- Joined
- Jul 27, 2018
First I considered posting this in the Gamescom thread, then I considered posting it in the random thoughts thread, but I figure it would be nice in its own thread. Cheesy thread titles aside, I think it would be nice to discuss our own Shenmue stories, how we experienced these games, how it shaped our lives.
But I digress...
Guys, I feel old. I was 12 years old when Shenmue came out. I had been following the series for as long as it was being covered in magazines. I was a huge Sega fan from a very early age and followed everything Sega. When others were throthing at the mouth over the Playstation, I was loving the Saturn. When others were looking to Sony's next move, I was buying any magazine I could find with shreds of info on Sega's next console, Dural, Blackbelt and eventually Dreamcast. So, of course Shenmue was on my radar for a long time. I was obsessed with the game even before its release.
When Shenmue did finally come out though, boy did it live up to the hype and more. It was everything I dreamed it would be; engrossing, engaging, like no game I had ever played before (or after it).
Just under 12 months later, Shenmue 2 came out for the Dreamcast. Being young, I put off buying it, figuring it would come down in price. It never did and instead it started to quickly disappear from shelves. I picked up the Xbox version at some point, but it just didn't feel right to me, I wanted the Dreamcast version. Eventually a short while later, I saw it in Gamestation and the girl I was dating bought it for my Birthday. It was everything I wanted from a sequel, improving a lot of the basic gameplay, whilst expanding the scope considerably. I will never forget that moment on disc 4 when the epic finale occurs in the cave...
I have been waiting for Shenmue 3 ever since. I have been waiting for re-releases/enhanced ports ever since. And here we are, in 2018 with both becoming a reality. It feels so crazy. In a few weeks I will be 30 years old. That 'girl' I was dating, who bought me Shenmue 2 on the Dreamcast, I'm now married to! I have a son with her. I have spent more than half of my life obsessed with this series and never once gave up hope. Not fully. There were days when it felt impossible, but there was always a small glimmer there. It's crazy to me to think that Shenmue is still such a large part of my life, but it is.
Guys, I just want to say, whatever happens tomorrow, whether the I & II ports sell as well as we hope (and it looks like they will), whatever people think of these games and whether the Shenmue III announcements lives up to our expectations, just appreciate everything we have achieved, because it wasn't that long ago when it felt like the series would never return. Tomorrow brings me nothing but happiness. Shenmue 3 at Gamescom, Shenmue 1 and 2 HD released. As little as just over 3 years ago, who could have predicted all this?
But I digress...
Guys, I feel old. I was 12 years old when Shenmue came out. I had been following the series for as long as it was being covered in magazines. I was a huge Sega fan from a very early age and followed everything Sega. When others were throthing at the mouth over the Playstation, I was loving the Saturn. When others were looking to Sony's next move, I was buying any magazine I could find with shreds of info on Sega's next console, Dural, Blackbelt and eventually Dreamcast. So, of course Shenmue was on my radar for a long time. I was obsessed with the game even before its release.
When Shenmue did finally come out though, boy did it live up to the hype and more. It was everything I dreamed it would be; engrossing, engaging, like no game I had ever played before (or after it).
Just under 12 months later, Shenmue 2 came out for the Dreamcast. Being young, I put off buying it, figuring it would come down in price. It never did and instead it started to quickly disappear from shelves. I picked up the Xbox version at some point, but it just didn't feel right to me, I wanted the Dreamcast version. Eventually a short while later, I saw it in Gamestation and the girl I was dating bought it for my Birthday. It was everything I wanted from a sequel, improving a lot of the basic gameplay, whilst expanding the scope considerably. I will never forget that moment on disc 4 when the epic finale occurs in the cave...
I have been waiting for Shenmue 3 ever since. I have been waiting for re-releases/enhanced ports ever since. And here we are, in 2018 with both becoming a reality. It feels so crazy. In a few weeks I will be 30 years old. That 'girl' I was dating, who bought me Shenmue 2 on the Dreamcast, I'm now married to! I have a son with her. I have spent more than half of my life obsessed with this series and never once gave up hope. Not fully. There were days when it felt impossible, but there was always a small glimmer there. It's crazy to me to think that Shenmue is still such a large part of my life, but it is.
Guys, I just want to say, whatever happens tomorrow, whether the I & II ports sell as well as we hope (and it looks like they will), whatever people think of these games and whether the Shenmue III announcements lives up to our expectations, just appreciate everything we have achieved, because it wasn't that long ago when it felt like the series would never return. Tomorrow brings me nothing but happiness. Shenmue 3 at Gamescom, Shenmue 1 and 2 HD released. As little as just over 3 years ago, who could have predicted all this?