Is there anything else like Shenmue?

[Ichi-Ban-San]

Seeing as Shenmue3 is going to be a wait and a half, Im just wondering if there are any other games that are similar in terms of playability and immersion? I've heard that Max Payne is pretty good. Any help?

[ChaiOgawa]

Rent-A-Hero

the second one is coming out soon as well.

[::RFY::]

Seeing as Shenmue3 is going to be a wait and a half, Im just wondering if there are any other games that are similar in terms of playability and immersion? I've heard that Max Payne is pretty good. Any help?

Replay some old Zelda games for the N64 or Chrono Trigger for snes (I can supply you with a rom if you dont have it on SNES cause its rare...). That is my high recommend, and I am not trying to be funny.

[Jacob Marley]

Seeing as Shenmue3 is going to be a wait and a half, Im just wondering if there are any other games that are similar in terms of playability and immersion? I've heard that Max Payne is pretty good. Any help?

Well, the obvious answer is Rent-a-Hero as Chai mentioned...check my RAH thread in the Shenmue II forum.

Another game that has the potential to immerse you on the XBOX in a huge way is Morrowind. It's only $19.99, so it won't hurt to try it out.

[JAPANFAN]

Some people'll say Ico, but eh, I don't really see it... If you want to play a game that's almost exactly like Shenmue, check out Shadow of Destiny for the PlayStation 2. ;)

[mikec_ct]

Omikron for Dreamcast (offers freedom and a cool story, much less polished than Shenmue, although I loved it)
Deus Ex for PC (it's on a couple consoles too, but get the PC version)

[::RFY::]

Star Wars: KOTOR should be good....so should Project Ego....well FABLE. I hate that name "FABLE". Project Ego was a sweeter name....like Project Berkeley ;) .

[Ichi-Ban-San]

Thanks all. The help is much appriciated!

I do have Deus-Ex on PC but it wont run because my PC is slower than a zimmer relay race!

[Jacob Marley]

Omikron for Dreamcast (offers freedom and a cool story, much less polished than Shenmue, although I loved it)
Deus Ex for PC (it's on a couple consoles too, but get the PC version)

I've seen Omnikron for like $5.00 used at EB...is it like Shenmue in the sense that the main game takes place in a third person perspective like Shenmue?

[mikec_ct]

I've seen Omnikron for like $5.00 used at EB...is it like Shenmue in the sense that the main game takes place in a third person perspective like Shenmue?

For $5.00, I'd recommend it to any Shenmue fan. First off, even if you don't like it much, it's not like you wasted $50. Secondly, I think you will like it. The similarities go beyond the third person perspective. You get to explore a huge city and you are given an amazing amount of freedom (more than Shenmue in certain ways). There's a good amount of exploration required as well as interaction with NPC's. The graphics lack the polish of Shenmue, but if you can get past that and relatively sluggish controls, you'll have a good time with it. The story is engrossing, and the whole concept of transferring your soul into different bodies, while it isn't used as often as is implied on the box, is implemented well. I'd say take the plunge.

[BackinBlack]

If you can find it, The Last Express is a great old PC game with an immersive storyline and the real time aspect of Shenmue. It's an adventure that takes place over a 3 day trip on the Orient Express. Top stuff.

[Shodan]

Seeing as Shenmue3 is going to be a wait and a half, Im just wondering if there are any other games that are similar in terms of playability and immersion? I've heard that Max Payne is pretty good. Any help?

Max Payne is pretty good, the amazing bullet-time sequences are a great gameplay innovation rather than just eye candy, and it has a really engrossing plot - check it out, it's pretty different to Shenmue but very enjoyable. Btw I highly recommend the PC version as Max Payne was always designed for a key/mouse setup, things like aiming are far more efficient with a mouse.

Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is really similar to Shenmue because it also features an internal clock/time system, so characters will go about their daily "lives" and the game world adapts and changes as time goes by, Deus Ex, Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker also share many similarities to Shenmue.

I think Silent Hill 2 has a similar "feeling" to Shenmue, the way the cutscenes are and the music in those cutscenes just really remind me of Shenmue, however the survival horror nature of the gameplay is quite different to Shenmue.

Unfortunately there are few games like Shenmue, which is another reason why Shenmue is so amazing.

[Shodan]

If you want to play a game that's almost exactly like Shenmue, check out Shadow of Destiny for the PlayStation 2. ;)

lol, Shadow of Destiny(Shadow of Memories in Europe) is a complete Shenmue clone, it copies practically everything in Shenmue, the only difference is that Shenmue is like, a billion times better.

*typical Shadow of Destiny game progression*

After cutscene main character asks around for clues for his quest, checks a log, a time system that's almost identical to Shenmue's and then after walking the streets of some boring town, he comes across this fortune teller who not only looks but sounds exactly like Lapis, even the camera angles in that cutscene are alike.

God, they copied everything... you'll see what I mean if you play it. But I recommend you not bother cos that game is so boring and tedious and not worth a minute of your time.

*Runs back to Dreamcast*

[Gutcruncher]

If you want to play a game that's almost exactly like Shenmue, check out Shadow of Destiny for the PlayStation 2. ;)

lol, Shadow of Destiny(Shadow of Memories in Europe) is a complete Shenmue clone, it copies practically everything in Shenmue, the only difference is that Shenmue is like, a billion times better.

*typical Shadow of Destiny game progression*

After cutscene main character asks around for clues for his quest, checks a log, a time system that's almost identical to Shenmue's and then after walking the streets of some boring town, he comes across this fortune teller who not only looks but sounds exactly like Lapis, even the camera angles in that cutscene are alike.

God, they copied everything... you'll see what I mean if you play it. But I recommend you not bother cos that game is so boring and tedious and not worth a minute of your time.

*Runs back to Dreamcast*

Heh, and i just KNOW that some PS2 fanboy is gonna try and tell me that Shenmue is a ripoff of Shadows of Destiny

[Silas]

Some people'll say Ico, but eh, I don't really see it... If you want to play a game that's almost exactly like Shenmue, check out Shadow of Destiny for the PlayStation 2. ;)

Well, if you're thinking of me, JF, because of that thread I started on the Sony forum, that was highly misunderstood. All I meant was that Ico was one of the few games which animated every second of movement - in fact the motion animation was actually better than Shenmue's, but didn't have the fantastic on-the-fly cinematic camera. And of course it's just a puzzle game with some fighting. There's no immersion - in fact I've only got about a third of the way through and gone on to other, more engaging games (Silent Hill 2 & 3 if you must know).

Based on a recommendation on this very forum, I sought out and bought Shadow of Destiny (which is Shadow of Memories in the UK). It does indeed have some of the features which made Shenmue so good - basically a realistic looking contemporary town, with the added twist of seeing the same town as it was 20, 100 and 400 years ago. BUT the town in which the character lives, teems with a population of about eight. They've got this strange idea (common to games developers I've noticed) that it's "realler" if when you want to talk to an NPC, you cut to the character looking straight into the camera, whereas it should look more like a movie, the way Shenmue does it. There are also unnecessary restrictions to freedom. For instance there's a church that, Shenmue-like, has nothing to do with the plot. But not only can you only visit it in two of the four time frames, but in one of those it closes very quickly. The same with some of the shops.

The storyline is excellent, though, and the voice acting is absolutely top notch. And there are several different endings you have to find the way to by subtle differences in the way you do things during the game, which adds to replay value. (Thank God, because I completed it in under 5 hours on the day it arrived.)