Today's game on display from our physical collection is Shenmue I & II for the PlayStation 4!
Although the SEGA Dreamcast is easily one of my all-time favorite consoles, the Shenmue series is something I missed out on when I was younger. While I used the internet to access SEGA's official BBS thanks to Sonic Adventure 2 advertising it, Shenmue was just something I never really encountered. In fact, it wasn't until Yakuza released that I learned it was a "spiritual successor" of sorts, which spiked my interest in the series. From there, I had to rely on online resources to learn more about the title, but I always held on to the hope that it would one day return as a collection—and it did.
Finding Comfort in a Tough Time
The Shenmue I & II HD collection contains remastered versions of the original two games and served as a way to promote the then-upcoming Shenmue III, a game fans had waited 18 years for. While I was excited to finally play the game for myself, it sadly arrived at a difficult time in my life. My grandfather had been sick with congestive heart failure for the past few months, and Shenmue I & II launched just a couple of weeks before his passing. In addition to this, I also injured my back, so I was bedridden for a few days and unable to go see him. So what did I do? Play Shenmue, of course!
A Living, Breathing World
Looking back now, there is no denying how dated the title is, but it was also revolutionary for its time. The gameplay simply comes down to exploring a town, talking to every person you see, and hoping they point you in the correct direction, but when it released, there was nothing quite like it. This game had a full, living town with characters who ran on their own timetables, a calendar system where days actually passed thanks to the in-game clock, and even a Christmas season that would eventually come around. The town was also packed full of smaller things to interact with and simply did a great job of immersing players in its world.
Yes, it was a bit annoying when you finally discovered the person you needed to speak to in order to advance the story, only for them to tell you to come back the next day at 9 AM, but that too helped the world feel alive. Later on, the game changed into a forklift simulator as you needed to get a "real job" to earn money, but that was handled in a realistic way as well. It was mindless and repetitive, but also challenging when you first started out. The warehouses felt like a maze, the controls were stiff, and you were more than likely to lose the daily warmup race. However, after doing it day after day, you yourself improved, and eventually, you were able to run circles around the other workers and become a pro. This wasn't in-game stat progression making it easier; this was your own real-life skill improving, just as it would if this were an actual job.
From a Small Town to a Big City
Moving on from Shenmue, Shenmue II takes the immersive world of a small town and applies it to a large city instead. It builds upon everything its predecessor started on an impressively massive scale. While the core gameplay is still exploration-based and only progresses by speaking to the right people, there is still something special about the whole experience. Many modern gamers might get frustrated and give up, but the collection is a reminder of a simpler time in gaming, and you can't help but appreciate what they were able to accomplish back in the day.
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