Note: Sorry for the lack of updates, I’m taking care of my backlog of games I haven’t finished.

I finally finished Shenmue II. It took two years, but I finally did it! Why people love this game is beyond me. I lost interest after 30 minutes with the bulky control scheme. When I gave the game another try months later, I discovered the boring game design. I mean honestly, how fun is it to start with a clue, ask one of the locals about it, learn a new name or location, ask a local to take you there, get a new clue and repeat this procedure over and over and over again? Lets not even talk about the lousy voice actors…

However, I recently decided to give Shenmue II another shot, and to my surprise, the last three-four hours were fun to play… or perhaps I should say watch. I appreciated the change of environment. The beautiful and serene forest path was a nice change from the hectic streets of Hong Kong. And unlike any of the other character, spending time with Shenhua was endurable, if not even pleasent.

During the showdown on the roof, all I wished for were that the goddamn game would end soon. My attitude changed during the last couple of hours though. Strangely enough, I actually wish to see a sequel. It feels as if the story has just begun to start, which is kinda unacceptable since it shouldn’t take two whole games to tell the introduction. Someone, please teach Yu Suzuki about proper pacing.