IMDb RATING
9.0/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
Ryo, a respected Japanese student sees his father killed in front of his own eyes. He sets out to find the man in charge of his fathers death and the mystery of who and why?Ryo, a respected Japanese student sees his father killed in front of his own eyes. He sets out to find the man in charge of his fathers death and the mystery of who and why?Ryo, a respected Japanese student sees his father killed in front of his own eyes. He sets out to find the man in charge of his fathers death and the mystery of who and why?
- Awards
- 6 nominations
Hiroshi Fujioka
- Iwao Hazuki
- (voice)
Masaya Matsukaze
- Ryo Hazuki
- (voice)
- (as Massaya Matsuzake Ono)
Corey Marshall
- Ryo Hazuki
- (English version)
- (voice)
Robert Jefferson
- Iwao Hazuki
- (English version)
- (voice)
Ruth Hollyman
- Nozomi Harasaki
- (English version)
- (voice)
- …
Paul Lucas
- Lan Di
- (English version)
- (voice)
- …
Terry Osada
- Ine Hayata
- (English version)
- (voice)
- …
Eric Kelso
- Masaya Fukuhara
- (English version)
- (voice)
- …
Dennis Falt
- Chen Yao Wen
- (English version)
- (voice)
- …
Ryan Drees
- Tom Johnson
- (English version)
- (voice)
Jerry Ledbetter
- Mark Kimberly
- (English version)
- (voice)
Alex Hayns
- Smith Bradley
- (English version)
- (voice)
Eric Jacobsen
- Charlie
- (English version)
- (voice)
- (as Eric Jacobson)
Rob Croker
- Terry
- (English version)
- (voice)
Ann Slater
- Xia Xiu Yu
- (English version)
- (voice)
Dario Toda
- Tetsuya Nagashima
- (English version)
- (voice)
Mona Alawdeen
- Additional Voices
- (English version)
- (voice)
Bianca Allen
- Additional Voices
- (English version)
- (voice)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCost over $20 million to develop and was the most expensive Video Game to ever be developed at the time. The project took seven years to complete by Sega's game-development AM2 division. For this feat, it has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
- GoofsThe cloak in the antiques store shows 12:00 yet strikes 5 times.
- Quotes
Master Chen: You should NOT waste your life on revenge.
- ConnectionsEdited into Shenmue I & II (2018)
Featured review
Shenmue was the game that got everyone talking in the year 2000. It was revolutionary for its time, claiming to offer total freedom in a living city filled with NPCs that had their own schedules. I was hyped, and honestly, it was a big reason I bought a Dreamcast. But looking back, what a strange experience it turned out to be!
The game kicks off with a gripping scene where you witness your father's murder, setting you off on a quest for revenge and answers. You navigate through a few areas: your house, the town, and the harbor. Shenmue also threw in mini-games, combat sequences, and something called quick-time events, which were new back then. Visually, it was stunning for its time-arguably the best-looking game around when it released.
So what went wrong?
Right off the bat, I noticed the sound quality felt off. The character voices sounded gritty and subpar-think of the difference between a classic vinyl record and a clear CD. Two years earlier, I had played Metal Gear Solid on PS1, which set a high bar for voice acting. The storytelling also left a lot to be desired. Much of the time, I found myself searching for characters who were just as likely to be missing as the information I needed. You'd often hear, "Oh, you're looking for that guy? Well, he's not here, but you should go ask this other person." The chain of characters you had to track down got tedious.
Some design choices baffled me, too. For example, you'd have to wait in real time for certain places to open, and later you work as a forklift driver for what feels like an eternity. It was almost like the developers took a five-hour game and stretched it into a tedious 25-30 hours. Sure, the level of detail was commendable, but it felt like fluff more than substance.
The combat mechanics were a mixed bag. They featured both free-fighting and quick-time events. While the animation was great, making you feel the impact of a failed QTE, it was still just that-an event designed for a brief moment of excitement. The free-fighting system was reminiscent of Virtua Fighter; I found it challenging, but not in a way that felt enriching. And the characters you encounter? They run the gamut from being helpful to downright bizarre and annoying. For a title that took itself seriously, the peculiar cast sometimes felt out of place.
In hindsight, despite its innovative approach and attention to detail, the core experience just didn't live up to the promise. Details are nice, but they're just sprinkles on top, and if the cake itself isn't solid, it doesn't matter how pretty it looks. When Shenmue II released a few years later, it felt like the excitement had fizzled out.
Ultimately, I remember Shenmue receiving mediocre reviews, even from the most dedicated Dreamcast fans-an 8/10 was about as good as it got. It's a game that showed potential but couldn't quite deliver the experience we all craved.
For all its ambition, I'd rate Shenmue a 7/10. There's beauty in what it tried to achieve, but it ultimately missed the mark.
The game kicks off with a gripping scene where you witness your father's murder, setting you off on a quest for revenge and answers. You navigate through a few areas: your house, the town, and the harbor. Shenmue also threw in mini-games, combat sequences, and something called quick-time events, which were new back then. Visually, it was stunning for its time-arguably the best-looking game around when it released.
So what went wrong?
Right off the bat, I noticed the sound quality felt off. The character voices sounded gritty and subpar-think of the difference between a classic vinyl record and a clear CD. Two years earlier, I had played Metal Gear Solid on PS1, which set a high bar for voice acting. The storytelling also left a lot to be desired. Much of the time, I found myself searching for characters who were just as likely to be missing as the information I needed. You'd often hear, "Oh, you're looking for that guy? Well, he's not here, but you should go ask this other person." The chain of characters you had to track down got tedious.
Some design choices baffled me, too. For example, you'd have to wait in real time for certain places to open, and later you work as a forklift driver for what feels like an eternity. It was almost like the developers took a five-hour game and stretched it into a tedious 25-30 hours. Sure, the level of detail was commendable, but it felt like fluff more than substance.
The combat mechanics were a mixed bag. They featured both free-fighting and quick-time events. While the animation was great, making you feel the impact of a failed QTE, it was still just that-an event designed for a brief moment of excitement. The free-fighting system was reminiscent of Virtua Fighter; I found it challenging, but not in a way that felt enriching. And the characters you encounter? They run the gamut from being helpful to downright bizarre and annoying. For a title that took itself seriously, the peculiar cast sometimes felt out of place.
In hindsight, despite its innovative approach and attention to detail, the core experience just didn't live up to the promise. Details are nice, but they're just sprinkles on top, and if the cake itself isn't solid, it doesn't matter how pretty it looks. When Shenmue II released a few years later, it felt like the excitement had fizzled out.
Ultimately, I remember Shenmue receiving mediocre reviews, even from the most dedicated Dreamcast fans-an 8/10 was about as good as it got. It's a game that showed potential but couldn't quite deliver the experience we all craved.
For all its ambition, I'd rate Shenmue a 7/10. There's beauty in what it tried to achieve, but it ultimately missed the mark.
- Junebug23057
- Oct 13, 2024
- Permalink
Details
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- Also known as
- Shenmue Chapter I: Yokosuka
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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