Retro Review: Shenmue | Dracula's Cave

DC - "Back in 1999 Sega spent $47 million making Shenmue, and looking back this was arguably money well spent. It’s a shame we don’t currently see that amount of cash being funnelled into games that are equally ambitious and innovative, but Shenmue walks a dangerous line and I can see why others have been unwilling to follow. It’s too advanced for it’s own good, and because of this remains an utterly unique and compelling experience today."

[gillri]

My favourite game of all time, with Deus Ex (2000), 2nd and Mass Effect 2, 3rd

I just realised my favourite games of all time are Hybrid RPG's

[JCDenton]

Almost the same like me, bro - for me, Deus Ex 1 tops the list of my all time favorites, followed by Shenmue, Mass Effect 2 and some other DOS games (Crusader: No Remorse and No Regret, Day Of The Tentacle...). :)

[FriedGoat]

I don't think anyone can deny that Lucasarts produced some of the greatest games of all time.
Day of the tentactle, sam and max, full throttle, monkey island and my favourite Grim Fandango!

[DEEBO]

great game an a pioneer of a lot features games are using today.

[young7yang]

"impossible to play without a guide"

This is why today's gamers use almost no brain power. This game was way playable without a guide but only if you took the time to explore, interact and think.

Over-all though good review.

[GhostTurtle]

One of my favorite games of all time. A true master piece and an evolution into the future of gaming.

[Aghashie]

Wow! What a flashback! I still got this game stored w another 50+ Dreamcast games in my closet. Is a shame none of my old Dreamcast consoles are functional w a faulty optical drive. Gonna look the internet for replacement parts, if I can fix them, no doubt Shenmue is gonna be the first on my long list for a retro replay.

Kind of miss those times... Code Veronica, Crazy Taxy, Jet Set Radio, Power Stone, Sonic, Chu Chu Rocket, ST:Alpha3, Virtua Fighter, Skies of Arcadia, NFL2k... Lol! I really miss those times!

[FriedGoat]

lets connect up on our 33k modems and play chu chu rocket!

[Aghashie]

I can't remember online for Chu Chu Rocket, but I remember countless night playing Phantasy Star with my pals at college! Lol! Messy, laggy, slow... But somehow, still fun.

[Inception]

Oh man, an HD collection....ah forget it. It's sega and they choose to waste their money for the new alien game instead of making HD collcetion for shenmue :(

[FriedGoat]

i read a year or two ago that the shenmue HD collection has been complete for ages. I think they are just waiting for the right time to release them. Hopfully with a Sequel!!

Edit- yeah i did http://www.cinemablend.com/...

[BillytheBarbarian]

Dude must suck at games to get stuck or lost in Shenmue. Or he didn't use his handy dandy blues clues notebook that tells you where to go...

I'd hate to see him play something like Oblivion or GTA V.

[DangerousDAN]

I hate having the notion that I'll die before Shenmue 3 ever sees the light of day and if it ever does, that i'll be too old to enjoy it the way I did when I was middle school-high school kid with all the time in the world and no major responsibilities... I could explore everything.

Another fear is knowing Sega, like Capcom, like Square, are no longer what they use to be. I fear they'll rip the essence of Shenmue away from it and create a disgusting version of it that will make our long wait feel as if those droplets of hope we've been feeding on all this time were actually Sega's dickheads pissing all over us.

I'm losing my mind...

[MWH]

well spoken my friend.

[S2Killinit]

Shenmue PLEASE Sega, for god's sake bring it, or I'll boycott anything else you ever make.

[Dissidia]

Shenmue 4Ever.

[Gunstar75]

Shenmue was glorious in it's day and weirdly engaging considering it was actually quite boring in parts - get up, walk to bus stop, wait for bus, get bus to work, drive folk-lift, etc,etc...

Rose tinted specs are great and all, but I wonder how generously this game would be reviewed now. Let's not forget, Yu Suzuki invented the term "Quick Time Event" for this game! Ryse, which doesn't even have QTE's gets grief all the time.

I was so excited for this game, I bought the Japanese version on launch day...you think the English version was hard? HAHAHA!

[nosferatuzodd]

Lol I started karate then move on to jeetkundo then nijatsu all because of this game thanks sega you make me one of the most bad ass in NYC I know ppl in the park who want to rob me but when they see what I'm capable of they just stand there afraid to try without a gun lol ppl don't how powerful some games are

[Deadpool616]

I don't know why Sega isn't continuing the Shenume series. The Yakuza series is very similar in design and yet that had 5 games/3 spin-off games so far. Sega includes Ryo in the Sega racing games, which is a big reminder that they haven't forgotten about the Shenmue series. It's not like they're going to be spending 47 million dollars again. Most of the concept work for the game is already done. I just don't understand why they're willing to invest in Yakuza, more than Shenmue.

The only explanation I could think of is the actual Yakuza is some how involved in getting these (awesome) Yakuza games made. I mean that's the only explanation that makes sense to me and it sounds crazy...but not impossible.

[RosweeSon]

I'll never forgot the Christmas spent with shenmue, nearly as good if not better than the Christmas I spent with Ocarina of time in my youth. Good times!

[CaptainN]

Maybe Segas third exclusive game for Wii-U is Shenmue 3.....that would get some systems sold !!!

[Kurylo3d]

I tried going back to replay the game a while back... its like it was only good in my memory... I play it now and its just so bad it hurts... not just gameplay... I mean its really really boring... and uninteresting.