The other day, when I wrote the post about “What are my favorite video games” the idea occurred to me that I should talk little by little about each one of them, making a kind of “mini tribute” to all of them once a month for example.
Since we are in “pre-Christmas” dates, I decided to start talking about Shenmue, since it is a game that every time I think about it reminds me of Christmas. So that’s the first game of the top 10, and I’ll start talking about it this month of December.
It was the year 2000, Christmas to be more exact, when I sank my teeth into this gem.
Directed by Yu Suzuki, creator of the Sonic Virtua Fighter Saga among other games, Sehnmue became the most expensive game developed to date, costing more than 20 million dollars. Suzuki reinvented the way of playing by creating new concepts such as Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment, also known as Free, a concept through which he wanted to describe the total interaction and freedom that was in the game. In addition, Suzuki also invented the QTE concept to define cinematic scenes in which a button had to be pressed at a certain time (Very much like Dragons Lair).
Shenmue was conceived as a series of 17 chapters, in which the first game would only be the first, which, for everyone, including me, made everyone think that it would surely be a series without an end, since in the world of video games there is no such thing as the long term.
The plot of the game, being the first chapter, could be considered an introduction, since the events that take place are not as relevant as those of its second part (without the introduction, of course). The plot begins with Ryo (The protagonist) arriving home and seeing a large black car at the entrance, then he sees Ine San, a kind of maid/mother who tells him, before fainting, that he has to go to the dojo because his father is being attacked by a man. That man’s name is Lan di, and he keeps asking Ryo’s father, Iwao Hazuki, where a mirror (Fenix mirror) is, but after his refusal, Lan Di hits him with a few accurate blows and ends his life. This is how Shenmue begins, with Ryo Hazuki embarking on a journey whose sole purpose is revenge.
The game takes place in Yokosuka, a small Japanese town, set in time at the end of 1987. Yokosuka, which exists in reality, has been duly simplified to improve the “playable experience”, but despite this simplification it is still a large town in which at first it is not difficult to get lost. In addition to Yokosuka, which is quite large in itself, the game also takes place in the city’s port, where a large part of the game also takes place.
The game is a mixture of styles, since there are moments in which it could be described as a graphic adventure, because 70% of it is spent talking with other characters (In simple English), and the other 30% is divided between battles, QTEs and searches, which gives the game a great variety.
The side quests are another plus point for Shenmue. Among other things, we can go to an arcade to play Hang On, Space Harrier, darts and even that punching game that is found at fairs. Another curiosity is that you can buy miniatures of Sega dolls in vending machines.
As far as characters are concerned, the game has a fairly large roster. Leaving aside the secondary characters, the most characteristic are Lan Di (The murderer of Ryo’s father), Tom (Ryo’s black friend who sells hot dogs), Nozomi (Ryo’s “platonic” love) and Master Chen (Among many others).
Time in the game is a very important concept, since depending on the time of day and the weather, there will be more or fewer characters on the street. In addition, we will have to meet some characters at certain times of the day, which is why the use of a wrist watch worn by the protagonist is common.
Now, to finish, just say how deeply sad it is that they don’t continue the series. I still have some hope that, even if it is in the form of a book, comic, website or carrier pigeon, Yu Suzuki will tell us how the story ends, although wonders are still wonders, whether they are finished or not.