-Shenmue II Archived Review (NTSC-uk)-
So then we get, eventually, to the game in question – Shenmue II. Originally released on the Dreamcast in Japan and Europe, Microsoft quickly snapped up the rights to release the game on the Xbox in the states. With this, we are given a solid frame rate and a new, English, dub. With Shenmue, rather than the endless violence usually associated with gaming, we have something else; endless silence. Nothing happens.
Not until about half way through the game anyway. This is a very peaceful and delicate character study, it shows the logical reactions, something to connect to. Ryo Hazuki, the lead, has grown up from the naïve youngster in the original to a cocky, impatient and desperate teen in the sequel. Annoying? Maybe, but how many other games have shown such character development?
But this is more than that, this is an almost fatal connection between the gamer and Ryo. When Ryo has to work, you have to work and when Ryo gets bored, you get bored. It’s true, a great deal of the game is spent doing the most repetitive and dull exercises you can possibly imagine. Hours are spent moving books from a library to the outside, something which, along with Ryo, you’ll learn to despise. But persevere and there are rewards. Like many games, this is a story of revenge, but this develops into so much more. We’re given reasons to like Ryo and reasons to hate him. We’re given stories of hope, stories of love and tragic loss, childish crushes, immature arguing and spiritual reasoning. Most important of all though, we’re given consequences. While the exclusive English dub is, unfortunately, so diabolical that much of the immersion is shattered whenever a word is spoken, the point is that Shenmue is able to offer the emotive lows to make the violent highs all the more profound. The silence does indeed make the violence golden.
Although it has a presence, this isn’t endless violence. Behind the killings and action, there is reason. Regardless of boredom, you continue to carry those books, just because Ryo requires you to. The connection certainly is there, but unfortunately the power is questionable.
There are many who hate the series with a passion, and it’s easy to see why. The illusion of realism, something the game so desperately wants, is constantly shattered through a clumsy script and pointless exuberance. Wanting to make the gamer feel the same emotions as Ryo is virtually fatal, since the amount of endlessly dull tasks given to make him understand the meaning patience and calm is borderline ridiculous. Endless boredom verses endless violence? The question doesn’t even deserve an answer.
So it could be argued that Shenmue II fails at what it sets out to do. Although this is possibly the case, it does show that using this title as a basis, it is possible to create something extraordinarily powerful through the use of the videogame medium. It is something that has never truly been achieved, but few have come as close as Shenmue II. The industry would be wrong to think that the series is the future of gaming, since this endless violence is indeed unashamedly fun, something which gamers have known all along. The series does show however that there is an alternative path, one which, given the time to evolve, will be a truly incredible experience.
Score: 7/10
Writer Credit: Pete Johns
For Research & Archival Purpose via (Internet Archive)
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