For years, it has been rumoured that the beloved Shenmue and Shenmue II would be getting remastered. Then when Shenmue III was announced at E3 2015 with a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, it was only a matter of time until the rumoured remaster become a reality.
GamerKnights reviewer Joe has written a very in depth review of the new remastered "Shenmue I and II".
More:
"An Aging Classic: When it was first released on the Sega Dreamcast nearly twenty years ago, Shenmue and its sequel were a revalation. The series are two of the most influential and important 3D games ever made, and at the time they blew people away. It’s unreal it took Sega two decades to rerelease these bona fide classics, but now that they’re finally here what’s the verdict?"
Oli Welsh:
"I remember my teens, my early twenties. I'm not talking about the febrile highs or the painful embarrassments - although I remember those too - but the sheer aimlessness, the great stretches of unoccupied time, the loafing. Waiting for the one daily bus into town from the Northamptonshire village where I grew up and killing time window-shopping until the one bus back; later, as a procrastinating student, ambling down Coney Street in York, pastry in hand, knowing my afternoon would end in me clocking the Super Mario 64 demo for the umpteenth time in GAME, as if I didn't have anything better to do. Maybe I didn't."
Shenmue 1 and 2 have not aged very well but the world still holds a very special place in my heart
Some reviewers agree and some disagree, but it's fine that you think that.
Plenty of 8/10, 7/10 and even 8.5 and 9/10 scores for a game that supposedly looks and plays like the dog's dinner in 2018 is an amazing feat, a miracle even. As much so a miracle as the fact that a definitive HD version of both games now exists and we're getting a sequel. I thought most reviewers were going to drag it over the coals, but it turns out there is still plenty of love for Shenmue, not only from its dedicated fan base but those who remember it fondly and can still appreciate how no game has replicated its unique flavor and appeal almost 20 years later!
:)
