Shenmue II (2001)

Following on from much of the same mechanics of the original, this time with far more locations to explore, exciting new characters and the continuation of a plot that’s hard to ignore. A new addition I really appreciated was the ability to fast forward time, thus eradicating some of the more tedious moments in progressing the main story from Shenmue. The awkward combat and humorous voice acting remained here, but these games have a certain charm about them that I can only admire. The lack of Lan Di was a bummer for me, with more screen time and emotional impact on the player, he really could and should have been up there with the greatest video game villains around.

In anticipation of the imminent release of the third game, I began replaying Shenmue II on PC last night (and early this morning). My first impression was that the HD port of the second game is much more compatible with modern systems than that of the first; I can only assume this is a consequence of d3t having access to the source code for the Xbox port. Whereas setting the resolution any higher than 1366×768 would cause playability-killing slowdown in Shenmue I on my modest laptop, Shenmue II runs silky smooth in full HD, and looks great.

I definitely replayed the first game on the Dreamcast, but I think I must've only played Shenmue II once through before, as the environments and events feel less familiar—much of it I wouldn't have remembered without prompting, such as the (kind of awful) QTE-based crate-lifting job, and some of the less-frequented quarters of the city. I'm immediately impressed by the scale and polish of the sequel, finding myself getting more 'lost' in its sprawling world—with its broader opportunities for exploration and freer, less goal-orientated play—than was possible in the provincial districts of the first game. I remember Shenmue I having a more personal, affecting storyline, but I think there's more fun to be had in Shenmue II.

I've chosen to play the game with the (restored) English dubbing, because I didn't get to 'experience' this on the Dreamcast. (I had an Xbox but never got round to playing the port.) I used ner0's widescreen fix to remove pillarboxing and camera icons from cutscenes (which helps, apart from the occasional glitch when character models suddenly appear at the side, late into a shot). I didn't remove letterboxing because I think compositions look less carefully framed for doing so, judging by some YouTube videos.

I'm a Dreamcast nut, so I played this in the geekiest way possible... an imported PAL Dreamcast release, using a Codebreaker disc so it would run on my North American console while still supporting VGA out, and starting from my completed Shenmue save file converted to EU.

I finally beat it minutes ago, and it was glorious.

Shenmue II, like its predecessor, hasn't aged evenly. Certain segments (particularly those requiring repetitive, non-rhythm QTE button presses) were frustrating to play. I also found earning money to be baffling, forcing me to consult a walkthrough to break Ryo's cycle of pachinko-induced poverty. 😅

But taken as a whole, this is easily one of my favorite games ever. The world feels massive, especially in comparison to the more intimate, local feel of the original game. I grew to adore the characters, especially Lishao Tao, Ren and Shenhua. While I never felt competent at the original game's "free battle" mechanics, here I enjoyed discovering a more strategic element to the battles... more predictable, perhaps, but more rewarding logically to discover an opponent's weaknesses and adjust your fighting style accordingly.

And that ending! 😭 After descending to sketchier and sketchier environments through the first three discs, the fourth disc's locale is just breathtaking... and its comparatively slow pace makes the infamous cliffhanger ending that much more brutal! I haven't felt this moved by the final act of a game since I first played Journey.

The Shenmue games are easy to dismiss today... their innovations have been mined extensively by modern games, making their quirks feel more prominent by comparison. But finishing Shenmue II renews my excitement for a third installment, because as much as the ingredients of Shenmue are abundant in gaming, no other experience combines them in quite the same way... or arguably with this degree of emotional impact.

A masterpiece! 👏

Greatest game ever made. No argues!

Pros:

- Engrossing, ambitious and epic story

- Innovative and trend-setting gameplay (Quicktime is cool, and you know it!)

- Lucky Hit

- Every setting has a great atmosphere, from the bustling Wan Chai to the serene countryside setting of Guilin

- How about some Lucky Hit?

- Large cast made up of loveable, well-developed and unique characters

- Was way ahead of its time

Cons:

- The heartbreak when you finish the game on that cliffhanger and realise that there is no (and probably will never be a) Shenmue 3.

- Let's all just forget that Shenmue: The Movie was a thing