Coping with childhood trauma through Shenmue

Nice read! I can relate to it...although not Shenmue and not her situation precisely. But I can relate to a game touching me emotionally and almost helping me with something that did happen in my Childhood.

Shadow of the Colossus was VERY therapeutic for me at a time when I needed it the most. That and Persona 4. At a time when I was losing hope and becoming more and more Nihilistic...those were two games that brought me back and made me feel human again.

So I can relate to some degree.
 
Amazing how Shenmue as helped so many people dealing with traumatic events in their lives.
I can totally relate to this; because it also happened to me.
Before Shenmue was released I was going through the worst period in my life.
In the previous two years I had lost the two persons I loved the most in my life; my mother and my grandmother.
My grandmother died of old age in her bed with 80 years of age.
It was a natural death; as her heart stopped while she was sleeping; wich in my opinion is the most honorable and normal way for a human being to die.
Nevertheless it was death that was hard to deal with.
When this happened my mother had already been diagnost with Cancer.
She went on to received treatment but it was already to late and she died in the following year.
It was by far to worst time in my life; and altough I had the support of my family and friends it was not enough to help me deal with the pain.
It was then that Shenmue entered my life; and thank god this game appear at the right time in my life; because every time I played it I would get so immersed in it that I would forget everything else that was going on in my life.
Whenever I played Shenmue I was Ryo in 1980's japan trying to avenge the death of my father.
Because of what had happened to me I immediately related with Ryo's character wich created a strong bond with him.
But what really helped me wasn't the fact that I was seeking revenge in the shoes of Ryo; it was everything else; it was the world and people in it that Yu Suzuki and his team had created; a world that immersed me in it so much that I would forget about everything else around me; giving me time to relax and breathe without filling my head with negative and depressing thoughts.
This is probably the main reason why Shenmue will always be my favourite game of all times; because it was the right game to appear in my life at the right time and for that I am gratefull that it did.
 
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It helped me through childhood trauma as well. 2002-2003 was a very rough year for me, my dad passed away in 2003 but before he did, he was manic depressive and my mother fled with my brother and I when I was 16 to Florida. We had very little money and were buying a lot of used stuff from thrift stores and garage sales. I had heard about Shenmue and had always wanted to play it, I saw an article that Shenmue II was supposed to come out for the Xbox so my mother took me to blockbuster to rent it and I fell in love with the game.

I'm not sure what specifically made it so unique but it was just being in a different country talking to people, being a stranger in a new place and Ryo losing his father and trying to find answers, maybe I felt some sort of attachment that I was in this new place not knowing anyone in Florida, my family split apart. My mom knew I liked the game and bought me a copy for Christmas in 2002. My dad unfortunately committed suicide in March of 2003 and it destroyed me inside. The only thing I wanted was to be left alone and I would play Shenmue II frequently to distract myself. I remember wandering the halls of the ghost hall building, moonchild building feeling that isolation and loneliness but a comfort seeing those dilapidated buildings searching for something, looking through peoples old memories in those rooms.

I got into the first game later and it became one of my favorite titles of all time and about to play it once again since Christmas is coming up.
 
Yes, it is amazing how Shenmue helped so many people dealing with traumatic events.

I finished Shenmue for the first time in 2015. I finished Shenmue II for the first time in the end of 2017, my mother died in November of 2017, i remember playing Shenmue II at that time and it helped me so much.

Shenmue helps me dealing with my mother’s death and other losses i had in my life, after i lost my mother i lost my grandfather and grandmother.

In 2021 i lost another important person to me, this person was like another mother to me, like Ine-san is for Ryo.

I don’t want to talk in detail about my life but i feel that my depression got worse this year. One of the things that is helping me is Shenmue, even just talking about Shenmue helps me.

I’m playing the first game again and it even feels like therapy to me, the first game is so calm, slow pace, peaceful and relaxing, i’m trying to make 100% of the game for the first time and now i love even more this game. Sometimes when i’m playing i just stop to look at the sky in the game, to look at the characters, to feel Yokosuka, to feel the Shenmue World and i feel so calm and relaxed doing this, it is a unique and special feeling, Shenmue is a masterpiece to me and time will not change this.

Ryo lost his father and one of the people i lost is my mother, i can connect with the character Ryo in a deep level, and being able to experience Ryo’s journey is something beautiful and emotional to me. I’m grateful that Yu Suzuki and the team at SEGA created this series, i hope one day i can say to Yu Suzuki how Shenmue helps me dealing with the losses i had in my life and with anxiety and depression.

Shenmue is my favorite game series. Shenmue helped me in the past and now is helping me a lot these days, it is a beautiful feeling and i’m grateful for everything.
 
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