RPGamers Network > Reviews > Game Reviews > Shenmue - Chapter 1: Yokosuka
Err... no. Let's being simply, shall we?
The plot of the game is fairly basic. You're father is killed and as such you must seek out his killers and claim vengeance.
Originally intended to be Virtua Fighter 4, the creators decided too much happened outside of the fight scenes (and a good decision this was) for it to be called a fighter game.
So, you have a dead father, some sweet fighting skillz, and what do you do?
Ryo: "Excuse me Mrs. Kondo, may I have a word? Did you see anything suspicious on that day?"
That's right. You basically conduct a thorough inquisition of the entire town of Yokosuka. There few fights: A grand total of 4 on the first disc. No leveling up. On the plus side (yes Virginia, that is sarcasm), you do have to do a lot of waiting. I remember being faced with having to kill 6 "hours". Half a real hour later I was finally able to proceed with the game.
But the news isn't all bad. The graphics are quite nice, and the voice acting isn't terrible. (though the dialogue written for them is quite bad...) The background sound adds a very nice touch of realism (but you'd think that dog that barks every 10 minutes or so would get tired or go inside to EAT). And for what it's worth, interrogating everyone in your path is relatively original.
If you play with a walkthrough for whenever the game gets ostensibly hard, (example: you're supposed to find a Tattoo Shop among around 100 building. Uh, yeah, like I'm gonna bother) the game can be quite fun and entertaining. But the only part I truly despise about it the quirky controls. In order to pick anything up you have to zoom in and move your head every-which-way, you can't truly turn left or right (you do this wierd step forward and to your chosen direction, like some bizarre dancing move so positioning to get in doorways can become frustrating, especially in the cramped hallways of a Japanese town) and almost every step of the game is a very vague maneuver ("yes... I think I saw someone here at night..." this sort of line prompts a stakeout of the main town at night).
I do want to emphasize though that this game can be fun, the characters are interesting and quite real, and it's overall quite intriguing, especially since it's the first one. Hopefully they'll learn their lessons and fix their mistakes for Shenmue 2. We can only wait and hope.
| Game Stats | |
|---|---|
| Genre | RPG |
| Platform | Dreamcast |
| Format | GD-ROM |
| # of Players | 1 |
| Released Jap | 12.29.1999 |
| Released US | 11.07.2000 |
| Released EU | 11.06.2000 |
| Aprox. Length | 20-40 hrs. |
| Reviewer Rankings | |
| Battle System | 8.0 |
| Gameplay | 6.0 |
| Music | 8.0 |
| Originality | 8.0 |
| Plot | 7.0 |
| Replay Value | 5.0 |
| Sound | 8.0 |
| Visuals | 8.0 |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Overall | |
| 7.3 | |
Shenmue - Chapter 1: Yokosuka
By: SegaReviewed By: S3KI
This game was praised by almost everyone upon it's imminent release. People thought a new age had dawned upon the increasingly popular world of RPGs.Err... no. Let's being simply, shall we?
The plot of the game is fairly basic. You're father is killed and as such you must seek out his killers and claim vengeance.
Originally intended to be Virtua Fighter 4, the creators decided too much happened outside of the fight scenes (and a good decision this was) for it to be called a fighter game.
So, you have a dead father, some sweet fighting skillz, and what do you do?
Ryo: "Excuse me Mrs. Kondo, may I have a word? Did you see anything suspicious on that day?"
That's right. You basically conduct a thorough inquisition of the entire town of Yokosuka. There few fights: A grand total of 4 on the first disc. No leveling up. On the plus side (yes Virginia, that is sarcasm), you do have to do a lot of waiting. I remember being faced with having to kill 6 "hours". Half a real hour later I was finally able to proceed with the game.
But the news isn't all bad. The graphics are quite nice, and the voice acting isn't terrible. (though the dialogue written for them is quite bad...) The background sound adds a very nice touch of realism (but you'd think that dog that barks every 10 minutes or so would get tired or go inside to EAT). And for what it's worth, interrogating everyone in your path is relatively original.
If you play with a walkthrough for whenever the game gets ostensibly hard, (example: you're supposed to find a Tattoo Shop among around 100 building. Uh, yeah, like I'm gonna bother) the game can be quite fun and entertaining. But the only part I truly despise about it the quirky controls. In order to pick anything up you have to zoom in and move your head every-which-way, you can't truly turn left or right (you do this wierd step forward and to your chosen direction, like some bizarre dancing move so positioning to get in doorways can become frustrating, especially in the cramped hallways of a Japanese town) and almost every step of the game is a very vague maneuver ("yes... I think I saw someone here at night..." this sort of line prompts a stakeout of the main town at night).
I do want to emphasize though that this game can be fun, the characters are interesting and quite real, and it's overall quite intriguing, especially since it's the first one. Hopefully they'll learn their lessons and fix their mistakes for Shenmue 2. We can only wait and hope.
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