Форум коллекционеров видеоигр

"He shall appear from a far Eastern land across the sea. A young man who has yet to know his potential. This potential is a power that can either destroy him, or realize his will. His courage shall determine his fate. The path he must traverse, fraught with adversity, I await whilst praying. For this destiny predetermined since ancient times... A pitch, black night unfolds with the morning star as its only light. And thus the saga, begins..."

These words, spoken by the female character Ling Sha Hua in the introduction movie of Shenmue, seem to be referring to the protagonist of the game, Ryo Hazuki. After all, she does talk about a young man from a far Eastern land, one that has yet to realize his own potential. I, however, began thinking that she's also talking about the Dreamcast as well, especially the lines talking about "the path he ("it" in the Dreamcast's case) must traverse, fraught with adversity". Has not our wonderful Dreamcast system had to overcome all types of adversity with the PlayStation 2 as its biggest and most recent obstacle? We've seen all sorts of incredible titles for the Dreamcast, yet the road that the SEGA system has had to travel has definitely been fraught with adversity, from online play delays, third parties jumping ship to other consoles, and huge, financial losses. However, if we are to determine the success of the Dreamcast, it must go through numerous trials by fire in order for us, the gaming community, to judge if this console will be remembered or not in years to come. And in those future judgements we have yet to make, it will be impossible to overlook Shenmue as one of the most important titles for the Dreamcast. With the launch of the PlayStation 2 still lingering on every gamers' minds, and the Nintendo and Microsoft consoles on the horizon, the Dreamcast faces a very tough time. And with all the hype surrounding Shenmue, whether we like it or not, it is given the task to realize the will of the Dreamcast, or bring about its destruction. And while that seems like a ridiculous task, Shenmue, with its immense environments, lifting music soundtrack, and gripping storyline, might be the only title (beyond Sonic Adventure 2) that can shoulder this burden. And remember, this is just the first chapter coming out, so the saga is just beginning...

Expectations of a Master

It's been quite some time since a video game has had god-like expectations and while perhaps I'm overstating Shenmue's hype, any game that comes from the legendary Yu Suzuki demands attention. Those who know the name understand exactly what I'm talking about, while those who have never heard of Yu Suzuki have surely played one of his many games; Outrun, Hang-On, Space Harrier, the Virtua Fighter series, and Ferrari F355 Challenge are just a few to name. And for that special group that has never played any of these titles, don't worry... I'll say a prayer for you this Sunday.

With his experience and track record, why should anyone doubt the success of Shenmue? Well, besides being on the under-appreciated Dreamcast system, sensei Suzuki rarely works outside of the arcade industry (Sword of Vermillion for the Genesis is the one that I remember). And then comes the concept that Shenmue will consist of a number of chapters, this first one being three GDROMs long. While the number has changed in the past, it still remains around 16 chapters... and to plan a game to have continuing storyline across 16 chapters... it's the very first time this has been done! Many have called it too ambitious, especially in an industry where the longevity of a system can be counted on one hand. I'm no seer and I can't predict whether Yu Suzuki can deliver this gaming promise of 16 or more chapters of Shenmue. But if the first chapter is an indication of the quality of gameplay, graphics, and sound for each sequel of Shenmue, then it is a gaming experience that no one, casual to hardcore gamer, can miss.

First Time's the Charm

That good, you say? No, better than good. Great, superb, remarkable, extraordinary, wonderful, monumental... better yet, just highlight one of those words above, copy it to Word, and hit Shift + F7 on your keyboard, m'kay? However, one word that can't be used is flawless, not because Shenmue is bogged down by bugs worse than Superman 64; in fact, it's the other way around. The game is so graphically beautiful, breathtaking in its music, and intense in its story and gameplay, we don't expect to see tiny mistakes anywhere.

If one wants to be nit-picky with the visuals, there are two small problems that get on my nerves. One involves how joints in the arms and legs are shown and it's the same small visual problem that was seen when Virtua Fighter 3 debuted on the Dreamcast in Japan. To be brief, the polygons that make the elbow and knee joints sometimes have an odd overlapping visual, apparent anytime you get a close-up of Ryo crouching or bending down to pick something up. The next visual detail is the somewhat annoying slowdown that occurs when you're exploring around. In this huge virtual world, with a small-town population of people to interact with, this slowdown often happens when you have Ryo running and suddenly make him turn into a new street.

Another small problem with the game (I know...waah, waah, waah...) is how camera angles are sometimes awkwardly positioned and while I'm well aware that all 3D adventure games have some camera trouble, it does have a small affect on the gameplay in Shenmue. Specifically, during the Free Battle Modes, where you have complete control of Ryo, the camera will always try to have Ryo in view. That's fine and dandy, but sometimes it's to the disadvantage of objects in the background; while shifting to center on Ryo, the camera will move in behind or "into" polygon objects, thus blocking off your view of Ryo. When this occurs, the game almost immediately shifts the camera again, sometimes off-center of Ryo and thus blocking your view of enemies in front or behind you. Of course, you can always move the camera with the Analog pad to your desires, but when you're engaging a dozen enemies at the same time, you're not allowed the luxury of positioning the camera to your exact needs... unless you like getting pummeled by 3 different attackers.

Lastly on my whining list is the attack animation during Free Battle Mode. With play mechanics and a moves system similar to Virtua Fighter, is it too much to ask for Virtua Fighter-like animation? I personally don't think so, especially when you have the man that made Virtua Fighter at the helm. However, certain attacks, especially throws, lack the smooth and detailed animation that I'm used to seeing in a Suzuki-made fighting product. This is most apparent on throw attacks where some grapplers you'll encounter can be a couple of character lengths away, and with a sudden burst of speed and lack of throw animation, they'll body slam you to the ground.

If it sounds like I'm holding all these very small mistakes against the game, believe me I'm not. In fact, the only reason why I'm wasting time talking about such minute details is because these are the only mistakes, insignificant at best, that might annoy you during the long hours of gameplay you'll achieve. And again, when you have such a wonderfully produced game of Shenmue's quality, the smallest mistakes can sometimes seem pretty big. It's like having an immaculate Ferrari, freshly washed and waxed, only to have a small pebble shatter on your hood, causing a slight scratch - sometimes the smallest mistakes look big. But these minor problems are easily forgotten when there's so much amazing splendor, from visuals to audio, to take in.

A World Apart

It's notable that even though Shenmue is technically a year old (Japanese version released in stores October 28, 1999), I can't think of any console game that even begins to put itself in an equal class of graphical quality and style with Shenmue. The goal of creating a realistic virtual world has never been realized till now, and while Shenmue doesn't give you absolute freedom to roam everywhere, it certainly feels like you can go anywhere in this game.

Oh the places you go and the things you'll see in Shenmue cannot be truly comprehended. Though a trip from a small village in Japan to those tall towers in Hong Kong doesn't seem like a larger than life experience, there's so much incredible detail, showering the player with a visual feast for the eyes. From the city objects like telephone booths, vending machines, and road signs to the intricate ink drawings in your Ryo's father's dojo, the Buddhist altar in Ryo's house, and the SEGA Saturn under Ryo's TV (LONG LIVE THE SATURN!), you can't even begin to imagine... well actually, you can. Look around your computer room and look for any book. Find one? Now pick it up and turn the pages. What you're doing is mimicked with near flawless visual detail in Shenmue; if this sounds rather boring playing with "real-life" objects, it's far from that. Objects in Shenmue display an incredible amount of realism that has yet to be experienced in any console game. Sure, Resident Evil allowed you to examine objects, which included rotating them in different positions. Shenmue takes this to the next level where Ryo actually picks up items with his fingers, allowing him to move his hand to examine said objects. This startling attention to detail already puts Shenmue at the head of the pack in adventure games, but the real interaction comes in dealing with everyday people.

While far from perfect, communicating with other characters is always fun. Most of the people you meet will have their own set of characteristics giving Ryo an impressive supporting cast. Whether it's the bright-faced, pony-tailed, little Megumi, the happy-go-lucky, "eat a hotdog and your problems will go away" motto of Tom, the super-talkative, obnoxious Goro, or even the elegantly, docile Nozomi, almost everyone is different. I say almost because there are certain "filler" characters, like people just walking down the street who greet you but if you try to converse further, they will say "I'm really tired at the moment", "I'm busy right now", "Not right now, please"... you get the idea.

Of course, Yu Suzuki just couldn't have plain text bubbles pop-up when characters talk, and since most US gamers can't understand Japanese, Shenmue not only features English voices, but the mouth animation has been redone to match the English voices. For the most part, the voices are very well done though sometimes Ryo can be somewhat "robotic" in his speech. Noteworthy is Tom, whose voice has a pseudo-Jamaican/Hawaiian attitude and Lan Di, whose chilling soft voice totally complements his cold disposition. The re-syncing of mouth animation to English voices isn't done as well, and sometimes you can tell that, in some sequences, the programmers set the mouth to open and close at a constant rate, but opposite of the speaking tempo. But despite this, the speech really sets the game far and away from any competition, especially when accompanied by a soundtrack that is without peer.

Beyond the Sound of Music

Yu Suzuki made a statement during Shenmue's infancy that the idea for this game came about while making the game's soundtrack. Though that's a strong indication that the music is good, until you play the game and experience the cinema-style sequences, you will have no idea how heavenly game music can be. The music in Metal Gear Solidwas great and in Chrono Cross, it was beautiful, but Shenmue is not only better because of the excellent composing and keen use of Asian-centric instruments to keep with the theme of Shenmue, it's not overused in the game. When simple, but catchy, 10-key harmonies play while Ryo is walking about during the day, the music is pleasant and yet it doesn't draw attention. When dramatic sequences are being viewed, the music that surrounds you contains such an emotion depth, but yet again, it's not overpowering. Shenmue's music is based on the belief that excellent music, while always a great addition to the game, plays a supporting role to a game and only serves to compliment what's being seen. I cannot imagine a better musical soundtrack to go hand-in-hand with the film styled cut scenes and gameplay sequences in Shenmue.

RPG or Something Entirely New?

The act of classification is done for the sake of simplifying ideas to ease comprehension. Somehow, the video game industry loves to go beyond ease of comprehension... nowadays, new categories are created in the video game industry just so products can be declared "first of its kind" or have a better chance at end of the year awards. This causes a problem for Shenmue because it combines elements from all types of categories and doesn't specialize in any. Is it considered an RPG because of its leveling up of attacks and interaction with NPCs (non-player characters for you non-D&D types), or is it considered a fighting game because of its solid 3D fighting game engine? Perhaps its an 3D adventure game due to the immense exploration you'll be doing, but what about the Quick Timer Events? Does that make it an action game?

These are the questions that begged to be answered but all one needs to do to find the answer is to be aware of the goal that Yu Suzuki set out, and that was in "pursuing reality". Giving its own classification of F.R.E.E. (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment), Yu Suzuki wanted to embrace the Dreamcast owner into a virtual world filled with entertainment. I like to simplify this even further; as I played through the three-disk first chapter of Shenmue it felt as if I was playing the part in a huge Japanese action movie. Metal Gear Solid introduced us into a world where we felt like we were playing an action movie, but Shenmue introduces us into a where we were "live" it. And living in a virtual world ain't that easy, since there is never enough virtual time or money to do the things you want to do in a 24-minute day.

Exploring the world of Shenmue and doing the detective work to find out the who, why, and where of your father's killer will be experienced through the 3D-exploration mode. You'll be spending a bit more time in this mode than the other two modes. In this mode, you are free to roam almost every where, though there are "invisible barriers" in some places that restrict Ryo from proceeding in the wrong direction (for example, you can't go to the back of the dojo). When Ryo stands in front of something and the "A" icon appears at the bottom-right corner of the screen, there's an object that he can interact with in front of him. Not all items in the game are that easy to pick-up; sometimes you have to go into first-person mode (R Shift) or move Ryo's head to look in a specified direction, to target on something that can be picked up. If you can pick up an item with your hands, you can use the D-pad to rotate the item for better viewing. The 3D-exploration mode is also where you'll be taking care of the puzzle-solving elements, and most of them involve tying together clues from talking to people. Yes, it seems like it's the old ,"talk to this person, who will ask for soap from someone else, then go ask for soap from that person who will give it to you if you get some sugar..." you know the procedure. But since we're in a virtual world, time plays a major role as some of the denizens of the city don't come out of the woodwork until a specified time. Thankfully, there's more than just talking to do in a city filled with vending machines and an arcade.

As you explore the city, not only will there be various items to pick up, but there are lots of vending machines to buy sodas, toys (of course, SEGA themed toys), and more importantly, an arcade with perfect versions of Space Harrier and Hang on. Of course, this brings in money aspect of worries. However, you'll always receive constant flow of cash, you don't have to worry about finding a job... but you do have to worry about money management so don't be spending all your money on buying those Sonic toys! And you're better off saving your money so you can buy scrolls that will teach you new moves to use in the Free Battle Mode.

Being a detective is fun, but as a student of Virtua Fighter, I really enjoy the Free Battle Mode sequences. With his dad as a martial arts master, Ryo can hang with the most veteran Shaolin monks, so long as he doesn't become lethargic and dependent on the same skills. That means practicing your moves and mastering new moves. Practicing your moves can be done with the help of your Fuku-san, who lives with you, or by practicing by yourself in various park areas. Practicing a specific move a number of times will increase your proficiency in the move. You can see all the moves you have via your Moves Scroll, where each move has a bar indicating how well Ryo knows the move. Learning new moves can come as easy as flashbacks to your father's lessons, buying them from stores, or having other characters teach you. If another character is teaching you the move, you have to go through the movement step by step, and I really like how they incorporated the VMU in this learning process. Some of these new moves will be very important since some of these newly learned attacks can take out multiple enemies during the Free Battle Mode sequences.

When brawling in Free Battle Mode situations, the first thing you have to learn is how to dodge... because there's no safe way to block in the game. Yeah, I hear some of your crying out there, but just as punches and kicks are learned in real life, so is parries. And in karate, the blocking hand is also the attacking hand, also know as the Uchi-te. So parrying requires properly timing an incoming attack and pressing Y to parry to meet the attack, thereby knocking the attack aside. Dodging is similar to VF style, where pressing Y and a direction will move you to the side, so long as you perform it right before an attack connects. For the most part, the Free Battle Mode is a lot of fun, but once in awhile, the camera will come in and give you an odd angle or the camera will shift "through" an object, partially blocking what you see onscreen. But for the most part, the Free Battle Mode is damn solid, and should be since it's coming from the man who made Jacky "faster than lightning."

Then comes the Quick Timer Event sequences and some of these require you to be faster than lightning. Known as QTE for short, these are sequences that usually happen right after a cinema sequence and plays out similar to Dragon's Lair play mechanics; button and direction commands will be displayed onscreen where pressing them within the time limit indicates success. There's no meter that counts down to indicate how much time you have to enter the command. Instead, when QTE commands are shown, it's accompanied with a beeping sound. The faster this beeping sounds plays, the less time you have to enter the QTE commands. What I like about the QTEs are how they seamlessly flow from cinema to the QTE sequence without any loading pauses at all. This fusion of cinema to gameplay truly makes the game feel very movie-like especially since these QTEs are shown from various cinematic positions. When a QTE occurs, some require you to perfectly follow the commands, while others are not as strict. And despite rumors that still persist about Shenmue, the game isn't dominated by these QTEs, but a well-balanced mix of everything. And that's what makes Shenmue a truly unique experience; you get to experience everything that I've told you and believe me, I'm sure I've missed out a whole heap of things to do.

The Beginning

It's worthy to note when Dreamcast owners are heading out to buy Shenmue they'll notice that a fourth disc comes with the three gameplay discs. The fourth disc, known as the Shenmue Passport, gives the player a sort of "support" disc, including information about the gameplay features, characters, as well as allowing you to playback cinema sequences and music soundtracks that you've seen and heard. You can also connect to the Internet with this Shenmue passport where you can find an online manual, Network ranking (for the mini-games you find in Shenmue) as well as an area where people can trade the toys they buy from various vending machines. One of the most interesting features is Nozomi's Messages, where the cutie from Shenmue gives you clues and hints to help your progress at the current level of your game.

Obviously, the PlayStation 2 launch, as well as some hurtful financial reports, have made people wonder if they'll ever see all 16 chapters of Shenmue. While SEGA has committed to at least two chapters of Shenmue so far, many feel it would be a waste of money to play the first couple of chapters, only to be disappointed that SEGA might not continue developing the rest of the chapters. Others claim the game doesn't look exciting saying all you do is just run around in a plain city.

It's evident, to me at least, that there are some games you can't judge till you've played it for awhile (then you have stuff like Orphen for the PS2... ack). It's also pretty easy to see that there are a lot of Dreamcast owners who have been waiting for Shenmue and will be extremely pleased with the game. Those of you reading who are teetering on giving it a shot, will probably try it out or borrow it from a friend before buying it.

Then, there are those guys without a Dreamcast... and they may or may not be intrigued by Shenmue but they're probably not going to get a Dreamcast just for Shenmue. You can hear their claims of "waiting for Mario on Game Cube", or "Metal Gear Solid 2 will be better on PlayStation 2", or "Microsoft will buy them all out and X-Box will rule the world". And "they" will pass on buying Shenmue; though "they" hear it is a landmark video game that no one should miss, and it boasts an incredible world to explore and a myriad of things to do, and it incorporates a solid combat system, AND it displays some of the best visuals ever on a console, "they" might say that the camera gets in the way of combat, that there's slowdown when Ryo is around a lot of people, that they don't like the VFstyle of combat, or cite other minor flaws this game may contain. But the strongest and most likely reason is they don't believe in SEGA; that SEGA will only produce two chapters of Shenmue then call the whole thing off. "They" will relish that reasoning and keep reminding those that did buy Shenmue that SEGA is going down.

Perhaps that will happen. Perhaps SEGA will call the whole thing off, leaving us Shenmue fans in the dust. If that were to happen, I would savor the gaming wonderful moments the first chapter of Shenmue gave me, but yes, I will be sad.

However, let me ask you this question: What if Shenmue succeeds and continues all 16 chapters, with each chapter being of equal or better quality than the first chapter?

That's right... "they" will miss being part of video game history. Sad, isn't it?

--Anthony "You know who "they" are" Chau, IGNDC