Wonderful video on Shenmue 2. Until this day it is the most immersive world ever created in a video game. The last part of the game with Shenhua is the best game level design I've ever played. Loved how you ended the video with Shenhua saying to Ryo; "Let's go. It's this way." The Story goes on...

I like to think that S3 never happened and it all ended here. I was one of the few who didn't celebrate when they announced part 3 as I've known for sure that they'll not be able to replicate the magic of older classic games. How did I know ? Too much time had already passed. Because it never works this way in music or movies. Many bands try to replicate their best classic albums but all fail to do so, especially after 20 years gap. No movie remake of older classic film was any good too.

I bought Shenmue II on launch day on the Dreamcast, the only game I've ever bought on launch day in my life. I was such a huge fan of the first game & remember seeing Shenmue II on the cover of the Dreamcast sometime in October/November of 2001 & thought to myself: "Oh it's actually being released" & just read the magazine in the shop & wrote down the release date from the magazine. I think it came out sometime in November, I was also at 6th form at the time, but wasn't paying much attention to school, & cared a lot more about video games. I remember waking up at 6 am, I believe it was a Saturday morning to walk into town & buy, not even being sure they'd have it anywhere as the Dreamcast was fast vanishing from the shops at the time, I sat waiting in McDonald's from like 7am waiting for the shops to open. Went & waited outside game at like 8.30am, I was the only one there, & luckily they had, got it home again by about 10am & sat & played it for 12 hours that day& then 12 hours on Sunday until I finished it. It was everything I wanted it to be & more, improved on the first game in a lot of ways, bigger, more characters, story was better, probably in my top 3 video game experiences ever still & I'm 39 now, think I was 17 when I got Shenmue II

shenmue 2 is why i visited HK.

Wonderful job. I got a bit misty eyed I must admit. I feel that I understand why shenmue 2 is your favorite in the series a bit more now.

I love how you gave the in-game moments time to breathe so as to let it speak for itself. That line about “The Impossible Adolescent Fantasy” really put into words the indescribable feeling that Shenmue provides. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

What if the Dreamcast never failed... Man we'd have more of this I bet

I didn't grow up with these games nor the period. I struggled to really appreciate Shenmue I when first going through it in around 2017, at the age of 17. Then I played Shenmue II, I was absolutely floored. Even with everything that has come since, when getting off the pear and wandering in to town, quarter after quarter, I was shocked at how far the game kept going. Every time I thought "alright this must be it right ?" Hong Kong got even bigger. Another thing I loved about the game, despite it being old and less detailed than some modern games, I felt that the art direction really conveyed a quite genuine picture of Hong Kong, it felt truly authentic in a way other games have touched on less. To think they put this all on a Dreamcast... I still think about it.

I can’t believe the moves Ryo does in jeans 😂 Jeans must of been made different in the 80’s 🤣

Another excellent video. I just beat Shenmue 2 and watched this to decompress.

Just beat shenmue 1 and 2 on my ps5 , last time I played these games was back on my Dreamcast lol

the south carmain qr. theme as opening was pure bliss.

This and your Shenmue 1 video are fantastic. I am so glad I got to vicariously live through your depictions of playing these games as a shitty stoner teenager, it brought me a lot of catharsis. I think I spent the majority of both videos in tears cuz you just manage to keep nailing exactly what is so so special about these games. I first played these games in 2019, thinking I was just gonna play for a few hours to understand what the buzz was all about, but boy, did I fall head over heels in love. I just finished replaying 1 + 2 last night and I some how feel even more smitten with the series. I grew up with a PS2 and used to regard it as my favorite console, but the love I feel for Shenmue as me reconsidering that haha. I've even started collecting the DC versions of games over their PS1 counterparts. It's been a few days since I watched your Shenmue 1 video, but as I walked through Guilin last night, "Let's make a game with so much love..." kept repeating in my head. Thank you for these videos.

I can't stop coming back to these. The shenmue 1 vid almost made me cry tears of joy and catharsis. You put into words what nearly a whole fan base of that 23 yr old game couldn't. The aethstetics and music of all these videos are so y2k its fever dreamish. This is quite the craftsmanship I hope you keep it up if it brings you the joy it does the viewer. These works have power.

Another great retrospective. I still remember being laughed at after returning to school in January 2002 as I told friends that Shenmue 2 was greater than anything on PS2.

Shenmue 2 is a special game.

Whatever I may think of Shenmue III, I'd love to see part IV come out some day. So many burning questions....

Loved both your videos about Shenmue I and II. Brought me back to these days.

Best video on shenmue 2 I've seen here. Thanks for uploading this.

Highly underrated channel