Shenmue II

"If only..."

...this game had come out around the time of the first game. The original was released when the Dreamcast wasn't 'dead' (I hate that word). Shenmue had some of the most breathtaking graphics ever seen in a game. Additionally, Shenmue was revolutionary because it had hundreds of NPCs (non-player characters, for those who don't know) who each ran their own, individual, daily lives. Shenmue also simulated real life to an extent that was never done before. Shenmue was the first game where the player had to wait for something in the game to happen. If a store closed at 5 pm, and right now it's 6, well, too bad, wait for tomorrow and kill your time till then.

But this realism issue was Shenmue's major downfall. Although I, in my often obscure preference, quite enjoyed the game from beginning to end, many found the game much too repetitive and boring. Additionally, the sound was OK, but the voice acting was a mixed bag. Wait, scratch that. It was a storm cloud with a silver lining. Think big storm cloud, small silver lining. Furthermore, many of the NPCs, although they made the game look nice, had no purpose nor help within the game.

Well, now here we are, and the Dreamcast's life is pretty much over (except us stubborn, hardcore few). Shenmue II is born. Damn.

Why, do you ask?

You see, Shenmue II is in almost every way better than its predecessor.

The gameplay in Shenmue was very repetitive, and although Shenmue II still bases the game around the Free Quest mode (where, basically, talking is all of what you do), the worlds are so much more expansive. There are a total of three different worlds, and all of them are at least 5 times the size of the original Yokosuka of Shenmue I. Think about it. That makes the world of this game more than 15 times larger than the original. This makes the game much less repetetive – now, there are several ways to get home, several ways to leave home, and several ways to complete your quest (even if the end result is still the same).
Another minus of the original was that the NPCs did nothing, except say 'I'm too tired right now,' or 'I'm sorry, please ask me some other time.' Well, this game takes a two steps forwards and a step backwards. This time, 99% of the NPCs will be completely willing to help you get to where you want to. Some may even guide you to where you need to go. These NPCs are quite realistic – an NPC at the east end of the map will not know the exact street that the barber shop is on at the west end. However, it often gets too unrealistic, in that an NPC may be travelling in one direction, and when you ask for directions, they will say 'I have to go there anyways,' whip right around, and guide you in the opposite direction. This made the game way too easy for me. Hopefully, the Xbox version will improve on this.
The Free Battle mechanics are completely unchanged, but some of the commands for various modes are different. Also, instead of erasing a move when you learn a new one with the same command, now you have the choice of which move you want to use.
The QTEs are back and much harder than before. New, however, are the combo QTEs. During a QTE, or maybe during a cutscene, the action will freeze, and a map of the D-pad and face buttons will appear onscreen. This will display a certain combination of buttons that you must press in succession before time is up. They can be REALLY unexpected at times, so often, you may find yourself memorizing the CQTE commands rather than just using your reflexive action.
Also, just a small side note, but it adds a lot to the continuity of the gameplay: load times have been reduced by quite a bit.

On to the graphics, which are another 2-steps-forward-1-step-backwards. The worlds are much more expansive now, as said before, and backgrounds are simply astounding. Buildings are much more detailed and characters move much more fluidly and realistically. Characters also now show a greater variety of facial expressions. The game still runs at 60 fps, but all this detail results in a drastic slowdown in way too many places, a slowdown that was only sort of present in the harbor scenes of Yokosuka. More visually impacting, though, is the lack of mip mapping. The original game was mip mapped, resulting in a very clean, very crisp look. This game (most likely due to fear of further slowdown) did not, resulting in many objects giving off a distracting shimmery effect. Pretty much everything has it; buildings, floors, objects, even Ryo's eyes will often look strange because they are shimmering. Again, hopefully another thing that will be fixed up for the Xbox.

The sound effects are equally as good as its predecessor, which means very good. Footsteps, the murmur of the crowd, doors squeaking, etc. It's all here. However, Shenmue II possesses something that the original didn't – good voice acting. Although Ryo is still very stern, his voice is not nearly as high pitched as before. He sounds a lot more mature. The other characters are quite varied and don't sound sing songy (I know this because I speak the language half-decently).
The music I didn't find as memorable as the previous game (except for Disc 4). I don't really know why, but the first game had music that really made me feel attached to the characters and the game. Not to say the music was bad, though. It matches the feel of the game, even though it doesn't grasp you as much as the original score.

The story, one of the driving aspects of the game. This game picks up after a short lapse from the previous one. The final scene in Shenmue was Ryo leaving from Yokosuka harbor. This game picks up from when Ryo arrives in Hong Kong. If you choose to play the game (note: VERY highly recommended), you will, within about 2 minutes, discover that a tiny bit of action did take place on the boat. This type of 'referenced omission' really made the game feel like a movie, much like the original. Ryo is on his continuing hunt for Lan Di, the murderer of his father. I'm not going to spoil the rest of the story, but I'll give you some key words – a lot more characterization, plenty of fights, plenty of martial arts masters, gang warfare, and just a little bit of fantasy weaved in (if you didn't guess already from the original game's explanation of the two mirrors).

The replay value of this game is tops. Absolutely. Even if you have completed the game, there are plenty of mini-games to keep you busy. The game itself will take at least 15 hours, and that's if you look up a guide and rush through every part of it. Enjoy the game. Look in a few shops. Watch a sunset. Whatever. Just don't rush, cause it'll spoil the game. This game is actually only slightly longer than the previous game, and you can give the overtly generous NPCs for that. I think that if the NPCs were less friendly and more realistic, the game would be at least slightly harder and take longer to finish. The game took me 30 hours, and by the time I got to the end, I had forgotten what happened at the start, so playing through the game again was, although shorter, no less entertaining.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/27/02, Updated 04/20/02