Shenmue is honestly underrated and doesn't get enough credit for how much it influenced other open-world games, Yu Suzuki totally got robbed

"I stood in a corner and waited till 8 o'clock." That's not the game's fault, that was your own decision to do that. Dunkey isn't the most intelligent person on the planet, not by a long shot. PS: I did go around and knock on every single door in the game when I first played it, which was on Day 1 of it's release. I mean, why wouldn't you? There had NEVER been a 3d open world game like Shenmue before this (Seriously, that can't be understated. People don't understand how revolutionary this game was at the time.), and I wanted to see just how much I could do in this literal life simulation. I wasn't disappointed though that I couldn't go in those places, I was just enjoying the experience. And that experience was burned into my memory forever because I was so freaking amazed. The only game that I would say comes close to the same experience as Shenmue is GTA: San Andreas. And that game is considered by many to be the absolute best in that series as well.

I played Shenmue for the first time in 2019, and it was really good! You're right, you have to play it as it was intended to be. Now it has become one of my favorite videogame series! I also published a small tribute (in Italian) to Shenmue on my channel to explain why I loved it: attention to details, daily dedication, a good story, etc.

Hi from Tokyo, Japan. Thanks for this video. I am currently playing Shenmue 1 for the first time. At first I was a bit confused of what this game was supposed to be. I have played Yakuza series (and loved it) and I thought Shenmue was probably similar to that. But, i finally understand it’s not. It’s a different thing. I now understand how to enjoy Shenmue. By the way I actually grew up in the real Yokosuka city in Kanagawa prefecture. The Dobuita neighborhood in the game does have the feel of the actual Real Dobuita in Yokosuka. Love the details.

Best way to explain it is, shenmue is a game where you are presented with an a truly open world. With time, seasons, years, days of the week and every NPC in the game is programmed to behavior differently according to their own life on different times, in different weather. They pull out umbrellas when it rains, they close down shops during closeing hours, you as a player only exist and have to figure out your own problems. But you have access to everything in the world.

This was awesome. Glad to be a part of it

Playing Shenmue is forever the shit! It feels like a meditative adventure arcade game. I love the slow pacing and aesthetic of the whole game.

You explain the design and intention of this game series so well that it makes me really want to play it now, I can tell It's such a unique experience compared to almost everything else in the world of videogames.

Your understanding of what Shenmue is and how it should be enjoyed is perfectly communicated in this wonderful video. I wish every player of video games could see this.

Here's one small instance from earlier in the game: Ryo is told that Charlie the sailor 'may' have been seen outside the jacket shop on certain days, around 7 ish. In my playthrough , I tried to while time until 7 pm talking to people, exploring the Dojo etc. I was almost prepared for nothing to happen at 7 on that day due to the game being very vague. Anyways, at 7 , I arrived at the jacket shop. Nothing happened. I talked to the shopkeeper. Got nothing. I stuck around for a few minutes ( equivalent to an hour in game). Nothing happened. The shop closed at 8 , with the shopkeeper pulling down the shutter. Talked to him, he said something along the lines of "I'm tired. Will see you tomorrow." And then it got dark and desolate. I turned to leave the area and then a cutscene was triggered where Ryo meets some of Charlie's cronies. Which leads into a scuffle where you are pitted against 6 goons, very easy to beat, but it gives you a chance to learn what the fighting buttons do. No QTE here. And then you learn the next bit of information to lead to charlie. It seemed tedious while I was searching and waiting, but when your estimation of how the in-game world works is verified and rewarded with game progression, the reward seems so much sweeter. And the dialogue with NPCs is extremely context sensitive, meaning, during a certain juncture of the game, Ryo will only ask about the next piece of the puzzle, therefore , just talking to the right people moves the game forward. And the best part is , the game is constantly dropping subtle hints about who to talk to. I simply can not set the controller down on this one. My only regret is I did not find Shenmue until late into my 30s. And I feel sad that crazed out gamers that are into the fast and frantic habits of FPSs diss this game. Shenmue is the equivalent of Meditation.

Excellent video. Thanks for including me 🙂 You did a great job of laying out Shenmue and explaining why it’s important to play the game “correctly.”

Billions of ways ahead of its time and it was real. A game were the protagonist isn't overpowered.

Words cannot express I love this game. Thank you for reminding me how awesome it was. Nowadays I don't play much, and yet, shenmue 3 managed to make me a gamer again. It was a little bit disappointing, but at the same time, I couldn't be mad at it... because it was still Shenmue. It felt like a shenmue game with some unwanted changes (main the combat). I think what separates hardcore shenmue fans from the rest is that even after we stop being gamers later on in life, shenmue will never stop being a part of us. It will always remain as an important part of our live.

Its a fundamental mistake to equate Yakuza with Shenmue. Yes, they are both Sega and the director of each game actually worked together. However, Yakuza is primarily an RPG game with open-world elements in a modern, adult-themed setting. Shenmue on the other hand is a real-life simulation / a 'FREE' game that chooses a particular place in time and character with which to view that. This isn't an RPG, but rather a slice-of-life taking place in an adventure. The game is not just about progressing getting stronger, but appreciating the intrinsic value of all the things taking place in its world. Arguably since the plot takes place in the past, there is no tension about when or if the story will end - and it very well might not ever really be told to completion, and Ryo may never reach perfection and resolve his quest. Some people might be bummed about that but to me, it fundamentally doesn't change anything about Shenmue.

Incredible video dude! I can definitely tell that that took a huge amount of time to curate and make! I wanted to thank you for adding a little bit on Suka Pass in there too, we’re super happy that the app is something that fans like yourself can take the time to go out of their way to mention like this, to add to the overall Shenmue experience in the wake of the lack of Passport features with the re-releases! Again, great job!

As soon as I finish Skies of Arcadia, I'll eventually get around to playing Shenmue.

Seems like the issue people have with Shenmue is that they need their hand held.

I played Shenmue 1,2 for the first time on Playstation 4 2 years ago Covid-19 Australia. Shenmue is timeless My favourite games period 😎 Thankyou for this video Subd!

Thank you for putting out this content. To say that Shenmue is underappreciated is an understatement. For me personally, Shenmue is a diagram on how to find purpose and meaning in life. Words can't even explain how much I love this series. I agree in your claim that world is meant to be explored during the down periods of time, however I greatly appreciate the option of skipping time in the sequel. I hope you make follow up video explaining how Shenmue II perfected the formula as I think it is one of the greatest gaming masterpieces ever made. Part 2 does not get the praise I think it should and I think even it's most harshest crtics would have a different opinion if they started off with II. Thank you again for the time and effort to put this great video out!

I might be suffering from a case of the Mandela Effect seeing as I remember the late-night motorcycle stroll being with Chai…

I'm not someone who is that deep into video games. I enjoy them and if a Zelda gets released I'm there but I've never been someone who gets addicted to them and sometimes I'll go days without playing any. However, there have been three video games in my life that I became so addicted too that I actually fake illness to get a day off school to play them. Those three games were, Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Shenmue. Shenmue at the time was like nothing I had ever played and the moment I had finished I immediately restarted the game. I always felt like I was in control of what I did and how to do it. If I wanted to train my skills I could, if I wanted to play Hang On instead I could do that. While I see today you were always pointed in the right direction it always felt like I was dictating the story and not just following along. When the HD collection came out in 2018 I knew it had aged badly but the magic was still there.

Shenmue doesn't feel like a grind because one has to cherish the present, smell the flowers, it meant to be slow paced. God bless, Rev. 21:4

Great video again, can't get enough of talking about Shenmue - nice to hear people having similar experiences

Where do I even begin with this comment? First of all, I want to state that this video was a obvious labor of love and I want to thank you personally from the bottom of my heart for making it. It will definetly clear up any misconceptions of shenmue to someone who might not get what all the buzz is about. If someone asks me why I love Shenmue so much, now I have two options, the first being going into a passionate rant about the series and two, sending them this video. Knowing myself I’ll probably opt for both! It makes me mad to see ignorants also claim that shenmue was somehow directly responsible for the downfall of sega. And yes, this is a legit thing I’ve seen some people claim. Without getting too deep into it, the problems sega had where there already long before Shenmue was ever in the picture. Granted, Shenmue’s budget didn’t help things along, but to put the blame directly on shenmue is idiotic, to put it lightly. To me,personally, Shenmue is about solitude, passion, revenge and acceptance (or lack thereof) and, dare I say it? Love. It’s a deeply personal game for me, and the game re-release, along with a PlayStation 4, where the first things I ever bought with money from my own work. I identify quite a lot with Ryo, in many ways. I am awkward with people, just like him,and I’m lonely as well, just like him. I don’t know if you guys get what I’m saying? I just... I really relate to that... the way he just pushes everyone away from him, especially in the first game. I can relate to the silent pain he is going through, over his father, the one he doesn’t let anyone know about. And I sympathize with his desire to avenge his father. I think the franchise falls under constant criticism because of two reasons, one being because influencers, youtube “celebrities” and biased gaming magazines and/or website reviewers spin the narrative about Shenmue being boring, because THEY personally find it boring. And the fact of the matter is, people don’t usually like forming their own opinions. They usually look to someone to tell them whether something is good or bad. And, admit it, we’ve all done it, I’ve even done it myself, sometimes, even when making a effort to avoid doing it. So anyone who has a favorite KZfaqr who dislikes Shenmue and they watch that video,they adopt the very same opinion without even trying the game or looking into it more thoroughly. It’s the sad reality,and I know you said this in the video as well but I just had to say it as well. Reason number two is the ugly reality that, unfortunately, SHENMUE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. People who grew up on more action like games and don’t care much for video game narratives will prob dislike Shenmue. I don’t judge them; everyone has their own personal likes and styles, after all. But shenmue, and games similar to Shenmue will not be liked by the majority of consumers. That’s just the ugly facts. All of this combined with the almost nearly constant barrage of negative think pieces and opinions (and especially now after the 3rd game released) have made most fans go into hiding, which is pretty sad. But I can’t exactly blame them for going into hiding either. Now I want to address this “yakuza” “”argument”” lots of people keep going back to incessantly. It’s insulting that people even dare to compare shenmue to a shit franchise like yakuza (There. I said it. Come at me, you crybaby yakuza fanboys.) The only game that has ever come even slightly close to Shenmue is the incredible Hotel Dusk DS game, and even that one falls short in comparison to Shenmue (To be perfectly clear; this is NOT A DISS to Hotel Dusk! Hotel Dusk is one of my favorite games of all time, right next to Shenmue!) I only say this to bring a point, that point being that the magic and soul of shenmue has not been able to be recaptured in its entirety by any other video game franchise, ever, in my humble opinion. It’s disheartening going anywhere online and only seeing the overwhelmingly popular negative opinion of shenmue, but To disheartened fans I only say this: you don’t own anyone a explanation. If you like Shenmue you do you, and don’t let anyone else change your opinion about it except for yourself. As someone said, this fandom is small, but it is extremely vocal. We cannot let anyone take it away from us. Sure, the games didn’t sell well, and sure the 3rd game has problems, but at the end of the day none of that should matter. What matters is what something means to you, and if Shenmue means something to you, don’t let that magic get taken from you by anyone. I know I’m all over the place with this, but there are my actual, honest thoughts right now. If you made it this far thanks for reading this trite. July/25/2020

Beautiful video! I’m glad I was able to know of this series since a kid, and was able to eventually play it. The characters, the environment, the soundtrack. Everything about this game is beautiful, I love the fact it shows that the world does not revolve around you and you must align your time around it. It also shows the importance of friendship and kindness. All the hidden little lessons in this game changed my life. “The river flows calmly. That’s why it can flow so far” Shenmue is and always will be a great game!

Mate you completely hit the nail on the head with this video, you obviously have a profound understanding of this game series and how it works. It's been my favourite series of all time since I was 12 and I'm in my 30s now, I think this is the best explanation of Shenmue I've seen on KZfaq

Imagine randomly encountering Corey Marshall in real life and not knowing exactly who he is and you slowly start to figure out who he is the more he talks. I might cry and die at the same time! 🤣😂

Awesome video dude! You covered almost all the good things about Shenmue but I'll add few more from my POV :) 1. This game actually makes you think, something that not many modern games do. It doesn't have radar and important people/objects aren't highlighted. All the player has is a notebook to keep track of what happened and what the next goal is. However, the world is still small enough so it won't take you a lot of time to find what you need. And this mechanic actually makes you explore and check out all the small things, you never know when you stumble upon duck street racing :) I can be impatient sometimes and whenever I get stuck I look up tutorials online. Shenmue is one of the few games where I avoided that thankfully. 2. It's like a window to late 80's Japan. I've haven't been to the country yet, so I appreciate how gamers around the world could learn about traditional house interiors, architecture, basic level of culture, etc. And all of this due to the incredible amount of love and detail put by Yu Suzuki and his team. I am not saying that it's 100% accurate ( cough-Sonic-cough-Sega Saturn) but it's pretty incredible for a game released in '98. 3. The game is so immersive that the player feels like a part of the community. Every shop owner has at least a dozen dialogue lines and a daily schedule, npc's that are not used in the story still have detailed backstory. Many people in Yokosuka greet Ryo, ask about how he's doing, share details of their everyday lives. FFS, you can follow a secret love story by listening to a couple of shop keepers. This is so immersive that you start to care about those little details and truly feel like a part of the Yokosuka community.

I always was afraid of spending money in Shenmue because how the youtube and every people I see talk about piss in the game, and when someone say somenthing good I was thinking they just overrated the game. But, in this year after a long time I give a chance and I love it. Is really sad how they break the image of game and I love how you talk about that and give me more reasons to think about Shenmue. It was not live change for me, but I really can respect for begin a art. He not give me the same level art of Yakuza series but still a beatiful peace of art. I can't just stop to think how the people don't understand somenthing so simple like the ganeplay of shenmue. Your video is amazing, nice work man!

I love shenmue even the third ,I can’t wait for number four

I recently started playing through the first Shenmue, approaching it not as an action game, but as an adventure game. You're right, that is how it's meant to be experienced. I think it's the closest a video game will ever get to a cinematic experience akin to Takeshi Kitano's reflexive and hypnotic style.

Great video!! Thanks a lot for using my Remixes!

2:44 “hahaha shenmue forklift please laugh”

That and the soundtrack is gorgeous

Thanks for creating this. I've saved it as a reference since it's a really good "spiritual guideline" for what not to forget when it comes to the franchise. I'm working on a game fund (along with other types of funding of sorts) that could be a way to fund a Shenmue 4 and 5 at a much lower cost and maybe more appropriate to the commercial reality of what the franchise can generate sales wise. Yes I looked up today how many more games Yu thought it would take

I'm standing up and clapping. So well done!

Shenmue is the most spiritually enriching experience I have played.

I didn't play Shenmue until the early 2010s when I was in middle school and bought a mint condition Dreamcast when I first started getting into retro games. I don't know why Shenmue got my attention, but I'm so happy it did.

the perfect omage and definitive way to explain why shenmue always is good. I cringed all those ignorant who just talk that nonsense :/ I love you work I can't get tired of that statement, excellent video.

This is literally a mini documentary. Impressive.

While it was never really my thing gameplay wise, I can accept that the series was ground-breaking in creating a world that seemed alive, with every NPC having their own schedules, day/night cycles etc, that and it looked very impressive for the Dreamcast, I remembered watching my brother play the 1st one in the day and was just mindblown by how "lifelike" it looked, and while I love the Yakuza series, that had to build off Shenmue for it's success, you can't not lie that Shenmue did leave a lasting impression in that regard.

Shenmue is simply for exploring and discovering. There are so many little hidden treasures scattered throughout and about the whole story! From mini games to hidden cutscenes..practicing your karate moves in quiet locations, conversing with pedestrians, drinking cola or hot coffee that Ryo chugged down without getting burned lol … it was everything I wanted in a game with some Virtual Fighting combat experience. It may have been a little bit corny in English (totally rocks in Japanese) but it was just different from anything else to that point in time, and it made that game what it was and still is today! This is always going to be one of my top 5 games of all time simply because it took me to Japan in virtual form as a 13 year old who loved everything about the culture. Shenmue rocks and will forever have a place in my heart.

This video convinced me to give this series a try. While I don’t have much patience, I’ve been trying to enjoy life at a slower pace. Maybe shenmue can give me a gateway into that lifestyle.

The importance of your channel is that you are the only person that TRULY understands Sega`s Legacy, People Really Stuck with Sonic, some with Streets of rage... Sega`s Virtua Series is the basis of so many great things.

This video convinced me to finally play Shenmue. I've always known people that like Shenmue, but they usually just go "the story is good" or they go "it's good, but..." and that always turned me off. I'm a huge fan of adventure games, but no one ever told me how "adventure" Shenmue really was. It sounds like Shenmue is really similar to lovedelic's games in a lot of ways with the "life simulation" real time elements and focus on side characters and optional objectives mixed in with adventure gameplay. I'm always on the look out for more games like that. How deep the connections with Virtua Fighter go surprised me as well.

I have very recently bought the Shenmue 1 & 2 collection and Shenmue 3 and its dlc. I have started playing Shenmue 1 and I have to say I absolutely love it. I never played Shenmue back when it came out on Dreamcast as 8 year old me was playing playstation at the time. My parents were convinced by friends to get the playstation back in 1997 and my dad started playing TR2. I was hooked. Perhaps because I have been so used to playing older games with tank controls, I have absolutely no problem playing Shenmue. I love the pacing, I love the exploration and it's amazing to see just how far ahead of it's time this game really was. Being that I grew up around N64, Genesis, Playstation and Dreamcast, I have a real appreciation for these older games, even ones I never played back when they were first released. I love your video, Virtua Bros, because you make such good points as to why Shenmue was and still is such a great game. I intend to play the Shenmue games from 1 all through to 3. I am very glad I chose to buy these iconic games. Dreamcast really was a great console back in the day. And I am such a big Tomb Raider fan so I would always side with playstation as my fav console as it was TR that pulled me in, but Sega really has to be patted on the back for the Dreamcast, because the graphical quality, alone, was such a step up from Playstation 1. And the Sega Saturn was the first console that TR1 (1996) was released on - another one of the best games ever made.

“... by engaging her in the mundane.” Good god, it’s nice to know that there are other female Shenmue fans in the fandom. Thanks for the reminder! ❤️

This is such a classic, I come back every week or two just to show my respects. Hope you made more friendmmuecast.

As an older Shenmue fan, this video made me cry. Not only is this video well-done, but it does the first Shenmue game justice. If you ever get around to doing a video on Shenmue II please let me know because I would like to be apart of it. Thanks for all the hard work you do Virtua Bros.

I absolutely love the shenmue series I got into it last year and all I can say is that it’s a masterpiece shenmue 1 and 2 and it’s the reason I explore ground in games more than I use too Ryo Hazuki needs more love

I’m in my late twenties and I had never heard of Shenmue until a few months ago. I’m so addicted to the story and world and I think all three games look amazing, so, yes, from a totally objective point of view, Shenmue aged like fine wine. I hope they will one day be able to finish this story even if it goes on for 4 more games.

I got this game on Christmas back in my freshman year, what sucks is that i got it when dreamcast was on its last dying leg. Honestly last time i played it (about a year ago on Steam) and holy hell its still a good game. Once the music hits it always brings back memories i would still look at all the details of the world, the background sounds ect. Game was way ahead of its time

You’re ending monologue about it being a culmination of a sum of its parts. Was so well said. I started to tear up. Well done

i feel like people go out of their way to trash the game

I have no nostalgia for this series , but this is how i want my games to be, i dont like continuous chaos of GTA nor violence of Yakuza series , playing shenmue gives me those calm moments i m looking in a video games with sense of exploration & martial arts that i love 💕

A very high quality production on this video. Clearly hear the passion for the game.

Shenmues story line is the best..i hope it continues until the end..i dont care if the makers dont upgrade the graphics.. I just want to finish this piece of my life...

Played it for first time in 2021 thought it was amazing. On real Dreamcast hardware. Also Shenmue controls aren't bad.

Great video! Love all the points you brought up! It's always brings a smile to my face when I hear stories of how this game impacted people.This game was such a masterpiece and I'm so lucky to have been fortunate enough to experience it when it came out.

This is my first time commenting on this channel but I started playing shenmue around a year ago right around the same time the anime started coming out. Reason I never played these games before is because I hadn't heard about it and the images that I saw I was under the impression that it was stupid but when the anime came out I started getting interested because it appealing and really intriguing so i gave it a shot. What I really love about shenmue is the fact it's about the exploration and the detailed world around you and it's basically real life. The way you solve problems in the game is similar to how it is in real life. Because like in the real world if you didn't do something when you were supposed to then you try again at another time and thats what makes Shenmue so awesome is the fact that it crosses the border of fiction and reality btw I was able to convince a friend on Discord to play the games because I was kind of talking about it non-stop and they find interesting so I was able to convert another person into being a shenmue fan

This is amazing! Your videos are getting even better lol. Can't wait for VF lore: Shun Di

Dude you should comeback, your friendmuecast is a classic been waiting for new episodes and i can hear you talking about shenmue all day and tbh i would really like ti talk about shenmue with you.

That was a great video, had an existential crisis when I was 8 or 9 and finally beat the game. Soundtrack to characters, visuals to interaction capabilities, flow of time to real financial concerns, blends of different game styles... Literally is and always will be the best game of all time. And nice Prima Strategy guide! Mine is a little more beat up but I just pulled it out last week to show a friend the scale of the game.

My introduction to shenmue was just like not even a year ago when i got ps store gift card. It was only 10€ but i got a good amount of games. They were max payne and shenmue 1&2. So after i put them to the shopping cart, i ran to my dad and told him that i found a game about a boy who saw his father getting killed in front of him, and now tries to avenge his father's dead. It's called shenmue. And my dad said "did you say shenmue?!" "yeah" "i played it back in the day on dreamcast!" "Holy shi-" Ands that is how i found shenmue. After it downloaded i could not do anything else. I was addicted. I played it in only four days. Best game of all time in my opinion.

shenmue characters to me is like my family in a way and i like to visit them once in a while see what they getting up to.

I still fondly remember the environment like it was somewhere I went on vacation! The music, ambience and the voices are all very nostalgic to hear now.

the way you describe people that play shenmue wrong is like how people play jrpgs and don't talk to the npcs. then they complain that the game never tells them where to go or what to do.

I played Shenmue on Dreamcast in 2000. I played Shenmue 2 on XBox a few years ago. When 3 was released, I waited until I replayed both remastered on PS4. I just finished 1 and started 2 this week (Japanese with English subtitles this time). They are still so regal! Can’t wait to play 3. I like using the downtime for training and shopping and chatting. I was never able to get the mysterious scroll translated, but I was hoping it would carry into part 2 to get translated in Hong Kong.

Whenever I remember playing Shenmue upon first release it always surprises me how no game has surpassed the level of detailed interactivity it provided even decades later until this day. I didn’t know some modern gamers hated it, but they missed out on those details and lost the point of the experience.

What also makes shenmue so great is the fact that it's really about finding purpose and meaning in life and is also about spirituality and the beauty behind it. Not to mention there's so many hidden secrets that people are still discovering even after playing this game many years after its release. I'm going to use this video to show people why this franchise means so much to so many people and why I will continue loving it no matter what others say about it.

This just goes to show how people completely lost patience and attention to details, the will to take things with time and appreciate what you can’t change. Shenmue teaches about this.

What an impassioned video--great job. I loved Shenmue on DC, but have been a Nintendo console only owner since the Dreamcast's demise. I've been singing its praises to my Switch-owning friends, and I truly hope I have a chance to continue the story, and purchase copies for them, so that they can experience it for themselves.

Im 18 and i never grew up with Shenmue, but it's one of my favorite games.

When I first played Shenmue back in 1999, I wasn’t able to finish it because I’m just borrowing a friend’s DC. Fast forward today, got my own copy of 1 and 2 on PS4, got it on sale and glad I did. I couldn’t believed I’d ever play these classics once again. Hands down the most immersive game I’ve ever played.

What a great video essay. i've been a longtime Shenmue fan and you still managed to make so many connections I never even thought of! Thanks for this!

Awesome video to promote Shenmue, thumbs up.

I cannot explain the nostalgia that this game makes me feel when I play it… outside of the fact that it makes me wanna anxiety poop from the nostalgia. 😂

Man when they released the high definition port for PS4 and Xbox one I completed this entire game getting all achievements and all trophies on each version!! You know I am an original old school fan of this game and I see something in it that you also see in it, that many others fail to ever glimpse..

4:07 the original Arthur meme

When people say they want realistic game but not the realistic part of it. It was a journey. I wish it could get a good ending, I saw the same things I saw in GTA IV, realistic, story focused, atmosphere and vibe of it, it is a beauty. both of these games are now my favorite, and I do love the Yakuza series too played 0 and Kiwami , but this all made me realize that I love Japanese games set in their country, I love rural areas of japan, small community yet so much life is into it. surrounded by forest. idk how to express it, I like realistic games and Shenmue after I played GTA IV showed me what I was looking for in a long time, I am 17 right now, played last year and will never forget it. tho the first few hours had me almost quit and i needed guides to understand it all, but those first few hours were spent in the house checking every drawer possible, cassette was the best edition, I want that in new games, if you play them with headphones on in game while walking, it would be perfect. but I love this game too my heart, as a fan of Japanese culture, and anime too, I have played Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, 3 and 4 cause I love these games too, but this, this is what we call a time capsule. And I have no previous Nostalgia, I just played it after hearing about it that it was before yakuza and inspired that series and thought i should play before i start that to get a feeling. I am playing shenmue 2 right now. Hope to see it through

I'm so happy to see another video and one on my favorite series of all time. Because of your channel I started playing Virtua Fighter and now Final showdown is my favorite fighter of all time. Keep up the great work man!

Yakuza is Godfather's and Streets of Rage's meth baby (in a good way). Shenmue, meanwhile, is what you would get if one of the more grounded point and click Adventure games did the fusion dance with an 80s martial arts serial drama, complete with tinny voices (in a good way).

Dude, your fighting gameplay is absolutely godlike!

I'm playing it for the first time in 2023, it's so unfair that they compare Shenmue with Yakuza, they are both totally different beasts. What is blowing my mind the most about Shenmue is its town, I have played hundreds of games and I have never felt a place as alive as this game, I can't believe it's a game from 1999, it feels like I'm playing something of the year 2030, because not even the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 feels as alive as that of Shenmue

Youre content and knowledge on shenmue is so valuable. Ive always been interested in the game and i never had the hardware to play it prior to the recent rereleases. I finally got around to buying the first 2 games. Ive gotten up to the point where ryo must get a job. Watching your video. I realize that ive been playing shenmue totally wrong. Ive missed so much! Despite that i absolutely love this game. And this video has convinced me to start over and really look at this game not as an action game but as a free game. The concept really works well with me because i absolutely love adventure/vn games and it feels like shenmue was trying to go a step beyond and really immerse you in a life simulator. Thanks for your efforts!

I just finished my first ever playthrough of shenmue. I cant believe how amazing it is. Even now, playing through it, i was thinking 'how would you do this in a video game' when really you need to think 'how would i do this in real life' This game was ahead of its time, and maybe came too early and might be why games like this arn't made since.

Ive played all the Shenmue games i love them all , i was there when Shenmue first came out , so hyped for that game and it didn't let me down, it showed me the future of games like the one guy said it was a life ina game . Great video

“I stood in a corner of my room until 8pm” Meanwhile, I went out and explored the world. Bought move scrolls, collected capsule toys, played some arcade games, found random hidden cut scenes, got taught moves…but you know, there’s nothing to do in Shenmue 😉 On the one hand, I sort of get it. The game doesn’t always make it clear that there are indeed things to do and see in its world. At least in modern terms where everything is now just highlighted on a mini map for players to follow. But that’s what I love about Shenmue. I love that it invites the player to explore its world and find this stuff on their own. So that’s Dunkey’s lack of exploration and imagination at play. He must be fun at parties 😅

I found the games relaxing more than anything, they're kind of like a cozy game, some people can't handle a mellow game like the Shenmues or Shadows of Destiny it has to be constant action, and don't realize it's more about exploring, and enjoying the world than action all the time.

Loved the Initial D references. Anyway, there’s a video called Why Shenmue Is the Best Open World game ever, and this video and that video pretty much explains why I love Shenmue to this day

im pretty sure you can find a favorable quote about shenmue from gertzman back during it's initial release

Great work man. Probably the best shenmue video out here!

25:09 A Prima's Official Strategy Guide! So COOL! The Shenmue experience, thus far, is AWESOME! You have a leather jacket, multiple girls who want you, multiple enemies possessing deadly martial arts, killer move sets, and a progressive story with a touch of vengeance.

It's funny. When I played that forklift part in Shenmue 2 back in elementary school, I thought, "What the heck is the point of this? God, this is boring!! Aren't video games supposed to be FUN?? Can't believe I need to do this for some money". I couldn't understand why I was expected to work 8 hours per day at a shipyard. When was gonna get a chance to punch Lan Di in the face?? I was really impressed with the game, otherwise, but I thought the forklift arc of the game was completely pointless. But, then I grew up. I started working jobs like call center jobs, for example. And, when I saw this scene again, it just clicked with me. It made so much more sense to me as an adult. Suddenly, I was thinking, "This is pretty smart, really. This job isn't only giving me the money to travel to China to find this Lan Di guy. It's teaching me something more important, namely patience, perseverance, and responsibility. Basically, it's teaching me 'adulting", just like a real job does. Wow! Looking back, I really didn't appreciate this part enough." True, the forklift arc isn't the most exciting part of a video game. That's because it's not meant to be. It's meant to be a reflection of an actual job and, thus, a realistic daily routine. Very smart on part of Yu Suzuki and AM2 in general.

It's always annoying when internet people exaggerate an aspect of a game they don't like in order to get laughs or start controversy. I don't have nostalgia for Shenmue, but I can definitely say that just leaving him staring at a wall when you just wanna power through the story is clown shit. Also screw the Yakuza fanbase, they're very cocky in general lol. I already wasn't interested in the series aside from some memes but their making me actively dislike just hearing the name, especially comparing anything Sega to it as inferior it feels like. That kind of thing just pushes ppl away, especially for a series that seemed to only recently hit it's stride

God i want to play this game so bad

Thank you for reminding me why I stopped listening to critics. I loved this game the day it came out. And have such fond memories of playing it with a friend at sixth form who also got it a week before street release and we were talking about our (surprisingly different) experiences. I knew 3 wasn't going to meet expectations, but I still absolutely love the game. I'm going to have another play through before the end of the year.

For modern players there are likely two issues that would need to addressed. The originals require a face-lift, to make them more attractive to modern players eyes. Players need to experience 1 and 2 the right way to appreciate shenmue 3 for what it is. And yes, I think these games are calming, intriguing, and very rarely you'll end up desperate and stressed, except for the final battles. If Sega would make a remake of shenmue 1 and 2, take a little bit of the cheesiness out (only a little bit). The games might actually have a good space in the market if they are promoted correctly, meaning, don't promote them as open world action games or RPGs, so players know thats they won't get Yakuza, like a dragon or GTA here, but something they need to slow down to fully enjoy it. I am convinced that people just need to understand what they can expect and have it presented in a bit more modern fashion (maybe shenmue 3 style with a bit of improvement and adjustment (dialog transitions and Repetitions, Ryo being slightly displaced to one side, the fighting engine needs to be more inmersive and give better feedback when you actually hit the target).

I played Shenmue when it first came out in the US on my newly acquired Sega Dreamcast when I was about 15 years of age, and still to this day I feel like it is one of the greatest classic masterpieces of all time and I still enjoy playing it at least once every year! There is no other game I am as nostalgic and feel as “at home“ as I do with the absolutely unforgettable Shenmue!

My friend, you really gave in this video the exact value that few KZfaqrs gave to this masterpiece that is Shenmue, unfortunately we didn't have a Shenmue 3 that took full advantage of the story, for several hours of my childhood I played Shenmue trying to understand the essence of this game. However, in Shenmue 3, perhaps due to a lack of Yu Suzuki's management or even money lol... he ended up not reaching the master's peak