The saga begins… again.
Shenmue is a game I had heard a lot about but until recently had never experienced. I used to own a Dreamcast, but never got around to playing the cult classic Shenmue. It received mixed reviews when it was released, but based on my experience, it turns out I have been missing out on a game that was hugely ahead of its time.
Today BAFTA has announced SEGA’s open-world action-adventure title Shenmue (1999) as the Most Influential Video Game of All Time, receiving the most votes in a public poll.
How does Street Fighter 2 not break the top 21? Literally spearheaded a litany of clones for years and cemented a genre that continues to be relevant to this day. Some were such a blatant rip off that it led to lawsuits (See Fighters History).
Also I agree that BG3 is one of the greatest games of all time and the game with the most depth that I have ever experienced. In fact, it’s probably my favorite game of all time. That said, I have not seen its influence on the industry yet because there is nothing that’s been introduced that is truly comparable to the breadth of the experience imo. I anticipate and hope that it will become one of the most influential games of all-time because playing it has spoiled me.
I don't get it I just played the first game on the ps4 about six months ago and for its time it was probably well regarded for bringing a cinematic feel to gaming but I feel like there were far more engaging RPG's and titles that deserve it more.
For example I find Doom is likely the most influential game of all time for shooters, Mario for platformers the list goes on.
I'm not saying shenmue doesn't deserve praise just was it honestly that good there's a ton of moments in the game where you have to sit the controller down and walk away from the game for an hour for the in game clock to get to 8pm or something there's only so many times I can play space harrier as a distraction
Did Shenmu 3 not end the series? I have the all of the games on PC, but I haven't played them yet.
It did not. It needs 2-3 more games he said to finish, I believe. Heard rumors of 4 but that’s as a little while ago.
Very good point. So influential that the 3rd entry had to be funded by fans (sarcasm). I really enjoyed Shenmue 1 and 2 in 99 and early 2000s, but by the time the 3rd entry was released, I had moved on.
Shouldn't the first shooter to use the standard dual analog control scheme be on the list? As far as I can tell that was Medal of Honor on the PS1 in 1999, although I'm open to correction if someone knows of an earlier game that had it (and no I don't count N64 games where you had to hold two controllers, haha). That control scheme, which was apparently far from obvious to devs at first, has become a default for essentially every 3D game that doesn't have a fixed camera (assuming you aren't using M/K).
My understanding was Alien Resurrection on PS1, but that’s literally me not googling before answering m and just pulling random facts I had stored in the ol’ noggin’
That came out after Medal of Honor, but yeah it was among the first, and it may have been the first to have that as the default (in MOH 1999 it was one of like 6 control scheme options).
Yu Suzuki's Historic Video Game Project Changed the World On December 29th, 1999, twenty-two years ago, the opening chapter of Yu Suzuki’s Shenmue was released in its native Japan. Released by Sega Enterprises at the time, Shenmue was a game world built like no other.
The first two games were ahead of its time. Too bad that the third game stuck in time with things that didn't work anymore, and didn't include a lot of things that became expected from open world games since the first games were released. It even added some baffling and horrible mechanics like the stamina that doubles as HP, and goes down as you run around.
This without even mentioning that that third game, plot-wise, was basically a filler.
I like Shenmue 3, but the stamina bar was a horrible move. I'm shocked that they thought fans would like it. I wasn't a fan of fishing (I hate fishing mini games) or collecting herbs either. I also hated how Ryo was so easily beaten by thugs after all of the training he went through. Ryo felt weaker in Shenmue 3 than he did in Shenmue 1. The saddest part was not including throw moves, that is just a weird thing to leave out of a game where throwing moves feature so heavily in the first two. I would still rate it 7/10 though, nothing special, but enjoyable enough and I'm happy it was made after so many years of waiting.
Shenmue 1 and 2 are special games though. Shenmue 1 is my favourite, it's not as big as Shenmue 2, but I like that. It's a game I never like completing because you get so comfortable and immersed with the world.
Loved Shenmue 1 and 2, but I never bothered with 3 as I was deeply invested in the Yakuza games (superior to Shenmue in every way IMO) by the time it came out.
I did like the first most, as it had the most detail and smaller scale and adventure was quite fun and new for me, second one was okay too but didn't like it as much and I haven't really had the strenght to consentrate on third one especially knowing that it basically doesn't finish the story and it feels more clumsy than I would like.
I put in WAAAYY more hours on Shenmue part 1 than 2. I was blown away by the detail of the world. There was literally nothing like it. For an action game, Shenmue 2 was better. The plot moved along a lot faster due to it covering so many chapters.
Training wasn't as big a focus in the second game. It actually annoyed me at first that I couldn't find anywhere to train. I was still in the part 1 mindset, training wasn't as imperative as it was in part 1.
So many games have borrowed from Shenmue, it's a shame the buying gaming public didn't support such an incredible achievement of the day.
Shenmue as a series has had a tortured existence and it's pretty sad.
Shenmue was a true watershed moment in gaming. There were just so many elements that even if they did not originate with the series, they were refined, tweaked and combined in a way that was never done before. For the era this was released in it was mind blowing at the freedom, density, and depth you were given in the game world. Couple that with a beautiful OST, cutting edge graphics and deep fighting system and it was really something special. very few games have ever captured my attention like it to this day. the third game has its faults and is not nearly as ambitious but a lot has changed since the first game was released. Shenmue 3 in truth simply existing was an undertaking, though I do hope that Yu Suzuki is given a chance at making Shenmue 4.
The 1st and 2nd were truly special games especially if you played them when they were released. It just was fresh and unique. I tried to get into the 3rd one but I just couldn't. I will give it another try at some point because of the story, but I just wan't a fan of the setting. I think if it had taken place in a city like Hong Kong or something other than the country side I'd probably be more drawn to it.
As Shenmue 2 celebrates its 20th anniversary, let’s look back on how it made Yakuza possible.
I prefer Shenmue, but I am happy we have both. I don't like the constant comparisons between the two though. Anybody that likes and plays both of them enough can tell that they are very different games. There really aren't many similarities.
I always felt that Yakuza was the spiriual successor to Shenmue or the natural evolution of Shenmue.
The settings of a Yakuza or a very Japanese-oriented story.
The open-world element with restaurants, convenience stores, and arcades.
Playing arcade games like Space-Harrier and Hang-on (is it me or Space Harrier is always there)
Collecting toy capsule
"...natural evolution of Shenmue." No. While it is very tempting to get to this conclusion, this is incorrect. In fact, while Yakuza have refined some aspects (fighting, controls, etc.) that where present in Shenmue, the reality is that Shenmue is still the more advance and ambitious game when it comes to its gameplay systems and presentation.
In Shenmue, NPC's had routines, there was a day/night cycle, stores would actually close, there was a weather system in place, etc. Shenmue was not trying to pretend to be a slice of life but actually let you play a slice of life.
I understand it might seem insignificant to most, but it makes a huge difference and thus is makes for a vastly different experience than Yakuza.
