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Suzuki Discusses Shenmue
by Steven Kent for Gamers Today
In the video game industry, Yu Suzuki, Sega's most famous game designer, is known for the chances he takes. His arcade machines have typically featured elaborate and expensive hardware with the latest processors and the biggest monitors. Suzuki's Hang On was likely the first video game that gave players control while sitting on a model of a vehicle-a motorcycle.
Even including his arcade colossuses, Shenmue, Suzuki's first direct-to-console game, is his most ambitious project. Shenmue is the first chapter in a sweeping epic adventure, an interactive novel about a young man trying to track down his father's murderer.
Shenmue is as much an amalgam as it is a game. Because Ryo, the hero of the game, gains skill and experience points, many people have classified Shenmue as a role-playing game. The game certainly has role-playing elements, but its storyline is more from the adventure genre than the RPG school. Then there is the solid fighting engine. But Shenmue is not a fighting game any more than it is a motorcycle game, despite its motorcycle chase.
One thing that stands out about Shenmue is that it has the most complete virtual world in the history of gaming. Set in Yokohama, Japan, the game has stores, neighborhoods, alleyways, and highways. Everything is interactive. You can knock on every door, open every drawer, and speak to every pedestrian you meet. This makes Ryo's search all the more interesting and frustrating as the sheer vastness of the game can lead to mistakes.
And what of the future of Shenmue? According to Sega sources, the entire Shenmue saga is 16 chapters long. Can Suzuki really expect to release 15 more games? (Nintendo has only had five games in the Super Mario Bros. series.)
The only person who knows all the answers is Yu Suzuki. But there are some topics that he considers off limits. In a recent meeting, Gamer's Today discussed Shenmue with Sega's master game designer.
Gamers Today: Would you classify Shenmue as an RPG?
Yu Suzuki: I'm having a hard time. I think it is not an RPG. It is not an adventure. If I have to choose between RPG and adventure, maybe it is closer to an adventure game. But it is not an adventure game. The word that might just come closest is virtual reality. Maybe it is a VRPG. It does not fit into any category. You need to make a new category or genre. That is a very confusing thing, whether Shenmue is an RPG or an adventure.
GT: An interactive novel?
YS: Maybe an interactive movie. It should be called something-VR or VR-something, I think.
GT: So what happens next?
YS: As you know, Shenmue is a series. What the people have is Shenmue 1. I am currently creating Shenmue 2, and there will be new features added on. The game itself is growing up... maturing.
If you have a story that can branch out in many directions, and depending on which branch you take, the ending will differ. It's not a matter of parameters, the choices you make actually determine your experience. This is really difficult. Creating this type of a system is very hard work, and Shenmue has this kind of a system.
GT: You have long been known for fighting games and racing games. Is this your first game with a storyline? Why start so aggressively?
YS: Sega needed a strong RPG. I wasn't sure if I would be able to accomplish such a large task, but I felt that I had to attempt it. Truly, this is why I did this game.
The average playtime for an arcade game is three minutes. I wanted to express my creativity in a game that would give me more time. Even if the hardware specifications are not as powerful as arcade hardware, the longer playtime would let me do more.
GT: The original Shenmue takes place in 1986. Will the Shenmue saga end in the present day or in the past?
YS: Right now I believe it will end in the past, according to our current plans. You wouldn't want to see Ryo become old. He would be in a different age group than most of the players.
If I want to make the saga go on, I can have Ryo get married and have a kid, then have the kid as the hero. Once the kid is 10 years old, that should be old enough.
