Shenmue II

"The ultimate adventure is the Dreamcast's swan song"

Shenmue 2 was one of the last great games on Dreamcast. Developed using substantial amounts of money and released after the death of the Dreamcast it never saw an official release in America. The bad news for SEGA was that many people had moved on from their console and the game did not sell as well as expected in Europe. That is why early next year SEGA will be releasing a slight graphically improved version for Microsoft’s Xbox. Shenmue 2 is the sequel to the popular Shenmue released a year earlier. You play as Ryo Hazuki who is continuing his quest to find his father’s killer, Lan Di and exact revenge. You begin by stepping off a ferry in Hong Kong, you must talk to people for information, find a job and explore in order to succeed. Shenmue 2 is chapters 2,3&4 of the story planned by Yu Suziki the creator. There are a total of 16 chapters planned, so a long way to go yet.

Gameplay: 10/10
I can’t think of many ways in which the gameplay could be improved. There are different types of gaming on offer. There is the exploration where you wander the streets. You can interact with anyone and purchase goods at the stands. If you are short of cash you can enter a street fight and bet. The fighting sequences are real time battling where you have to remember your list of moves to pull off punches, kicks and throws. There are also tons of mini games to play and win money on. Playing Shenmue 2 is ultra realistic, you have a watch that shows the time of day. At night you have to go back to your hotel room or where you are staying. And like real life you will need cash if you want to gat anywhere. This involves Ryo asking the locals where places of employment are. In events like lifting crates to earn money and some choreographed fight sequences you play in the quick time event style. In order to complete the task or progress through the game at these set points you have to correctly press the indicated button on the controller in a short time. This usually happens when he has to chase, battle or walk across a wobbly bridge. These sequences add to the authenticity of the gameplay, for example when running and you need Ryo to duct under a low tree the command will usually come up. I found the QTE’s fun because they were a change from the normal battles and make the game slightly harder when the combinations are long. But even if you fail on them (which you probably will on the first time) you can automatically retry.

Sound: 9/10
The music is great. The music has the feel of the game and suits the surroundings well. Although some of the music is played again at certain parts whilst playing it never gets boring. The sound effects are quite good: like picking up an item, confirming a selection and splintering someone’s ribs? Also you will have to get to know the sharp alarming sound of the QTE commands if you are going to do well. There are a few Japanese songs in the cut scenes and an orchestra has been used to good affect to create breathtaking music for the environments.

Graphics: 10/10
If this is the quality on Dreamcast, then imagine what the Xbox would be able to do with Shenmue 3! The environments are literally huge, much more than Shenmue 1 and have a great level of detail on every building. Although the scenery looks good, more polygons have been put into Ryo himself and the passers by on the streets. Facial expressions are realistic and the voice acting is good, it is in Japanese with English subtitles. This is better than having badly dubbed voices for a pal release. Everywhere you look the objects and buildings have the same high detail. The problem with having good visuals is that there are lots of short loads as you travel through the different streets. The loading times are short and can be endured. I noticed that flame effects were ok and that the rays of sunlight were excellent.

Overall: 10/10
If you had to own just one Dreamcast game then this would be the one to go for. There is tons to do in the game. Even when rushing through the game it still takes ages. So if you spent longer doing different things like gambling and getting more jobs then if could last a very long time indeed. It can be quite pricey wherever you are. I bought it new when it came out (in England) for 29.99. But if importing to America some people will charge a lot more. Either way it is absolute value for money.

Rent or Buy?
There is no question, this is one of a few games you simply must own. If you are in America though you will need to import it since a US NTSC release date was never set.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/02, Updated 12/05/02