Introduction

Shenmue is
one of those rare games that sells systems. In the short history of gaming, such
games can be counted on one hand. Hundreds of thousands of consumers purchased
8- and 16-bit Nintendo consoles to explore the imaginative worlds of the Super
Mario Brothers. Sonic the Hedgehog pricked his little blue quills into the
hearts of tens of thousands of Sega Genesis owners, and Myst was responsible
for millions of gamers either purchasing those newfangled CD-ROM drives or simply
purchasing a new computer so they could find out what all the fuss was about firsthand.

Shenmue
was created by renowned producer Yu Suzuki–famous for the Virtua Fighter
games–and incorporates elements of adventure, action, role-playing, and fighting,
but it is first and foremost an adventure game that would exceed the expectations
of any adventure gamer.

Set in Japan, Shenmue features characters
who live on their own timelines, operating on their own schedules. The gamer plays
as Ryo Hazuki, a young man who must solve the mystery of his father’s murder.
His journey will take him through the mysterious underworld of Japanese culture,
and Ryo’s quest soon also becomes one of self-discovery.

“So what?”
I hear you asking. What is it that makes Shenmue so different? Quite simply,
it is the most amazing adventure game I have ever played. There are over 300 motion-captured
interactive characters, each living their own lives. The highly detailed 3D world
allows Ryo to interact with almost anything in his environment: telephone calls
can be placed, coins can be put in vending machines, jukebox selections can be
chosen, and arcade machines have complete versions of Sega Genesis classics like
Hang On and Space Harrier that can be played. Weather and landscapes
change according to the time of year, and time progresses throughout the course
of each day. Almost every structure can be entered and inspected, including homes,
stores, and arcades.

How realistic is Shenmue? Geographical data
was used to plan and calculate the ideal landscape for the game. Building diagrams
provided by architects were used to recreate Yokosuka, Japan, as in looked in
1986. The realism and detail, whether it be opening a refrigerator to find fresh
food or background reflections in a character’s eyes, is phenomenal. Those of
you who have clamored for a game that would allow you the freedom to go anywhere
and do anything–well, your wish has been answered.

If I have any suggestions
to improve Shenmue, it would be the following: fighting sequences should
have an option to be skipped by the player–yes, they are an integral part of
the game but not all of us are skilled video fighters–and it would be great if
Shenmue were to be localized with American names and scenery. Yes, this
would diminish the authenticity of the game, but it would also attract a lot of
players who are loath to play a game with Japanese names and culture.

As
for the game itself, well, I think it is time to allow Twitch and Spaz to take
over.

Review

Twitch: Dude! I
have awful news! Randy made a New Year’s resolution for us. We’re not allowed
to ridicule him anymore or we’re fired!

Spaz: What!? How are we going
to do our reviews? This is awful!

Twitch: Wait, I just had a brain
freeze, dude. He didn’t say we couldn’t pick on someone else! Hey, how about that
Harriet lady who does the new releases?

Spaz: Nah … she looks like
the type who would hit us. Hey, I know, how about Jen?

Twitch: Yeah,
she’s perfect. You ready, partner?

Spaz: Let’s do it!

Twitch
and Spaz: Hey Jen … bite us!

Twitch: Whew, I feel better.
[Note from Jen: Don’t forget who edits these things … whap! whap!] On to Shenmue.

Spaz: Shenmue is the first chapter of a proposed 16-chapter
epic that begins in 1986 and will conclude in present-day Japan. It reportedly
cost 70 million dollars to develop this game, and every yen was well-spent. The
realism is unprecedented, from a character’s hair swaying with the movement of
her head to excellent lip-synching and Japanese-to-English translations.

Twitch:
The game begins as Ryo returns home to witness a gang leader beating his father.
Ryo attempts to defend him but is instead knocked out. He awakes to find his father
murdered and a mysterious dragon mirror missing. Ryo must now discover the reason
behind his father’s death and the significance of the dragon mirror.

Spaz:
Initially, the going is slow. Ryo must question every character, visit every
location, and collect inventory items, but as it is in any adventure game, this
is essential to provide background and ambience for the gamer. Once the storyline
and main characters have been established, the story moves much smoother and faster.

Twitch:
In fact, the game comes on three disks, and it would be fair to say that the
first two are devoted to exploration and adventure elements, while the third is
heavy on the action. Most of the action is hand-to-hand kung fu combat that requires
you to execute typical video game-style moves. You will be fully prepared for
these battles because of the practice sessions that allow you to hone your skills.

Spaz:
Other action sequences are timed, quick-response segments that require split-second
timing. These are random, but they must be completed since they usually lead into
full-motion video sequences. None of the fighting or action sequences are ridiculously
hard, which is good news for adventure gamers, though some battle-hardened action
gamers are sure to complain.

Twitch: There is a downside to all of
this realism, though. Ryo awakens every day at 8:30 a.m. and must be back in bed
by 11:30 p.m. Some people only appear at certain times of the day, and you must
hang around to determine the timing of their life patterns. Others can only be
met by making an appointment with them. Plus there is a lot of running back and
forth between towns hunting down clues and people.

Spaz: Yet, just
as these little things conspire to make the game tedious, they also tend to make
it interesting. What other game have you ever played that allowed you to collect
toys for your collection at home? That let you not only play full versions of
classic video games, but also offered the opportunity to take CD versions of the
games home to load into your Sega Saturn? That offered enough side quests to make
the game–an adventure game at that–extremely replayable?

Twitch: We
haven’t yet even touched upon the Shenmue Passport, a fourth disk that
allows the player to go online and trade items obtained during gameplay for unique
items only found online. Plus online tips and information, including the option
to get real-time weather predictions that could affect Ryo’s journey, are available.

Spaz:
Shenmue is an adventure game like no other ever seen on a console system.
It has raised the bar to a new level that will probably only be exceeded by Shenmue
2. For all of you traditional adventure gamers who have refused to try a console
game, this is the perfect opportunity to get your feet wet. There are no zombies
or monsters to avoid, no bazookas or flame throwers, no end of the level bosses,
and no strategically spaced save points. Just a good, old-fashioned adventure
game, deep in plot and enriched with memorable characters, but for the first time
on a console and not a computer.

Final Grade: A