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Other innovative uses of the Dreamcast’s hardware allowed for the developers to incorporate what is known as the Magic Weather System, which allowed players to experience real-time weather change as game hours ticked by, along with a number of other high profile graphical accomplishments, such as realistic facial expressions and real-time shadows.
As mentioned, the level of interactivity at the time of Shenmue’s release was unprecedented. Players were now able to examine numerous everyday objects such as drawers, cupboards and closets, in addition to collecting numerous figurines and other assorted goods found in shops and toy capsules. All could be further scrutinized in real-time at the player’s discretion, and Hazuki was even able to collect and listen to a variety of different compositions found throughout the game on his personal walkman. While not pertinent to your quest as such, it created a sense of escapism to the actual story, further expanding on the game world beyond the main quest (not to mention the fact it was a fine way to pass the time during some of the copious amounts of waiting required)
^ One of the many 'Free Battle' sequences in the game
The core premise of gathering clues, talking to residents and examining objects is frequently punctuated by bouts of action, coming in the form of either QTE’s (Quick Time Events, which would later go on to achieve critical mainstream success in the likes of God of War and Resident Evil 4, among others) or the games Free Battle system, appropriately breaking up some of the more monotonous tasks required. Free Battle, as the name implies, allows players to take part in real time battles, employing a variety of martial arts techniques to surpass legions of foes, sometimes outnumbering the young Hazuki 6:1.
This system was further complemented by the ability (and indeed, necessity) to train your moves on a daily basis, in addition to acquiring new techniques either by learning them from other characters or purchasing move scrolls in stores. Indeed, Free Battle’s mechanics were reminiscent of Virtua Fighter’s tight, precision-based combat, which is no surprise considering Shenmue was originally penned to revolve around a prominent character in the Sega’s flagship fighter, most likely Akira (in fact, similarities between early concept footage of Ryo and Akira are strikingly apparent)
Shenmue II, released in 2001, further expanded on these ideas, but by this point it was more than obvious the creators had endeavoured to fix some of the problems with the original title, most notably the frequent bouts of waiting, placing more emphasis on action. As such, QTE’s in particular became far more abundant and varied than its predecessor, ranging from traditional fight and chase sequences, to spicing up some of the more basic game tasks, such as aiding you in Hazuki’s daily job routines, avoiding obstacles in the game environment, controlling your balance or even lending you a hand in some of the Free Battles. Furthermore, a lot of these sequences require the player to enter more than just one button to complete your task, such as a succession of both the D-pad and another button, or pressing both simultaneously. This not only increased the challenge fairly significantly, but also opened up more than one possible outcome for (nearly) each event - if you failed, the game would continue onwards, rather than having you just restart the sequences again until completed.
^ Shenmue 2 introduce a plethroa of new characters, including Ren (left) and Joy (right)
The sequel also increased the freedom given to the player, allowing gamers to find work on their own accord, as opposed to having it integrated into the plot line as with the original Shenmue’s infamous fork lift sequences. This time around, players could choose to apply for a number of different vacancies to earn cash, either by finding honest work in local warehouses or ‘Lucky Hit’ stands, to the slightly more unethical world of gambling your cash in various street fights, arm wrestling, etc.
Other key areas expanded on included the flow of conversation allowing you to develop a number of topics with NPC’s, focusing on either gathering information, asking for directions or enquiring about any jobs or gambling available in town. To the relief of ... (continued on next page)
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that would be cool if another shenmue were to come.... iam hoping.... just like a remake of ff7 :)
omg thats wierd, i was thinking about shemnue yesterday, started thinking about the possibilities on ps3. they really are endless.
really hope this game gets made, if they utilize the ps3 tech and blu-ray capacity it really will be massive.
heres hopin :)
It's a massive shame they can't afford to bring this game to a next gen console, especially the PS3. I'm too attached to the first 2 games to not ever play the 3rd! im sure the day will come... I hope it will be a PS3 exclusive, i doubt it though.
Top class article :)
Glad to see that there are still some people out there who like Shenmue. Cheers for the comments so far guys. I don't expect everyone to like this to be honest, as I know the series had alot of haters, so I appreciate the warm reception! :)
I know man, I remember just starring at the screenshots for this game in class back in like 2000 (Dreamcast Mag) and just day dreaming of how many things I was gonna do in this virtual world. Then I got my hands on it and had a blast. To tell you guys the truth I don't remember much about the game, just that it was such a new/cool experience. I have given thought to buying a used XBOX just to play the second one. But then I see how hideous it is and forget about it. One thing the Dreamcast had over the PS2 for me is that it came out first and when you saw games like Shenmue your mouth just dropped. By the time the PS2 came out the graphics were great but they no longer made you turn your head. Long live the DC!!!
still have my dreamcast too
sonic adventure= greatist sonic game ever
^^ Sonic 2 = greatest sonic ever..
Also I was so annoyed..they stopeed selling dreamcast games before I could ever get my hand on a copy of I or II !! And to add insult to injury for some strange reason they only re-released them on XBOX !! WTF ?? That also tells us that if there is a III it'll likely be on the 360 !!
SEGA! needs to Wake the Fuuk UP!!!NOW.
THey are sitting on a goldmine of original TItiles that define Gaming! yet are trapped in the PAST!
SHENMUE was, and is an amazing IP.One of the greatest Epic Master Pieces ever.
Any Sega fan who played Uncharted on PS3,or other next gen games will know that Shenmue did all thoose amazing technological feats and worlds we see now ,years ago, with Dreamcast Power VR, technology!
Yet there tamed since of child gaming needs to grow the Fuuk up and mature already I.e. :an In game Weapons systems some mature violence some action and some very huge explosions!!Some stealth some Shinobi but more next gen!!
Then Sega would be back on top of Software!!!!
WHat the heck happened to Yu Suzuki the Ninja Coder the master of asembly language etc.. Why isn't he on the PS3 doin Shenmue? a mature modern version??Something astonishing.
Sega needs to just get with the times or fade away in SHAME!!!
Lame very lame....
I played Shenmue 1&2 3 times over! with The VGA adapter for the Dreamcast on my HDTV all I can say is WOW
The game still stands up as a brilliant work of technology and art!!
Quick time events and the Facial animations are still untouched and Copied to this day by others!!!!!
Sega we need a 256bit 1GB-ram Gaming system !!!
build it and make Shenmue3 for it!! or just make it on PS3, Stream off Harddrive!!!LOL
Yu and Cell Processor??? can he achive 100 percent?
shenmue is one of my fav franchises sega shoud port 1&2 right over to ps3
Shenmue on the dreamcast a ballin game, I would definitely be into this if it ever came out for muh box.
Wow the nostalgia this article gave me was unbelievable....I am so ashamed of myself ..Shenmue was on of the greatest if the greatest game I played in my life and I never spoke much of it. If anyone wants orginality then this is it. I really need a shenmue 3,
sega need to take what they started, make it look better then it already does, add to it but keeping in with the original story and finish the saga, never played shenmue 2 i don't do xboxs but really wanted it to come out on ps2, but i remember back in the day the geezer talking about there being 10 or 12 shemune titles but don't quote me on that cos not sure if i remember hearing that or making it up lol
This article sucks, getting my hopes up like that, and sending them crashing. Sega should just come out with the entire trilogy for the PS3 in a collectors box set. I don't care if i have to pay over a hundred for it.
if sega wants some moneyz then they should remake this game ASAP....only reason why i got a dreamcast was for this game and i loved this game sooo much....there was soo much you can do on such an old system....think about what we can do now with the ps3...they can make the world 50x bigger and lets us pick up any object in the game world....
my friend and i were talking about this game the other day! it's a shame that the dreamcast went out the window, but with the possibilities of the ps3 and the psn a new, remade Shenmue would be amazing! or even following the same characters in an alternate story that took place after the other, that would also be awesome! My fingers are crossed and i'm praying that this idea come to fruition!
ive bean waitin like 2 or 3 years for shenmue 3 now that the ps3 has come out a more advanced console then DC and with the ps3s power it would look amazing..
again only time will tell .. im still a big fan of this game even my mom is a big fan lol