The Forrest Gump of videogames. Not really but this is as cineamatic as it gets, and its good.
In every good story there is a pretty solid protagonist. Some one you like or can relate to. In this case I can only claim "like" because good ol' Ryo Hazuki here seems to have a speech impediment (actual voice overs in this game allow me to make that judgement ). Other than that he has no problem learning different Virtua Fighter like offensive maneuvers. As a martial arts game Shenmue delivers. Yu Suzuki who's name is behind such gems as Space Harrier, Virtua Fighter and Outrun produced Shenmue.
Ryo Hazuki's father was murdered before his own eyes in their family do jo.
Inoue Hazuki met his demise at the hands of Lan Di; a triad overlord from China. Your basic first mission in the game is to question the patrons of local nearby villages on the where abouts of a black car. This black car that sped off nearly hitting an old man was most likely the car that Lan Di sped off in..
So it goes from there, how the plot thickens or actually how the game progresses is up to you. Go to the local convenient store and buy a music tape or question those bikers there at the corner of the street. This all takes place in the 80's on Japan and an open ended journey awaits you. Centralizing different characters you meet and even live with.
I only recommend this game to the same type of person that would read the book Dune or even the Hobbit . Otherwise look for a more action oriented game like Die Hard Arcade.