How did you discover Shenmue?

[Ryo Hazukki]

My brother had been following Shenmue since its first appearence in some magazine back in like, '97 or '98, (it was called Project "Berkley" or something then) and I started reading about it in one of his magazines. I was fascinated by the features it boasted: "part time jobs," and "real life arcades, with darts," and so on; for some weird reason I pictured myself scanning bean cans in a supermarket... I have no idea why that peaked my interest, but hey.

Anyway, the thing that really got my interest is a frame-by-frame QTE sequence in said magazine, which must have been cut from the game. The QTE looked awesome: Ryo was standing at the bottom of some subway stairs, and some guy went to flying kick him in the face... Ryo grabbed the guy's leg in mid-air and threw him down the stairs and then proceeded to kick another guy's arse. At that moment, I knew I had to have the game.

Oh, and I also had this demo disc that showed a video of Shenhua casting a fuck-off fireball and blowing some of the Chi You Men away, but I can't find it anymore. Shame, 'cause it was an awesome video. I remember my brother "testing" the game, after my mum had bought it for me, on release, just in time for my Birthday; he locked himself in the spare room for days on end and completed it back-to-back. When I finally got it for my Birthday, I stayed home from school and played it all day... for the next week and a half. Ah, those were the days...

[Lem]

I had seen a Shenmue ad on TV a few times and it always amused me but never thought much of it. Then on Christmas '00 my mom got me a Dreamcast and a game(Shenmue). I remember playing it and instantly being hooked on how great it was. Playing Shenmue was the main thing I did for the remainder of Winter Break. It's also the first game that as soon as I beat I had to immediately play again and again.

[HappyKillmore]

Dreamcast magazines, and my cousin's getting it and me falling in love at first sight

[stigee]

My best friend brought his Dreamcast over to my house and convinced me to try Shenmue. I, like others, thought of whales when I first heard the name. Anyway, he popped in the disc (I was still thinking it wasn't a big deal) and he let me play... I was hooked. I was stunned, fascinated, addicted, in love... Ever since, I have been a fan.

[WooyMooy]

My brother played it back when it first came out , I (just 9) watched him play. Whenever he picked up the DC controller I came running to watch him.

Years past , and in 2008 I decided to go back to the roots. Played the game 17 hours straight , then I calmed down a bit and played shenmue II over a week. <3

[Cinostic]

I heared about it from friends but never played it or saw anything about it before. Till I was looking on a 2nd hand website such like ebay. I saw both games in one add in pretty good condition and people were offering a good prise so I thought it must be a good game so I called the guy and told them that I wanted to have it.
Till now i have no regrads.. Sold most of my old sega stuff but not these 2 games man I really love 'm. Still playing it.. I'ts just something about it. Good topic !

[wude]

youtube

[Andy Hughes]

I got a Dreamcast in 2001, my dads mate was very into his gaming and I only had a few games with the console, so he gave me Shenmue and I think another couple of games as a loan. When I played on Shenmue I was amazed almost straight away, with the graphics and all the things you could do in the gameplay. I really got hooked on buying drinks and shopping at the tomato store and doing other stuff in the game, but back then I never really stuck to the story. I was very disapointed when I had to give it back, after a few months past Shenmue kinda went out of my mind but then I got a copy of Shenmue for x-mas! I was so excited when I got it, I followed the story this time round and discorved Dobuita and Amihama and really enjoyed playing the game. However I did get annoyed when I found the Sega and I coudn't play it, it was after I beat the game and started again that I found that you cud win the games at the shop. But anyway, Shenmue 1 and 2 will always be my most favourite video games of all time! their just so good and adictive. I have beat the first game over 20 times!! And really badly want Shenmue 3 to be made.

Regards
Andy.

[dbzruler88]

it was the 79th edition of expert gamer (which i still have), and i was bored so i read a walkthrough of a game i never even heard of before, which is the game i have come to love known as shenmue....the walkthrough just amazed me. i HAD to play the game, so for christmas i got a dreamcast and a $20 gift card to video games etc, i went there as soon as i could and picked it up, now i have beaten it 20, maybe 30 times, i can't get enough of it.

by the way, this is the magazine and walkthrough that i read: http://www.frankprovo.com/ZiffDavisMedi ... index.html

[MiTT3NZ]

C&VG back in 1999.. or was it 98? Anyway, I was all hyped up on the Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure, so I swapped some toy out of a cereal box for the magazine with someone in school, seen the screenshots, and my jaw dropped (although at the time I was more arsed about Sonic Adventure and the Zelda OOT walkthrough).

About a year or so later in secondary school, I got a Dreamcast n Sonic Adventure, so started buying ODM, and noticed that Shenmue had a rating of 10 - the only game to get it besides Soul Calibur. It boasted how realistic it was, how you could drink, talk to locals, go to restaurants, basically all the shit that my mate told me you could do in Deus Ex, but better.

Obviously, I had to get it, so I went on the hunt for it, but couldn't find it. One day though, when I was stayin at my aunt's in Lincoln, I went to the outdoor market near the Waterside, looked through the Dreamcast games at the video game stall, and there it was. Shenmue in a battered box. I didn't hesitate to hesitate to buy it (and some TMNT Game Boy game for on the bus back, and yes the double hesitate thing was intentional).

When I got back to the house to play it I was completely blown away, and so was everyone else. People were actually coming upstairs to watch scenes of the game. I had to throw them out though, because I couldn't hear what was being said, and I didn't know of the subtitles option at the time.

Anyway, I spent many nights playing it whilst drinking Pepsi Max, then was completely gob-smacked when I completed the game, simply because I didn't want it to end. I bought the next issue of ODC and noticed that there was a question dedicated to the sequel in the FAQ section ("When's Shenmue II coming out?") - the answer being "Early 2002, hopefully" (or something like that anyway).

The issue after that, it was announced in a small box (I think it was the Sonic Adventure 2 review issue), that Shenmue II was completed and would be released in the UK in time for Christmas. I spent the remainder of that year watching Gameplay (the Sky Interactive shop) to see scenes from Shenmue II. I was ultimately disappointed by the game (especially the fact I had to focus all my attention to subtitles at the bottom of the screen). So much so that I just though "fuck it", and bought a walkthrough to just blitz through the game.

I am now readying a Shenmue file with all-perfected-moves (apart from the throw moves, obviously) to correct the mistake I made the first time I played the sequel. If only I did all this a few weeks before I was due to go back to college...

[SpringChick]

My brother was playing it one day. I had no idea what it was, but I sat down and watched for a bit because I had never seen a game like that. As soon as he was done I swiped it and played it over and over again.

[spud1897]

My friend at school told me to buy it and also he lent me a copy of a magazine that had a review in of the game. I was totally sold and bought the game the next day, to think that was nearly 7 years ago is something else.

[Nick Tyndall]

Does anyone know where I can download Shenmue for the Dreamcast? All I have to do os put it on a CD and it will work right? Or, could anyone rip theirs and send it to me?

[Crimson Ryan]

Does anyone know where I can download Shenmue for the Dreamcast? All I have to do os put it on a CD and it will work right? Or, could anyone rip theirs and send it to me?

Buy it cheap enough couldn't you?

[Nick Tyndall]

It is like £15 on Amazon and no game store I know of near me sells it.