Shenmue Dojo

Finally someone focuses on one of the modern original features of Shenmue. Good initiative. I wish AJ have the same game knowledge.

Shenmue 2's Hong Kong isn't the biggest of open worlds, and unlike the Yokosuka suburb that preceded it, it can hardly claim to be the densest.

Considering these were pretty much the first open world games, that comment is a bit unfair. Of course they are no longer the biggest, but at the time they were.

That said, the rest is a solid piece of writing. One guy in the comments has already said that although he's never played Shenmue, that article has got him interested.

Lovely article, it's nice to see one about Shenmue on a gaming site that's actually well-informed, and also sums up why it's different from othet open-world games. But yeah, the comment about S2's size is a bit unfair, I remember being blown away by just how big Wan Chai was, at the time. While it arguably didn't have the depth and some detail of Yokosuka, it was still pretty damn big.

What a great article. It perfectly sums up my feelings on Shenmue 2 (and the franchise as a whole). The way Yu Suzuki created what felt like a real, living, breathing world is always what appealed to me. Since GTA3 happened, it seems like open world games have focused more and more on creating larger and larger worlds that act like playgrounds for the player to wonder from place to place to partake in missions and side quests, but nothing ever feels very realistic or detailed.

Shenmue tried to make the player feel what Ryo was going through. Like Ryo, the player feels almost isolated and overwhelmed when they first reach Hong Kong. Like Ryo, you no longer have your neighbours and friends who you trust to help you and you now treat other individuals with suspicion. It's an incredible feeling playing through both Shenmue 1 and 2.

Sonoshee wrote:

Shenmue 2's Hong Kong isn't the biggest of open worlds, and unlike the Yokosuka suburb that preceded it, it can hardly claim to be the densest.

Considering these were pretty much the first open world games, that comment is a bit unfair. Of course they are no longer the biggest, but at the time they were.

The author isn't talking about Shenmue as a game from a past point of view but as a modern game, and that's why this article is way more interesting than any other articles explaining why Shenmue was so revolutionary at its time (that no one cares).

Really nice to see articles delving into WHY Shenmue was so special in the first place, and why it is still so close to our hearts.

Hope to see more intelligent analysis like this in the days ahead.

well done again eurogamer . there have been some great shenmue/yu suzuki articles from them over the years they are a real asset.
thank you

I've already personally thanked the author on twitter, we need more articles like this!

Reprise wrote: The way Yu Suzuki created what felt like a real, living, breathing world is always what appealed to me. Since GTA3 happened, it seems like open world games have focused more and more on creating larger and larger worlds that act like playgrounds for the player to wonder from place to place to partake in missions and side quests, but nothing ever feels very realistic or detailed.
.

This, GTA to me feels empty and fake, Shenmue felt real.

Drakul wrote:

Reprise wrote: The way Yu Suzuki created what felt like a real, living, breathing world is always what appealed to me. Since GTA3 happened, it seems like open world games have focused more and more on creating larger and larger worlds that act like playgrounds for the player to wonder from place to place to partake in missions and side quests, but nothing ever feels very realistic or detailed.
.

This, GTA to me feels empty and fake, Shenmue felt real.

I've not played the GTA series much, I did start GTA5 though and I have to agree, the world seems huge, but there isn't any soul to it, you know? No open world has really ever come close to Shenmue's IMO.

Miles Prower wrote:

Drakul wrote:

Reprise wrote: The way Yu Suzuki created what felt like a real, living, breathing world is always what appealed to me. Since GTA3 happened, it seems like open world games have focused more and more on creating larger and larger worlds that act like playgrounds for the player to wonder from place to place to partake in missions and side quests, but nothing ever feels very realistic or detailed.
.

This, GTA to me feels empty and fake, Shenmue felt real.

I've not played the GTA series much, I did start GTA5 though and I have to agree, the world seems huge, but there isn't any soul to it, you know? No open world has really ever come close to Shenmue's IMO.

I agree! In GTA, Saints Row and other huge open world games, after you've finished all activities and side stories, it's pretty much empty with nothing left to do. After all these years, players are still finding new things in Shenmue. On my latest playthrough of S2 I found a blue forklift toy hidden behind one of the mattresses in the Free Stay Lodge. Probably old news to many but to me it was something new. It's the little things that you discover for the first time that make you smile. Shenmue indeed has a soul and it never feels empty or lacking.

Amazing read. Even the "first part" is very good:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-23-shenmue-retrospective

Same author, same quality.

Miles Prower wrote:I've not played the GTA series much, I did start GTA5 though and I have to agree, the world seems huge, but there isn't any soul to it, you know? No open world has really ever come close to Shenmue's IMO.

Exactly, the only GTA I played was 4 because it was set in NY and I wanted to see what they did. But aside from that I'm not really a fan and I don't understand why people rave about those games... I'll take a Yakuza or a Sleeping Dogs any day over the western kind of open world (excluding fallout types).

I think GTAV has plenty of soul but the aims are different than what Shenmue was going for. I play GTAV and it's like being transported to south California and I get home sick (I'm not from California, but spent many a summer and time there as a kid, so it feels like a second home). The details are in the extraneous setting, such as the countryside, and details to buildings to build a sense of place, rather than being personally detailed like in Shenmue. It has a soul, but I think you have to have been to or appreciate southern California to really get it.