenmue on the Nintendo GameCube Petition

Keith "JC" Hayward