More Shenmue, Sir?

I was showing my mate the excellence that is The Dreamcast Junkyard on a laptop that uses Microsoft Internet Explorer as it's main browser. A fairly straight-forward statement, I'm sure you'll agree. However, imagine my sheer horror when, upon loading, the 'Yard looked like an atrocious shabby mess! No - it wasn't that I was disgusted by The Gagaman's exceptional post - it was that the side bar only appears at the bottom of the page when viewed through Bill Gates' bug ridden, security devoid web browser. Ergo, you will notice that I have added a little notice to the 'Yard's header, up there on the right.

Firefox. Get it here. Get it now. And spread the love.

On the subject of Dreamcast related curios, I have truly become consumed by the world of Shenmue. No, not mid eighties Japan as such - more the exploits of Hazuki-san and the avenging of his father's murder. Not since Ocarina of Time has a game consumed so much of my free time. Some of you may recall me slagging Shenmue off and describing it as "nothing more than a prettier version of Wolfenstein 3D..."

With hindsight, this is not the case - and I would like to take this opportunity to correct my past mistakes. Shenmue is one of the best games on the Dreamcast. If you haven't already got it, do your 'Cast justice and track a copy down. I do feel quite strongly about this because I suspect most people did what I did - ie play it for a bit, be wowed by the visuals and then decide it was dull and never play it again. Don't do that. If you do, you're missing out big time.

While this post is probably going to be dedicated almost entirely to Shenmue, have a watch of this video - it shows Ryo using a bicycle to get around Dobuita! It was eventually removed from the final version of Shenmue probably because it's slightly OTT - you can get around the entire game world on foot in no time as it is...



Also, I unearthered probably the most comprehensive Shenmue website on Earth - Shenmue Dojo. It's pretty thorough in it's study of the series, and even has a section dedicated to the rumoured Shenmue 3 for the next gen consoles. Maybe if a version comes out for Wii we can expect to be able to play the darts with the wireless controller. Speculation aside, Shenmue Dojo is worth checking out if only for the most ridiculously in depth character bios you can imagine - there's even a section about the animals you encounter - from the cats and dogs to the seagulls at the docks. Here's a couple of comics from the media section to give you a taster...

9 comments:

Animated AF said...

Indeed, Shenmue is a lot better once you get right into it. I remember those comics too, quality XD

gnome said...

Strange, but those comics actually made me smile and gave me a feel of the game too. Great!

Animated AF said...

wopn't spoil too much, but there is a scene nearer the end of the game involving a bike, but not of that kind..

Tom Charnock said...

Yeah, just did that bit. It's brilliant - and then there's the streets of rage 3D section...but whats with that aweful song that plays as you drive Nozomi home? Surely they shoulda used 'ace of spades' by motorhead?!

Ross said...

Firefox sure has a neat looking logo. I'll be sure to try it out sooner or later.

Shenmue II for the Xbox had some cool unlockable mini-games and classic games such as Hang-On.

Animated AF said...

Btw, just noticed this post got linked to by http://www.racketboy.com/retro/ , one of my fave video game blogs =D

fatherkrishna said...

Shenmue is simply the best game ever, ceated for the best console ever. You can pick up a dreamcast
for £17 at GAMESTATION whereas a copy of Shenmue 1 or 2 will cost you £25 a pop! That tells you about the entertainmet one can derive from imersing yourself in Ryo's world. One thingI don't understand though. I bought Shenmue 2 first and it is in Japanese. Having clocked that I went for the first. It was in corny American dialogue. Tom's 'Jamaican' accent "RIIYOO MON!" (Shudder) What gives?

Tom Charnock said...

Yeah, I agree with you on the american accents in Shenmue 1. I think it was a good decision by sega to leave the original voices in the sequel. It may have been down to a limited release (PAL and Japan only on DC)and money constrains.

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