Why are there no Shenmue clones? Should be tons of them!

[Anthony1]

I recently played Shenmue the other day. Man, that game really is/was a breakthrough game. Before the arival of GTA 3, this was the first game that had this living city going on inside it. But in a way, the world of Shenmue is even more impressive.

It just was a totally groundbreaking game. I remember thinking that man, there are going to be so many gaming companies that are going to try to copy this idea, and do the game even better on the PS2 or XBOX.

But the reality, is that there really isn't anything like Shenmue available.


There really aren't any Shenmue clones.


The closest game that comes to it, in my opinion, would be Fable. But certainly, I wouldn't consider Fable to be a Shenmue clone, but there are definitely some elements of Shenmue in it.

But still, to this day, Shenmue is an incredibly impressive game, and I hope that maybe on XBOX 2 or PS3 or Nintendo Revolution, Sega will go back to the Shenmue series and start it up anew on the these new systems.


By the way, what game would you say is the closest thing to Shenmue?

[unbroken]

i think there is a game called omikron or something that came out for the DC and PC, that is kinda like shenmue supposdly. I havnt played it, but i remember them marketing it as a shenmue type game, where you could walk around freely in a city and interact with people, im pretty sure the game flopped though.

[Nez]

Wasn't Rent a hero suposed to be very Shenmue like in arcitecture?

[anagrama]

Probably because they were one of, if not THE costliest games to develop of all time, and was a relative commercial flop.
If there's no money to be made then it ain't going to happen again.

[EnemyZero]

mmm, yeah i remember they were hyping rent a hero up to have a living world like shenmues....what ever happened to it anyways??

[Arcturius]

Omikron (AKA Nomad Soul in Pal teritories) is kinda simular but not close enough that I'd say it was a Shenmue clone (Though it does have an awesome David Bowie soundtrack)

[Querjek]

There aren't many clones because then we'd be asking the question, "Do you know where I can find any boatsmen?".

[WiseSalesman]

Bah, Shenmue may have been revolutionary, but it was an awful game. There was no FUN to be had.

[Cryomancer]

Rent-a-Hero is fairly Shenmue-ish, but it's not totally the same thing. It's a lot less serious for one thing.

However, interesting fact:

Ryo's father is voiced (and kinda looks similar to) by Hiroshi Fujioka. Hiroshi Fujioka happens to be the guy who played Segata Sanshiro, the Saturn spokesman. In rent-a-hero, Segata is his gym teacher, and teaches him moves. But before all of this, Hiroshi Fujioka played the original Kamen Rider.

Therefore:

Kamen Rider 1 is Segata, who is also Ryo Hazuki's father, and trained Rent-A-Hero.

So why don't we get a good Kamen Rider game? arg.

[YoshiM]

I have to agree with Wisesalesman. The concept I thought was cool but the implementation wasn't so great. The only interaction with people revolved around whatever piece of the mystery you were trying to solve, which was VERY single minded ("Do you know where I can find sailors/Do sailors eat here/Do you know any sailors/Can I ask you something: are you sailors" and such-the mystery piece dominated practically EVERY conversation) and immediate instances (the kitten, helping the old lady find a particular house, etc.).

Another issue people probably had was the time. There were instances where you had to wait until a particular hour in order to gain entrance. I realize I could go to the arcade and play some games or meander about but sometimes that gets a bit old, especially since the interaction was limited. Call me and others impatient, but sometimes you just don't have the time or patience to wait for the game clock to roll around to the time you need. Then what if you miss it (which has happened to me before)? You have to wait some more. They were trying to go for a hybrid "life sim" but when you mix that aspect with an ongoing adventure there has to be a balance of plot (which keeps you interested as Shenmue wasn't a touted as a real "sim" game) with the aspect of "reality" (to add another layer of immersion). To me that balance was off.

In essence: the game was pretty boring. I respect the angle that Sega was going and as I said the concept was cool but as a game it just didn't seem to pan out. What makes Fable or GTA work is that even though there IS a quasi living world around you it doesn't stop you playing the game and you can pretty much pick it up and go (save for Fable where there is that initial training period, but that doesn't last long).

[slip81]

I haven't playd enough Shenmue to give an opinion on the story yet, but so far I like it for it's style. It looks and sounds cool, and I like the high level of interaction.

As far as clones go I can't think of any that haven't already been listed, but I would say that San Andreas (not so much the other two PS2 GTA's) borrows heavily from Shenmue's architecture. It has that freedom of doing things out of order, and multiple paths that lead to basically the same end. It's also highly interactive, you can go inside a lot of buildings, customeize your character/ride, and like Shenmue it even has playable arcade games, and some of the stuff cannot be done until a certain time, also like Shenmue.

[Ed Oscuro]

Omikron: The Nomad Soul came out in 1999, so there's another reason it's not a Shenmue clone.

Why aren't there many/any Shenmue clones? The game was too darn wierd, that's why. I myself have no idea where all the money must've gone in development...

[postulio]

the game cost millions to make, more millions than any other game at its time.
it made relatively no money (relative to what it cost to make it). the DC still died a gursome death, and every company sees the franchise as a failure (as do i). sure its a little fun, but in the end of the day, i would barely recommend renting it.

[jslithy]

Shenmue 2 fixed most of the problems with the first game and expanded the scope considerably. I like the series a lot, and I usually don't like adventure games where you talk to everyone to figure out who to talk to next.

If Shenmue was succesful, there would be more clones, but it's not the type of game most people would buy. It's also very hard to pull off a believable game world.

[Jorpho]

Wouldn't a Shenmue clone just take too long and be too costly to make?

I don't know much about Shenmue, but from the descriptions here, the first thing that comes to mind is Planescape: Torment. (Replace the term "sailors" with "Pharod" or "Journal" and you have the first chapter right there...) Of course, Shenmue didn't have a D&D battle system.

[TheRedEye]

I'm going to hop on the bandwagon here. There aren't any Shenmue clones because Shenmue cost millions to produce with little (if any) return and, in my experience, businesses like making money rather than losing it.

[evildead2099]

Why aren't there any Shenmue clones? Do you have any idea how much money Sega invested in Shenmue?!?

[kevincure]

I heard the cost was around 30 million US, which I think is similar to what Square was spending on each FF game. The game was innovative, but as others have noted, it wasn't much fun to play. Walk around, work, sleep does not a fun game make. I do think you'll see more "Living world" games though: How about a Fighter RPG, where you start out as a kid, and explore a city and surrounding countryside, meeting masters, and "learning" moves from them. Then you can use your character in in-game Tekken-style fights, or save it to memory and fight your friends? Or a racing game with a 20 mile by 20 mile area of roads, city and countryside, where you can simply explore, or find people to challenge to a race (online or off)? Think Shenmue with some depth.

[Ed Oscuro]

My issues with the game:

- Where the hell did all that money go?

- What was Yu Suzuki thinking? More than that, what was everybody else thinking when they let (and encouraged?) him to create this game? This is the second time a respected designer in Japan has gone ahead and made a gigantic flop - though at least this was just a game, as opposed to a whole console (and the Virtual Boy does have some saving graces in its good/fun games.)

[ubersaurus]

Shenmue was a good game if you're into kung fu movies, since basically, you were in it.

That said, the general public didn't really care about a game like that, and it's just too ahead of it's time-I don't think any hardware could do the game idea justice.

[soniko_karuto]

i don't understand the idea of why you didn't liked shenmue. It's a lot better than what could be done with todays MMORPG game engines.

[evildead2099]

I heard the cost was around 30 million US, which I think is similar to what Square was spending on each FF game.

It would seem as though 90% of that 30 million goes straigt toward eye candy (CGI and FMV). Final Fantasy is terribly primitive in terms of depth and complex gameplay.

[Anthony1]

Wow, I'm very suprised at all the negative reactions towards Shenmue.

I really thought that Shenmue was an outstanding game, for what it tried to do. Sure, the concept was way beyond what truly was possible, but that doesn't mean the game sucked.

I'm going to stick with my take that they game was a definite breakthrough, and at some point in time, I think it will be appreciated for just how much of a breathrough game it really is.

Yeah, yeah, I know about all the sailor jokes and all of that, but still, I think Shenmue is a game that, at the time it was released, there wasn't anything else like it, and even to this day I don't think anything else has attempted to achieve such a realistic living world.

Remember the apartment complexes? The soda machines?

One thing about Shenmue that really struck me was the power lines. I think that is the first game that ever had power lines and laundry being hanged outside. I mean if you look up in that game and see the skyline, it really does look like a real freaking city.

I've been playing San Andreas recently, and one of the first things that really caught my eye about San Andreas was all the power lines. It looks like real neighborhoods in L.A.

Shenmue to me, looked very real in it's presentation of the city, and also with the nightime and daytime action.

True, the game was somewhat boring, but the ambition and scope of the game was unbelievable.

[YoshiM]

Wow, I'm very suprised at all the negative reactions towards Shenmue.

I really thought that Shenmue was an outstanding game, for what it tried to do. Sure, the concept was way beyond what truly was possible, but that doesn't mean the game sucked.

I'm going to stick with my take that they game was a definite breakthrough, and at some point in time, I think it will be appreciated for just how much of a breathrough game it really is.

Yeah, yeah, I know about all the sailor jokes and all of that, but still, I think Shenmue is a game that, at the time it was released, there wasn't anything else like it, and even to this day I don't think anything else has attempted to achieve such a realistic living world.

Remember the apartment complexes? The soda machines?

One thing about Shenmue that really struck me was the power lines. I think that is the first game that ever had power lines and laundry being hanged outside. I mean if you look up in that game and see the skyline, it really does look like a real freaking city.

I've been playing San Andreas recently, and one of the first things that really caught my eye about San Andreas was all the power lines. It looks like real neighborhoods in L.A.

Shenmue to me, looked very real in it's presentation of the city, and also with the nightime and daytime action.

True, the game was somewhat boring, but the ambition and scope of the game was unbelievable.

Okay, first you say it's an outstanding game and THEN say it's "somewhat boring"? Dude, I'm confused with your gaming criteria :P

One of the best things that sums up Shenmue:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2000/20001115l.jpg

I think they tried to do too much by combining a murder mystery with a city simulator. The plot was too specific for the large scope the game. They pretty much forced you into being a detective right in the beginning when gamers were trying to wrap their brains around this new world they entered. With the murder of your father resting on your shoulders, the last thing you'd want to do is take care of kittens, drink sodas or play with toys. Unfortunately we had to go about day to day life at what seems like a snail's pace. I think a lot of gamers wanted to get this murder thing taken care of rather than living a virtual life first and THEN take care of business. That's the feeling I got with this game the moment after I could take control. The emphasis of the game and pacing was waay off.

What Sega should have done was put the murder a quarter or half-way through the game. Let the players get a grip on the game first. Get the exploration bit out of the way and get to know the characters first. Get some "quests" under the wing (do some errands for Dad, maybe defend a kid from a bully to get some fighting in, stuff like that) and THEN lay the murder down. By then I'm sure the player would have gotten a good fill of arcade gaming, toy collecting, soda chugging to the point of bursting and sightseeing. Now the focus shifts from experiencing this world to solving a murder for a character you got to know and maybe care a bit about (as the game is also about telling a story and having some sort of connection to characters is a must). The pace could then quicken, keeping the player interested in finding the father's murderer. I think this would have made a better game while still giving the "experience" that Suzuki was going for.

It was an interesting experiment but as a game it came up short.

[Jorpho]

Or a racing game with a 20 mile by 20 mile area of roads, city and countryside, where you can simply explore, or find people to challenge to a race (online or off)? Think Shenmue with some depth.

Square's Racing Lagoon (not released in the US) sounds like that.

[Anthony1]

Yes the game does get boring at times, having to wait for certain times to enter certain buildings, etc, etc.

But I still think it was absolutely revolutionary for it's time.

I will always give somebody the benefit of the doubt when they try something super ambitious yet come up a little bit short.

As for the playing with the Kitten and the Soda machines and the Arcade machines and stuff like that, well that was all part of what made Shenmue so special, at least to me anyways.

Sure the game had it's downsides, but man, when that game first was released, and when I first popped it into my Dreamcast, it was an amazing moment. To walk around in a city that really seemed real. With Apartment complexes and stuff like that. It was amazing to me.

Yes, there were alot of boring parts to the game and really slow parts to the game and repetitive parts, but it still was an amazing adventure and very ambitious gaming design.

[Cryomancer]

I get depressed when I think about shenmue, because it makes me remember that we live in an age of EA and Square and we'll likely never see another shenmue ANYTHING in a language I understand.

If shenmue online doesn't come here, i'm learning korean and making a pirate server, seriously.

[Ed Oscuro]

Shenmue was a good game if you're into kung fu movies, since basically, you were in it.
Except, unlike a kung fu movie, you'll get your ass whooped by a little kid if you're new to the game. I found it hard to control - never did bother trying to figure it all out.


i don't understand the idea of why you didn't liked shenmue. It's a lot better than what could be done with todays MMORPG game engines.
In a word...no. Have you played any modern MMORPGs? Real interpersonal interaction > so-corny-it-hurts canned voice clips and a bunch of wierd, wierd goings-on. I'll take part in a huge battle in SWG over this nonsense any day. Speaking of MMORPGs, Shenmue Online will be one of them...so aren't you, in a sense, saying that won't be as good either? Hmm.

[ManciGames]

Sure the game had it's downsides, but man, when that game first was released, and when I first popped it into my Dreamcast, it was an amazing moment. To walk around in a city that really seemed real. With Apartment complexes and stuff like that. It was amazing to me.


I'm going to go ahead and chime in here. "Amazing" is the key word. I had the same reaction.

Sure, the game had it's dull moments, but to this day, no other game has provided the same experience for me. I truly lived in Shenmue's world when I played the game. When it was finally over, I actually missed my "friends" I had made in the Shenmue world. I know that sounds corny and sad, but the game really wrapped me up.

I think other people have mentioned it already, but not enough can be said about the concept of "patience" when it comes to playing Shenmue. If you are of the 90's MTV generation, I'm sure you probably found the game booooring. But for anyone who took the time to immerse themselves in this world, they found an experience that has not yet been duplicated.

[Overbite]

sure, it does all this fancy stuff. but that doesnt mean squat if the game is dull to play.