I played it back then via NullDC and had a really special time with this game. The pacing really takes some getting used to but is also very unique and somehow cool, you really feel like you've been transported back to the 80s in a small Japanese town. The voice acting is super goofy but also has character, the fighting is really well done (Virtua Fighter style) and all the mini-games and side activities were really ahead of their time. But what I find strongest is the general atmosphere, which is also carried by the excellent music. I'll never forget accompanying Ryo through snowy Dobuita at Christmas. An absolute masterpiece.

Proof that just because something is revolutionary, doesn't mean it's good.

I'm 20 years late on this one, and maybe that's why I'm missing the appeal of the game because I don't have the nostalgia glasses on, but I really don't understand the hype that Shenmue gets.

Sure, the NPCs have routines, and sure you can talk with all of them in this immersive world. But when 99% of the NPCs regurgitate the same responses, refuse to talk to you, or just point you in the direction of the 1% you DO need to talk to, what is that adding to the game?

All of the ideas presented by Shenmue are good on paper, but executed poorly. Exploring the world to investigate a mystery? Good! Having the "investigation" be asking people the same questions ad infinitum until exposition happens? Not so good. A day night cycle with characters following a routine? Good! Locking players off from certain things until a certain time and not allowing them to advance time in hour-long loops? Not good. I mean for gods sake the whole game up until finding Charlie is a wild goose chase that leads nowhere until you get the Chinese letter!

I'll admit that Shenmue popularised a lot of really interesting mechanics, I won't say it introduced them when examples can be see elsewhere (see Mizzurna Falls doing a lot of what Shenmue did the year prior), but when they're presented like this it makes for a slog that doesn't want to show off the one feature the whole concept was based around; the fighting, which is actually really good!

I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Shenmue, and I will play the others, so I only hope that they learn to take these incredibly interesting ideas and really show what you can do with them, realism is all well and good but when you try to make a game too realistic, you end up losing what makes a video game fun.

I love this game so much. I think the best way I can summarize my feelings about this game is to describe how magical it feels when I'm doing the most mundane things. Zooming in a random cupboard, seeing Ryo's early 3D robot-hands entering the view and awkwardly open it, and seeing whatever is in store inside; it feels me with child-like wonder, like seeing somebody pull off a successful magic trick for the first time. It's an absolute joy to simply exist in the game's world, and the game excels at making it so easy to immerse yourself in it. No other game feels quite like this. Not even Shenmue II, which has an entirely different kind of magic, at least to me. But we'll get to that game some other time.

Anyways, my only gripe from before is the controls. I didn't quite feel in tune with Ryo as a character in that sense. But replaying this now for the platinum trophy, I don't feel that way anymore. Maybe it's because I'm not playing it under duress of completing it ASAP, but all his moves and mannerisms just clicks to me. I knew exactly when he can move freely, and when he would need a bit more patience and deliberate inputs. It's great. I'm having the time of my life, being completely connected with this game I adore. I didn't feel comfortable giving this game a 10/10 before, but now it's the easiest thing in the world.

Also, I took some street photography style in-game screenshots. I don't normally plug my virtual photography stuff here but I think it would help to visualize how I personally see the world of Shenmue. A view with my rose-tinted lenses, if you will. You can check them out here.

If you ever plan to experience Shenmue with the expectations that:
it's a "Proto-Yakuza" or it's an "Action Kung-Fu flick" then you will certainly be in for a disappointment since Shenmue is non of that, I would really classify it more as an "adventure" game.

(outside few key moments), Shenmue's plot could be passively summarized in montage sequences at the intro of any other story but the fact it instead makes an entire game out of it is commendable if not admirable, It certainly takes it's time for world building which modern discourse tend to let you believe it's always views as nit positive, The mundanity of Ryo Hazuki life sells the idea that he's not destined for anything special despite his traumatic and unique circumstances he faced, you're not rewarded cash for fighting on the streets and being a badass, you're rewarded cash for being a good boy and coming home early or working part-time, Shenmue never glorifies violence and instead promotes common Japanese values like abiding the law, being functional member of society and a hard worker, I would like to add that Ryo as a character wouldn't have work if all you saw him do on screen is just fight all the time, that would reduce he's relatability factor in my opinion.

Ryo's an active protagonist, Who desires to seek the truth behind his father's murder, he often tries to avoid needless conflicts and uses his fighting skills as self-defenses, while has some pride and doesn't like to be viewed as weak, it doesn't mean he will stand seeing others being abused and extorted by those who have strength, He's determination to find the truth is admirable and relatable but can also be self destructive as the discouragement from many adult figures in his life pile up, he shows some understanding that the road ahead would be rough and potentially cost him of a happy life, But living with unanswered questions is worse for him.

At gameplay side, the attention to details is really great and often rewarding, the game rewards you for both exploration and recontextualizing previous conversations for later events, nowadays, developers would often place "notes/hints" in corner to nudge you to some secrets but Shenmue 1 doesn't pull punches, if you didn't pay attention it's your fault then, with that being said, it's really easy to get disconnect with the game considering how time works and many story moments are only triggered through specific times, Shenmue 1 gonna involve a lot of waiting and that would been fine in 2000s, but nowadays it's easy to pull your smart phone and get distracted by something else while you wait, there are some stuff do to but ends up just being 3 similar tasks, lastly the map I had to pull separate window because I ain't running to the other end of the area just to locate specific building, I don't have much to say on Combat side of things but it's fairly versatile and pulling throws on goons at each other is satisfying.

I would recommend Shenmue under 3 conditions:
1- Switch to JP audio (Frankly most of the bad reputation IB is thanks to the poor dubbing)
2- disable fast travel (this mechanic added in HD ports can make it easy for you to miss special cutscenes, so disable it)
3- keep in mind you're playing slow burn adventure game.

Another comfort game. I love when a game is fully committed to making you engage in really mundane tasks. Walking down the hill from your home, passing all the other houses on your way into town, maybe trying your luck with the gacha along the way, making sure to grab some cat food on the way back home, slowly crossing things off your checklist. This shit is exciting to me. Shenmue nails all of that perfectly. Over the course of the game, I became intimately familiar with Yokosuka and its denizens. It almost felt like a second home. It’s one of my favourites. I love it.

Shenmue was the most comfortable game I've ever played in my life.

Playing a Japan simulator, waking up early in the morning irl and ingame, going outside and running around Sakuragaoka while it was rainy IRL and also rainy in the game, while it played the FREE 1 soundtrack, just going around talking to people... It's so soothing, it made my entire being relaxed, immersed. I felt true happiness, a true sense of belonging in that world Yu Suzuki created. I wish this game was infinite and we were allowed to just live there forever.

truly one of the most impressive games of its time. in its first disk, shenmue really had me hooked with its down to earth character interactions and conversations, and while the english voice acting is a bit iffy, i think that really adds to the vibe. people dont talk perfectly all the time, sometimes conversations are a little stilted, that's just what real life is like, and i think shenmue gets that down perfectly, whether intentional or not. unfortunately, i think once the game started focusing more on the combat and action, thats when it started to lose me. nothing really compared to the atmosphere of shenmue in its first act, and as such the remainder of the game didn't really capture me as much. even so, i'm glad that i played shenmue, and i wouldn't give up my time exploring its world for anything else. even if 40% of that time was spent working a forklift.

dame dane lole!!! sorry wrong game. shenmue is actually a pretty swag game on paper but it ends up sucking because the sega gemesis can't really capture the art film aesthetic the game is trying to capture very well, as well as the story just being really generic. i think i'd relate more to the protagonist if he wasn't a bumbling thumbsucker with really awkward dialogue and body language (which describes every character). really dig the aesthetic though! as famous GOOD PERSON Steve Jobs put it "For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through."