28.4.2003

Tired of your life working in a drab office or bored with lessons at school? Then escape from your humdrum existence, fly to the mysterious Orient and take on a new life - the life of a young Japanese man, Ryo Hazuki, on a self-imposed quest to find his father's murderer.Owners of the late lamented Dreamcast may have taken part in (notice I didn't say "played") the first chapter of this adventure, which took place in Yokosuka, a port city in Japan. This second instalment moves the action to China, beginning in the port of Hong Kong, continuing in the slums of (the now demolished) Kowloon Walled City, and finally culminating in the wierdly beautiful mountains of Guilin.Your character of Ryo has almost unprecedented freedom of action as he moves around the most fantastically detailed environment ever created for a console video game. To help him survive his travails, Ryo needs to make friends, earn money, and learn how to fight. If he gets bored, he can go to the local arcade and play games, or try his hand at a huge variety of patchinko and other gambling games. He can try his hand at arm wrestling, and he can even earn money with his martial arts abilities. Or he can just look at the amazing sights.But this is only to discuss Shenmue II in terms of gameplay. This does not touch on the other, most important, aspect of this experience, and that is the emotional connection you get from it. The characters you meet are real people with characteristics and personalities you can easily identify with - all of which makes this the most engrossing experience you will have outside the movie theatre - or real life.Five years work went into creating characters which move realistically and say different things every time you speak to them. They are worth meeting.In some games you can learn to steal cars and kill people - in this game you learn the value of friendship and respect for your fellow man, and the importance of avoiding the evil path. At the same time this game does not lack excitement and engrossing gameplay.To get the most out of the Shenmue series, you really have to explore on your own - discover Hong Kong for yourself, and learn about its people and its customs - you do this as you would in real life, by going to places and talking to people. If you blindly follow strategy guides and do the minimum needed to get through the storyline, you will probably find it quite boring, particularly to begin with. But immerse yourself entirely in the game, explore the world, extract every ounce of experience from it, and it will always have a place in your heart. Shenmue is my second home. Make it yours, too.Some reviews of this game upon its release in the United States panned it because the graphics quality doesn't seem to be a huge improvement on Dreamcast quality, which is seen to be outmoded. This attitude may blind you to the fact that graphically it is still better than 90% of other games. Minor characters are indeed quite blocky, but when you consider the density of the background detail, it is more than made up for. Every box, litter bin, bicycle and pathside flower is a 3D object. Criticism of the graphics quality also fails to take into account the unparalleled animation. Every conceivable action within the game by any character, major or minor, has been motion-captured. When you want to speak to any one of a thousand game characters, the camera automatically goes to a cinematic style, with perfectly natural cuts back and forth between closeups and midshots; if you are standing at an angle to the character you are speaking to, they don't swivel robotically, or magically jump to different positions, like in every other game I've ever played - they turn their heads and if need be twist their upper bodies to face Ryo in a perfectly realistic, human manner. The smallest action performed by Ryo is captured cinematically, in a way which is so seamless it obviously goes unnoticed by players and critics. Ryo actually opens doors, he doesn't magically appear on the other side of them after a blackout. Same with picking objects up.In addition, the *only* load times are those between game areas. From the most minor conversation to the longest plotline cutscene, all play interruptions initiate immediately. Considering the amount of graphic detail, the number of different conversations and actions available with all the characters with whom you might interact, and the cutscenes which may be initiated in an area, the load times that there are are remarkably short - and always were, even on the Dreamcast.Replay value? It's quite impossible to explore everything this game has to offer in just one play through. But more than that - I'm in my third year of Shenmue-playing - I return to this game and its predecessor more than any other in my collection, and it can still surprise me.

6.4.2003

After appearing on the Dreamcast, Shenmue II (btw, that's "Shun-moo" :-D) arrives on Xbox. It casts you as Ryo Hazuki, father's son and all-round good guy. After your father was killed, you have been searching for his killer, Lan Di, with the intent of beating him to a bloody pulp. The game begins in Hong Kong...As Ryo, you will have to go into the towns of Hong Kong, piecing together exactly what your father was involved in. You'll have to earn money, either through gambling, streetfighting, pawnshops or hard labour. You'll also have to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Think of Shenmue as a life on one disc, rather than a game.Yu Suzuki has created a clever mix of action, RPG,and Virtua Fighter-style combat. As the game progresses, you will have to talk to various characters to find out crucial information, leading to further RPG-ness. But along the way, Quick-Time Events (QTEs) will jump in, say for example the chase sequence at the beginning of the game as you chase a gang who steal your bag. The chase occurs through areas such as a cafe, and various commands are shown on-screen. Press the right command, and Ryo leaps over the table. Mess it up, and he goes head-first into the soup.The fighting sequences takes place via third-person one-on-one action, feeling like a cross between the Virtua Fighter and Dead or Alive series. As you progress through the game, new techniques will be learnt and mastered. Although confusing at first, the systems quickly become intuitive, as do the moves.The graphics, while impressively detailed, are exactly the same as the Dreamcast version, limiting some of the impact of the game. Some surfaces, such as stone tiles, are very impressively represented under normal viewing, but due to the Dreamcast's lesser abilities will cause some strained eyes when the zoom is held down.Having said that, the detail on everything is impressive; the older population have wrinkles like walnuts, the clothes all have folds and every surface looks the way it should.Perhaps the most impressive area of the game is the population of the cities. Every character has their own life, characterisation, ways and even speed of walking. They'll always be in a certain area at a certain time, and always give you the same answers. This gives the game a very realistic feel to it.Sometimes, however, the game feels slightly let down by its ambitions. Shenmue II at times feels very on-rails... you find this guy, talk to him, then find another guy, find out some more information, look for a certain building, talk to the guy in that building... you got the picture a long time ago. You are always free to talk to who you like, but you know who you have to find every time.This is sometimes compounded by the conversation with the people in the game. Shenmue has a system whereby Ryo has a set amount of answers, and each person in the population has a set answer to each question. But often Ryo's answers don't flow from the responses given by the other. The following is very typical:Ryo:"Excuse me, I'm looking for [somebody].""I'm afraid I don't know, perhaps you should ask someone else""I see. I'll try asking someone else"This gives the game a very artificial feel at times, and although a small point, affects the entire game. It itches away at you like some sort of rash, changing the atmosphere of the game completely.As to whether you will buy it, that's the million-dollar question, with no clear answer. If you want a deep, enthralling storyline, that can be tackled at its own pace, with no real sense of urgency, this is your game.If you think that all games should have a definitive point and aim to them, and dreamier games irritate you, your copy will end up in the 2nd-hand bargain bin after a few days. The game is unique, I can't think of another series anything like this, except maybe in Riven you have the same sense of freedom.I come under the first category, and haven't put another disc in my Xbox. Hence 5 stars.Overall:+ The story however, is huge, top-notch, and a real addictive one, if you have the time. Get immersed in this and you will lose sleep, friends and possibly your social life.+ Intensly rewarding...- ... if you have the time.+ Impressive "digest" and full-length Shemue I movies to get you up to speed.~ Graphics are impressively detailed, if not quite so stunning as before- Somewhat stilted conversations sometimes steals the atmosphere away from you.

21.3.2003

Tired of your life working in a drab office or bored with lessons at school? Then escape from your humdrum existence, fly to the mysterious Orient and take on a new life - the life of a young Japanese man, Ryo Hazuki, on a self-imposed quest to find his father's murderer.Owners of the late lamented Dreamcast may have taken part in the first chapter of this adventure (notice I didn't say "played"), which took place in Yokosuka, a port city in Japan. This second instalment moves the action to China, beginning in the port of Hong Kong, continuing in the slums of Kowloon (actually the now demolished Kowloon Walled City) and finally culminating in the beautiful mountains of Guilin.Your character of Ryo has almost unprecedented freedom of action as he moves around the most fantastically detailed environment ever created for a console video game. To help him survive his travails, Ryo needs to make friends, earn money, and learn how to fight. If he gets bored, he can go to the local arcade and play games, or try his hand at a huge variety of patchinko and other gambling games. He can try his hand at arm wrestling, or when he gets to Kowloon he can even earn money with his martial arts abilities. Or he can just look at the amazing sights.But this is only to discuss Shenmue II in terms of gameplay. This does not touch on the other, most important, aspect of this experience, and that is the emotional connection you get from it. The characters you meet are real people with characteristics and personalities you can easily identify with - all of which makes this the most engrossing experience you will have outside the movie theatre - or real life.In some games you can learn to steal cars and kill people - in this game you learn the value of friendship and respect for your fellow man, and the importance of avoiding the evil path. At the same time this game does not lack excitement and engrossing gameplay.Pre-order this game, buy it when it arrives, play it until you drop from exhaustion. You will never regret it. But to get the most out of it, you really have to explore on your own - discover Hong Kong for yourself, and learn about its people and its customs - you do this as you would in real life, by going to places and talking to people. If you blindly follow strategy guides, do the minimum needed to get through the storyline, you will probably find it quite boring, particularly to begin with. But envelop yourself entirely in the game, explore the world, extract every ounce of experience from it, and it will always have a place in your heart. Shenmue is my second home. You can make it yours, too.Final note: some reviews of this game upon its release in the United States have panned it because the graphics quality doesn't seem to be a huge improvement on Dreamcast quality - which is seen to be outmoded. These comments conceal the fact that graphically it is still better than 90% of other games regardless of their platform or vintage. It also fails to take into account the sheer unequalled quality of the *animation*. For example, when you want to speak to any of 1000 non-playing characters, the camera automatically goes to a cinematic style, with perfectly natural cuts back and forth between closeups and midshots; if you are standing at an angle to the character you are speaking to, they don't swivel robotically as in other games - they look up at you, they turn their heads and if need be swivel their bodies to face you in a perfectly realistic, human manner. The smallest action performed by Ryo is captured in a way which is so seamless it almost always goes unnoticed by players, and particularly critics.Replay value? I'm in my third year of Shenmue-playing - I return to this game more than any other in my collection.

27.12.2007

Shenmue II, Is quite possibly the best game I have ever played. I know I say that a lot but I really mean it with this game.I mean, this game changed me as a person. I know it sounds cheesy but it did. This is one of the games that got me interested in Japan. And when a game can change you or the way you think, you know what you have is an amazing thing.Shenmue II is basically an RPG that lives and breathes like the real world, with an incredible story. Throughout the whole game you are constantly looking for the man who killed your father in the previous game; "Lan Di", and every little thing you do brings you just a little closer to getting that evil man,and truly makes you feel the same pain that the hero is feeling as you struggle for answers on what seems like an impossible mission. And it never feels tiring. Someone once said "Even if you fail in your mission, the journey would have proved much richer." and I have to whole heartedly agree with this statement. The journey in this game is just.. fantastic and should not be missed.You'll travel all across Hong Kong, seeing amazing environments and beautiful scenery, as well as playing tons and tons of mini games. Well, it is a life simulator after all.You really will want to talk to every person, collect every item, train in every martial art you can, and it becomes a highly addictive. Especially since you benefit from doing so.When I first got this game, I knew the graphics were pretty awful, but does it deserve a 7 for that? Heck no. The gameplay more than makes up for it's graphical flaws. Trust me on this. I remember when this game came out my friend said he didn't want to get it because the graphics were past it's time. And now I laugh in his face for I managed to enjoy this truly rich and immersing experience and he didn't. Tough luck for him then.If you can see past the graphics, you'll see there is an entire country waiting for you to explore, people to see, martial arts to be learnt and more.The sound in this game is more than adequate, you walk through the streets and hear the bustling street life during the day, and a few people talking in café's during the night. Every environment has some kind of sound with it, the ambient sounds are really spot on. The voices in this game sound fine, but I have to admit; the English voice-overs aren't so great, and sometimes feel a little emotionless. It's only when they really put an accent on or really express emotion where they feel human. But that's okay. The main character isn't so bad, and he's the one who does most of the talking in this game. This game really gives you gameplay for your dollar, or pound. This game is very long, and even playing non-stop for a few days wouldn't see an ending. It's just really that long.All in all, Shenmue II is an amazing and immersing game that no XBOX or XBOX360 Owner should miss. Trust me, buy this game as soon as you can and experience this fantastic game before it's too late. If you can't get a hold of it, I do believe it will one day appear on XBOX Live Arcade.Pros: Amazing storyline, beautiful environments, So much to do it becomes mind-boggling, Great character's, extremely long-lasting and fun.Cons: Voice acting is sometimes flat, fighting scenes are far and few in between, graphics are dated.

29.2.2004

I had never heard of this game before and bought it mainly on the strength of the existing customer reviews. The very reasonable price and the bonus DVD of the first game swung it for me.The bonus DVD gives you a feature length (1hr 30min approx.) film of the first Shenmue. This is quite entertaining and provides a background to the game you are about to play - essential if, like me, you never played Shenmue on the Dreamcast. Unfortunately, it has its downsides. At times it looks more like a walkthrough of the first game than a proper movie. Also, it is unintentionally hilarious in places, e.g. the very pretty Nosomi telling Ryo to 'Cheer up, will you?' when his father's just been murdered.I can't help but feel something has been lost in the translation. Also, while the characters always wearing the same clothes, irrespective of the weather, may not be so noticeable in the game, it stands out like a sore thumb in the film.At times, while playing Shenmue 2, you may feel a bit lost and directionless. I remember the first time I got a part-time job working at a lucky hit stand. I sat there thinking, 'What am I doing here? I'm supposed to be following up on clues in order to help Ryo avenge his father's death, but instead I'm wasting time running a gambling stall.' However, I soon realised that things like that are an integral part of the game, in order to earn money, and that it's best to take it easy and enjoy the experience, instead of fretting over how little progress is made during a day.The sub games are cool, although games like Outrun and Space Harrier are showing their age & strangely aren't that much fun, even if, like me, you normally enjoy the retro experience. The slot machines are slightly confusing, too. I couldn't figure out how to exchange my tokens for money.One criticism I would make is that the game does seem to promote a gambling culture. There are an awful lot of places to gamble and lose money. I suspect the game's trying to teach you that you can spend a lot of time earning money doing an honest day's work and then blow everything in a very short space of time if you're not careful. Another criticism I would make concerns the camera angle & your inability to raise it. I would have preferred it to be a bit higher up instead of being centred on Ryo's back, which makes it a little awkward to see what is directly in front of him without swiveling it one way or the other. Also, your freedom is restricted by Ryo's sense of honour. For example, you can't jump into the water or run out onto a busy road & commit suicide or break into peoples' houses & steal their possessions.I'll admit that it's a far cry from a go anywhere and do anything game, if such a game will ever exist (Morrowind? Almost), but its one of the most rewarding and addictive RPGs you're likely to find.

20.4.2003

Ive been in support of shenmue since the begining. I brought the original on the first day of release and loved it to bits the reality is amazing. I brought the sequel on the dreamcast as well but then my system broke and i moved on to the xbox.Shenmue two is complementry to shenmue one, altogther different, and yet it uses very similar system. It's an RPG or FREE as the developer Yu Suzuki would have liked it to be called. You a Ryo on his quest for lan di the nasty piece of work that killed his farther. And following the fist game Ryo arrives in Hong Kong to continue his quest. However the atmosphere here is different, he is alone he is in a different unfamiliar country.

30.12.2016

my copy came with the Shenmue movie, a very good film in it's own rights. As for the actual game, the music is amazing, as is the gameply, story etc this is a truly amazing game. If you want a full review you should check dedicated review sites, as there is too much to list as to what makes this game a masterpiece, but as I said the music and story are the best aspects of the game. The only downsides are the platforms you can play it on and the fact there will never be a Shenmue 3, so the story will never be finished, so Shenmue 2's story ends unfinished with loads of questions unanswered. As for it's platforms, you can only play it on the dreamcast I think? And heard that isn't very good and the original xbox.

15.12.2006

Shenmue II is part of a much larger series that Yu Suzuki planned out from beginning to end. Some might say it was rather too ambitious, and this is why the story was never finished - this game ends with a spectacularly frustrating cliffhanger - but the experience of playing is something unlike any other game on the market, even to this day.Shenmue II upped the ante on the original game, only available on the Dreamcast but summarised nicely in the provided DVD in this package, by adding many more locations, a better interface and more things to do. The game sees the protagonist Ryo travelling from Hong Kong to China,

15.1.2004

Superb! This word descibes Shenmue 2 completeley.I played the first game on the Dreamcast (R.I.P) and enjoyed it, but found that it had faults that may have put some people off. This next chapter has none of these little hiccups.The graphics are excellent and stand the test of time. The sound and music is top notch, and game play is spell binding. The game pulls you in and keeps you interested constantly. The environment is staggering. Quite how they made such a vast play area is amazing. Its possible to interact with everything and go everywhere. Its an experience simply to stand about and admire the views in this game. Its that beautiful.If you havn't played this game and are considering it,

11.1.2004

What can i say? What more do i need to say? This is a truely magnificant game. You don't just play the game, u live it. This is not just an RPG, it's also FREE (Full Reactive Eye Entertainment). A really beautiful game with mouth dropping graphics. The battle system is awesome, it can't be better. You execute Jujitsu moves in real time combat. The storyline is so brilliant u get suck to it, u get totaly sucked! You actually live it! It is so sososo beautiful. So, u can almost do anything in the world of Shenmue which is literatly real! For Dreamcast owners, like myself, would have played Shenmue I which started in japan.

14.2.2003

I played Shenmue 2 on the dreamcast(an imported Japanese verson with english subtitles)and all I can say is it is even better than shenmue, the story carrys on from the first game where you (Ryo Hazuki) arrive in Hong Kong in search of your fathers Killer, and of the role of the Phoenix mirror and its mystical properties. The Graphics On The Dreamcast were top Knotch,I can only imagine the Xbox will equal if not better this!! with Morphing Plant and vegetation to match the season, and a cast of Literally Thousands of Interactive characters, with atmospheric music and Lighting you really start to believe you are in Hong Kong. If you were a fan of the first Shenmue Buy This Game!

11.8.2006

This game as well as the first are incredible, i have played both on the dreamcast only but they are mind blowing and you get so addicted to the games. I've gone through them about 10 times each game because there is so much you can miss in the games story. Its never as good as the first time you play them but when you find little things that you missed before it feels worth it. Its a shame that they didn't bring the first one out on the xbox as well because on the dreamcast you used your memory from the first and transfer the data to the start of the second one, so the more money you had saved in the first game the more money you could start with in the second.

17.9.2004

You play as Ryo Hazuki a guy in search for revenge after the death of his father in Shenmue 1 nothing will stop Ryo from aiming to get revenge my favrite character in this story has to be Ren who is the leader of a Gang and loves to gamble.This game is awesome if I hadn't got this game for my Xbox I would of probably of sold my Xbox right know as every game I've played for Xbox other than this game has been real crap this is the only game that's keeping me from selling my Xbox the game is just so good. The game is a Martial Art game where as you progress through the game you can learn new and better Martial Art moves and become strong enough to even defeat the strongest of enemies you'll find new friends like Joy,

11.4.2003

I rented this game for the 1st time, only playing shemnue once on the dreamcast in a shop, shemnue 2 on the xbox is simply great. Once yo get into the storyline, which is pretty quick, you'll find yourself not wanting to go back to the real world and finding clues, learning moves, earning money, gambling etc. This game is very realistic and the graphics are nice as well, i also like the way taht members of the crowd take you to places when you ask cause you can get lost. You'll Find yourself addicted to this wonderful game, getting annoyed with biker chick Joy but at the same time appreciating her help and kindness and getting emotionally evolved with the Kung Fu master(shes a women).....You

19.4.2003

Anyone who is a serious fan of Shenmue needs to get this game i was a huge fan of the first which was amazing but the second game was even better i bought Shenmue 2 on the Dreamcast but it had japanese language with english subtitles which didnt really matter but i always felt Shenmue 2 didnt get the attention it should have got mainly because it was one of the last games to come out on Dreamcast before Sega stopped making Dreamcast Games so thats why i say to Xbox owners get this game it truly is an epic adventure and you wont regret buying it the graphics are excellent and the story always keeps you playing and with great mini games and the sheer size of the free roaming world will make you

Shenmue II (Xbox) - Reviews

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