by TwiceFriedRice » Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:36 am
I still ask myself this question to this day and I still can't come up with a devout answer. To me, it's a tie. However, if you were to put a gun up to my head I'd probably take Shenmue II. It's just so epic in scale, and it is where the story really takes off. Shenmue I kind of laid down the basics story wise, like any good introduction is supposed to do. Shenmue II let you know that you're experiencing some kind of epic saga, and wrapped you up so much in the characters and Ryo's struggle that you cared for each of them like they were your own best friends.
The cool thing about Shenmue I though was that while it made you fell as if you were in a familiar area, there were things that weren't so familiar about it. Things that you were experiencing for the first time. Like your neighborhood had an entirely different character than you originally knew. Like going out at night to the red light district and into shady alleys. Then going to the harbor. And of course finding the hidden cellar in your own damn house. Everything was like home except with a sense of mystery to it. That is the great thing that Shenmue's atmosphere captures.