Shenmue I & II

The Shenmue II & II collection is hands down, the best way to experience these title (warts and all), for both longtime fans and newcomers alike.

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.

Shenmue is always Shenmue, a milestone in the video games history that deserves to be rediscovered, despite the original limits and those brought by the passage of time.

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.

Some aspects, like the tanky controls, definitely feel tired these days. But there’s still an undeniable charm to this low-key adventure that focuses on investigation rather than too many fights. There’s still nothing else quite like it, and this package makes it easier than ever to miss out no longer. [Issue#154, p.90]

Whilst there are clear deficiencies in places, this is just due to the fact Shemue is an aged classic. But a classic it remains and whilst other games may have surpassed it from a open-world game point of view, there's never really been anything like Shenmue for nearly 20 years.

Modern audiences, though, will still have to overlook some serious rough edges to find out what the big deal is.

It's a classic for a reason; though gaming has "evolved" in various ways since its conception, this is a solid session on where gaming was and where it went. I would encourage you to see this as borderline gaming history education. Also a pretty engaging story with a surprising amount of things to do!

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.

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

I would really like this game but QTE:s have ruined all games they have been. In this game it is probably made worst than any other game. I hope they would use a game tester in development. They repeatedly fail until memorize them and they prevent to enjoy when watching cutscenes because has to concentrate to look if there goes a pop up somewhere.

Over the years Shenmue has garnered a cult following but, whilst I appreciate what these games were trying to do, I never really enjoyed it at the time and this re-release shows that time hasn't been kind to either game. The gameplay is often monotonous with a lot of aimless wondering and dull side missions. The controls, which were poor even for the time, feel even more awkward by modern standards and graphical its stood up as badly as most early 3d games. We'll seen be seeing a third entry in the series pretty soon so Shenmue clearly has a decent fan base, I'm just not one of them.