Shenmue I & II

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 280 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 226 out of 280
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 280
  3. Negative: 37 out of 280
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. SuperkenGaming
    Aug 26, 2018
    6
    Shenmue 1 and 2
    Immersion over gameplay
    Shenmue 1 and 2 is an easily over 20 hour long collection of the remastered versions of Dreamcasts 1999 Shenmue and 2001s Shenmue 2 Shenmue 2 having aged much better especially with its audio recording but both still having their problems… The story starts with your father being killed… you play as a teenage martial artist named ryo hazuki, and    Shenmue 1 and 2
    Immersion over gameplay
    Shenmue 1 and 2 is an easily over 20 hour long collection of the remastered versions of Dreamcasts 1999 Shenmue and 2001s Shenmue 2
    Shenmue 2 having aged much better especially with its audio recording but both still having their problems…
    The story starts with your father being killed… you play as a teenage martial artist named ryo hazuki, and you search the streets of japan and later Hong Kong during the late 1980s in search of answers… following the trail of your fathers killer…
    The Shenmue games are very unique, this was my first time playing both and I had no idea what to expect..
    But this is very much a life simulation game… in both games it’s a lot of finding the right person to talk to.. Only for them to tell you to go to this person, who will tell you to go to that person... it’s a never ending wild goose chase... this is the majority of the gameplay... it’s a lot of living life… memorizing the town streets as you don’t really get a map anywhere close to what we’ve been spoiled with in the modern age of gaming, you’ll do a lot of reading the maps on the streets to get an idea of how to get to the building the person or people you’re after are staying…
    occasionally doing quick time event sequences, or fighting.. but these are very occasional…
    it is primarily passing time, waiting for stores and bars to open, immersing yourself into the world you find yourself in and you’re going to find this really boring like I did, or you’re going to really appreciate how great of a job this game does at making you feel like you’re living another life.. In Shenmue 2 there’s more focus on earning cash, so you’ll have to do jobs to pay for rent…
    onto the issues though… Shenmue 1s audio quality sticks out like a sore thumb, however I found it to add a bit of charm and was so ridiculous I was laughing the whole way through my play through…
    the most irritating thing Is the lack of progression indictors... the lack of maps and arrows... this is mostly because ive been spoiled.. but it’s important to note your hand won’t be held here… you’ll take notes in a journal that you’ll have to refer to to know where to go and then it’s up to you to find a map to know where this place is if you don’t remember it from passing… im also not a big fan of having to wait for time to pass for things to open… I would have to just set my controller down and walk away, wait for a shop or bar to open for example... you can sleep in this game once it gets late, but that’s the only time, you cant do it at will… on the shenmue 2 side.. moving around the cities and in buildings is just awful, you feel so still, having to walk all the way up a stairway so you can turn back around instead of being able to do it mid stairway for example… gets super annoying in a game that’s all about trying to get from point a to point b off of memory..
    That being said, the world is so intriguing, especially in Shenmue 2… the different characters and wonder will pull you through if you’re into the idea of living another life... but that life much like real life can feel slow and drug out at times…
    Shemnue isn’t for everyone.. Especially not for players spoiled by the conveniences of, modern games
    I give Shenmue 1 and 2
    a 6.5/10    … Expand
  2. GameHunter
    Aug 26, 2018
    6
    I’m surprised more people aren’t calling this out for being an underwhelming re-release. Just know that this isn’t any kind of a remaster or anything. It’s just straight-up Shenmue 1 & 2, and really nothing has been changed.
    The worst thing of all is the sound. It is actually terrible. I’m not some audiophile either, I can lower my standards; but the sound is noticeably bad, and it just    I’m surprised more people aren’t calling this out for being an underwhelming re-release. Just know that this isn’t any kind of a remaster or anything. It’s just straight-up Shenmue 1 & 2, and really nothing has been changed.
    The worst thing of all is the sound. It is actually terrible. I’m not some audiophile either, I can lower my standards; but the sound is noticeably bad, and it just kind of speaks to the product as a whole. The game itself is still enjoyable. It’s just too bad the developers couldn’t have done a little something special for this rerelease. At least cleaning up the audio would have been nice.    … Expand
  3. karco
    Aug 23, 2018
    5
    Game is barely playable in 2018. Story is nothing special. Graphics is ugly. Sound and voice acting are terrible. Port is lazy. I can't understand why there are so many 10/10 scores. If you want life simulation game, you better play Kingdom Come. If you want game about Japan with fun mini games and crazy fights you better play Yakuza 0 or 5.
  4. Reed618
    Sep 25, 2019
    7
    I have a real love/hate relationship with these games after playing them for the first time recently.

    Shenmue 1 is enjoyable as it's fun to explore a Japanese neighborhood, slowly learning the layout of the town, meeting the locals and finding clues to proceed with my investigation. The big con is that some sections just go on... and on... and on... it's also crazy how sometimes I had    I have a real love/hate relationship with these games after playing them for the first time recently.

    Shenmue 1 is enjoyable as it's fun to explore a Japanese neighborhood, slowly learning the layout of the town, meeting the locals and finding clues to proceed with my investigation. The big con is that some sections just go on... and on... and on... it's also crazy how sometimes I had to wait 40 real minutes so i could then go to sleep and wait and another real 30 minutes so I could proceed with the story. The story is also... kind of underwhelming. I could summarize it in a few sentences very easily and of course the voice acting is hilariously bad at time.

    Shenmue 2 has much better pacing, the ability to wait as a means of advancing the time quickly and a much improved story. However... the QTE's.... oh god... the damn QTE's... I've never found this mechanic to be so annoying in any other game. It made me just want to quit at points. The game is also packed with filler. At one point you need to go to the top of a building but you can't take an elevator or quickly move up the stairs... you have to fight on every single floor or take part in some annoying stealth section or deal with more QTE's... getting to the top of one building ends up taking hours as a result. The final section of the game is also very slow and kind of dull. It's not the climax I was hoping for.

    Overall my biggest complaint... these games don't respect your time... you could easily edit them down... shortening each from a 20 hour experience to a 15 hour game... or maybe even 10. I hope shenmue 3 can build on the story, the characters, the world and the combat... and avoid mundane and repetitive tasks, filler and annoying QTE's.    … Expand
  5. hoogafanter
    Oct 1, 2018
    6
    This is the single greatest gaming experience I have ever had. I was enthralled from start to finish, and the ending left me wanting more. The atmosphere is glorious, gameplay is solid, and story is phenomenal. Best game to ever grace this console easily...

    It's the software personification of the dreamcast IMO. Just as Dreamcast symbolizes the end of a hardcore gaming era whilst    This is the single greatest gaming experience I have ever had. I was enthralled from start to finish, and the ending left me wanting more. The atmosphere is glorious, gameplay is solid, and story is phenomenal. Best game to ever grace this console easily...

    It's the software personification of the dreamcast IMO. Just as Dreamcast symbolizes the end of a hardcore gaming era whilst trailblazing the future of the industry(for better or worse), Shenmue is the prime software example of this. A beautifully animated character driven narrative focused open world game, now of which are a dime a dozen, but with arcadish gameplay and a sense of immersion that still has yet to be matched 18 years later.

    Absolutely everything about Shenmue, just like the dreamcast itself, was painfully detailed and no effort was spared. It also pioneered and/or popularized so many common modern gaming tropes its astounding. So much that we take for granted today was absolutely breathtaking with the release of Shenmue...

    The above is my review for the Dreamcast versions... unfortunately these new ports suffer from awful glitches that really ruin the experience. Sega clearly rushed this out to capitalize on the hype and used a **** dev team with a horrible track record to do it...    … Expand
  6. wollathet
    Sep 30, 2018
    7
    This is something of a mixed bag. On one hand, I love that I can now play these great games on the playstation with all its added convenience, but at the same time, the release is pretty poor. The remaster quality is a 6 but with the games, it seems unfair to go with that. Its a light 7.

    When I initially got the game I was excited to jump into it and I enjoyed it for a solid few hours.    This is something of a mixed bag. On one hand, I love that I can now play these great games on the playstation with all its added convenience, but at the same time, the release is pretty poor. The remaster quality is a 6 but with the games, it seems unfair to go with that. Its a light 7.

    When I initially got the game I was excited to jump into it and I enjoyed it for a solid few hours. After that however I didn't quite have the same enthusiasm and noticed the problems. The sound is pretty bad at times and the clunky controls have aged, which is the same for a lot of the game. As great as the game is, its been nearly 20 years so a better remaster is deserving. The game has shown its age unfortunately. The world of Shenmue, its streets, its shops, are no longer groundbreaking or ever exciting. I was fully aware that it wouldn't be what I remember, but the long waits, the walking back to sleep, only to walk back the next morning can feel like a slog. Its a shame the release is just a basic port as it makes these issues more apparent.

    Had the graphics and audio been given a nice improvement and the controls refined, it would be an 8 or 9, Shenmue are great games, I can't deny that, but I just wish there was something here which could elevate the game from just playing on a dreamcast besides the fact it looks fine on a nice big tv. If you missed Shenmue, then its worth it, but you have to accept that it won't live up to other recent re-releases    … Expand
  7. Robert88
    Oct 19, 2021
    7
    Shenmue 1 and 2 is a game that was very unexpected for it’s time .. with fully rendered 3d environments , every npc having a schedule and daily routine .. .. people wake up go to work or to the bar... every npc having been fully voiced .. changing weather , day and night Cycles.. the combat of virtua fighter .. this was something no body ever experienced at the time .. we are coming outShenmue 1 and 2 is a game that was very unexpected for it’s time .. with fully rendered 3d environments , every npc having a schedule and daily routine .. .. people wake up go to work or to the bar... every npc having been fully voiced .. changing weather , day and night Cycles.. the combat of virtua fighter .. this was something no body ever experienced at the time .. we are coming out of a era of side scrollers and 2d ... unfortunately not many people were aware of this game and not many people even knew of this type of genre of game, people did not know what to cal it .. it is not often you see a game bring a new feature to Change gaming in today’s day and age .. and Shenmue along with elder scrolls titles helped push this wave of open world games we seee today .. that alone deserves respect .. even today not many games have fully interactive environments Some npc in today’s games you can’t even talk to .. or they will just say one line ... a lot of thought and effort went in to Shenmue 1 and 2 .. though the ending of both games fall pretty flat and leave on a cliffhanger even today as I am playing Shenmue for the millionth time .. I still find new things I never experienced... new cutscenes I never have seen after alll these years people still encountering new things .. how is that possible for a 20 year old game ! Think about it ... that is incredible ...

    Now let’s talk about this copy .. this copy though it did have some really poor audio Bugs , cutscene bugs it has since been patched and runs pretty flawlessly .. I enjoyed my time with it be it going to arcade , training , darts , gambling , or just interacting with people looking for new things to find .. I feel there is more than meets the eye to this game .. it’s an experience I feel that many today will not appreciate , and it is sad that many people who were alive when this game came out did not get a chance to try it ... pick up this game .. play it as if you are in 1998/2000s ... try to see what people who played this game saw for the time ... graphics hold up ok . Game play can be a bit clunky walking around ... combat well combat is based off of virtua fighter ... i always thought tekken was better though.. it is a decent game which is under appreciated and will continue to be under appreciated because today’s day and age this type of game really can’t exist ... we moved on and gone to bigger and better things .    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

47
#47 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
50
#50 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. IGN Japan
    Dec 11, 2018
    80
    Shenmue I & II is a masterpiece that is not for everyone. That’s a shame, because a more solid port with a few tweaks here and there could have made it a package to recommend to all.
    Read full review
  2. Gaming Age
    Oct 26, 2018
    83
    At this point it’s fair to say the HD port of Shenmue I & II is in better shape than its release and would now be considered acceptable to play. Save data transfer and cutscenes were a big problem, and major bugs seem to be patched out. Both games are here in all their glory and probably the best way to spend your time with Ryo as he follows his journey. Veterans will be happy with the ability to play on modern platforms and newcomers finally have a chance to experience what Shenmue has to offer while Yu Suzuki is hard at work on Shenmue 3.
    Read full review
  3. RPG Fan
    Oct 22, 2018
    75
    Playing Shenmue I & II is a treat for die-hard fans as well as an accessible way for newcomers to experience these renowned titles, though they won't be for everyone. Even though I enjoyed both games, I really struggled to look past the clunky dialogue or even fully invest in Ryu's story, and the controls sometimes made walking around a nightmare. They're seminal products of their time that deserve to be celebrated, and this port does a great job of delivering that authentic Shenmue experience.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »