Various martial arts disciplines play an integral role in both the storyline and the gameplay of Shenmue, and aspects of Japanese and Chinese culture related to martial arts are prevalent.

In addition, the Information section allows new players to learn more about the various aspects of Shenmue gameplay.

" Several other critics gave the gameplay of Shenmue high praise.

The Sega Saturn version included the plot of both the first and second games at the very least, and although the full extent may never be known, a significant portion of the budget quoted for Shenmue was used on resources for future chapters, and the characters, plot and environments / gameplay of at least the entire second game existed in rough form before the first game was released.

Shenmue is regarded as a major step forward for 3D open-world gameplay, and considered the originator of the " open city " subgenre later popularized by Grand Theft Auto III in 2001.

Shenmue was a major step forward for 3D open world, nonlinear gameplay, touted as offering an unparalleled level of player freedom, giving them full reign to explore an expansive sandbox city with its own day-night cycles, changing weather, and fully voiced non-player characters going about their daily routines.

The diagrams depict sequences of control inputs, which the player must mimic in order to maneuver the character out of danger, similar to the gameplay of Dragon's Lair or the quick time event sequences in Shenmue.

Several of the game's main characters talk through a variety of elements from Shenmue including mini-games, magic weather system and free battle.

Shenmue takes place within the span of a few months, from November 1986 until ( depending upon the player's speed in completing the game ) as late as April 1987.

Furthermore, Network Ranking also allowed players to upload their scores from the playable arcade games found in Shenmue and to compete in the worldwide rankings board.

Shenmue: The Movie is a ninety minute compilation of the major storytelling cut scenes from the game Shenmue played in chronological order along with battle scenes played by expert players.

The film largely deals with the first chapter of Shenmue using the cutscenes from the game, along with a few additional new sequences to tie things together.

Suzuki's Shenmue for the Dreamcast gave rise to a new style of adventure games, bending it away from the typical mold most games of its nature seem to fit into, with Suzuki's own concept denoted as " FREE " ( Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment ).

* Wuying Ren, a character from Shenmue II

* The machines also appear in the Dreamcast game Shenmue, in which the main character Ryo Hazuki could spend yen to collect various figurines, including series of characters from the Virtua Fighter and Sonic the Hedgehog series of games as well as those of other known and lesser known Sega franchises ( i. e. Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier, Hang-On etc.

Shenmue and Shenmue II both feature " Hang-On " as a mini-game as well as the ability to win miniature toy versions of the bikes from gashapon machines.

At E3 2008 Jeffery told Sega fans there is not going to be a new console from Sega, and no current plans to develop a Shenmue 3.

In the Shenmue series of games there are several instances of games within the main game.

Yu Suzuki has stated on several occasions that during its early stages, Shenmue was a traditional style role-playing video game based on the characters and storyline of the hugely successful fighting game title Virtua Fighter.

Shenmue is consistently listed as one of several key Dreamcast titles ( most of them Sega productions ) that ensured the console enjoyed solid sales during the Christmas season of 2000.

Shenmue has been included in several " greatest games of all time " lists.

* In the Dreamcast game Shenmue, several capsule toys can be collected, including the Opa-opa, shop balloon and the stage 3 boss.

She has acted in several video games, such as OutRun 2, the Shenmue, and the Silent Hill series, and has been credited in several OVA's such as Strange Dawn, Hoshi no Koe and Trip Trek and the anime series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's.

Often referred to as Sega's answer to Shigeru Miyamoto, he has been responsible for the creation of many of Sega's most important arcade games, including Hang-On, Space Harrier, Out Run, After Burner, and pioneering 3D games such as Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA, and Virtua Cop, as well as the Shenmue series of open world adventure games for the Dreamcast.

There have been some recent video games that have used this approach using fully animated computer generated scenes, including various adventure games such as the Sound Novel series by Chunsoft, Shenmue series by Sega, Shadow of Memories by Konami, and Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain by Quantic Dream.

The game was followed by a 2001 sequel, Shenmue II, with at least one more planned as a Dreamcast series.

The story of Shenmue begins on November 29, 1986, in the perspective of the protagonist Ryo Hazuki ( 芭月 涼 Hazuki Ryō ) returning home to his family dojo to witness his father, Iwao Hazuki, battling with a tall, ominous man dressed in a green silk Kung-Fu suit known as Lan Di.

Shenmue took an interesting look at the culture of Yokosuka at the time which was dealing with Japanese traditionalism that was changing with the growing American influence in the area.

Gameplay in Shenmue is diverse ; while most of the game is spent walking around the Japanese locations in a third-person ' chase cam ' mode ( talking to people, searching for things, and so forth ), it is interspersed with many ' mini-games ', including forklift and motorcycle races, bar fights, chases down crowded alleys, full versions of Sega arcade games Space Harrier and Hang-On ( both originally programmed by Shenmue creator and director, Yu Suzuki ), dart games, and fighting sequences.

However, Sega was already beginning work on a brand-new console ( which during the early stages of its development was called the Katana, later renamed to its commercial name " Dreamcast ") and work on Shenmue quickly resumed, with the new system as its format.

Shenmue was originally touted as a " FREE " (" Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment ") game offering an unparalleled level of player freedom, giving them full reign to explore an expansive persistent sandbox city with its own day-night cycles, changing weather, and fully voiced non-player characters going about their daily routines.

Moreover, another soundtrack named Shenmue Jukebox released with the special editions of the first Shenmue game in Japan.

The movie was officially released in Japanese theaters on January 20, 2001 and later was released in the West as a bonus DVD included with the Xbox version of Shenmue II.

The movie was only released in Japan initially but with the arrival of Shenmue II on the Xbox saw the addition of the movie with the game.

* www. shenmuedojo. net Shenmue fansite, with in depth information and interviews with cast and crew.

Shenmue was the most expensive game to be developed ( until Grand Theft Auto IV in 2008 ), with the whole project costing 70 million USD, equivalent to 93 million USD in 2011.

The Shenmue franchise is interspersed with many mini-games, including full versions of Sega arcade games Space Harrier and Hang-On ( both originally programmed by Shenmue creator and director, Yu Suzuki ).

In 2010, 1UP. com ranked Shenmue at # 2 in its list of " 15 Games Ahead of Their Time ," citing its " ambition and scope ," various " forward-thinking " mechanics such as real-time weather effects, " day and night cycles, and massive playable environments ," its quick-time event mechanic, and for giving players a " living " world to explore, concluding that it " was ahead of its time in nearly every aspect of its design.

In Shenmue 2, playable arcade machines featuring other Sega titles are scattered throughout the game world.

Shenmue takes place within Yokosuka, Japan.

Concluding the first chapter of Shenmue, Ryo boards a boat and travels to Hong Kong in pursuit of Lan Di.

In Shenmue, Ryo Hazuki is the main protagonist, and the only playable character.

In the original Japanese edition of Shenmue, the trademarked Coca Cola logo is seen in various locations and Ryo can drink cans bought in vending machines.

The Shenmue tree resides in the same small village ( Bailu, which is located in Guilin ) that spawned both Shenhua and the game's stone mirrors.

During the majority of Shenmue, the player will explore the Yokosuka area usually for any leads to progress the narrative.

Items collected and martial arts skills leveled up in the first game could be imported into Shenmue II after completing the game.

Shenmue incorporates a system to produce the game's in-universe weather conditions.

On all versions of Shenmue, accessible on a fourth disc, Passport is a supporting application of sorts that enhances the Shenmue experience.

The Shenmue World feature contained highly detailed information regarding all aspects of the Shenmue world ( i. e. locations and characters ), and it also hosted an online manual.