Tired of seeing Ryo Hazuki on your screen while playing Shenmue 2? Well, now you can give him a break and take control of a huge selection of the game’s NPCs instead!
A new Ryo Model Swapper, produced by forum user the_phoenix_mirror, allows players to replace Ryo’s character model with a wide variety of familiar faces from across Shenmue 2. Ever wanted to explore Hong Kong as Ren, wander around as Joy, take control of Xiuying, or even play through parts of the game as Shenhua? Now you can.
While not every NPC in Shenmue II has been converted for use just yet, the release includes as many notable and fan-favourite characters as possible, giving players plenty of options to experiment with.
As you would expect with a model swap, this is primarily a visual modification rather than a complete character replacement, so Ryo’s animations, interactions and general gameplay remain intact. Even so, it makes for a fun new way to replay Shenmue II, experiment with different characters and, inevitably, create some rather unusual-looking cutscenes!
The download contains all of the NPC files that have currently been converted, alongside a tutorial explaining how to swap each model over Ryo.
Download the Shenmue 2 Ryo Model Swapper here:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/u2x7loqp3zeczs5/ryo_model_swapper_shen_2.rar/file
With such a large cast of memorable characters throughout Shenmue II, this should provide plenty of opportunities for fans to have some fun with the game — and hopefully even more characters will become playable in the future.
