Doji Grovesai

Time Warp (part 2): Shenmue

A while back, almost at the inception of this piece of webspace, I thought I'd have a continuing article about cool games and stuff that nobody plays anymore (for the most part). Part 1 detailed a game for the N64. Today, we look at Shenmue for the Dreamcast.

Playing Shenmue, you see a paradox as to why the Dreamcast failed, but also, why it should have succeeded.

Shenmue is a role-playing game, I guess. It's kind of hard to describe it. You don't really gain levels, there aren't really side quests, either. And (to the joy of some) no "super powerful ultra awesome legendary items" that you have to get in order to beat the game. Instead, you are one guy. Your father was killed over something called the Mirror. You were forced to watch as your father's karate/aikido was no match for the villain's powerful kung-fu. Plotwise, it's not like this hasn't been done before.

The graphics in-game (and all cutscenes are in-engine as well) are beautiful to say the least. This kind of rendering wasn't really seen anywhere until Final Fantasy X, and then quickly forgotten in some cases. As said, you play a martial artist/student (do all Japanese stories have to have heroes under 18?) out for revenge against the man who killed your father (and the fighting is very well rendered and choreographed). But you have no idea where to start. So you talk to people around your neighborhood, and in the next neighborhood, and so on. Tracking down the black car that transported the man who killed your father. If in the dojo, or an empty park, you can practice. If your friend is in the dojo, you can spar with him.

Also, as you stroll about, you can help some people that need it, or be a part of "real-time" events. A push of the button flashed on the screen will have you react properly. Fail, and "bad stuff" happens. As far as I am in the game now, that has ranged from being hit in the shoulder with a stray soccor ball, or getting beat up by neighborhood bullies.

On top of that, the environment is almost totally interactive. Want food, go buy some. Or you can stop by the arcade and play some games. This is one of my favorite things to do, as you get to play some Sega Master System classics like "Space Harrier," "Hang Time" and others. You start with 10,000 yen (I think) and you get 500 daily as an allowance. With your allowance and your martial arts moves, go avenge your father.

Speaking of martial arts moves and revenge, the fighting system is very good for such a game. While I love the fighting games like Tekken Tag/4 and Virtua Fighter 4 because they are deep games with lots of fighting sensibilities built in, and I like games like Guilty Gear because of the speed and ferocity of the game, I still appreciated Shenmue's engine. You have four button commands: hand, foot, guard, throw. There are combos, single power attacks, regular attacks, and combinations of the two. But it keeps it very simplified. Note, that it doesn't mean "dumbed down," just a little easier to put things in. The emphasis is always on the story. Unimportant fights (like the street punks in the beginning) are reduced to real-time, push what flashes on the screen events. This way, you can just watch your guy drop the punks and move on. More pivotal fights are done with the Battle System. Moving is a tad awkward at first, since the rest of the game moves differently, but mistakes made adjusting usually won't get you killed.

I love the game. It's beautiful, deep, and interesting (though hard to get started). I honestly think that everybody should own a Dreamcast. The fact that you can get them for under $30 now is a real plus. And the games are all under $25.

But unfortunately, the Dreamcast is dead. And, as I said, playing Shenmue sheds light as to why. The first thing is the controller. Some are put off by the size, but that isn't the whole issue, as XBox has awkwardly large controllers as well. It's mainly the games, and the hype. Dreamcast never really advertised itself or its games (as Sega tends to do), and banked solely on brand loyalty and word of mouth. But Sony and the PS2 had a bigger mouth. The hype is part of what killed the Dreamcast. The second flaw was the type of games. Shenmue is beautiful. I find few, however, who like to play a game that does not involve instant action. Players didn't (don't?) want to go looking in every drawer, closet and shop looking for clues, or talk to every person on the street looking for a tenuous lead. I do, but it's not exactly news that I'm a little "off."

I like the Dreamcast, I like Shenmue. On that eventful day where I'm not digging through the furniture for pennies so I can make rent, I'll go and get more games for it. I find the Dreamcast to be a must-have, especially since the price is so inviting.