Shenmue (series)

For the game of the same name see: Shenmue

Shenmue (シェンムー) is an open world action-adventure role-playing game series created by Yu Suzuki, developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega. The game play centers around action, exploration, investigation and combat.

The series follows Ryo Hazuki, an 18 year old martial artist who must investigate the murder of his father by mysterious agents of a Chinese mafia. Ryo is left with an item called the Phoenix Mirror which gives him initial clues and leads him further into a criminal underworld where his mysterious destiny is revealed.

The series features two main series titles with one currently in development. There has been one spin-off title, a media disc as long as one demo and an in development re-release for modern platforms. There was a comic that told told the story of chapter three included on the disc with Shenmue II and a movie consisting of cutscenes showing the story up to that point.

Gameplay
Shenmue features primarily elements of action, investigation, exploration, combat and puzzle-solving all presented together in a genre coined by director Yu Suzuki called FREE (Fully Reactive Eyes Entertainment). The game takes place in an open-world sandbox environment although the player is primarily guided along a linear path between areas. The game features a time and date making it possible to trigger specific events on various dates.The player must search for clues around the environment by using dynamic first-person camera. Clues can be found using several methods including, searching the environment by interacting with various in-game objects such as telephones or scrolls and opening drawers or speaking to Non-Player characters. When sufficient clues are discovered the player will be guided towards the next story objective, when that story objective is triggered an event will transpire usually through a cinematic cut scene or character dialog. These events will sometimes involve game play segments such as Quick Timer Events, Free Battle or Stealth sections.

Shenmue pioneered the use of Quick Timer Events (OTE) in games. The QTE sections consist of timed button presses on the screen if a command is missed the player will fail the event and have to try again, QTE's are used during many events in the game and feature cinematic set-pieces such as chase scenes. Shenmue II would introduce a new type of QTE and QTE's during battle.

The player is given large areas to explore from small town to large cities. These areas are similar to their real life representations. The player can visit local businesses, speak with locals and shop for items. All of the in game characters live their own lives with daily schedules, unique personalities, opinions and historical backgrounds. While waiting for timed events to move move forward the player can pass time by playing games at an arcade, gambling, finding a part-time job or entering street fights, methods also used to earn money. A wait function was introduced in Shenmue II allowing the player to skip the time forward when an event takes place.

Shenmue also features many secrets, Easter eggs and hidden events. These types of events are usually triggered by completing story events in an alternate method or by visiting an area or speaking to an NPC on a specific date or time. These special events can change the course of the story line or unlock secret mini games.

Setting
Shenmue takes place predominately in a modern-day 1980's setting in east Asian countries Japan and China. The world in Shenmue is very similar to the modern real-world.

Characters

 * Ryo Hazuki: The 18 year old protagonist of the story. He returns home one day from a martial arts tournament to find his father killed at the hands of Lan Di.
 * Lan Di: The antagonist of the story, Lan Di is a member of a dangerous cartel known as the Chi You Men and is seeking the Dragon and Phoenix mirrors. He asks Ryo's father if he remembers the man he killed prior to fighting him to the death.
 * Iwao Hazuki: Ryo's father and owner of the Hazuki dojo. He has a mysterious past, having been accused of killing someone and being entrusted with the Dragon and Phoenix Mirrors. His death kickstarts the series' plot.
 * Shenhua Ling: A mysterious girl from a peaceful chinese village who appears in Ryo's dreams.
 * Ren Wuying: A gang leader in Hong Kong who aids Ryo on his quest for vengence as long as he gets his share of the treasure.
 * Nozomi Harasaki: Ryo's classmate and love interest who begins to worry about Ryo's obsession with revenge.
 * Masayuki Fukuhara: Iwao's student who has a brotherly bond with Ryo. He is less skilled and intelligent than Ryo but kind hearted. He was defeated by Lan Di but his life was spared.
 * Guizhang Chen: A martial artist who works alongside his father at an import business. He acts as Ryo's bodyguard briefly and aids Ryo on his journey in Shenmue.
 * Yaowen Chen: Guizhang's father and a man with contacts that can aid Ryo on his journey. He is knowledgable about the Chi You Men and the mirrors.
 * Chai: A hunchbacked low ranking member of the Chi You Men who after finding out about the Phoenix Mirror's existance has made it his goal to steal it from Ryo to present to Lan Di.
 * Joy: A freespirited girl living in Hong Kong, she has connections to the Chens and aids Ryo on his journey in Shenmue II.
 * Lishao Tao: A master martial artist residing in Hong Kong, she is hesitant to help Ryo on his quest due to her own brother following a similar path and becoming corrupted.

What's Shenmue?
What's Shenmue? is a demo version of Shenmue released before the original launch. The demo features beta elements of Shenmue and allows the player to explore small areas of Dobuita. The player can speak to NPC characters and play some mini-games, the goal is for the player to find the supposedly kidnapped Mr. Yukawa by asking for clues.

Shenmue
Released on December 29, 1999, Shenmue introduced many groundbreaking features and would help usher in the era of modern open world games. The game follows Ryo Hazuki who must seek the man who murdered his father, After much searching he finds a man called Master Chen and is eventually sent off to Hong Kong to find a martial arts master named Yuanda Zhu.

Shenmue Passport
The passport is a media disc included with Shenmue it includes numerous bonus features. The disc requires an internet connection to access some features. It includes a character index with information about all named characters and a trade function to trade in game items along with an international leader board. A majority of the functions are now inaccessible due to the servers no longer existing.

Shenmue II
Released on September 6, 2001 Shenmue II is a direct sequel, The game is mostly the same in a larger setting with more of a focus on action, it also introduces new gameplay features. Ryo arrives in Hong Kong and tracks down a master named Lishao Tao who leads him to the whereabouts of Yuanda Zhu. Ryo is sent to the ancient Bailu Village where he meets Shenhua Ling and is revealed part of his true destiny.

Shenmue Online
Shenmue Online is a cancelled MMORPG game that was being developed by Sega and JC Entertainment players were to join clans operated by major characters from the series.

Shenmue City
Released in December of 2010, Shenmue City was a short lived mobile game created as an attempt to revive the series, a PC port was planned but never released. The game failed to leave Japan and was shut down in 2011.

Shenmue 1 & 2
A PC port of the first two titles in a single package with some quality of life updates such as improved UI and scalable screen resolution. Released in August 2018.

Shenmue III
Shenmue III is the third official game in the franchise. Funded through Kickstarter and additional supporters, Shenmue III removes many of the Sega references due to Yu Suzuki having parted ways with Sega. Released on 19th November 2019.

Shenmue the Animation
Shenmue the Animation is an anime adaption of the Shenmue series due to run in 2022. It will cover all the plot thus far.