Shenmue Review

This review originally appeared in E92, Christmas 2000.

There is a moment in Shenmue when your absorption the game suddenly becomes apparent. For Edge it was in coming across a family snap of the Hazuki family while idly rummaging around some of the drawers in the house. The moment was not dramatised with music, nor was it accompanied by a lengthy cut-scene, yet the image of the happy group – which includes the hero’s murdered father – is poignant none the less. The photo has absolutely no functional value in the game, but this is the point. It serves as one of the many details which make the Shenmue universe feel complete.

Many may want to deride some of the voice acting in the game, the pop-up, or the often rusty RPG mechanics, but Shenmue’s spell will seduce all but the most cynical gamer. There are layers of depth which make Shenmue a more involving game than anything else you are likely to play this year. Enter the basement of the Hazuki home, for instance, and you will blindly fumble around without light. But overcoming this difficulty is not just a case of locating the torch à la Resident Evil – that is only one of the options. The spent bulb can be replaced with one from the local store, or if you are less inclined to spend the money that Ryo’s mother gives you every morning, you can take some candles from the dojo and light them with matches from the kitchen.

It is not total freedom, because that would imply a more direct control over action and event than Shenmue offers, but it is the closest a game universe has come in giving the impression of independence outside of your actions. While the trick is flawed, the vision and execution should be applauded nevertheless.

It is the perpetual clock which provides the framework upon which the game operates, and it is here where Shenmue both excels and grates. Shops open and close as in the real world, buses run to timetables, appointments are arranged, and Ryo’s mother will even reprimand him for returning home late. This is handled expertly and is without doubt the most innovative aspect of the title. Yet given that much of the game consists of being at certain locations at given times, there is not enough distraction in the Shenmue world to keep you engaged while waiting. Once the local town and the arcade centre have been explored there is little left to do except, bizarrely, look at your watch.

Subquests would have greatly enhanced the experience, providing a welcome way to occupy such dead time. The story, too, is very much on rails. Clues are unearthed in traditional RPG fashion by wandering around the streets and talking to anyone and everyone.

Though the wonderful graphics and facial modelling have clearly added character to such proceedings, the usual stock repetition of replies and constant engagement in small talk will be familiar to anyone who has ever played an RPG.

Shenmue will not tax you cerebrally either – there are no puzzles to speak of; it is more a case of finding directions to the next clue. And if time ticks away while a clue is not being investigated you begin to feel the presence of father Suzuki holding your hand and guiding you in the form of a blatant cut-scene

Shenmue is much more than an interactive movie, but certainly does not deliver the freedom expected. It’s involving, and ultimately rewarding, but only represents a step towards what may be possible in the future, rather than the milestone Edge hoped for. [8]