There’s a parallel universe somewhere where the Shenmue games were successful enough to recoup the $70m they cost to develop. On that version of Earth, being able to talk to every in-game character was more important to the game-buying public than being able to steal every in-game vehicle. They didn’t just want to see headshots in ever-increasing resolutions; they wanted to play in grander, lusher worlds that forced you to rethink what games could do.Unfortunately, in our universe, Shenmue was a flop. Games since have focused on becoming shinier, noisier or greyer; and those who said Shenmue was a decade ahead of its time have been proven wildly and foolishly too optimistic about the future of videogames. Despite clumsy controls, awful voice acting, and teaching the world what QTE stands for, this great unfinished symphony has aged magnificently and is arguably now more essential than it's ever been.
Anyway, words can only begin to do this game justice. So let's watch some videos that demonstrate its insane genius.
Absolutely beautiful.
