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- T
- Microsoft Game Studios
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- Microsoft Game Studios
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- Microsoft Game Studios
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- Microsoft Game Studios
Shenmue II
Xbox
Released On: Oct 29, 2002
80
8.9
All Platforms
Dreamcast
tbd
Xbox
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
80
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
80
71% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
29% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
80
71% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
29% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
A thoughtful, grand-scale adventure that's not afraid to test your patience. [Dec 2002, p.60]
The mixture of play styles may rub some people the wrong way, but most will find the vast scope of this venture too alluring to resist.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 153 User Ratings
8.9
88% Positive
135 Ratings
135 Ratings
3% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
9% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 153 User Ratings
8.9
88% Positive
135 Ratings
135 Ratings
3% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
9% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
Great storytelling combined with a variety of gameplay elements keep things interesting, though are certainly a few pebbles this grasshopper fails to snatch.
The gameplay is streamlined a bit from the previous edition, and while the changes are minor, they're tweaks that simply smooth the way.
This has never been a game for just anyone. It takes a specific type of gamer to be able to wade through the seemingly mundane tasks and details. [Dec 2002, p.112]
When I wasn't being mugged by the Bad Voice-Actors Brigade or rendered comatose by the game's tepid pace, I was struggling with the enormous chore of just moving around thanks to the clunky, imprecise, sub-"Resident Evil" controls. [Dec 2002, p.260]
Ultimately, your perseverance with the sluggish pacing can be rewarding, but Shenmue 2 consistently proves itself an ageing game with ageing looks. It should never have happened like this.
It is difficult to describe Shenmue 2 with one word because the game deserves nothing less than a series of brilliant adjectives; beautiful, ground-breaking and ambitious. The game proves a worthy, and in some ways (which will be mentioned further on in the review) improved, successor of the Dreamcast classic Shenmue.
There are so many layers to the game which make it worthy of its huge fan base. The game is very detailed and, quite simply put, well ahead of its time. It is difficult to find examples of games, even now, where you can enter pretty much every room in a building. In Shenmue 2, especially when you reach taller buildings, you would find that Yu Suzuki and the Shenmue team have put their hearts into creating such magnificent detail, whereby a 7-storey building has around 50 accessible rooms or how the forests toward the end of the game are so well designed. It may seem like nothing huge, but it is these little details which show how much effort was put into the game.
The music is equally as beautiful as the look of the game. The music created, like any other good game, is very appropriate in creating the right mood for the right part of the game, for example, the final boss fight is made even more epic by the music. However, for me personally, it wasn’t until the last part of the game, with its relaxing music, that I found out how beautiful the music in Shenmue 2 is and I can truly state that it is some of the best music that I have ever heard in a videogame.
Then we have the gameplay. Whilst some may criticise the pacing in the game, it should be stated from the outset that one should not play Shenmue 2 if they are not prepared to spend time thinking about how to advance in the game. The game’s free-questing is actually rather enjoyable and it seems amazing how you can talk to pretty much anyone. The fighting itself is similar to Shenmue 1 but there are new fighting moves as well as some of our favourites from Shenmue 1which are retained. The QTE is improved with the new pause-QTE method, whereby you must correspond correctly to a number of buttons in a row, on screen, quickly. This helps to create more exciting, fast paced fighting scenes where Ryo can throw a number of punches as opposed to one at a time.
Finally, the story in Shenmue 2 is the final aspect of the game which gives it the deserved ‘10/10’ rating. The story draws you in from the start of the game until the very end. I remember owning the demo, before getting the full version, and playing it over and over again. There is something about Shenmue which is addicting and leaves us hungry for more; Shenmue fans deserve that final fight with Ryo’s father’s killer, Lan Di.
It is this hunger which has kept us waiting for Shenmue 3 for all these years. Undoubtedly, Yu Suzuki created a masterpiece those 13 years ago and we gamers are still waiting, increasingly impatiently, for another one.
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Xbox
This is the best game I have ever played and in hindsight provided experience that no other came close to providing. I would say it changed and shaped my life, something no other game was able to do. The problem is after you finish it, you realize what games could be like, but they arent. Playing it makes you imagine a world of amazing experiences told through games, that didn't materialize.
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Xbox
This is the single greatest gaming experience I have ever had. I was enthralled from start to finish, and the ending left me wanting more. The atmosphere is glorious, gameplay is solid, and story is phenomenal. Best game to ever grace this console easily...
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Xbox
Set during the late 80's Shenmue II opens withRyo Hazuki arriving in Wan Chai, Hong Kong on the trail of his father's killer, Lan Di, of the criminal Chi You Men organization.
Over the years Shenmue has garnered a cult following but, whilst I appreciate what this game was trying to do, I never really enjoyed it at the time and time hasn't been kind to it. The gameplay is often monotonous with a lot of aimless wondering and dull side missions. The controls, which were poor even for the time, feel even more awkward by modern standards and graphical its stood up as badly as most early 3d games.
We'll seen be seeing a third entry in the series pretty soon so Shenmue clearly has a decent fan base, I'm just not one of them.
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Xbox
Summary "Across the sea, from a distant land in the East, he shall rise appear"...the epic adventure of Shenmue is re-borne once again as Ryo Hazuki arrives in Hong Kong on his continued mission to avenge his father's death and discover the truth behind the Phoenix Mirror. In a world almost three times bigger than the original, you wil...
Rated T
for Teen
Platforms:
- Dreamcast
- Xbox
Initial Release Date: Oct 29, 2002
Developer:
- Sega AM2
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genres:
