''Shenmue II'' is a 2001

action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...

developed by

Sega AM2 previously known as is a video game development team within the Japanese multinational video game developer Sega. Yu Suzuki, who had previously developed arcade games for Sega including ''Hang-On'' and ''Out Run'', was the first manager of th ...

and published by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

for the

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

. It was directed, produced and written by

Yu Suzuki is a Japanese game designer, producer, programmer, and engineer, who headed Sega's AM2 team for 18 years. Considered one of the first auteurs of video games, he has been responsible for a number of Sega's arcade hits, including three-dimensional ...

. Like the original ''Shenmue'' (1999), ''Shenmue II'' consists of open-world environments,

brawler The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...

battles and

quick time event In video games, a quick time event (QTE) is a method of context-sensitive gameplay in which the player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen instruction/prompt. It allows for limited control of the ...

s. It features a day-and-night system, variable weather effects,

non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...

s with daily schedules, and various

minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...

s. The player controls the teenage martial artist Ryo Hazuki as he arrives in Hong Kong in 1987 in pursuit of his father's killer. His journey takes him to

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

and the mountains of

Guilin Guilin ( Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...

, where he meets a girl who is part of his destiny. Some of ''Shenmue II'' was developed alongside the original ''Shenmue'', which was the most expensive video game ever developed at the time. An enhanced port was released for the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

in 2002; the Dreamcast version was not released in North America, where

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

secured

console exclusivity Platform exclusivity (also known as console exclusivity) refers to the status of a video game being developed for and released only on certain platforms. Most commonly, it refers to only being released on a specific video game console or through a ...

. ''Shenmue II'' received positive reviews for its story and scale, though reviews of the port were less positive, with critics finding its graphics lacking compared to other Xbox games. It has appeared in several lists of the

greatest games of all time This is a list of video games that multiple reputable video game journalists or magazines have considered to be among the best of all time. The games listed here are included on at least six separate "best/greatest of all time" lists from differ ...

. ''Shenmue II'' sold poorly and further games in the series entered a period of

development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game engi ...

lasting over a decade. In 2018, Sega released high-definition

ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

of ''Shenmue'' and ''Shenmue II'' for multiple formats. ''

Shenmue III is a 2019 action-adventure game developed by Ys Net, published by Deep Silver for PlayStation 4, and Windows and produced by Shibuya Productions. Like the previous ''Shenmue'' games, it consists of open-world environments interspersed with br ...

'', developed by Suzuki's company Ys Net, was released in 2019 following a successful

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign.

Gameplay

Like the original ''

Shenmue 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 Y ...

'', the player controls the teenage martial artist Ryo Hazuki in his journey for revenge. Most of the game is spent exploring the game's open world, searching for clues, examining objects and talking to non-player characters for information. The game features a 3D fighting system similar to Sega's ''

Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega-AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original ''Virtua Fighter'' was released in October 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first ''Virtua Fighter'' game ...

'' series; Ryo can fight multiple opponents at once and practice moves to increase their power. In

s, the player must press the right combination of buttons at the right moment to succeed. ''Shenmue II'' adds several features. Players can ask for directions from passersby, and fast-forward the game's clock when waiting for a scheduled event to occur, such as a shop opening or character arriving. Unlike the first ''Shenmue'', taking a job is not part of the main story, and the player can choose how to earn money – for example, by gambling, arm wrestling, street fighting or running a

pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...

stand. Ryo can spend money on items such as capsule toys or 1980s arcade games including ''

Hang-On is an arcade racing game released by Sega in 1985 and later ported to the Master System. In the game, the player controls a motorcycle against time and other computer-controlled bikes. It was one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graphi ...

'', ''

After Burner is an Arcade video game, arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by des ...

,'' ''

Space Harrier is a third-person arcade rail shooter game developed by Sega and released in 1985. It was originally conceived as a realistic military-themed game played in the third-person perspective and featuring a player-controlled fighter jet, but techni ...

'', and ''

Out Run (also stylized as ''OutRun'') is an arcade driving video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi (comp ...

''. The

version allows the player to import their save data from the first ''Shenmue'', transferring money, items and martial arts moves.

Plot

In 1987, the teenage martial artist Ryo Hazuki arrives from Japan in

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

on the trail of his father's killer, Lan Di, of the criminal Chi You Men organization. He searches for Master Lishao Tao, the only link to the whereabouts of Yuanda Zhu, a martial arts expert who sent Ryo's father a letter warning him of Lan Di's intentions. When Ryo finds Tao, whose real name is Xiuying Hong, she refuses to help, considering his quest for vengeance reckless. The two part ways, but Xiuying continues to monitor Ryo's progress. Ryo encounters Wuying Ren, the wily leader of a street gang. Ren decides to help Ryo after deciding there may be money to be made in Ryo's mysterious phoenix mirror; Lan Di took the second mirror, the dragon mirror, when he killed Ryo's father. Wong, a street boy who admires Ren, and Joy, a free-spirited motorcyclist, assist Ryo in his journey. Ren informs Ryo that Zhu is hiding from the Chi You Men in

Kowloon Walled City Kowloon Walled City was an ungoverned and densely populated ''de jure'' Imperial Chinese enclave within the boundaries of Kowloon City, British Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese military fort, the walled city became an enclave after the New Ter ...

, a densely populated, crime-ridden enclave of Hong Kong. They locate Zhu there but are ambushed by the criminal Yellow Head organization and Zhu is kidnapped. Ryo and his allies infiltrate the Yellow Head headquarters, but Wong and Joy are captured. Ryo defeats a powerful martial artist and rescues Joy. On the rooftop of the Yellow Head building, Ryo rescues Wong and Zhu from the Yellow Head leader, Dou Niu, as Lan Di departs by helicopter. At Ren's hideout, Zhu reveals that Lan Di killed Ryo's father because he believes Iwao killed his own father. He also reveals that the mirrors will lead to the resurrection of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, the last imperial dynasty of China. Zhu advises Ryo to continue his search in Bailu Village in

, where he says Lan Di is also heading. In the mountains of Guilin, Ryo rescues a girl, Shenhua Ling, after she dives into a river to rescue a deer. Shenhua's family is connected to the legacy of the mirrors, and she seems to have magical abilities. They walk through the mountains to her village. At Shenhua's family home, a tree named Shenmue (Chinese for " sedge tree") is in bloom; she explains that her name means "flower of the Shenmue tree". The pair go to a stone quarry on the village outskirts to meet Shenhua's father, but find he is missing. They discover a cryptic note and sword; Ryo combines the sword with the phoenix mirror, triggering a device that reveals a large mural of the dragon and phoenix mirrors.

Development

''Shenmue II'' was developed by

and directed by

. Part of the game was developed in tandem with the first ''Shenmue'', which was most expensive video game ever developed at the time and is reported to have cost Sega US$70 million; in 2011, Suzuki said the figure was closer to $47 million including marketing. According to ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'', ''Shenmue II'' was completed for "a much more reasonable sum".

Release and ports

''Shenmue II'' was released for Dreamcast in 2001 in Japan and Europe. The Japanese version included ''Virtua Fighter 4'' ''Passport'', promoting Sega's upcoming ''

Virtua Fighter 4 is a fighting game by Sega. It is the fourth game in the ''Virtua Fighter'' series. The game was first released in arcades on the NAOMI 2 board in 2001. A console port of ''Virtua Fighter 4'', as well as that of '' Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution ...

''. By 2003, the Dreamcast version had sold 100,000 copies, a tenth of the original game's sales. Microsoft secured

in North America for ''Shenmue II'', and released an enhanced

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

for

on October 28, 2002. The port features an additional camera mode, optional filter effects, improved

frame rate Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...

and lighting, and English-language voice acting. It also contains a DVD of ''Shenmue: The Movie,'' a

compilation film A compilation film, or compilation movie is a film composed of scenes and shots taken from two or more prior films and edited together so as to make a new film, whether on the same or a different subject. The most common example would be a docum ...

comprising

cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...

s from the original ''Shenmue'' that was released in Japanese theaters. A

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of ''Shenmue'' and ''Shenmue II'' featuring new models, textures and lighting was canceled in 2017. Instead, Sega released remastered versions of both games for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

on 21 August 2018. The remaster include updated graphics and control options, improved user interfaces, and Japanese and English voices. Some details, such as

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...

, are omitted, and cutscenes are presented in their original aspect ratio due to technical limitations. An anime adaptation of the first two ''Shenmue'' games premiered on February 6, 2022.

Reception

The Dreamcast version of ''Shenmue II'' received positive reviews. ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' found that it was "so much better than its predecessor, refining nearly every aspect of the original", with improved pacing and an "epic feel". Tom Bramwell of ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

'' felt it was "probably the best swan song the Dreamcast could hope for", taking the console "to the very brink of its capabilities". ''GamesMaster'' felt that, like the first game, ''Shenmue II'' had some "tedious" elements, but praised the expanded scale and action. Reviews of the Xbox version were less positive. ''

'' praised the story, but criticized the English-language voice acting and found the graphics lacking compared to other Xbox games. ''Eurogamer's'' Martin Taylor criticized it as a "lazy port" and concluded: "Your perseverance with the sluggish pacing can be rewarding, but ''Shenmue II'' consistently proves itself an ageing game with ageing looks." It was nominated for ''GameSpot''s annual "Best Story on Xbox" award, but lost to ''

Dead to Rights ''Dead to Rights'' is a neo-noir video game series focusing on Jack Slate, a police officer in the fictional Grant City, and his K-9 partner Shadow. There are four games in the series. Games ''Dead to Rights'' ''Dead to Rights'', the fir ...

''. ''Shenmue II'' was voted the tenth-best game of all time by ''IGN'' readers in 2008. In 2013, ''

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...

'' named ''Shenmue'' and ''Shenmue'' ''II'' the best Dreamcast games, and in 2014 ''Empire'' ranked ''Shenmue II'' the 51st-best game of all time.

Sequel

After the commercial failure of the first two games, ''Shenmue III'' entered a period of

lasting over a decade. In September 2011, Suzuki left Sega to focus on his development studio, Ys Net. In June 2015, he launched a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to develop ''

'' with Ys Net for

, and

having licensed the rights from Sega. It was released in November 2019.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shenmue II 2001 video games Action-adventure games Dreamcast games Life simulation games Microsoft games Open-world video games PlayStation 4 games Rutubo Games games Sega video games Shenmue Single-player video games Social simulation video games Video game sequels Video games about revenge Video games designed by Yu Suzuki Video games scored by Satoshi Miyashita Video games scored by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi Video games scored by Yuzo Koshiro Video games set in 1987 Video games set in China Video games set in Hong Kong Windows games Xbox games Xbox One games Video games based on Chinese mythology Video games developed in Japan