![]() The original game is claustrophobic but it feels appropriately homely, as Ryo is on first-name terms with all the locals and its layout becomes imprinted into your brain. If you immerse yourself in these worlds, though, there’s really nothing quite like them. Some of these can, sadly, ruin key scenes if you’re unlucky. In fact, there are a catalogue of small-to-medium technical flaws that affect both games, which will need to be promptly patched. While this is an unavoidable irritation, it’s unfortunate that the ports are hampered by prolific audio bugs, which stop key sound effects from triggering at the right time. Both tracks are plagued by terrible mixing and compression, as it seems SEGA failed to hold on to the original recordings. The infamous voice acting is just as atrocious today as it was in the early 2000s, but this PlayStation 4 re-release allows you to toggle between English and the slightly less horrendous Japanese dubs. While he’s the main thrust behind the fiction, the series is more about the relationships that Ryo establishes along the way. Events unfurl after your father is murdered by a mysterious Chinese man named Lan Di, and both games in the Shenmue I & II compilation see you trying to track him down. Of course, there are drawbacks to its structure: the first game is unevenly paced, with very little happening in its opening act beyond the breadcrumb trails of some basic detective work. It was revolutionary at launch, and there’s still nothing quite like it today you can see components of the series in franchises like Yakuza and Persona, but Shenmue very much stands as its own thing. This is all while the world independently goes about its business, wholly dependent on the time, day, and weather. But unlike the likes of Grand Theft Auto, the sandboxes of Shenmue are deeply interactive, with a seemingly limitless number of buildings that can be entered, and tangible objects that can be collected and inspected. The game’s revolutionary FREE gameplay format promised Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment at the time – better known as open world today. Save for a late camping excursion in the Guilin countryside towards the backend of Shenmue II, the franchise bucks the trend of idyllic settings, settling for the drab backdrop of mid-80s Japan and Hong Kong. The sequel improved on the concept dramatically, expanding on the scope and introducing a raft of pacing improvements, but the series was always considered an acquired taste – and 20 years later, that very much remains the case. SEGA legend Yu Suzuki spent a small fortune on the first foray’s dingy Yokosuka setting, but despite being wildly original, the game attracted both criticism and acclaim for committing rigidly to reality. Shenmue may be considered a cult classic, but it’s important to remember that Ryo Hazuki’s revenge mission divided critics when it originally released on the Dreamcast almost two decades ago. ![]()
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