I feel like the narrative has shifted quite a bit when it comes to the first two Shenmue games. It was once considered one of the best Dreamcast games around (and still is by many folks, granted), but that changed when a bunch of Gaming YouTubers and their ilk started voicing their negative opinion on the game, and much like SEGA's own Sonic games, impressionable folks who probably never played the games wondered if the Shenmue was ever really good at all, and basically had their minds made up for them.

Come 2017, and Yakuza 0 gets dropped in the west and becomes a surprise hit, which as an after-effect not only helped give the previously floundering crime drama series a much needed shot in the arm, but also got people thinking about that Shenmue game which seemed sorta similar. Bing, bang, boom, and a remaster is out and now everyone can actually play Shenmue without having to dredge up a 20+ year old console or resorting to emulators.

And that's where we are today, with the overall critical narrative surrounding Shenmue being more that of a stepping stone to a future series than as it's own work that had it's own impact. This happened with much of Fromsoft's works prior to Dark Souls, with every game before 2011 being shoved into some half-baked narrative that all them were just building up to Dark Souls. And, yeah, that just ain't it...

Admittedly, I am glad that the consensus on Shenmue isn't as negative as it was prior, mostly because I think that reputation was largely unwarranted (and I should clarify that I played this game for the first time 13 years after it came out, so I don't have much in the way of proper bias with it, and I will admit it has it's fair share of faults). However, I believe that looking at this game as "Proto-Yakuza" is not only kinda dismissive, but you will no doubt walk away disappointed.

Yakuza is a sandbox game filled with zany ♥♥♥♥ to do with a larger life story to tie it all together, Shenmue on the other hand is a sort of "Life-Simulator" that just so happens to have a few fun distractions and a revenge narrative that borders on the occasional grandeur, but never looses grip on it's realistic roots even when some more "unusual" stuff does happen.

Shenmue is not a game (or set of games) that will appeal to everyone, and it was never going to. But it's a work that I believe deserves a bit more respect than it gets these days. For new folks who want to give it a try, I believe it's best to come in with as few preconceived notions as possible. I can't say y'all will like it, but some might find a unique world and story worth exploring.