If anyone has ever heard of Shenmue which was released on the under rated Sega Dreamcast will now of how this is a classic. I wouldn't have played it if my father didn't purchase this game for me by mere luck one morning.

Shenmue is a classic adventure game that was directed & produced by Yu Suzuki of Sega-AM2 , who then moved on to the Virtual Fighter and Psy-Phi games. Shenmue was released back in 1999 and was welcomed as one of Dreamcast's finest titles.

The first game covers the very first chapter in Ryo Hazuki's life. The game begins show casing Ryu walking back home while spotting black Mafia cars. He runs inside to find out that his family is going to threatened and assaulted if they did not hand over the "Dragon Mirror". The only person to know where it is, is Iwao Hazuki, Ryo's father. Ryo intervenes the battle but Lan Di was too strong for him and stops him with no hassle at all (Lan Di is the man dressed in the Chinese attire and the leader of the gang). Lan Di then threatens to kill Ryo if his father did not tell him where the "Dragon Mirror" is, which forces his dad to reveal it's location. Lan Di then walks to Ryo's dad and says the following words to him:

"Get up! I will allow you to die like a warrior..."

Then striking him with the final blow before Ryo's father meets death. From that day on Ryo's epic journey for revenge begins.

One of the game's most important features is it's stunning graphics. The game was first created as a Virtual Fighter spin off but then drifted away and became an original game. Shenmue was created on the 32-bit Sega Saturn, but since the load times were arguably long and it was very difficult to program on the Saturn, Yu Suzuki shifted the game to the Sega Dreamcast and till this day the graphics of Shenmue can still be compared with modern day games, that's how great they were and still are.

Another main feature in Shenmue was how the gameplay is nowhere near linear. You are capable of free roaming cities and towns, talking to numerous pedestrians and shop owners, while trying to continue your epic journey. You can also choose to train, so you can learn new moves, but you can also choose not to as you can complete the game without learning nothing. You had the choices, you decided.

There was also the famous QTE (Quick Time Eventer), where a cutscene would be showcased and you must click the right buttons at the right time for Ryo to perform the right actions. An example of this can be found in the game Resident Evil 4.

Shenmue II covers Ryo's second chapter of his epic journey, where he travels to Japan with one thing in mind and that's to avenge his father's death.

Shenmue II was released two years after the first due to high demand from the fans and gamers. The second was nowhere close to disappointing as it was just as good as the first game. With more moves, battles, larger locations and new characters to meet, the sequel put a smile on all the fans faces who are now hoping for the third and final installment in the series.

Shenmue Online was announced back in 2004. Three years after Shenmue II. It was going to be a MMORPG, where players can choose from three clans and perform scenario's from Shenmue II.

This year, Shenmue Online was announced that it has been officially cancelled.

It's been 6 years since fans have had another chance at a new Shenmue game, while most of the fans have posted and signed numerous petitions which Sega have ignored.

So will we ever see Shenmue 3 or will Ryo Hazuki's adventure stay as a lost legacy and gamers will have to keep imagining the ending of his epic story?