A reader reveals how Shenmue on the Sega Dreamcast completely changed his attitude towards video games, after growing up with a Mega Drive.
Gaming has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Like many kids in the ‘90s, I grew up in the middle of the great console wars. I had the SNES, my best mate had his Mega Drive, and we’d visit each other, playing our favourite games. I truly got to experience the best of both worlds. How could it get better than this?
October 1999 comes along and Sega releases the much-anticipated Dreamcast. At this point, I have been paying attention to its release, but it wasn’t doing anything to make me look away from my Nintendo 64. Sonic Adventure looked great (for the time), Sega Rally was always a winner, but I could play that in the arcades. So I thought there was nothing for me here, and I looked forward to the upcoming Perfect Dark.
Then suddenly everything changed, something caught my eye. What is this strange game with its even stranger name? What even is a Shenmue?!
A weird name, a mysterious vibe, and visuals that looked like nothing I had ever seen before. The story sounded like an old-school martial arts movie (which I loved watching, thanks to my dad) and they were introducing so many new technical advancements into the game that it was, at the time, the world’s most expensive game. I just had to play it.
My sister and I joined forces and we bought ourselves a second-hand Dreamcast, and soon I was gifted a copy of this mystifying game.
This… this is the moment that changed everything for me.
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Sat in front of my small 14” TV, I was transported to 1986 Yokosuka, Japan. I was no longer playing a game, I was Ryo Hazuki. On the search for the murderer of my father, I wandered the streets; chatted with strangers about a black car; wasted money on capsule toys, hoping to finally complete the set; and hung around vending machines buying cans of drink, hoping in vain to finally win that prize. I never did.
None of this made any sense. This is meant to be an action game, so why, when I’m meant to be chasing the man who killed my dad, am I playing in the arcade and feeding this homeless cat? Alright, so I need to speak to somebody about sailors, but nobody during the day has a clue, right, I’d need to waste some time before night settles. I know, I’ll just pop to the local park and practice my moves.
And yet, the more I played, the more it all started to click. What first felt confusing, became oddly compelling. With every small action, every quiet moment, I was being pulled deeper into its world, into Yokosuka, into Shenmue.
Shenmue wasn’t about rushing or trying to beat high scores. It made me slow down, be observant, and immerse myself in a living, breathing world.
Even now, after all these years, Shenmue still stands out. Games have come a very long way since 1999, but very few have drawn me into its world like Shenmue did.
All of this combined to be something special, something unique, that truly captured my heart.
It didn’t just entertain me. It made me fall in love.
By reader Mike Wilson
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