When I first saw the movies and screenshots for this game I was hell bent on buying it, in fact Shemue is the reason I bought a Dreamcast. I went into the game with high expectations, however in my first hour or so of gameplay I was underwhelmed. The graphics were superb, but the control was stiff and the voice acting wasn't very pleasing, sounding like random men and women were picked off the streets and told to do a job. Even with these downsides I stuck with it, and I'm glad that I did. As the story continues the plot thickens a considerable amount, and you become engaged with the Shenmue world and it's broad cast of characters. Not only that but the voice acting becomes much less of a problem and somewhat enjoyable, you also get over the stiff-like control scheme at about the same time. At this point in the game there is not much to complain about, except the noticeable slowdowns when loading certain environment's with a multitude of NPC's. This was by far my only road block in gameplay due to the DC's hardware. Now as you can see, the pros are easily outweighing the cons. Through a good part of the game you will be involved in QTE's, short for Quick Time Event's. These are, generally short and fun mini-game's that coincide with the plot during the game. But where the game really shines is free battles, these are depending on your training, difficult fights with your enemies that you will encounter. Associated with the free battles are as I said, training which is quite self-explanatory, and scrolls. Scrolls are well, scrolls that you collect to learn hidden moves, some are to be bought and some are attained only through special events. Now, I won't say anything to keep from spoiling any of the story but, there some very fun battles towards the ending of the game, it's only right anyway. There are also little sidequest's in Shenmue which Sega fan's should enjoy. Particularly the one where you collect small Sega figurines such as Sonic and Tails, however this can be done very easily and quickly depending on who much yen you have in your pocket. One thing I liked to do in Shenmue was play games at the arcade, you can play Sega classics such as Space Harrier and Hang On. Or maybe a nice game of darts, anyone? Shenmue also features a dynamic weather system that adds to the realism of the game, aptly dubbed "Magic Weather". The Magic Weather system differentiates one hour from the next as you will see the sky either dim or light up. The system also implements such effects as snow and rain. All in all, there's just alot to be done and seen in Shenmue. So if you have a Dreamcast this is an must-own title, period.
Other Helpful Reviews for Shenmue: Isshou Yokosuka
there's no doubt of that shenmue is a great game and the game itself is a reason to buy the sega dreamcast . the story is very simple you are ryo hazuki ,a japanese young man that saw his life destroyed when his fa... Read Full Review
This game made me buy a DC When i first saw it i was AMAZING by the graphics, and the music and story drug me in This game is a real masterpiece, simple enough The only game you will ever find like this is Shenmue 2 ... Read Full Review
