Shenmue II

"Still FREE, but a bit cheaper then last time"

When Shenmue was released it was one of the most revolutionary and original games ever released on a console. Even now after such titles as Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, Final Fantasy and Fable it remains in many people's eyes, the best game ever to be released.

So it is no surprise that when Shenmue II was finally announced there was mass excitement among the rather small but extremely loyal fan base. Here was a game that promised to have over 500 locations spread over four disks and three completely different locations, while still maintaining the same 'feel' and personality that the old game captured so well.

It's still good to be FREE, although it's a bit cheaper
In keeping with the previous title, Shenmue II is a mixture of an RPG, action and beat 'em up game. This new genre, dubbed Free Roaming Eyes Entertainment (FREE) was the concept behind a Shenmue game that made it what it was, and the second chapter in this tale certainly does not disappoint in terms of locations. The playable area has evolved from a sleepy town to a bustling city, full of life and colour. From the go you can explore a staggering 9 locations on the street as compared to Shenmue's 3, and over 100 interiors over Shenmue's 18.

Once again all of the areas are fully open to exploration, but unfortunately the amount of recycled scenery has significantly increased and the amount of objects that can be picked up and examined (one of Shenmue's major high points) has decreased. This makes a lot of the smaller locations seem samey and un-unique. The same is true about the characters. Chances are that you will see characters from a completely different area at almost the same time, and the same although detailed models, will pop up time and time again with no other purpose then to make the streets look busy. However, all of these characters can be interacted with, and do tend to help in the exploration and navigation of the new areas.

The street locations are just as well detailed as last time, although there has not been much of a jump in graphics. The city of Hong Kong is well captured, there is a lot of red and greens that is typical of the area, and when the sun sets along the water front the sights rival those of even the most modern of games. The time system itself is as well presented as the last game, with the current time shown in the corner of the screen and the change between times of the day as smooth as ever. Although the time of day is done well unfortunately the shops around time don't take much heed of it anymore. As they use to open an close at certain times, they are now constantly open. This maybe because of the tourist nature of Hong Kong, but for me it makes the game a lot less engaging. The same 'dumbing down' of some of the original game's best features is represented in the weather. Last time there was a huge diversity in the weather including bright and dark skies, rain and snow. Now it is almost constantly sunny with only a few short showers of rain. You can't help but feel that the developers have just stuck them in because of the depth the first game had, and they didn't want to retract too much.

A long road ahead
The story itself is a continuation of the end of Shenmue. Once again Ryo Hazuki is looking for the mysterious Lan Di, his fathers murderer. Ryo is a student of martial arts that he learnt from his father before his death, and once again he is putting them to good use. Over the course of his adventure, Ryo will meet plenty of people who would like nothing better to leave him battered and bruised, or worse. When an instance like this comes up, the game changes to it's battle mode. Using the same engine as the famous virtua fighter games, Ryo can pull off some very impressive moves in order to take down opponents. As well as his ability to use his moves on opponents, Ryo can also learn new ones from various people, some of which are entirely separate from the games plot and can come in the form of rewards for performing certain tasks. A lack of a training mode in the game though makes it harder to practice and get the timing correct on a lot of moves and some, because of their complexity run the risk of being unused throughout the entire game.

Apart from the fighting modes, the Quick Timer Events (QTEs) make a welcome return, allowing you to interact with the scene that you are watching adds a more depth. On top of this, there are now command QTEs, which are basically several QTEs that need to be executed at once.

The story of the game itself is a bit deeper then the previous one. Where the main theme was seeking out Lan Di, by the end of the second disk the game Ryo will find himself having to answer to very dark questions about his vengeance mission. After all revenge is still murder.

Overall
Shenmue II is defiantly one for the fans of Shenmue I despite it's toning down, and should still wend it's way into a fans top ten games. The newer themes and settings of the game should also attract fans of a slightly less open-minded approach to gaming, although still should drive die-hard action fans away. As always with a Shenmue game, it is not for everyone, so unless you fell in love with the previous game (as many people did) you may want to rent it first. Although it maybe hard to find a rent able version, and they are so cheep now, several years after the end of the Dreamcast you may just as well buy it for around the same amount.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/17/05