is an action-adventure game series created, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Shenmue (1999) and Shenmue II (2001) were developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for Dreamcast. Shenmue III, developed by Suzuki's company Ys Net, was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2019.
The Shenmue games consist of open-world 3D environments interspersed with brawler battles and quick time events. They include elements of role-playing, life simulation and social simulation games, such as a day-and-night system, variable weather effects, non-player characters with daily schedules, and interactive elements such as vending machines, arcades, and minigames. The story follows the teenage martial artist Ryo Hazuki as he travels through 1980s Japan and China in pursuit of his father's killer. The original Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever developed at the time, with an estimated production and marketing cost of US$47 to $70 million, though some of the development also covered Shenmue II.
Shenmue I and II received mostly positive reviews. Critics praised their graphics, soundtrack, realism and ambition, but criticized their controls, slow pace and voice acting, and the focus on mundane detail divided players. The games attracted a cult following, appearing in several lists of the greatest video games of all time, and are credited for pioneering game systems including quick time events and open worlds. However, they were commercial failures and further installments entered development hell.
In 2004, Sega announced a spin-off massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Shenmue Online, but it was not released. In 2010, a social game, Shenmue City, was launched in Japan; it was shut down a year later. In 2018, Sega released high-definition ports of Shenmue and Shenmue II for multiple formats. Following a successful crowdfunding campaign, Suzuki developed Shenmue III independently. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2019, and received mixed reviews for its similarity to the earlier games. An anime adaptation of Shenmue, co-produced by Crunchyroll and Adult Swim, premiered in February 2022.
Gameplay
In the Shenmue games, the player controls the teenage martial arts pupil Ryo Hazuki as he investigates his father's murder. The player explores the Yokosuka, Hong Kong and Guilin open worlds, searching for clues, examining objects and talking to non-player characters for information. The games feature a 3D fighting system similar to Sega's Virtua Fighter series; Ryo can fight multiple opponents at once, and can practice moves to increase their power. In quick time events, the player must press the right combination of buttons at the right moment to succeed.
Shenmue I and II feature a level of detail considered unprecedented for games at the time of their release. Shops open and close, buses run to timetables, and characters have their own routines, each in accordance with the game's persistent clock. Ryo receives a daily allowance which can be spent on objects including food, raffle tickets, audio cassettes and capsule toys. There are several minigames; for example, Ryo can throw darts or play complete versions of Sega arcade games, or earn money from minigames including driving forklift trucks, gambling, arm wrestling, fishing and street fighting. The Dreamcast version of Shenmue II allows the player to import their save data from Shenmue, carrying over money, inventory items and martial arts moves.
Premise
Games
IGN described Shenmue as a "revenge epic in the tradition of Chinese cinema". According to Suzuki, the three games cover around 40% of the story he has planned.
Main series
Shenmue
In 1986 Yokosuka, Japan, the teenage martial artist Ryo Hazuki returns to his family dojo to witness a confrontation between his father Iwao and a Chinese man, Lan Di. Lan Di demands Iwao give him a mysterious stone artifact, the dragon mirror. When he threatens to kill Ryo, Iwao tells him the mirror is buried under the cherry blossom tree outside. As Lan Di's men dig up the mirror, Lan Di mentions Zhao Sunming, whom Iwao allegedly killed in Mengcun, China. Lan Di delivers a finishing blow and Iwao dies in Ryo's arms.
Ryo's investigation leads him to Master Chen in the Yokosuka harbor. Through Chen and his son Guizhang, Ryo learns that the dragon mirror taken by Lan Di is one of two mirrors. He locates the second, the phoenix mirror, in a basement hidden beneath his father's dojo. He defeats a local gang connected to Lan Di's organization, and Master Chen tells him to seek the aid of Master Xiuying in Hong Kong. Ryo boards a boat to China.