Shenmue was an ambitious game, and one of the highest budget and most hyped games of its time. Many love it and many hate it, and both sides have valid arguments as to why. The game is very heavily story driven, but the story progression is slow as molasses. There is a lot of voice acting; however, much of it is terrible mostly due to Yu Suzuki's insistence that he be present for all voice recording, forcing the localization team to record the entire English voice over in Japan with local talent. The game has an intricate battle system, but you probably only get into 30 fights the entire game. There are times where you have to wait; however, there is no way to quickly pass time, so many playing the game will put the game down until enough time has passed. For a game with so many facets at odds with one another, you would think that it would fall short; despite all odds however, Shenmue ends up being a satisfying experience which is like no other game.
Even though the game seems mundane and boring at first, it sucks you in, and is easy for you to spend hours playing the game. I became very attached to Dobuita-- the city where Shenmue takes place, and the amount of detail which was put in the environment. Examples of detail are how you can enter all of the shops in the game and how every NPC has their own daily schedules. The game makes you have an appreciation for Japanese culture, and could be considered by many to be a better work of art than it is a game. As a collection of components, Shenmue is absolutely flawed; however, the way it all comes together creates an amazing experience which is unlike any other, and for that reason, I am on the "Love it" side of the Shenmue debate. The sequel, Shenmue II fixes a lot of the problems in the original, but this game is still fantastic.
The Good:
- An intricate and well-designed battle system.
- Lots of unique concepts like QTEs were made popular by Shenmue.
- Sucks you in.
- Gives you an appreciation for Japanese culture.
- Inspires a "Games are art" discussion.
The Bad:
- Sometimes awful voice acting-- mostly due to Yu Suzuki's insistence that all voice recording be done in Japan so he could be present for them.
- Slow story progression.
- Not enough action, especially toward the beginning of the game.
- Having to wait for an hour before you can continue the story.