This is one of those games that when you first look at it you hate the sight of it. But then grows on you like no other.
You play the role of Ryo Hazuki, as he is coming home he see's his father Iwao Hazuki fighting an unkown man dressed in a green silk Kung-Fu suit. This unknown man you later find out is called Lan Di. The reason for the the two men to be fighting i hear you ask as i type this...Well that is simple Lan Di is looking for an item called the Dragon Mirror. He knows that Iwao knows its location and as Lan Di starts to get the upper hand you (Ryo Hazuki) try to step in and save your father....seeing you beaten down your father has no choice but to tell Lan Di the location of the Dragon Mirror.
After Lan Di's men get the Mirror the two men face off for the final time and this being a game it does not end well at all for Iwao Hazuki as he is badly hurt and ends up dying in Ryo Hazuki arms...This is where i stop...To find out more on the story you will have to play the game.
The seeting for Shenmue is a place called Yokosuka. It is a city type area with the Hazuki home being based in a small small hamlet called Yamanose. This is where a fair few of Ryo Hazuki friends live. Near there is Sakuragaoka which is a slightly bigger neighborhood.
Unlike many other games these places are not blank and empty places. These places feature shops and stores and places of interest that will aid/guide you through the story arc. Many places you will return to some places become a place for work so that you can get money. Going to differant places also means talking to and meeting new people...Some times on your travels you will get into fights...
During your time in Shenmue you will be on a quest to find out why the man that killed your father did so and why he was after the Dragon Mirror.To do this you need to go to differant locations in the area that you live and talk to people. Like the real world the world of Shenmue works on time...so at the start of the game you have to be home at a time of night so you can get to bed also the shops and some places will only be open at certain times. Talking to people getting infomation help moves your quest along but sometimes some people will want to get in your way.
Some of these fights will be in QTE form (Quick time event) or they will be in battle form (free fight). In QTE form you will have to press the button as it flashs on screen briefly. You must do so in the right order to trigger Ryo's actions. Then there is battle form in this you fight against either one or more enemies. This form however is not realy what you would called a button masher but rather Ryo has a large list of martial art techniques. The player can during a fight pull off these martial art techniques by doing a combo of button press's. Not only that but Ryo can also learn more moves or get better at the moves he already has by either going to a place to practice..be it alone or with a friendly opponent. As you move through the game Ryo will meet up with several senior martial artists who can teach him differant moves to master along the way...Also the last way to learn new moves is buying Martial Arts Scroll Rolls. Once Ryo has read these he will be able to pull off the move shown...But through all of this before you master a move you have to practice the key combinations it requires.
Shenmue was Released on the Dreamcast in japan on December 29, 1999. It then came to the USA on November 6, 2000 and the EU on November 24, 2000.
This game is like no other...some games have tried to copy what was done here but none seem to get it right. If you have not played this one yet then i urge you to go look for it or failing that look up the many many lets plays you can find on the internet it is well well worth it.