I've completed a lot of games on stream at this point. I've also been interested in doing some more long-form writing on here. So, I'm going to try and review all of the games I've played! I'm only going to commit to at least a paragraph on each game, but I'm leaving myself open to writing more if I need to. Anyway, let's get started with the first game I streamed!1.
It's become pretty popular to hate Shenmue, and the foremost criticism is usually that it 'wastes the player's time'. 2. Admittedly, the time system in the game does ask you to wait a lot. Even so, I don't think there's anything Shenmue respects more than the time you spend with it. The game gives you plenty of side activities to do while you wait for the next event; You can play arcade games, try your luck at the gatchapon machines, practice your martial arts, or even just wander around town and talk to people. In any modern game, those side events would be distractions I probably wouldn't bother with more than once. Shenmue makes them core to the experience, because you have to pass the time somehow. Are you frustrated that you can't just make the plot move forward? Good! Ryo probably is too! He wants to find the man who killed his dad, but the world doesn't move at his pace, or yours. Shenmue uses time to immerse you in the world in a way I haven't seen from any other game, and I love it dearly.
As for the rest of the game, the story is fun, especially if you take it as a mood piece and don't expect the plot to resolve. 3. Combat works fine when it comes up, which is surprisingly rarely, but some inputs feel more demanding than they probably should be. The cutscenes also deserve to be called out, as they're all fantastically well directed and draw from film in ways I haven't seen in many other games. The voice acting is amateur-sounding, but the core cast is good enough that the roughness actually helps it to sound naturalistic and helps to draw you in. All in all, I think Shenmue is a fantastic game if you approach it with openness and patience, and writing this is reminding me that I really need to get around to 2 & 3...
Oh, and the forklift kicks ass.
1. Not counting the charity streams I did before streaming regularly, or my failed attempt at streaming wayyyyy back in the day.
2. By the way, I think this is one of the cruelest criticisms you can throw at a game, and it's done a bit too readily by folks. If you're saying a game wastes your time, you're saying that nothing of interest or creative worth exists in that game, and I just think that's rude in most cases.
3. Which, well, let's face it. It probably never will at this point.
