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Shenmue (莎木 or シェンムー) (2000) is a revolutionary
story-based action/RPG
Video game for the
Sega
Dreamcast directed and written by
Yu Suzuki of Sega's
AM2.
It centers around a young man named
Ryo Hazuki (pronounced correctly by Japanese people as Rēo), who
returns home one day to find a man called
Lan Di questioning his father,
Iwao Hazuki about a mirror. Iwao refused, until
Lan Di threaten's Ryo's life. After finding out where the mirror is,
he asks if Iwao remembers a man named Chao Sun Ming, and then accused Iwao
of killing him. Lan Di and Iwao then begin to fight. Lan Di eventually
gets the upper hand, and ends up killing Iwao Hazuki. Afterward, Ryo
embarks on an epic quest for revenge and to discover why his father was
killed. Shenmue is based in and around Yokosuka,
Japan, in 1986, while its sequel (Shenmue II, 2001) is based
in 1987 in
Hong Kong and
Guilin,
China.
Gameplay is diverse; while most of the game proper is spent walking
around the atmospheric, lifelike locations in a third-person 'chase cam'
mode, talking to people, searching for things, solving puzzles, and so
forth, this is interspersed with dozens of 'mini-games', including
forklift and motorcycle races, bar fights, chases down crowded alleys,
full versions of Sega arcade games Space Harrier and Hang On,
and last but not least, the 'free fighting' sequences.
The free fights put Ryo against one or more enemies in a cross between
Virtua Fighter and Final Fight; Ryo has a large list of
karate techniques, almost worthy of a full
one-on-one fighter, but he fights many enemies at once instead of just
one. The culmination of the game involves a gigantic brawl between Ryo, a
friend, and almost a hundred enemies.
Shenmue was called "Virtua Fighter RPG" while in early development, and
this is reflected not only in the VF-like fights and RPG elements, but in
the variety of toys and posters relating to that game that Ryo finds.
It is notable for entering the
Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive video game ever
developed ($40-60 million).
Shenmue III has been confirmed and is now in development. This is
scheduled to be the last game in the series.
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