- Joined
- Dec 14, 2023
I recently finished my first blind playthrough of Shenmue. For years, I’ve heard about Shenmue. I remember the tv show, X-play, doing a special segment encouraging people to play the series. I bought Shenmue 1 and 2 on the PSN store during a sale. Both games have been on my large bucket list of games I need to play. I started over a week ago playing Shenmue, streaming my progression. I found the game to be very story driven, which I really enjoyed. It is the right mixture of action and exploring. It took me a little to get the controls down. I unfortunately couldn’t help that old lady find the house she was looking for because I didn’t realize how to go into first person view and look around. I still feel bad leaving her on that swing. Anyway, I really felt like I was in 1986 Japan. The city felt alive throughout the day and night. Every NPC had a whole daily routine. I enjoyed seeing the familiar drunks every evening just stumbling around and lying in different places. As Ryu, you get accustomed to the city and to the people, really caring about them. I envied Tom the hot dog guy. I want to be like him, just dancing all day by the stereo with no cares in the world. My favorite character though had to be the cat you help take care of which I named Mimi. Every day and evening before bed, I would go check on her, feeding and petting her. I was so devasted when she left towards the end. I didn’t know she would just leave, so Ryu carried a package of fish in his pants till the end of the game. I hope he eventually washes those jeans. I got addicted to collecting toy capsules and music cassettes. I made sure to check the local convenience store for new music and hope to pick the number 1 for the raffle, but sadly not in this playthrough. The forklift races and moving crates were fun. I was bad driving the forklift at first but got better over time. The final part of the game was intense with motorcycle driving and beating up loads of gang members. The story leaves you hanging, and I can’t imagine how players felt back in 1999 when the game first came out. I’m sure they were craving more. Overall, for an older game I am impressed on how well it holds up. I am excited to start playing Shenmue 2. I hear it’s the best one in the series. I hope to start playing/streaming it this Sunday night.
