Well, I've completed Shenmue. After nine days and three discs, I reached the end of what is very clearly "Chapter 1" of the story. I now need to hunt down the sequel to continue the character's quest to catch up with the man who killed his father.
I was actually a little miffed to reach the end of the game without there being any real payoff to speak of. You have to kick your way through a seventy-man onslaught, then beat up this freaky bald guy who's been following you for half the game, and then... that's it. Your best friend flies off to America, the girl you're destined to fall in love with returns to Canada, and your arch rival is on a boat bound for Hong Kong, leaving you in Japan with little to show for your efforts. But having said all that, this kind of cliffhanger and desire to finish the quest is the greatest incentive I've ever seen to buy a sequel. Maybe you have to play the game to know what I mean, because it doesn't sound too inspiring when explained this way, but I really want to find Shenmue II and follow that villain to Hong Kong.
That's all for this latest bulletin on The Headliner's Dreamcast Saga. We now return you to your regular posting.
