DF Retro: Shenmue - A Game Ahead Of Its Time
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
- John revisits a genuine Dreamcast classic - Yu Suzuki's stunning Shenmue. But what made it so special, and what's the best way to play the game today?
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Sega Dreamcast- A console ahead of it's time
You mean Dreamcast 2?
+jsk_1789 mmmm... i think xbox is like a "dreamcast slim" and not a "dreamcast 2"
"Slim"... gnaaa xD
Dreamcast was ahead of it's time unfortunately for all the wrong reasons and was faced out pretty easily by more powerful consoles a year later. Had the Saturn being more successful maybe Sega would have had more time to add much better components like a more powerful graphics chip or even an actual GPU and a DVD drive.
Dreamcast was the xbox x of the ps2 Era.
Nobody ever talks about the actual battle system. Not the QTE, but the real fights. I feel like that always deserves a mention, as it's one of the most fun parts of the game, as it uses the same engine as Virtua Fighter.
And the lack of those free battles for fours as you play killed the game for many fanboys. It should have been all over the areas, too late now though.
Such a deep battle system that, sadly, barely even showed up in the actual game.
Dmitriy Odesskiy
You missed the point of the game then. It’s called restraint. Who would Ryu be fighting in a small town full of friends? This isn’t Yakuza or True Crime. That strong sense of restraint really shines when you finally unleash everything you’ve learned in the 70 man battle, the ultimate fight for survival.
People like you are why we got those shitty Star Wars prequels. “HUUURRRRR, NEEDS MOAR LIGHTSABERS.”
Gabbiadini
Really? Explain :O
Are there any similar games with similar system is yakuza?
This was Sega back in the day, they had the balls to do something new, innovative, amazing, state of the art gaming with no budget boundaries. We miss you Sega, and we miss your games!
Agreed, in a very real way.
Check out sega's yakuza series, they're basically spiritual successors of shenmue
vammainenlapsi I know the Yakuza series, and no, they have nothing in common with each other apart from the fact the protagonist from Yakuza looks a bit like Ryo Hazuki. Its not even developed by Yu Suzuki san. Yakuza story about japanese mafia gangs, Shenmue, a boy on a quest for revenge against his father's murder and uncovering the mistery behind it. For me they are two completely different games.
nico5179 Agreed, even if Yakuza took some inspiration from Shenmue, both series are totally different.
I see this comment and face palm because sega is still bringing quality with the Yakuza series and most recently Judgement..to me, the yakuza series pays the same amount of detail kamurocho and how the city changes in difference time periods..
The Dreamcast in general was ahead of it's time.
Most powerful console of 20th century
Yup. They didn't skimp on hardware. I mean the Quake III Dreamcast port was pretty much PC perfect and Quake III was a tough game to run back in 1999/2000. But then the DC had the PowerVR2 chip and a hefty 200Mhz Risc CPU so it clearly had the hardware.
That award goes to the PS2, but the Dreamcast was far and away much more advanced than the other consoles it competed with when it released. Too bad it didn't sell very well...
What award exactly? power? no the gamecube and the xbox were more powerful.
Tech? without the dvd it was pretty much obsolete.
It didn't had a modem or a broadband conection, until it was sold separately and only some games used it.
The only award it deserves is that it had good games.
+delukard07 TRUTH!
Seriously you should never stop doing these retrospectives. Some of the best content in your channel!
yup
Mostly because retarded fanboys can't argue about graphics.
*****
DEUS EX & UNREAL LOOK MUCH BETTER WITH 3Dfx CARD LUL LOL OMG!
But yeah.
agreed
Don't worry. There's a third one that was crowdfunded a long time ago by the creator of the game. It broke a world record for being the fastest, highest grossing Kickstarter campaign. Just in case you didn't know. 😐
One of the most memorable games for me of all time!
yep. same here.
Just as it is for me, with Panzer Dragoon Saga !
Still haven't completed that one. I think I am on disc 3 somewhere...
First game I ever felt really invested in, absolutely captivated. I had to wake up early to play everyday. Good memories. Good memories indeed.
Damn those graphics ! Those details ! 1998?!features like separated fingers and such wasn't even there on gta III. And those real time cinematics look outstanding, from the gesture to the face animation, incredible
December 29th, 1999 in Japan. November 8th, 2000 in NA. So it was very, very late 1999, pretty much 2000, even when it came out in Japan. Still insanely impressive, but not "1998."
This game gave me feelings I couldn't imagine from a game, it felt like home, completely immersed. When I first played it, inside the house, you can open every drawer. It was so detailed.
also when shenmue was released in 2000 on dreamcast it had the best graphics ever for a video game, better than anything PC was doing at that time. it was so revolutionary.
People criticizing the gameplay has to understand this game came out in 1999. Again...1999! this was before even the ps2. Compare the gameplay to other games that came out that year and I think people will see that this games a lot older than they think. And really it's the world that they built along with the attention to detail that was groundbreaking.
gameplay wise Alundra 2 for PS1 was also admittedly fairly impressive playing through it, it had lots of varied 3D puzzles and the voice acting was superb, with comedic storytelling not unlike animated movies of the time. Shadowman wasn't bad either, an impressive Zelda/tomb raider hybrid, but fugly graphics but those were like some of the first console 3D adventure games
It hasn't aged well, but I think it has a lot to do with the Dreamcast controller design. Dual analog controls would have made this game quite a lot more playable by today's standards.
I loved it back in the day but it definitely feels awkward now.
@Reginald Rivera There was nothing ailien there. Kung Fu theater was on tv every Saturday in the US. This was perfect. It's more about the lack of free battles much sooner, plus the controller. I love playing it with a PS4 conttoller now. Feels so right...
@@aaronbuffalo7769 Alundra was better than Alundra 2. OoT was 100 times better than Alundra 2, as far 3-D action RPGs go.
Too much loadings in 1999? Ok. Now remember Fallout 4 - 2015.
not a problem anymore now with Shenmue HD Collection. Load times are instant now.
TheGideonGames Metal Gear Solid 4 anyone?
Valid point. Videogames have refused to scale back even though nothing has been incredibly improved since the pioneers like Mario64 and Shenmue.
Brayan Argandona Florentino
Those were installs, not load times.
@@FoundationsofPause You seem to have no idea what you're talking about but video games dont have to "scale back" on anything to avoid having long load times. Bethesda are just a bunch of inbreds
This is probably the only game where I can remember playing it for the first time, which was around 17 years ago. For anyone too young to have been around when it was realeased, it's hard to get across just how groundbreaking it was. Pretty much every open world game today has its roots here.
Let's not forget Outcast from 1999 as well for PC which was the first true open-world game while Shenmue was semi-open, just like the PS4 Pro is semi 4K but not true UHD.
@@protestantsfailurend7890 it was rendered in voxels and was a terrible game
Well-said. It was breathtaking.
Shockingly good graphics. Can't believe this is something straight from 1998. They were working with so many limitations on hardware while devs today can just ask for a 970/390 and 16GB of RAM.
***** Sorry. Yeah 80s would be unreal.
I remember reading that they programmed the fundamentals of Feng Shui into an algorithm that generated interior decorations automatically. They just don't make games like Shenmue anymore
Lol that sounds ridiculous and you're stupid enough to believe it.
I wouldn't be surprised. Yu Suzuki made one dev spend a week on programming the correct physics for phone cords in Shenmue.
I'm sure by programming he meant "animating" the phone cords because there is no way it would simulate the physics on that hardware. And guess what, making a ton of pre baked animations takes a ton of time and effort. Remember how this one guy spent two years animating Batman's cape for the Batman game simply because the hardware couldn't afford cloth simulations so it needed a lot of ore rendered animations to blend realistically. So all in all , I believe the phone cord anecdote but I still have my doubts regarding the Feng Shui story.
No, I do mean physics. Giving the individual loops a weight and an elasticity. And the room generation story is covered in "DF Retro: Shenmue 2".
I googled it. Apparently both the Feng Shui and phone cord story is true. The game does have a Feng Shui algorithm built in and Shenmue2 does simulate realistic Phone Cords and handcuffs. It was quite unbelievable.
Shenmue and Shenmue 2 are still my favourite games of all time. Incredible at the time.
Sadly when this game came out, gamers weren't ready for it and it didnt do as good as it should of...
Now everyone wants to play it now.
I loved it when it came out. It was jaw dropping to experience in 1998 and still is impressive today
What? Shenmue sold very well for the Dreamcast. It's not exactly a mainstream type of game.
Sega was expecting a game like Shenmue to save the system. It was expensive to make, and It's simply not that broadly appealing. It's an experimental role-playing game.
Dreamcast needed more 1st and 3rd party games that focused on straightforward gameplay. They needed a Goldeneye or a Halo. They simply didn't have it.
ah the good old times when a new console hardware surpassed even the most powerful existing graphic cards available in the market...of course it was temporary but back then big graphics jump happened first on consoles
Dreamcast is basically a scaled down Naomi arcade hardware with some differences: memory which was expensive back then. So it matched majority of arcade level even Model 3 (Sega did a demo of Super GT, shame the company did not go further).
Yup, that's right. I miss the big tech jumps each new console generation used to bring with it.
You must realize that the character model examples for the PC were from 1997 and there were many more NPC's, thus they had to cut down on the poly count. Shenmue got to spend its poly budget on very little but detailed character models instead of putting 50+ NPC's within view,
Kids these days (And I hate using that phrase) will never understand how ambitious and groundbreaking this game was at the time. I remember reserving this and picking it up on release day and I spent all night just walking around and exploring. The world is small, by today's standards, but was absolutely mind-blowing at the time. Gamers, now days, are so spoiled with every release that I don't think they truly appreciate games the way they should.
Poorly Playing Retro I had this game on Dreamcast, back in 03 I was 6 year's old it was in Japanese, was the best game I played! Still have memories of this beautiful game. Especially the game cover artwork.
I sold it to a friend when I was in Junior high, stupid 12 year old me uhh 😣. I hope to play it again someday.
I remember in my teens that I always wanted to play Shenmue on the Dreamcast but I can't, because it cost money and it's really hard to find where I from. Getting Shenmue on the emulator is rough because it is confusing to boot it up and I get worried if it may damaged the computer. Finally I can get the game on the PS4 for next month
i'm ten, but i understand how good it looks for 1999. i love shenmue, i have it on an emulator
Yu Suzuki and the SEGA staff in general were masters of the craft.
Just completed this on my modified Dreamcast with DCHDMI and GDEMU from SD card...looked, performed and played AMAZING. Way ahead of it's time!
IMO. Shenmue 2 is the best looking game on the Dreamcast.
One of the best looking games in history for me.
...what?
It still is. That art design, that architecture and that obsession for perfectionism are still unmatched. The inside of every drawer is carved in a different way for f sake.
The batteries, the potato chips, the cassette tapes and the wrinkles on people's fingers. What more can you expect.
We didn't get it on Dreamcast in the US
when sega died, a big part of my gaming life died- maybe i was just getting older anyway
but i will always hold a sweet spot for sega
This game popped into my head the other day and I had to have it again. Just ordered it for the PS4. One of my all time favorite nostalgic games. Such an amazing game!
I play games since 1989, and had never been so impressed as the first time I've played Shenmue, nor have been that impressed ever again.
I felt Final Fantasy 10 was very close.
It was the most impressive game of all my life and I played it this year.
The best world details, NPCs i have seen in a game
Still getting goosebumps hearing soundtracks from Shenmue
This video made me go and turn Shenmue on lol Such a great game!
This game changed my life.
Douglas Yeaman I need to play this damn game! When are they gonna release Shenmue for PS4!
GoAceDetective Its Comfirmed Ps4 Xbox Steam
Musattique Ali
Shenmue 1 and 2 HD remakes are out on PS4 and Xbox in a couple of months. Pick them up on the single disk. Then get ready for Shenmue 3.
They are out
How?
very interesting indeed. when making a game was a passion and attention to details and not attention to market shares and shareholders. passion at its purest.
love this game, can't believe it's been over 20 years since I first got my hands on it
I remember buying shenmue 1 day after Japanese release. import shop was so packed. they had shenmue on display and everyone was amazed. paid £70 and a guy said to me how you gonna play that as it's all Japanese. told him dont care, I not waiting for UK release. need to play this
game now
Yeah, but did you understand anything that went on?
More of these retro analysis please.
I second that :D
Beautiful video!!
Shenmue was and still is EPIC!!
Re-released next month! Can't wait!
i've been playing games all my life and had nothing like this. playing this at that time was incredible!!
One of the greatest games ever made
+TheUmbrellaCorpX7 And pc
Got it from a used game shop back in 2000. My 13 year old mind was blown away at the level of detail and how open the world was. I had never played a game so “realistic”, buying figurines from bubblegum machines, sodas, etc. It was like real life. I felt like I was playing an experience instead of a game. That’s what I loved about Shenmue, it was an epic experience. Kids nowadays will never understand the impact Shenmue had on gamers and gaming as a whole. It (along with part 2) really is one of the greatest games of all time. Can’t wait for Shenmue 3!
Thanks for giving such tender love and care to this truly amazing work of art. Here's to hoping SEGA will release Shenmue 1 and 2 HD!
Game Galaxy
Musattique Ali
Shenmue 1 and 2 HD remakes are out on PS4 and Xbox in a couple of months. Pick them up on the single disk. Then get ready for Shenmue 3.
So glad I still have my Dreamcast version. One of my favorite games of all time!
Every apartment had the family name on the mail box and no NPC was ever duplicated. Witcher 3 had duplicated NPCs all over the place.
Yeah but it also exists in a day and age where open world games were dime a dozen. This came out at a time when they were basically unheard of due to the major technical hurdles surrounding them. And Witcher 3 isn't even the biggest open world game, not by a long shot.
the npcs in the witcher are A LOT more detailed tho and thus require exponentially more work per npc model
Gavin King Yea but 3d modeling and texturing tools and resources are much more significantly advanced now than they were back then. Back then they were still using the same techniques essentailly as they did back in the PS1 and N64 days, and Shenmue actually is one of the games that helped define techniques for modern 3D game art.
downphoenix that's true but games like the witcher 3 have a lot more to worry about than npc models, as they have a lot more systems in play
Gavin King and you're also comparing hardware that is about 15 years newer than the Dreamcast. Witcher 3 may be technically much better, but that doesn't make it a better agme.
This game is a fucking experience. It's hard to recommend to everyone, but if you're the type who likes getting immersed into a game and experimenting with every little thing you can do, you'll fall in love. It's one-of-a-kind.
The music still gives me goosebumps...
One of the best games out there and one that will always be remembered.
Fantastic presentation. I think the retro videos are my favorite content thus far. Though obviously don't stop doing the normal stuff lol.
I've never looked much into Shenmue, so this was great to learn about.
I remember very well this piece of hardware, short catalog but rich on special games, shenmue 1 and 2 were stunning
Good old times when developers were giving a fuck about innovation.
most still do, it's a lot harder though nowadays
Such an amazing game... I loved this on my dreamcast
Shenmue 2 is even better, every gamer should experience these two masterpieces.
Shenmue doesn't kick off for me until I met Ren.
half a year ago I played through Shenmue II again and I was amazed how it still holds up with modern games in every aspect except for the graphics of course (which were very good for the time). I already preordered Shenmue III :) Can't wait!
Omg I remember when I got this game! I have never been that blown away! Such a great system and game!
"A Game Ahead Of Its Time"
Pretty much every Dreamcast exclusive.
So true
As some comments have already mentioned, there are cheat device codes available to handle the 16x9 aspect ratio at a software level instead of letting the emulator do it. This resolves the majority of the pop-up problems seen during the video. The codes also work on actual hardware providing anamorphic widescreen when stretched onto a 16x9 display.
The recently released "Shenmue the Movie Remastered" created by Mr357 was using the codes method to obtain widescreen, it's a good way to see how much better the game looks with the codes. The remaining pop-in, which is just things like leaves at this point, could be resolved with additional work but it requires figuring out more of how the game renders internally.
My favorite console. Capable of running emulators, 56k online and inet surfing and awesome games.
Rejoice! Shenmue 1&2 HD has been announced for PS4, Xbox one, & Steam!
Classic & Modern Controls, Resolution/Ratio Adjustor, Japanese Voice Option!
It's going down! Can't wait to see how it turns out and what Digital Foundry has to say about the HD re release which they say is going to be the definitive edition.
Mr. Bushido I wish I knew what they meant by scalable resolution. They refuse to say HD remaster, but i imagine the resolution had been improved and the game is now in widescreen.
Mr. Bushido I'm glad as I rather not use an emulator to play it.
Well done, #DigitalFoundry. This one was solid. I thoroughly recommend all Shenmue fans and followers alike to watch this video, and also for anyone that never played Shenmue before and wondering why the game is being highly praised and recommended to play even today.
Thank you so much for honoring the greatest game of all time! :) You guys rock!
Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest game ever made.
nah
ocarina of time says "hi"
no. Uncharted 4 is the greatest game ever made.
+Pung nah
I wasn't aware this game turned into Re4 at some point.
Idk why but this game has such a strong nostalgia for me, I almost cry when I see it. Thank you, John, for doing a great service to this legendary masterpiece.
One of the best game I've ever played ! I remember when I put Shenmue for the first time in my Dreamcast, I thought I was in Japan... The musics ! Thank you Digital Foundry for the retrospective
Great retro video again, John! Looking forward to more of these!
God this game never stops impressing me. To this day no game has wowed me in every sense like Shenmue did. We are spoiled these days with amazing looking games but this is the first game that spoiled me. Even now in 2016 I am impressed. It's also just a great game and not surprised Shenmue forums and other communities are as strong as ever even before taking in the fact Shenmue III is coming(got my PS4 copy paid for ).
I'm really loving these in-depth retro game videos. Keep up the great work!
I didn't hear about shenmue until 2012. I had just finished 8th grade and my English teacher gave me here husbands old dreamcast. I was blown away with this game, even though i had already played games like GTA 4 and fallout 3. Something about the title captured me. I even managed to convince my friends to play the game. Unfortunately most of them didn't enjoy the game.
That's funny ! In 2012, an an English teacher in France, I prepared a lesson plan on Shenmue, which made quite an effect on them. I had showed them Shenmue the movie at the end of the lesson plan.
Get rid of your friends.
wow that's cool, I can't imagine one of my old teachers giving me a game console lol
I love these retro DF episodes
Shenmue 2, my favorite game of ALL TIME I share SO MANY memories with these two games!!!
Excellent video, thanks for bringing back the magic I experienced all those years ago on the DC. Can't wait for part 2!
This video is just shy of 100k views now! That's awesome! This was the very first retro video I did for DF (made it in February but didn't release until June) before I had the idea to cover more games! Once we cross 100k, I need to get busy and finally do that Shenmue 2 episode and hopefully apply the skills I've learned since this video to make it better!
You did fabulous work, John! Made us fellow Sega fans proud!!
Excellent video! I shall always remember the experience of playing this as a kid.
Shenmue I and II where ABSOLUTELY ahead of their time. Its INSANE that we don't have HD Remasters in wide screen with better controls available ... like 10 years ago.
Well, you have your answer now.
Aleksandre Mzhavia it’s finally coming
Sanity restored 🤭
2 years later... we are getting that wish. Only a few more days...
Nowadays every game wants to be open world, but still none can touch even half the depth and heart of the Shenmue series.
Shenmue is the only game I truly enjoy for Dreamcast. Such a fantastic work of art.
absolutely loved this , amazing channel, fantastic work, cant wait for the other shenmue update
Recently bought a Dreamcast. Just purchased Shenmue 1 & 2 on eBay. Splashed out a bit on them due to the condition of the games but when it comes to classics like Shenmue, it's worth every penny in my opinion and my personal hobby of gaming.
I love these analyses of the technical performance of older games! Please keep doing them!
What amazing content. Unlike any other RUclips channels I've seen recently. Keep up this series.
And you forgot the online arcade rankings, that was so great...
Shenmue: best game of history.
This is awesome stuff, keep it up! Love Shenmue - still a stunning game today. The faces look modern.
Just wanna say thank you for this. Well done little video takes me back ! Love to see more like this.
These DF Retros are the absolute best! Keep making more please!
Loving these retro videos.
Well described. This game is so special to me, and modern open world games feel flat compared to this. Shenmue is different from GTA in the same way Studio Ghibli is different from HBO. Day and night. I should also mention that playing as a character who believes in doing the right thing, being polite and considerate, that is so special. And to have other characters literally telling you to give up on revenge. This game is just so intimate and beautiful. Lucid is the word that describes it to me. I hope they can reignite that feeling in Shenmue 3.
Excellent and informative video! It's also worth mentioning the incredible music. The soundtrack is as alive and detailed as the game it helps narrate. There aren't just a few overworld themes, a shop theme, etc. Instead, the overworld music changes depending on the mood of the story -- it doesn't limit itself to some predetermined theme of each area. Every store and building has it's own theme, too. Some characters have their own music; quite a few cut scene have their own theme. In total, there are over 200 unique tracks, and a lot of them are truly timeless. Seriously, Shenmue has the most complete soundtrack of any game I've played.
This was fantastic. Thanks for the look-back! I remember how excited I was for this game before its original release in the States, and this let me relive just a bit of it. What an incredible achievement.
This game makes you realize how shitty GTA San Andreas actually looked like 5 years later in favor of a massive world to explore... CJ blocky hands will haunt my sleep for ever.
Shenmue was considered the most expensive game when it came out with $47 million budget, if this game was low on budget it would looked like GTA 3 on PS2
While GTA San Andreas only had $10 millions, GTA Vice City had $5 millions
You guys have really caught on to something here. RetroFoundry is awesome!
look forward to part 2. these vids are really cool, well researched and fun to watch.
VERY well done! Thank you! I can here quickly before finishing your Shenmue 2 video. One of my all time favorite games and one of the games I miss the most after selling my Dreamcast.
Shenmue and the Yakuza series. love em.
went into my local video game store to buy Ferrari Challenge on my Dreamcast back in the day and thought what the hell and picked up Shenmue as well...so anyway i played Ferrari about 3 times and Shenmue became one of my all time favourite games
Yeah, I love when that happens.
I really appreciate the effort they put into many details, including the small ones.
I can't believe I haven't played this game yet...
Fantastic video and series. John you are a great presenter and the videos just keep gettijg better. I had Shenmue 1 on the dreamcast back in 2000 and loved every second of it. I never got Shenmue 2 as I couldn't find it. I had it on the xbox and it was great to be able to play it. For me it changed everything and I've been hooked ever since. I'm happy it now has a remake.
The initial impressions weren't really mixed at all. Most gave it 9s and 10s out of 10. If that's mixed, then so were the reviews of Dishonored or Uncharted 4 or The Last of Us.
the masterpiece is back.
John, this is fantastic, thank you. Great to see the game/series getting a bit more time in the limelight!
Yu is a true pioneer, and it shows in his games. Love Shenmue.
incredible analysis video! More like this please.
I never noticed the loading. I absolutely fell in love with this world. Can't wait for 3
Oh the loading was badddd. I noticed because I played a bit before going school and it took forever.
Great video. Thanks DF.
Looking forward to part 2 for Shenmue 2.
I have a Dreamcast in the basment (in a moving box).
Maybe even a copy of Shenmue lying around!?
Be right back!
Love the Retro series glad you started it
So glad that I've played this game when I was a kid, this game is a masterpiece. It taught me a bit about deep things in the story that you wouldn't normally know as a kid such as passion and bad things that happens in the world and it taught me about video games at a deeper level, Hats off to Yu Suzuki a real passionate director the man deserves something special and thank you for the deligant video.
Love these retrospective videos looking back at the technical achievements of the time. In this case, a spectacular showcase.
Wow this was really good! May you keep making more of these? I love the history
One of the best games ever produced in gaming history.