Shenmue II
| Shenmue II | |
|---|---|
| File:Shenmue II Cover-JAP.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Sega-AM2 |
| Publisher(s) | Sega (DC) Microsoft (Xbox) |
| Designer(s) | Yu Suzuki (Director/Producer) |
| Platform(s) | Sega Dreamcast Xbox Xbox 360 Backwards Compatible |
| Release | JP September 6, 2001 (DC) EU November 23, 2001 (DC) NA October 28, 2002 (Xbox) EU March 21, 2003 (Xbox) |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game, FREE |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Shenmue II (シェンムー II, Shenmū II) is an Adventure game for the Sega Dreamcast and Microsoft Xbox game consoles. It is the sequel to Shenmue, and was produced and directed by Yu Suzuki of Sega-AM2. Due to exclusivity rights obtained by Microsoft, it was only released for Xbox in the United States, although Dreamcast versions were released in both Japan and Europe. Unlike the first game of the series, no English dub was recorded for the Dreamcast version of Shenmue II, and the European release included subtitles. The later Xbox version included both Japanese and English dub. Shenmue II incorporates four chapters of the Shenmue saga.
Story
Template:Spoiler Shenmue II begins where the first installment of the series concluded. Ryo Hazuki, the main protagonist of the series, arrives in Hong Kong in order to locate Master Lisha Tao as he was instructed to do by his friend and confidant, Master Chen Yao Wen, at the end of the series' first chapter. The mysterious and illusive individual is Ryo's only possible link to Lan Di, the Chinese man who muderered his father. After a difficult search, Ryo finally meets Master Lishao Tao, a woman named Xiuying; but she is unwilling to assist him in what she considers an immoral quest for vengeance. The two part ways, although Xiuying continues to monitor Ryo's progress and they continue to meet on occasion. Through his continued search, Ryo discovers another individual who may be able to assist him in locating Lan Di.
Wuying Ren, commonly referred to as Ren throughout, is the leader of a gang named The Heavens, who engage in a variety of illegal activities. After initially attempting to wile Ryo, Ren decides to assist him in his quest after discovering that there are large sums of money tied up in the mysterious and ancient phoenix mirror currently held by Lan Di, after it was stolen from Ryo upon his arrival in Hong Kong. Ren's younger brother Wong, and his childhood friend Joy also join him and assist Ryo in his continued search for Lan Di. The story progresses to Kowloon, as Ryo attempts to locate Yuanda Zhu; a martial arts expert who sent Iwao Hazuki a letter warning of his impending murder, a warning that arrived too late. At this juncture, several confrontations ensue between Ryo and his allies and the dangerous Yellowheads orginisation, who are aiming to kidnap Yuanda Zhu on behalf of Lan Di.
After following several clues, Ryo and Ren finally find Yuanda Zhu; but the meeting is cut short when they are ambushed by Yellowhead leaders Dou Niu and Yuan and Zhu is kidnapped. Wong and Joy are also held captive, although Ryo later ensures thier release through his victory against a powerful martial artist. In the climatic scene that follows, Ryo and his allies enter the building in which Yuanda Zhu is being held and after Ryo does battle with Dou Niu for the final time, they are able to prevent Lan Di from recieving a captured Yuanda Zhu as had been planned. Illusive and imperious as ever, Lan Di escapes once again. Yuanda Zhu provides Ryo with crucial information regarding the true purpose of the dragon and phoenix mirrors. It is revealed that the mirrors will lead to the resurrection of an ancient order, known as the Qing Dynasty.
Ryo is advised to continue his search in Bailu Village, in remote Guilin. He parts ways with Ren, Wong and Joy; continuing his journey and heading for the same destination as his rival, Lan Di.
Shortly after arriving in Guilin, Ryo encounters a young woman named Ling Shenhua. She had previously appeared to Ryo through several dreams throughout the first chapter of the series. As the two converse, it is revealed that the Shenhua family is connected with the legacy of the dragon and phoenix mirrors. Shenhua leads Ryo to a stone quarry on the outskirts of the village to meet with her father, but he is nowhere to be found. The episode comes to an ambiguous end when the pair discover a cryptic note and sword, which Ryo combines with the phoenix mirror and unwittingly sets off a device revealing a huge depiction of the two mirrors. At the game's cliffhanger ending, Shenhua displays supernatural powers and the sword is seen to float in mid-air.
Characters
As in the first chapter of the series, Ryo Hazuki is the main protagonist and the only playable character. As the player progresses through the game, Ryo will encouter a variety of new characters as he travels through Hong Kong and Guilin in search of Lan Di. Early on in the story, Ryo meets flirtatious Hong Kong socialite, Joy. She will later become a more important character in the story through her association with Wuyung Ren (more frequently referred to as Ren). He is the leader of a gang, known as The Heavans, who are primarily involved with petit crime in the local area. Ren, however, seeks fame and fortune; both of which serve as his main incentive for assisting Ryo in his quest to begin with. Ren's charisma and charm is greatly admired by his younger brother Wong who aspires to be like him. Although she refuses to assist Ryo in his quest, which she considers to be immoral and dangerous, Hong Xiu Ying (aka Master Tao Li Shao) offers him valuable advice and several important martial arts skills. Thoughtful and elegant, a lifetime of sacrifice and sorrow appears to be hidden behind her beautiful eyes. She is a motherly figure to adopted Fangmei Xun, who is physically attracted to Ryo and is frequently bashful around him.
As the story develops, Ryo seeks and eventually finds Zhu Yuan Da; an old aquaintance of Iwao Hazuki who attempted to warn him of his impending murder. Once an owner of a wealthy trading company, he is kidnapped by The Yellowhead corporation, who act on behalf of Lan Di. The powerful underground corporation is headed by Dou Niu, although Ryo has more involvment with his eccentric sidekick, Yuan. Yuan is referred to as a female in European releases of the game, but in the original Japanese edition he is a cross-dressing male. Although it is never confirmed, there are several allusions to a homosexual relationship between Yuan and Dou Niu. For example, Dou Niu refers to Yuan as his "cuddly little love thing" on one occassion. The final major character that Ryo meets is Ling Shenhua. This beautiful and innocent young woman grew up in Guilin, surrounded by only nature. Though pure and compassionate, Shenhua also has great strength. She previously appeared to Ryo through his dreams and there is an implied mystic connection between them both that would always ensure thier meeting.
Content and features
Geography
Shenmue II initially takes place in Hong Kong, China. The final chapter of the game takes place in picturesque Guilin, also located in China. The environments found in Shenmue II are based upon the geography of locations in and around Hong Kong. The enivronments found in the game are much larger than those found in the first title of the series. It has been noted that the settings of Shenmue II are less intricately detailed than those of Shenmue. The first environment of the game is Aberdeen Harbour, where Ryo arrives after travelling from Japan via Boat. Aberdeen is an underprivileged area, and in addition to the various dock's and drinking establishments, there are several gambling parlor's; where players can take part in QTE-based games of chance. Ryo meets a variety of dangerous individuals here, but also future allies including Joy, Wong and Wuying Ren. On the outskirts of Aberdeen, is Queen's Street, a pleasant area that is lined with brownstone houses, reflecting Hong Kong's British governors.
Wan Chai is a highly affluent and metropolitan area of Hong Kong, and is comprised of six distinct quarters in Shenmue II. The first of these is Green Market Qr, which contains several points of interest including the Come-Over Guest House, where Ryo stays for an extended period before meeting with Hong Xiu Yung. The area also houses a bustling market and a pawn shop where players can trade items for yuan. Beyond are the residential quarters South Carman and Wise Men's, they are of little interest overall although the latter is the setting for several meetings between Ryo and various martial arts masters, who can teach him new techniques and fighting moves if the player so wishes.
The vibrant Golden Qr is lined with various store's and boutique's, including the Tomato Convenience Store; a branded chain of supermarket that appears in the previous installment of Shenmue. There is a also a video game arcade here, which allows the play of Afterburner II and Outrun, two popular hits produced by Yu Suzuki. The Lucky Charm Qr contains various stores, most of them dealing in electrical's; and several bar's and restaurant's. It is also the location of Hong Xiu Yung's apartment. The final area of Wan Chai is the White Dyntasy Qr, an attractive hamlet that is most notable for the Man Mo Temple, where Xiu Yung is the resident master.
Kowloon, an urbanised area of northern Hong Kong is the final district of the city that Ryo visits before leaving for Guilin. It is surrounded by eight peaks, the most famous of them being Lion Rock. Ryo arrives in the area via bus. This densely populated city is visually dominated by it's many high reaching skyscraper's, which are in varying degrees of disarray. Whilst here, Ryo's home is Ren's hideout, located on the outskirts of the city. In addition to the locations that progress the narrative of Shenmue II, Kowloon also contains a variety of gambling, video game and retail establishments for the player to enjoy. The Yellowhead Building, where Ryo and his allies do battle against Lan Di's dangerous associates for the last time, is in the very center of the city.
Ryo's final destination in Shenmue II is beautiful Guilin. This subtropical region is surrouned by the Lijiang river and several mountains, the most notable being Elephant Trunk Hill. Arriving here via boat, Ryo meets several locals of a small riverside village before traversing deeper into the surrounding forest's and meadow's. Guilin is home to Ling Shenhua, who shows Ryo some of the region's more impressive attractions. A substantial point of interest within Guilin is the frequently foreshadowed ancient tree from which the saga's title is derived. Located in the garden of the Shenhua residence, this ancient blossom tree is both literally and figuratively, at the center of the prophecy that runs as a continuous thread throughout the Shenmue series. The game's final scene takes place in a setting based upon the Seven-Star Cave.
Differences between the Xbox and Dreamcast versions
When the U.S. Xbox version was released in 2002, it brought some changes and enhancements to the original with it. The most significant difference is the inclusion of a full English dub, with Corey Marshall reprising his role as Ryo Hazuki (葉月 涼 Hazuki Ryō) from the first game. There are two new gameplay features – a Snapshot mode to take pictures of gameplay or cutscenes to store on the Xbox's hard disk and Filters to alter the colour filters used on the entire screen. The graphics were given a boost by the Xbox's more advanced hardware (more and better lighting during the night hours, better looking water, etc.), the frame rate is now at a consistent 30 frames per second with less loss in characters on-screen (the Dreamcast version used an aggressive character LOD that caused pedestrians to fade in and out of plain view in very crowded scenes). The Xbox version also used Quincunx Anti-Aliasing (like many Xbox games) and although the technique reduced "jaggies" associated with aliasing, fans are generally split down the middle as to whether this hurt the image quality in the Xbox version of the game giving it a somewhat "blurry" or "washed out" look.
There are also many other curious, and somewhat baffling graphical differences, some of which have been documented on this page; http://park.fateback.com/differences.htm
Also added was a mode to view the player's snapshots and six side stories that could be unlocked by taking an in-game snapshot of certain characters. These side stories took the form of comics (or manga) and four of them expand on areas of the story that the main game touches on, while the remaining two contain bonus art.
While the original Dreamcast version came on four GD-ROMs, the Xbox version is on one DVD and came bundled with Shenmue: The Movie on a separate DVD for play on a standard DVD player. The film is comprised entirely of scenes from the first game.
One feature the Xbox version lost was the ability to import a save file from a completed Shenmue game, allowing the player to bring items and money collected in the first to the second game. However, since the player could not import his inventory, the Xbox port started the player off with (nearly) every item obtainable in Shenmue, including a majority of the capsule toys and other collectibles, though the cassettes (amongst a select few other items that can be re-obtained in this installment) are mysteriously missing. This is identical to starting the Dreamcast version without a cleared Shenmue save file.
Gameplay
Shenmue II features gameplay similar to that of its predecessor, Shenmue.
However, there are many additions and changes, and many fans consider it to be a completely different experience.
One marked difference in this installment of the game series is the abundance of action sequences, mostly relying heavily on the use of QTE events in lieu of Free battles (whereas the first installment had a fair balance of the two). This adds to the game's cinematic feel but it also pushes the player through the story in a far more linear and somewhat constrained pace than that compared to its predecessor.
This installment also introduced an air of mysticism into the story with the formal introduction of Ling Shen Hua. It was never openly discussed during the course of the game, but a notable cutscene reveals that she possesses the ability to interact with nature on more than just a normal level that most others can. This, coupled with the revelation of the purposes of the two mirrors lends the game a more fantasy-styled approached in story and apparently sets the stage for further inclusion and expansion of such elements of mysticism and myth in the series next (and possibly final) installment(s).
Whereas the first Shenmue consisted of a single world with an immense amount of detail (for example, the ability to open almost every drawer in Ryo's house and often pick up the contents inside) Shenmue II consists of several worlds with less intricate detailing.
See also
References
External links
- Official Shenmue Website
- Shenmue II at MobyGames
- Shenmue II (Xbox) at Game Rankings
- Shenmue Dojo a complete Shenmue resource at GameSpy