SHENMUE loved it or hated it ?

[sabre2922]

I thought the game was and is revolutionary on many levels and I think Yu Suzuki came very close to what he wanted to accomplish with the game with the available technology.
I also actually still have fun playing the game after all these years.
It is one of the most well known love it or hate it games released in the last few years so i was wondering if a poll would help decipher how many fellow gamers here love the game or hate it.

[Achika]

You forgot the option of 'meh'. I neither loved nor hated it. I will play it and enjoy, but it's not going on my top 10, or even my top 50.

[omnedon]

All these years?

[Captain Wrong]

You forgot the option of 'meh'. I neither loved nor hated it. I will play it and enjoy, but it's not going on my top 10, or even my top 50.

Agreed.

There were parts that were really engrossing (and this is coming from someone who HATES the "movie" style games) and there were some parts that were really fun (ironically, I worked in a warehouse at the time I played it, and yes I drove a forklift in real life, yet, it was still fun in the game.) However, there were some parts that sucked (like waiting around for the correct time or how many of the NPCs kept saying the same thing over and over.)

Still, I'm glad I played it. I think it was a very ambitious title and while not entirely sucessful I think it accomplished a lot of what they were going for and at times was a very good game.

[pixelsnpolygons]

Shenmue, loved it. Shenmue II, probably my favorite game of all time - I've never been so engrossed in a game before, and this is coming from someone who played Blast Corps for 16 hours straight. Joke was on me, as my wife's water broke 20 minutes after I went to bed and I spent all day trying to sleep in a hospital chair. But I'm getting off the subject - I flat out love the Shenmue series, and I really do think Yu Suzuki crafted a masterpiece.

[Nesmaster]

never played it. :P

[Graham Mitchell]

This game did a lot for me, actually; I was going through a really tough time a few years ago when I bought it, and it distracted me enough to get my life back in order and to my liking.

That said, I thought it was simply amazing. This is (very close to) the game I used to dream about when I was a child. There's so much to do! Not all of it brings you anything, true, but the experimentation is fun!

I'm usually not one for "collecting" crap in video games, but Suzuki was smart enough to give players enough time get all the little figurines...he made it part of the game itself. Granted, you had to have the intuition to know that you had all that free time to engross yourself in all the game had to offer. I think that's why people had so much trouble with the waiting...they wanted to play the game in a straight line so they could beat it instead of just enjoying it.

But that's the beauty of Shenmue; you can take in as much or as little of it as you want, and still feel like you got somewhere.

This, Ecco the Dolphin, and a slew of other DC titles led me to believe that Dreamcast may have been the greatest system of all time. Every great thing that had been learned about in designing games was coming to fruition, and ACTUALLY IMPROVED UPON in a lot of the titles for that machine. Since it's death, however, I haven't seen much but a whole bunch of sequels to a games that came out less than a year ago. (There are exceptions of course.) Shenmue was the one game that encompassed that idea beautifully. I'm sad that people didn't take notice.

[pixelsnpolygons]

Wow, beautifully put, Graham - I agree with your sentiments on Shenmue and the Dreamcast - but I wanted to specifically touch on your point about people rushing through the game. I think you may have hit the nail on the head, here - I do think that was why a lot of people found the game so lackluster. Personally, I took my time with the game - just enjoyed being in the game, soaking up the atmosphere, walking around like a tourist would in a real city. I didn't play either game every day, so ultimately, it took me about three or four months to complete both games. I think the sheer amount of atmosphere that I soaked up really impacted the way the game affected me - as I viewed the towns, people and areas in a more personal way than someone who just raced through the game - basically I *lived* Shenmue, whereas a lot of people just played it - and that is where a lot of the "hurdles" and "stopgaps" probably frustrated them.

I think the trick to Shenmue is to savor every moment - become Ryo and just float like a stick in a stream (don't care how lame that sounds). Of course, if you're not enjoying it at all, that will pose a problem. But anyway, I loved what you said.

[Neil Koch]

I just found the game to be very boring... I didn't hate it, but I never got into it to play it for more than a couple of hours. I did like the arcade games in it though.

[anagrama]

There's more good than bad in it, but I really don't get the people who claim it's one of the best games of all time - one of the best concepts, possibly and very well executed in parts, but there's far too much trailing around until you find the right person to speak to, and just general monotony/repetition.
The sequel improved in just about every area, and has possibly the most beautiful final sequence I've ever seen, but it would still be stuggling to get into my personal top 25 games of all time.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Loved it, but god I was pissed at the end of Shenmue 2's "To Be Continued" crap

[Neo-Jorge]

I loved this game just because of all the little mini games, the fact that you can also find cool ports of sega classic games like Space harrier ruled. How could you not love playing a game of lucky hit.



Thanks

[SoulBlazer]

Never played the first. Bought the second with my XBox last year and loved it -- up to the crappy cheap 'To be Continued' ending. Bring on number three allready!

[Gunstar_Hero UK]

Loved them both!! Shenmue II is in my top 5 games of all time.. Its depressing how there'll probably never be a third in one of the best series of all time..

My dream scenario would be microsoft funding sega to make the game for xbox.. But, that'll never happen..

Joe,

[le geek]

I really Like Shenmue 1 and 2. Neither are in my top ten though...

[Pantechnicon]

What a great time to find this poll as I'm playing through Shenmue I right now for the first time. I'm done with the first two discs. Promised myself I'd tackle this after beating GTA3 so I could try the whole "immersive world" concept as a good guy for a change.

Voted for "love it" in the poll but I wouldn't go too much higher than that. I'm enjoying this because in many ways it goes against the grain of most games with respect to speed and the like. As others have pointed out, it's best to try your best to "become" Ryo in the game as opposed to looking at it as a series of tasks to complete (i.e. - a game).

My children really enjoy watching me play it and they seem to get the most enjoyment out of watching Ryo do mundane things like feed the cat or buy a soda (my 4-year-old insists on picking out the drink every time). I think it's interesting how the kids seem to get more positive stimulation out of this virtual representation of someone's real life than they would out of, say, watching something as abstract as an FPS or training imaginary animals.

On top of all this, I've always been a big lover of many aspects of Asian culture so to get to immerse myself in this is really a treat.

I have to admit to an moment at the point in the game where Ryo is walking around asking people in Dobuita if they know where he can find a place where sailors hang out . This doesn't translate too well in a cultural sense.

I was lucky enough to find Shenmue II for Dreamcast, so that's in the queue after I take off a month of two from finishing ths first one.

Anyway, it's not the greatest game, but it's a great game nonetheless.

[OldSchoolGamer]

First 5-10 minutes hated it, didn't like the control scheme however the graphics kept me playing. After about the first hous I was totally adjusted to the control etc and a strange thing happened. I realized when I wasn't playing I was constantly thinking about the game. I didn't mind the slow pace, and was intrigued and loved exploring. At one point I was thinking about Shenmue and what would happen next whenever I wasn't playing! By the time I completed the first game I realized I was totally sucked in. I have a long time friend whp unfortunately wont give it a chance because he wont get past those first 5 or 10 minutes and I truly believe he is depriving himself of a gaming experience like no other..........................
That said I have the Euro version of Shenmue 2 for Dreamcast which I am about half way through, still love it, just wish I had more damn time to play!

[Mr. Smashy]

I bought it but never played it (though I intend to).

[Graham Mitchell]

I think the trick to Shenmue is to savor every moment - become Ryo and just float like a stick in a stream (don't care how lame that sounds). Of course, if you're not enjoying it at all, that will pose a problem. But anyway, I loved what you said.

Exactly! Note that right after we posted these, people came in and started bitching about the waiting and asking around again. You've either got the taste for it or you don't, I suppose.

I always think back to this game and feel it was more of an experience than a video game. It was a period in my life. Very few games have been this way for me (though I've felt this way from time to time; Starflight comes to mind) and I think the immersion is part of what made that special.

Also, as a med student, I can only play games in little chunks. I can play 15 minutes of Shenmue, do a temporary Save, and actually accomplish something.

OldSchoolGamer mentioned a similar sentiment, as well. I really think there's just a mindset that people have to assume for this type of thing. Bear in mind: I don't care for online games like Everquest or anything remotely similar, so it's really not a desire to live in another dimension. But I couldn't put it into words if I tried.

Hey, let's not forget the music; it's really well done. I guess Yuzo Koshiro worked on some of it, but I wouldn't know what. The music changes as the weather is altered or as dusk falls is a very powerful component to the experience, in my opinion.

[suppafly]

Shenmue is the best game Ive ever played...too bad its like a movie, so once i finished it, i never felt like playing it all over again