For the past month and a half I have been engrossed in one of the greatest games to ever be released across any platform. Such a game pulled me from my real life and transported me into the life of a young Japanese boy named Ryo Hazuki. Over the course of a month (game time) and three full GD-ROMS the game became something more. Upon completing my quest I was rewarded only with the longing to play the next chapter in this wonderful series. Just like a good movie that ends in a cliffhanger, you scream for more, but cherish what you have just witnessed.

For the true gamers out there that believe games make a system, not graphics, this is the killer app that you have been waiting for on the Dreamcast. Not to say that no other game that came before this on the little white box aren’t worth buying, in all actuality, the Dreamcast has had the strongest first year line-up of any console ever released. Shenmue is Sega’s answer to the Zelda series. With an engrossing storyline, amazing graphics and sound, and gameplay that will astound the most jaded gamer, Shenmue triumphs over every barrier, breaks all the rules, and shows you what a true video game is. Yu Suzuki has crafted one of the finest masterpieces in the history of gaming, and anyone who is lucky enough to witness this greatness owes a bit of gratitude to him for making this happen.

Shenmue starts off with Ryo Hazuki coming home and finding the gates to his house, and his father’s dojo, ajar. With a suspicious black car parked outside, young Ryo races inside the compound to find what is going on. Upon reaching the dojo, Ryo sees his father and a mysterious man in a green robe locked in combat over a mirror of some sort. After an amazing real-time action sequence your father is dealt a fatal blow, and you embrace and comfort him in the closing moments of his life. The man in the green robe gets away, and you make a promise to find your fathers killer, and have your revenge. This is where the adventure begins.

Ryo’s first quest will be to find out more information about the assailants that killed his father. After recovering from the injuries you sustain on that faithful day, you set your sights on town.

Shenmue’s open quest (Free Quest) feature may turn some people off due to the sheer size of the world this game takes place in. Alas, Ryo is one for keeping notes, and your trusty notebook will help you along the way. Whenever Ryo learns of an important detail, or event, he will write it down in his notebook. You have free access to this notebook to review events, passwords, and phone numbers that you will need later in the game. One complaint that could be raised with the notebook system of Shenmue is it almost makes the game too easy at some times. For a majority of the time you have to set out and question people in order to find information, but sometimes the entry that appears in the notebook almost blatantly tells you what to do next. This may please some of the gamers that become clueless and don’t enjoy a good RPG quest, but to veteran gamers and RPG fanatics alike, it could be seen as a drawback.

You don’t have to find every entry for the notebook to finish the game; this is where the replay value of the game sets in. I finished my game with six blank pages, and several others that only had one entry on them. Yu Suzuki has stated that Shenmue will be different each time you play the game. So when you chose to do one thing in one game, you can do the other in your second time through, this will keep you from wondering about opportunity costs.

The basic gameplay of Shenmue is broken down into three parts. The Free Quest Mode, as I have described above, gives you full control of Ryo and has you talking to everyone you can find, interacting with objects, and further progressing in the story. Sometimes while in the Free Quest Mode the game can become tedious. There are times where someone asks you to meet them the following day at 2:00 PM. Days in Shenmue take about 45 minutes to complete, so if it is only 1:00 PM, you have a good hour to kill. There are many things scattered around the city to keep Ryo occupied for such a long amount of time. You can stop into the arcade and play some classic Sega Arcade games like Hang-On. If you feel like losing some money, you can take a trip to the Slot House and place your bets on some slot machines. You can even win Sega Saturn versions of the arcade games and play them at home on your console. This does seem somewhat out of place considering the Saturn didn’t exist in 1986, but it is a welcomed edition to the game itself.

The second section of gameplay is the Quick Time Events (QTE). Throughout the game Ryo will be faced with a cinematic action sequence, and you will need fast fingers to conquer the challenge. A QTE is comprised of the A and B buttons combined with the D pad directions that will flash on screen for a split second, and you must hit the corresponding button before the image disappears off of the screen. All but one of the QTEs can be repeated if you should fail. The only one that cannot be repeated takes place on the third disk, and doesn’t hold a vital position in your quest. If you should need to brush up on your skills there are several QTE games located in the arcade in Dobuita that will let you test yourself and improve on your lightning fast reflexes.

The third part of Shenmue is a Free Battle Mode. In the battle mode, you basically take Ryo in a Virtual Fighter-like arena that allows you to run freely about and fight. There are tons of moves to learn, and many will give you an advantage when fighting some of the mightier foes towards the end of the game. You won’t encounter many Free Battles in the first two disks, but the third is loaded with them along with a 70 vs. 1 battle royal that you must win.

With sound gameplay the sweet graphics and amazing music are just a bonus to the experience.

Shenmue has been in development long before the Dreamcast even launched in Japan. So it is a wonder that this games first generation graphics can look better than some other studios second and third generation games. To say that graphics are amazing is an understatement. With photo realistic cityscapes and changing weather patterns, mid-80s Japan comes alive with a brilliant insight to detail and vibrant colors. While walking down Market Street, or through the harbor, you will feel as though you are actually there. The textures show no sign of blurriness due to compression, and the characters are composed of a healthy number of polygons. In some instances you can see girl’s hair flow in the wind or snow play a factor in how well your forklift drives. The graphics are only complementary to the amazing music and ambient noises.

While walking in the harbor you will have seagulls calling, the distant thunder of a forklift engine humming along, and the gentle splashing of the waves up against the pier. The ambient effects in Shenmue don’t only let you imagine you are in this world, you truly believe you are. The music is an integral aspect of the experience. Depending on the location and time of day, you will be treated to a series of wonder tracks that fit in right with the mood of the game. If you find a background track that you especially like, you can visit one of the many lounges in the game, and use the jukebox to play your favorite tune. It cost 100 yen, but it is well worth the money.

Upon opening the jewel case, you will notice that there is a fourth disk included in, this already hearty, package. The Fourth disk is a program called Shenmue Passport that will allow you to use your saved game and access any of the in game movies you have experienced, learn about various parts of the game, or read about the game online. The Shenmue Passport utilizes the Dreamcast’s modem to go online and read about updates to the game, known problems, or share you experiences with others. You can also compare your fastest time in the 70 vs. 1 battle that takes place at the end of the game. While not critical to the game, the Passport provides a welcomed escape.

Still, even a game as masterfully crafted as Shenmue, can’t be created without some problems that need to be addressed. First, the control scheme is really awkward when compared to other games on the Dreamcast. Shenmue only utilizes the Analog Stick to move the camera around Ryo, but it won’t allow you to move your character with it. This may turn some gamers off, because one of the biggest complaints about the Dreamcast as a system is the placement of the D pad. You do eventually get accustom to the scheme, but some work could have been done to improve this.

The second thing that I found really frustrating about the game is the way your forklift will careen into just about anything within five feet of the forks. Even if a pipe is clearly a few feet away from your forks, you will hit it and bring yourself to a dead stop. When you are locked into a race and you come to a dead stop, you can forget about winning, or placing anywhere in the top three. My last complaint with the forklift is even with the load you are carrying raised off the ground you still hit the edges of a sidewalk and stop just as you would if the forks were down. It may seem dumb, but when you reach the final day of work at the Harbor, you will see how stressed you will become because you have to get the job done.

My final complaint with the game is some of the voice acting. Well, it isn’t the voice acting itself, but the variety of what some of the people say. Speaking to a variety of people in town or at the harbor they would give the exact line, but in a different voice. I’m not sure if the speech is randomized, but if they recorded it in two different voices, they could have surely changed the line to something else.

Upon completing Shenmue, I was very happy with the game, and enjoyed my experience like no other. Only The Legend of Zelda has been able to hold my attention like this game. If you read this far in the review to see if I recommend this game, then let me leave you with this answer: Shenmue is one of the best games I have ever played, and should be enjoyed by any gamer no matter what system preference or bias.