I've always held Shenmue near and dear to my heart. From the Dreamcast days to the Xbox, I always held out hope that a sequel would one day come.
When I met my wife, she was a gamer who loved Dragon Age, NiER, Final Fantasy, Skyrim, etc.
I talked with her about Shenmue and explained to her that many things she loved in the games she found special began with Shenmue.
Explaining a game like Shenmue doesn't always make it sound appealing, even if the passion is there. She was so happy for me when III was announced.
As our family grew to include our son and daughter, I never busted out the old console to show her, instead clinging to hope that they would re-release someday once Shenmue III became a reality.
Yesterday, I fired up the game for the first time in front of her. She was instantly stunned that a game of nearly 20 years ago had that much graphical detail. She loved the Japanese voices(I didnt do English) and the story instantly had her intrigued from the opening scene.
I walked around Dobuita and she remarked "they really did a nice job making a detailed town" and was floored when I told her it was an actual place and was recreated in the game.
She couldnt believe the level of immersion present in the game. She loved the music, the attention to detail(vending machines, figure machines, etc.).
I got a quest to go visit a place, I went on to play in the Arcade.
"Why don't you go where they told you?" she said. "Well, I can't. It is closed. I have to wait until tomorrow when they open back up." I replied. "You can't skip time?" she quizzed. "Not in this one. I'm gonna go to the store and buy some food for the kitten."
"Wow, that's impressive. I can't believe I never played this. How come you never hooked up the Dreamcast!"
She looks forward to playing them herself now, if she can pry away from watching me these days. So there is a brand new fan in the ranks, folks! Just wanted to share.
On a side note, it gave me great happiness to watch my 5 year old son buy a capsule toy in the game. He was so thrilled about it!
When I met my wife, she was a gamer who loved Dragon Age, NiER, Final Fantasy, Skyrim, etc.
I talked with her about Shenmue and explained to her that many things she loved in the games she found special began with Shenmue.
Explaining a game like Shenmue doesn't always make it sound appealing, even if the passion is there. She was so happy for me when III was announced.
As our family grew to include our son and daughter, I never busted out the old console to show her, instead clinging to hope that they would re-release someday once Shenmue III became a reality.
Yesterday, I fired up the game for the first time in front of her. She was instantly stunned that a game of nearly 20 years ago had that much graphical detail. She loved the Japanese voices(I didnt do English) and the story instantly had her intrigued from the opening scene.
I walked around Dobuita and she remarked "they really did a nice job making a detailed town" and was floored when I told her it was an actual place and was recreated in the game.
She couldnt believe the level of immersion present in the game. She loved the music, the attention to detail(vending machines, figure machines, etc.).
I got a quest to go visit a place, I went on to play in the Arcade.
"Why don't you go where they told you?" she said. "Well, I can't. It is closed. I have to wait until tomorrow when they open back up." I replied. "You can't skip time?" she quizzed. "Not in this one. I'm gonna go to the store and buy some food for the kitten."
"Wow, that's impressive. I can't believe I never played this. How come you never hooked up the Dreamcast!"
She looks forward to playing them herself now, if she can pry away from watching me these days. So there is a brand new fan in the ranks, folks! Just wanted to share.
On a side note, it gave me great happiness to watch my 5 year old son buy a capsule toy in the game. He was so thrilled about it!
