Henry Spencer wrote:Shenmue really is one of the most divisive games ever made. What about it actually appealed to you after you didn't like it at first?
What's not to like?
To be honest, when I first tried it I was a tad too young to fully understand just how much shenmue really was. Plus the horrible voiceacting, the loooong loading times everytime I entered a new area/store and the overall absence of action scenes (at least in the first few moments; come to think of it, the game really had very few action all in all, especially if compared to the second) really put me off, as I was looking for an adrenaline pumped experience at the time. Another thing that annoyed me was that you just couldn't pick the controller, play for a little bit and leave when you wanted. You'd always have to play for an hour or two. granted I had a lot of free time back then, but my attention span was quite limited and it was not unusual that I changed discs every ten minutes.
But then I tried open-mindedly and I started appreciating all the small things we've all grown to love. Even just picking a soda from a vending machine seemed to me a touch of genius. Then I started talking to the people and everyone had something to say, even that american stereotype that used to crack me up. Fortunately I had a lot of free time, so I ended up loving the game.
And now I'll probably drop a bomb around the forum, but I never really finished the game
(and I probably won't be talked to again around here)
the final disc was ruined, so I only made it that far... Back then I had limited access to new games and I just couldn't afford buying a new copy from the store, so it was the end of the line. oh well, despite that fact, the game really stuck out to me, becoming one of my alltime favourites.
Then I bought a xbox and I ended up getting the second one, but there was a gap in the story (manageable of course) and time started to lack, so I never gave the second game a proper playthrough. However, having spoken to some people it seems I wasn't far away from the ending.
So here you have it, I'm probably the only person around her never to finish either one of the shenmues...
)
