So where's the video where you took apart Jim Sterling'z arguments? The one you posted certainly never.

I like Jim's video's, they're brutally honest.

I want to point out one moment in Shenmue that was particularly memorable.

My objective was to find a travel agent, that was across the street from a little lunch stand. So I walk around asking people across town where it is, and eventually come to the lunch stand. I don't remember exactly what the woman said but it was to the effect of "You idiot, it's right across the street."

That means they had a line for this random character to say just for that one specific scenario that took up a tiny tiny piece of the game. Just on the off chance that someone talked to her in that situation. In just about any other game I would have gotten some generic NPC response. Here I got something that actually felt like something someone would say in that scenario.

It's really the details like that which make Shenmue stand out to me. There is so much attention to detail and love poured into this game that it's kind of ridiculous. It still stands as one of the most immersive games I've played and the fact that it came out in 1999 makes it even crazier.

Of course, there are flaws. I really don't mind that you can't skip time. The game's main focus is immersion, and I think skipping to the good parts would have ruined that. Still, there should have been a bit more to do in those wait times and some better rewards for doing so.

Ultimately though, the complaint is that Shenmue is not very "gamey". To contrast, we could look at a game like Zelda Skyward Sword (a game which I also love). Everything in Skyward Sword is designed specifically for Link's benefit, and for the player to interact with. There's big piles of dust that just happen to be perfect for Link's new windbag item, there are big targets just waiting to be hookshotted to, and so on. It's a contrived world specifically designed to be played with.

Shenmue is a different kind of game and a different kind of world. You could imagine the world existing completely independently of Ryo. It doesn't feel like a world that was designed specifically for the purpose of telling Ryo's story, or to keep the player entertained. And, for that reason, the moment to moment gameplay of Shenmue isn't always super fun. But, what it lacks in accessibility and instant gratification, it makes up for with atmosphere and immersion. The story of Shenmue, despite its relative simplicity, engaged me like few games have. I played it first in 99 and again a second time last year, and it's amazing how many details stuck with me from nearly 2 decades ago, and how it was still able to blow me away.

Shenmue is a masterpiece. Of course, as a 20 year old game that came out when 3D gaming was still finding its footing, there are going to be flaws you could pick out. And even in 1999, it wasn't perfect. But the ambition and love poured into it still shines through.

Me neither, so why do you bring it up? Or are you saying his ability to lift up a dildo is somehow influencing his ability to critique?

Jim Sterling Son!

I loved Shenmue when it came out. The magic about it was that it tried new things and that it looked friggin' amazing at the time. Seriously, it was a miracle to me how a game could look that good!

Today it doesn't look too hot anymore and its mechanics have benn copied and improved too man times to count them. So it will naturally look and feel dated. If you haven't played it before, you won't have too much fun. It's a nice nostalgia trip, but nothing more. Oh, and to be clear, I haven't watched any of the videos in the OP. It's just what I think.

My biggest issue with the Re-release of Shenmue 1+2 is that they didn't bring it to the Switch though. Seriously, I would have bought that shit in a heartbeat! But for PS4? Nah.

I watched Jim's video and what I could take away from it was that it basically is a prototype for better games like Yakuza and that it has a few gameplay flaws such as waiting times between missions. Basically he's saying that it could've been better and that it absolutely does not hold up to today standards. Nothing that warrants some kind of reaction video.

Then again, he got completely flamed and disregarded for giving a flawed game a 7/10. People gonna be peopleing.

Ahh Shemnue, i have mixed reactions to this game which i finished on Dreamcast. At first the game was incredible with its ambitions gameplay and was way ahead of its time however the game had major flaws.. its controls were really bad, the day/night circles werent fun, the combat was junky and once finished its not really a game to play a 2nd time around especially with the chores you need to do in the game.
Jim nailed it where he said the game was a prototype for its era, its the direction many devs took forward, unfortunately its not a direction preferred hence my gaming preferences.
Shemnue to me was as ambition as Mario 64 except Mario was more tame and they were actually able to make a fun game out of its directions where as Shemnue just wasn't really that fun. It was a QTE cinema styled game that was all about its looks and less about its gameplay. I must admit at the time the full interactive world is incredible for its time.

I will admit, I enjoyed your video and it was well put together so I gave it a thumbs up. Weather I agree with the content in it? Well your not entirely wrong or right.

You should be training, that's how you kill time.

But let’s be honest here though.  This is released as a package ONLY, not separate releases.

Also, as I said; people can say they find it a boring game and dislike it.  That’s fine, it’s subjective.  But to string it up on points which are not correct is bullshit.

if you don’t like the story, fine.  If you find the acting wooden, fine.  But don’t make up nonsense to support your argument.  That’s pathetic.

Also to a different poster, trust me this ain’t for views.  If I was craving views, I’d do another WoW Private Server Review.  They take the views up super easy.